Dancing can do the body good; however, to be able to dance in a certain way, lessons may come in handy.
Instructor Barbara Frank said she has been dancing ever since she was a girl, and to her, dancing is her passion. Now, she teaches ballroom dancing as well as swing dancing. This month, Frank will be teaching both classes at the Wellness Center of Oktibbeha County Hospital. She also privately teaches individuals in their homes.
“I freelance. I’ll teach wherever anyone can get a group together,” Frank said.
Frank grew up dancing ballet and tap dancing in Syracuse, N.Y. She moved to Starkville when her husband became a professor with the school of architecture. She said the two of them danced together every chance they got, but when he died she decided to begin teaching dance classes.
Frank attended the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Tuscaloosa, Ala., to learn how to teach ballroom dancing and swing dancing to others. She has been teaching on and off for the past 10 years.
“I like to do it all. I’ll square dance, polka, Irish jig, the Charleston; I love all dancing,” Frank said.
Frank has taught at many places around Starkville, including Cheers, area churches and other organized groups.
“You have to experiment with dancing; you learn a lot from just watching people,” Frank said.
After swing dancing was revived in the late 1990s by bands like the Brian Setzer Orchestra and the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, many people also wanted to learn dances such as the Lindy-Hop, Jitterbug and other forms of swing.
The dance style that Frank teaches is called the East Coast Swing, which is a very energetic version, similar to the Jitterbug, but with a little country influence. The dance includes aerials, which are the elaborate ways to swing your partner in the air.
“Most teachers don’t teach aerials because of liability and because you really need to do it with mats, but once you know the basic steps, you can go on and learn the aerials on your own. It’s fun,” Frank said.
Another form of dance that Frank said she enjoys teaching is ballroom dancing, which includes many Latin American dances and country-dances. Frank also teaches the two-step, fox trot, mambo, salsa, rumba and others under the category of ballroom dancing.
The heaviest demand for lessons is in the winter and spring, when people are getting ready for dances and weddings. Many prospective brides and grooms, along with their parents and the wedding party take these classes to make the wedding reception much more lively. However, Frank recommends seeking lessons more than a few weeks before the wedding to have enough time to learn the dances.
“I tell my students, you have to practice. Go home. Push the furniture back. Dance anywhere in your houses. If you know the basic steps you can pick up beats that you couldn’t until you know the steps,” said Frank.
To contact Barbara Frank about dance lessons, call 323-0538 or 341-0538.