"Slow...slow...quick quick quick."
Richard Yeh's directions rang through the Flag Room in UB's Student Union this past Thursday. Concentrating and smiling, over 30 people eagerly tried to respond.
No, this was not ROTC practice.
This was a dance lesson.
Over 30 people were learning how to do the tango, courtesy of the UB Ballroom Dance Association during their weekly 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. free dance lesson.
Judging from the smiles all around, the participants seemed to be enjoying themselves.
"I love it," said Chrissie Balonek, a freshman chemical engineering student who has been attending the sessions since January. "It's a great way to meet people."
Richard Yeh is the club president and does much of the instructing in various ballroom dance styles, including the waltz, samba, jive, quickstep and the tango he was leading during the club's general meeting Thursday.
"OK, let's learn another variation," he continued. The dancers formed two lines, men facing women. The guys moved forward; the girls backward. "Slow, slow, quick quick slow. Quick, quick, slow," Yeh called.
The women's steps were demonstrated by Marta Canfield, a first-year medical student who helped lead the ballroom dance club at her former school, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and has danced in ballroom competitions.
"We get such a diverse variety of people," she said. "It's fantastic, we're so happy about that."
Indeed, it seemed almost as if a random group of students was snatched from the daily lunch crowd at Putnam's. There were students of a wide array of racial and ethnic backgrounds, and almost an equal number of women and men at the last meeting.
The club is not loaded with dance majors, either. Canfield said a wide variety of majors are represented, but in her opinion, one field of study stands out among the men learning to dance.
"Engineers make the best ballroom dancers," she said. "I think it has something to do with the precision required in the steps. I've had cases where I've told them to put their feet at an angle, and they'll ask, 'now is that a 45 degree angle or what?'"
Women pick up dances more quickly then men, she noted.
"The men seem to have a longer learning curve," she said. "I can take almost any woman, it doesn't matter what her major is, and get her dancing, but the guys take a little longer. It takes a long time to learn to lead."
On the other hand, she said, women learn faster but then have to adapt to the different styles of male leads.
"The women have to help the men look good," she said with a smile. "Not much different than real life."
Kent Do, a sophomore undeclared major who is studying exercise science, walked about the room trying to help the attendees - mostly the gentlemen - learn the steps. The group's treasurer, he also served as an ambassador and recruiter of sorts, as he tried to coax onlookers into giving the dances a try.
Nuwee Chomphuchart, a sophomore reading education major, and one of the onlookers said she had heard about the lessons from a notice on a listserv and came to check it out.
"I just want to learn more," she said. "Maybe I'd better just watch. I'm a bad dancer," she added with a laugh.
But great dancing is not required for this club; no one is graded or judged on their ability. Tom Erb, a freshman computer engineering major, said he had no previous experience when he started with the group a few months ago.
"I always wanted to learn," he said. He was invited to a lesson by the group's secretary, Katie Mullen, and found he enjoyed it. "I've met quite a few people," he said.
According to Canfield, the opportunity to meet new people - including members of the opposite sex - presents itself at each meeting.
"You know, you actually get to touch the women," she said, to single prospective attendees. "I think the guys who do come keep it a secret," she said jokingly of the male members' possible fear that there might be increased competition for the female dancers.
One student who showed interest in the club during the meeting had reasons other than trying to hold hands with someone of the opposite sex. Elizabeth Roden, a post-doctoral student taking courses in computer science and Chinese, watched the tango lesson with great interest.
"I passed by earlier and was interested. I enjoy dancing and I'd like to be better at it," she said noting that the skill would come in handy in places other than ballrooms. "There's almost always one dance at a convention."
As the lessons continued, dancers paired up and practiced their steps. Concentrating on their footwork, they tried to work out the steps Yeh had demonstrated. There was the occasional misstep, which often resulted in giggles, making it clear that even if they were not getting the steps exactly right, the participants were enjoying themselves.
"I think that's what it's about - having fun," Do said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
