The story below is from our January/February 2022 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Dance, that celebration of the human soul, is coming back into our lives and, boy, is it welcome!
The steps are tiny, measured, hesitant and rhythmic. They are dance steps and they have been all but missing in the Roanoke Valley since 2019 because of … well, guess what. There have been a few movements here and there, some small classes, a few outside carefully orchestrated gatherings, but rarely the wholesale celebrations dance can bring.
Even the venerable Hotel Roanoke is putting its toe back into the dance fountain, considering a return to its elegant and popular tea dances.
Dance studios are seeing classes grow carefully and slowly, but with the same enthusiasm, the same candy-store smiles.
“It is gradually opening back up,” says dance instructor Dave Spangler, who teaches all types and levels of dance with his wife, Donna. He sees pockets of activity here and there, but points to a plethora of dance venues that aren’t quite ready to swing and sway yet: Billy’s Barn’s Wednesday shag (closed); Kazim Temple (lots of dances in the past); Cabin Fever series at the Berglund Center (closed); USADance (stopped by COVID-19). The American Legion is creeping back into action. The Hotel Roanoke is taking positive steps. Shaggers haven’t and won’t quit.
There are more, but Spangler sees “a slow re-awakening. It’s starting again and there are some good-sized crowds.”
Beth Garrett, an avid shagger, notes that “beach music is being played at the Elephant Walk every Tuesday evening. A complimentary dance lesson is offered a couple of times a month.” She adds, “I don’t think lessons have started back yet. According to Jerry English, [shag] club president, they are looking to offer lessons again in 2022. Line dancing has really taken off due to COVID and a lot of women not having a partner.”
Salsa dancing (Salsa ‘Noke with Edgar Ornelas) has been steady and has featured Salsa Under the Stars and other Latin dances. Ornelas has been playing hard against COVID. He says, “I’ve seen everyone learn and improve, but there are so many levels it really depends on goals and expectations. Some have a harder time than others and others pick it up easily. Some take classes with short-term learning in mind for a wedding or for a trip to a Latin American country or a family reunion in Florida just so that they are comfortable, confident and can show off.
“Some in all honesty won’t enjoy dancing, even though they have improved, have gotten better and won some battles. But it is not their thing and the work to continue to progress is just not a priority. The ones that have decided to make it a task to learn usually take about two months of feeling accomplished. They may not be the best dancer on the floor because that can take a year or two but they can dance. Doing a combination of classes and dance socials or practices is the best way to learn.”
Bonny Branch of Bonny Branch Movements (she’s also a noted actor and yoga teacher) has continued to teach west coast swing, among other interests, and Mal and Linda Zerden, part-timers at Smith Mountain Lake, still show up occasionally and teach the country two-step (they’re world champs), beach and shag. Other instruction comes from Lane Mattox in Blacksburg, Sapphire Ballroom in Christiansburg, the Roanoke Ballet Theatre and Southwest Virginia Ballet for the more classically-inclined (mostly kids).
Dance lessons are usually in the $10-$20 an hour range for individuals in groups and private lessons go for about $50-$100 an hour. Spangler suggests that “you bring another couple or two who want to learn the same dances and you get the group rate.” He says that “within a lesson or two, you can catch on quickly.”
As this story was being researched, the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center was in the considering stage of whether to charge ahead with its dancing programs. Says Michael Quonce, who speaks for the hotel, “While we have brought back the ballroom dancing in The Regency Room on Friday and Saturday nights (smaller, controlled atmosphere), the tea dances haven’t yet returned. They are much larger in scope, buffet offering, change of rooms, etc.
“The tea dances were an awesome tradition that we hosted quarterly over the past seven years that were cancelled during the pandemic. We anticipate their return and hope it to be sooner rather than later since they were well attended and anticipated.”
Garrett is one of the large, mostly-older (60-plus), dressed-for-the-beach crowd that gathers in public and private places around the Valley (including her home) to shag the night away, as they did when they were teens.
“I have been dancing for 12 years,” she says. “Someone invited me to a free shag lesson at Blueberry Hill and the rest is history. I never knew there was such an interest in dancing in this area until I started attending the weekly Party In The Park events in Elmwood.
