The following article has been copied, in part, from the Beachcomber, August 10-16, 2007.

Shall we dance?

By Kim Mitchell
Staff Writer

OCEAN CITY - The line of friends, strangers, tourists and locals stretches past the parking lot.

They all want to get in and are willing to pay for it.

Some come for the drinks, others for the music.  But the majority come to dance.

Whether its rock 'n' roll, hip hop, pop or country, it's hard to listen to music and not move.

The dance floor calls many people who don't care what they're doing or how they look, but others want to step out but are shy to the ways of dance.

Before heading out for a night with the girls or for a pick-up expedition with the guys, here are a few places to learn how to move.

No woman can resist a smooth dancer.  And now after the man's man has watched Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice take to the floor, it's a given.

"It gives people a chance to see that they can learn to dance," said Alice Hajjar, ballroom dance instructor at Delmarva Dance.  "People don't think that dancing is something that they can learn.  They believe it's a natural skill.  I hear 'I have two left feet' or 'I can't hear the rhythms,' but someone can teach you how to do this."

Hajjar teaches classes in Salisbury at the Mid-Atlantic YMCA and also in Selbyville at Selbyville Middle School.  She took a break for the summer but classes will restart in September.

She has taught ballroom courses on the Cha Cha, Waltz, East Coast Swing, Fox Trot, Rumba, Tango and others.

The classes teach students to recognize and understand rhythms and to match the proper dance with the song.

The benefits from learning different dance techniques surpasses showing off in the club, Hajjar said.

Dancing is exercise that doesn't feel like exercise.  It's not only physical, but mental as well.  Hajjar said studies have shown that learning the steps and thinking about the moves can significantly reduce the chances of having Alzheimer's later in life.

"You can't just get up and dance these, you have to think about the steps," she said.

Her classes are held for three consecutive weeks with dances held at its conclusion in Salisbury and in its midsts, in Selbyville.

Delmarva Dance is holding a Welcome Back Dance on Sept. 8 to let students get their feet wet and allow others to see what it's all about.

Both "Dancing with the Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance?" also made people aware that formal dancing is a fun activity.

"I don't think people thought about it as much before (the shows)," Hajjar said.  "They see it and think, 'Maybe we should try it.''"

Hajjar said the ballroom classes are a great way to spend time as a couple, as a family and with friends.  It's also a great way to meet people and socialize.

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