Yellowknife (Feb 21/03) - Lesley and Garry Singer are looking down at their feet, then up into each other's faces. Back and forth they sway.

They are learning how to dance with the help of Lynn and Ted Elkin who run a social dancing class every second Saturday in the back gym of Mildred Hall School.

The Singers remember these "old fashioned," dances from their youth, but they want to refresh their memory and be able to hold their own at weddings and other gatherings where couples dance.

I am there to document this evening as a journalist. I've heard the old dances are attracting young people these days.

And sure enough, teens like Devon Hall and Louise Nielsen are there. So is drama teacher Landon Peters who says Lynn and Ted are making a difference in his students' musical rehearsals.

Ten or so couples listen to what Ted and Lynn have to say, and mimic sultry hips of the Rhumba and the coolness of the Jive with varied success.

Laughter often overpowers the Latin music as couples stumble through the steps, then find their feet again.

I thought my journalistic intentions would keep me safely on the sidelines, but this being Yellowknife, I was soon told to put my pen down, and join the fun.

Suddenly Ted, the instructor, looked me sharp in the eyes and started doing the jive. I am not a jiver. But after a young life spent in ballet school I thought I could fake my way through all this.

However, some things never change: dancing is much harder than it looks.

I called on my old powers as Ted took my hands, but failed me. Ted was in his element and I had to surrender.

It alarmed me I basically can't dance at all. All that training, all those years. Where did it get me? Clumsy hands and stiff arms.

I wasn't helping my partner being stiff all over, and Ted taught me a couple of things in those two minutes that actually had meaning for me far beyond dancing. Not being good at these moves made me want to go back for more, which is probably how all the other dancers feel.