Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505200003
SECTION: SENIOR STYLE PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SARAH COX
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"Look around you,'' he said, gesturing at the eight seniors gathered around the sitting area. "It's been very nice.''
Each one of the eight seniors who showed up to talk about his or her dancing experience said the same thing: They've met friends, gotten great exercise and found a social outlet that, in some cases, has changed their lives.
Janet Ryburn said she and her daughter signed up together. "It is the best thing I ever did. It opened up a whole new world to me. We laugh. That's the most delightful thing - to laugh and enjoy the people you're with,'' she said.
Ryburn said she moved to Roanoke in 1990 to be with her daughter after Ryburn's husband died. She had a hard time assimilating into a new town and making new friends, but the kind of opportunity Arthur Murray provides changed that.
Beatrice Crowder, who has been going to Arthur Murray along with her friend Pat Gathercole for more than two years, said before dancing she was beginning to walk with a cane.
Now, "I can kick as high as anyone. Sometimes I don't land where I'm supposed to, though,'' she laughed.
Betty Craig said her doctor asks her if she's still dancing, and encourages her to continue. Cecil Cash, who believes in physical fitness and does aerobics, said dancing is a lot easier than aerobics.
"Dancing is smooth, and you just don't work as hard on it. When I was young, I did country dancing, and in the service I waltzed all through Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas,'' he said. He's been dancing at Arthur Murray for two years, "and I'm a beginner,'' he said.
Edith Nichols, who along with Craig has participated in Arthur Murray's national competitions in Las Vegas twice, said dancing keeps your body moving and your mind active.
"I'm alone, and this is what I'm going to do until my legs give out. It's better than sitting in front of the TV and feeling sorry for myself,'' she said.
The distinguishing factors of Arthur Murray, these clients said, is that it provides a safe place to come to on Tuesday and Friday nights for the dances, which franchise owner Mohammed Taher describes as "like a party.''
Most of his students are 40 years old and older, he said, and most of them continue to come because his studio gives them a safe place to go and meet different people.
There are five dance instructors, including Taher and his wife. The introductory special offer is $10 for five lessons. Three of those lessons are individual ones, there is one group class and one practice dance party. After that, Taher said, there are various plans and programs.
There is also a built-in progression for the students - bronze, silver and gold - as well as showcase dancers. And the theory behind this business is that practice makes perfect. Two of the seniors interviewed said they had been coming to Arthur Murray for five and seven years, but Taher said there are customers who have been dancing at his studio since it opened in 1976. He bought it from the original owner in 1980.
Taher, who is originally from Cairo, said he was a professional ballet dancer there. Before moving to Roanoke to purchase the franchise, he was a dance instructor at an Arthur Murray dance studio in Miami. He said Arthur Murray dance studios are celebrating their 80th year this year.
Dancing, said Taher, is similar to soft aerobics, and one hour of dancing is approximately equal to two to three miles of walking. But over and above the exercise benefits, Taher said it has mental benefits as well. It's a form of relaxation, a way for his students to take their minds off of other things, to listen to the music and to socialize with others.
"Most of them say they've always wanted to dance, but their parents wouldn't allow it, or their husbands didn't want to,'' he said.
Nichols' story is like that. She said her husband refused to dance with her, and now that she's alone, it's opened up a whole new life for her. In addition, the studio gives her a place that's safe to go unescorted, get some dancing in and then go home. "And I don't have to beat anyone off,'' she said. "You can just be yourself and know that you're totally accepted.''
Ryburn, who professed to being nervous at first, said if it hadn't been for her going with her daughter she might never have signed up for dance lessons.
But "once I got through it, I walked through a door I never, ever believed was possible.''
by CNB