Photo courtesy of Magic City Ballroom
Mike Fowler of Magic City Ballroom leads in dance instruction.
Mike Fowler has been teaching people how to dance since he was about 18 years old, and now at age 62, he still gets great satisfaction in helping people learn how to move to the music.
He spent the first part of his career — more than 20 years — with Fred Astaire Dance Studios. He started at a studio in Birmingham but then opened his own studio in Tuscaloosa and later bought studios in Mobile and Montgomery.
Around 2006, he sold his shares in those three studios, went independent and opened Magic City Ballroom in Cahaba Heights.
That was about a 1,600-square-foot studio at 3118 Bellwood Drive, behind the Starbucks. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shutdown, and he had to close.
But that didn’t mean the end of his teaching. Magic City Ballroom is still functioning. He offers lessons to people as requested and usually does 10 to 12 lessons per month, he said.
He frequently will use the CORE Pilates Studio in Cahaba Heights and goes to other locations, such as event centers, to do group classes. Not too long ago, he taught a group how to swing dance at a 50th birthday party.
Fowler teaches all kinds of ballroom dancing (including waltz, foxtrot and tango), Latin dances (such as the cha-cha, rumba or salsa), swing dancing and wedding dances, but he does not teach country and western or hip-hop. Private lessons run about 45 minutes and cost $60–$80, while group classes last about an hour and cost much less per person.
To reach Magic City Ballroom, call 205-238-9008.
