If you love to dance but have two left feet there’s a new opportunity in Oceanside to learn how to ballroom dance. The McMillan Arts Centre (MAC) is offering a new program starting Wed., Feb. 15 that is reminiscent of a by-gone era … dancing to live music.
With Dave Klinger on piano and dance king Bill Cave on trumpet, there will be an afternoon of dancing and refreshments for four consecutive weeks at the MAC. Al Stacey will provide tips on how to look good on the dance floor so beginners are welcome. Klinger said it was Stacey who initiated the idea and when he brought it to the executive at the MAC, they were all for it. Klinger said he used to play a lot of dinner dances back in the day at the Palliser Hotel in Calgary. He said Stacey, who recently moved to the area, was a dance coach in Alberta and had talked to him about the tea dances he used to facilitate and the two of them decided it was something that would go over well in this community.
“We put two and two together and then I went to Bill Cave and he was pleased to come on board because dance music is his thing,” said Klinger.
From the foxtrot to the waltz, the two step, the passionate Rumba and the Cha Cha Cha, there are many dance styles to choose from.
Klinger said it will not be super technical.
“It will be fun. We want to make it casual.”
He said Stacey will be on hand to offer ballroom dancing tips and he and Cave will provide the musical inspiration.
“I play stride piano style. It’s a style that was developed in the 1930’s. It is rhythmic and with Bill on trumpet the combination will work well,” he stated.
Klinger said there has been a lot of interest already in the afternoon dance sessions and if it becomes popular they will expand on it and perhaps even offer programs in the evening. There are only a limited number of spaces open and each session $10 per person. For registration and enquiries, call the MAC office at 248-8185.