Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 3, 1992 TAG: 9202270245
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By JOE TENNIS CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: BLUE RIDGE LENGTH: Medium
At least that's what his mother, Judy Harper, says.
Rob, a sixth-grader at Colonial Elementary, dances at school and in dancesport competitions.
He cuts the rug with international-style ballroom dancing.
Yeah, that may not be the typical way a kid shakes his booty. But, hey, he's good at it. And, besides, he can do all that M.C. Hammer and Michael Jackson stuff, too.
Just don't call the kid a sissy because he dresses in a tux and does the cha-cha. Instead, consider him a man before his time: Women love a man who can dance, right?
Right, says Mom. "He realizes that already."
Rob hit the big time in September when he won second place in his age group at the United States Ballroom Championship, held at the Fountaine Bleu Hilton in Miami. He and his long-time dance partner, Liana Turner, 12, of Salisbury, Md., competed against four other couples. They won for modern dancing, including the waltz and the quick-step. And they won for Latin dancing, including the jive and the cha-cha.
A living room table at Rob's home in Blue Ridge, where he lives with his mother and sister, Theresa, is swamped with medals, ribbons and plaques - all acquired because of his dancing prowess.
"I love getting stuff," Rob said. To date, this kid has racked up 52 first-place and 11 second-place finishes out of 63 competitions.
His dancing career jumped to its feet about two years ago when his mother dragged him to a ballroom dance at the Marriott Hotel in Richmond.
Since Rob didn't really want to go, he politely moped around the place. A 60-year-old doctor's wife saw him, however, and, charmed by his boyish looks, invited him to dance a spell.
Rob tried some basic steps. But, he said, "I didn't know how to dance, so I felt like a dork."
Still, he liked trying.
Mark Ross, an antiques collector and Broadway actor who frequently attended the weekly ballroom dances in Richmond, was impressed with Rob. He contacted Sharon Wayne, president of the Richmond chapter of the United States Amateur Ballroom Dancing Association. In turn, Wayne suggested Rob take lessons from dance instructor Dan Calloway in Richmond.
Rob did. And he continued one-hour lessons - once every two weeks - with Calloway at Bridgewater College after his mother moved from Richmond to Blue Ridge 1 1/2 years ago.
Almost immediately, Rob entered competitions in dancesport, the modern name for ballroom dancing. His first was the Virginia State Ballroom Championship in Washington, D.C. "It was the most nervous time of my life," Rob said.
But - SURPRISE! He won.
Inspired, Rob entered more contests. He won again.
At first, he wouldn't tell any of his friends or schoolmates about his hobby. He just wanted everyone to know him as the kid on the basketball court, the football field or the baseball diamond. "He didn't tell anybody until he won," says his mother.
But now, having won so much, it's hard to keep the kid from tooting his own horn, his mother says.
What's his secret? "I have my talent and rhythm," Rob revealed.
He practices his steps at home, gliding across carpet with natural spin-turns and movements from dances like the rumba and the paso doble. "I wanted to quit six zillion times. . . . I kept missing ball games," he said.
Some competitions cost $20 to enter. Scoring is based on style, rhythm and steps. And competitors come from all over the United States.
These functions are loaded with rules. Lots of rules.
Guys, for example, can only wear black during Latin dances; shoes have to be regulation-type only; and beginners are encouraged - sometimes even limited - to wear simple dance costumes. "They encourage them to spend money on lessons, not on dresses," Rob's mother explains.
Private ballroom dancing lessons run about $40 an hour. Group classes range from about $7 to $10 an hour.
Guys get by easy with the clothing bill for ballroom dancing; tuxedos, at a few hundred bucks, are cheap - compared to two or three thousand for women's ballroom gowns.
Rob said his goals in life include being the world champion ballroom dancer and competing in the Olympics - if and when dancesport is included in the games. Also, he wants to go to Europe and dance - but not until he's 16. "I just wanna go over there then 'cause I can drive there," he said.
This fall, his talent will be featured on public TV at the Ohio Star Ball.
Inspired by her son's enthusiasm, Judy Harper is organizing free ballroom dancing lessons, taught by herself, for children and parents at Colonial Elementary.
by CNB