“With COVID being around, the opportunity to dance has been severely affected these past two years. The Roanoke Valley Shag Club is the only club around that officially teaches the Carolina Shag. There are a few individuals around who offer private lessons if others are interested.”
She notes that Ricky Ward, a national champion shagger (see sidebar), offers CDs that will teach you to shag.
Jimmy and Mary Stewart Smith of Roanoke “are continuing to dance, although since COVID started there hasn’t been much opportunity,” says Mary. “We have missed it. When we started dancing, we didn’t know if we would enjoy it at all. Turns out we love it, and it has been very good for both of us not only socially but physically as well.
“We are 68 and 71 years old and dancing has proved to be a good exercise and beneficial for our memories. I really can’t think of anything negative about it at all. We plan to continue dancing as long as we are able to. I’ve told my husband that my dream is for him to dance the waltz with me on my 100th birthday. It’s a nice goal.”
“The benefits are tremendous,” says Garrett. “Not only does dancing provide a fun event, it also provides exercise and challenges the brain with memory exercises. It has also offered me a great sense of community. I have met so many wonderful people in the dance community who are now my friends, and we share a common interest. I love that people are not sitting at home flipping through the TV channels but are out socializing and exercising.”
The Spanglers teach a range of dance, mostly traditional and ballroom: waltz, foxtrot, tango, latin rumba, cha-cha, salsa, mambo, and others. “There are about a dozen we teach,” he says. You can find country, night club two-step and just about anything else you can imagine. Spangler and his wife moved into a new home that has a dance floor and it is used as the studio for teaching privately and small groups.
Branch jumps into saleswoman mode: “Dancing can improve your aerobic capacity, your balance, coordination, and spatial awareness. It boosts memory, improves flexibility, reduces stress, diminishes depression, strengthens your heart, and helps increase energy levels. Dancing can be a great way to make new friends and join a great community [and] can improve your sleep, improve your posture, your breathing, and can help you lose weight. And all this helps activate the brain. If you’re single, dancing is a great way to meet people. And you can do it anywhere, all around the world.”
The pandemic has put dancing into another world, though. Branch says, “Teaching partner dancing during COVID has been a challenge. I stopped all classes the first few months, and then continued some on Zoom. Other local teachers held masked-only events with no rotating partners, and other health precautions, while some went to private lessons only, and others continued teaching classes doing their best to keep everyone safe.”
With all of this, says Branch, “Most of us just want to be at a party or bar and be able to move to the music without feeling like we’re making fools of ourselves.” Indeed.
Champion of the Shag
It is not obvious that 36-year-old Sergeant (soon to be Lieutenant) Ricky Ward of the Botetourt County sheriff’s department is a national champion. In shagging.
He’s a Charlotte native who moved to Shag Central (Myrtle Beach) when he was eight and began taking shag lessons at 13 because his mom, an avid shagger, insisted. Initially, he was not amused, but later grew to love it. So much so, in fact, that he won the first three contests he danced and placed second in a national championship competition.
Ward says that “after a fast start and many lessons I began developing my own style. I started traveling up and down the east coast and midwest dancing and teaching. I was always competitive, but not really with others, mainly with myself.
“Eventually I won the Grand National Championship in 2004, the National Championship in 2008, and was a two-time member of the National Shag Dance Team, designed to travel and promote the dance.” He was later inducted into the Beach Shag National Hall of Fame as a Keeper of the Dance.
Then he started teaching “after winning everything I set out to win. … I taught group lessons for the Roanoke Valley Shag Club for a couple of years after moving here from the beach but have recently slowed down due to Billy’s Barn closing.”
Ward, who is married and has a six-year-old daughter, says, “I’ve been fortunate in the fact that the saying ‘those who can’t do, teach,’ doesn’t apply to me. Since leaving the competitive part of the dance, I focused on being the best instructor possible while making the learning process as fun and laid back as I can.
“I’ve been shag dancing for 23 years and will continue to dance and teach for as long as I can. My DVDs have helped countless people and learning this dance has brought a lot of joy to so many. Which is all I could really ask for as an instructor/teacher.”
The story above is from our January/February 2022. For more stories, subscribe today or view our FREE digital edition. Thank you for supporting local journalism!