The Joy Of Ballroom Dancing—

Shall We Dance?

 

By Nancy K. Crevier

The cafeteria at Newtown Middle School seems an unlikely ballroom. Cold, white florescent lights shine from dropped ceilings onto a linoleum floor. Industrial tables standing on end and glowing snack machines line the perimeter of the room like strange, stiff wallflowers.

But each Wednesday evening when Nonnie Low and Joe Williams enter the room, turn on the music and begin to spin and swoop together, the sterile room transforms into a magical dance floor. Dressed elegantly in black, they move with the ease that comes from 25 years of dancing together.

As ballroom dance instructors for Newtown Parks and Recreation, Ms Low and Mr Williams share their knowledge of dance with area residents. They want the younger generation to “feel the music.” Enthusiasm fills their voices when they speak about the class.

“Everybody has a special song,” says Mr Williams. “Wouldn’t it be nice to get up in your living room and dance to it?”

Ms Low and Mr Williams have been dancing since they were teenagers. Mr Williams’s first dance lessons were at the Lathrop School of Dance, in 1954. From there, he took advantage of his job as a cross-country truck driver and danced his way across the country. A stop at a ballroom along the way to practice his steps was a nice break from the long hours cramped into the truck cab.

“In Malaysia, dancing is very popular,” says Ms Low. “I moved here when I was 24, but as a teenager in Malaysia we went out dancing all the time.”

She continued her love of dancing in the United States, and it was on a dance floor in Southbury that she and Joe Williams met. They have been celebrating their love of the art together ever since.

To improve their skills, Ms Low and Mr Williams (socially they go by Mr and Mrs Williams) began taking lessons at the Dancer’s School in New Milford more than 18 years ago. As students, they gave dance demonstrations at the school, and performed for the Shriners and at dancing parties, as well.

“If I couldn’t dance, I don’t know what I’d do,” says Mr Williams. “Even if I was in a wheelchair, I would still dance.”

Indeed, one of his dreams is to teach people in wheelchairs to dance. He pantomimes how the wheelchair-bound could spin and turn to music easily under his direction. As he points out, if they can play basketball in wheelchairs, why not dance?

It was at the Dancer’s School, too, that they studied to become dance instructors. The school no longer exists, but Mr Williams and MsLow continue the tradition, sharing their talents and helping others gain confidence on the dance floor.

Enrollment in Newtown Parks and Recreation Ballroom Dancing has been steady since they began teaching four years ago. They stress that having a partner is not necessary to join the class. Ms Low and Mr Williams make themselves available to singles, circulating, encouraging, and prompting students as the music plays.

More advanced students glide about to the refrains of Roy Orbison, Lawrence Welk, or music of the Big Band Era. Sometimes spicier collections like “Naughty Dancing” or “Hot Summer Hits” rev up the atmosphere. Ms Low and Mr Williams focus on the new dancers, breaking in occasionally to gently correct and guide.

Says Ms Low, “We try to make our lessons fun — ballroom dancing is fun.”

Mr Williams adds, “We break it down into simple steps.”

Both agree that new dancers need a lot of encouragement, something they provide generously throughout the instruction.

At the February 16 class, four couples learned the basic salsa step. It is a smaller group than the average gathering of nine couples, because of the winter weather. As with each class, Mr Williams or Ms Low explains the background of the dance, then they demonstrate the steps together. They teach together as smoothly as they dance, taking turns speaking, one picking up a sentence where the other leaves off.

The students are attentive, the men keeping their eyes on Joe Williams’s feet, the women mimicking Nonnie Low’s steps, as best they can. Step, replace, step, replace. Step, replace, step, replace. Now they try to add a little hip action, shifting their weight as they step forward. It looks easy when the instructors demonstrate, but the combination of steps and shifting proves too much for some on the first attempt. Smiling to themselves, the students watch as the teachers patiently review the process.

Every dance, they explain, has a basic step that is built upon with variations. The first basic step they teach is the foxtrot. From there, it is easy to learn the swing step, samba, salsa, even the more exotic sounding tango, rumba, or marenga. By the end of the four classes that make up each session, students have mastered two dance steps and learned enough to move around the dance floor.

Their students often sign up for consecutive sessions to hone their new skills, learn more steps, and to socialize.

Martin and Carol Sprock of Danbury started classes at Newtown Park and Recreation a year ago. They had taken other dance courses, but were discouraged by the strict atmosphere and emphasis on posing.

 “We wanted more social dancing,” says Mrs Sprock. “Under a little duress, I convinced my husband [to take classes in Newtown].”

The passion and warmth Ms Low and Mr Williams exuded in the class impressed them so, they convinced other Danbury friends to join them. Delores Kurimai, one of their recruits, has received numerous compliments from others when out dancing. She likes that dancing gets her up and out of her chair at social events.

Tina and Ted Welsh of Newtown enrolled in Ballroom Dancing in the fall of 2003, and have taken lessons on and off since. Tina’s children, Andrea and Kevin Hoyt, are getting older, as are the children of their friends’. They realized that they are the “older generation” now, and that it would not be long before bar mitzvahs, graduations, and even weddings would require some smooth moves on the dance floor from them.

“It’s a little niche of time Ted and I can be together,” says Ms Welsh. “Connecting with each other is such a perk — we’re focused on each other for that time. We need to be out of the house,” she continues, “and it’s a great workout. The instructors make it a lot of fun.”

Jeff and Terri Stewart of Danbury are fighting the empty nest syndrome. With four of their five sons out of the house, they recognized that they needed to do something together. Dancing fit the bill and it was a skill that they, like Ted and Tina Welsh, wanted to improve for social events. After just three lessons, they feel their confidence growing.

Ms Low and Mr Williams wax poetic when describing the joy dancing brings to them.

“Letting your body drift to a beautiful dance with your partner, what could be better?” asks Ms Low. “It’s like you float in the air like a bird.”

Mr Williams sums it up. “There’s nothing better than dancing and music. It really gets to your soul.”