Not strictly ballroom dancing

10:15am Friday 18th January 2002

FAKE tans, sequins and revealing costumes do not appeal to me, let alone trying to string two dance steps together.

That's what I thought awaited me after I agreed to try out sequence dancing, the next blue-rinse trend to hit the youngsters since bingo.

But modern sequence dancing, which is based on standard ballroom, is nothing like that.

I decided to give it my best shot being a dedicated follower of fashion. And if it's good enough for pop star Sophie Ellis-Bexter it's good enough for me.

After swiftly being told where I could stick my dancing shoes by my potential dance partner and boyfriend John, my colleague David Langton stepped in. And we were ready to put our four left feet into action with the help of Sue and Peter Jackson.

Sue is the founder of Simply Sequence which held its second ever class yesterday.

The dancer, with 30-years experience of fox trot and shuffles, started the group because she was disappointed that people were hanging up their dancing shoes due to age and health, and there were no younger dancers to take up the places.

"My aim is to provide a light-hearted introduction to dancing, particularly sequence dancing," explains Sue, an International Dance Teachers Association graduate. "It will act as a source of dancers for the other clubs in the area.

"I don't expect to make any profit from this, just the satisfaction of introducing others to a recreational activity that has given me so much pleasure over the years."

David and I inflicted our dancing skills on the first session of Simply Sequence along with five other dancing couples.

The advertisement had stated: 'Sequence, ballroom and fun dances for the absolute beginner, no experience necessary'.

Fantastic I thought as I walked into the Polish Club hall, in Micklefield, High Wycombe.

But what is modern sequence?

It is dancing based on the standard ballroom and Latin dances, including waltz, quickstep, foxtrot and rumba.

Everyone dances the same 16 bar routine together. The dance steps are all standardised and often at quite high standards, but because the same routine is being done by everyone the steps come with practice.

"This form of dancing is difficult to learn and cannot really be picked up as you go along," says Sue, 48.

"The idea is to attract younger people because in other clubs most of the members are over 70. I think youngsters are put off because a lot of the people at these clubs have been dancing for 30 years and that can be very intimidating. Plus when each new dance comes in, it is harder than the last."

Sue had to go back to basics, and bring in the simple dances for the first class all done at eight bar.

The challenge for David and me was to try to perfect a Barn Dance and Gay Gordons, a Scottish country dance.

After a few tries we had memorised the steps but there was a particular step that neither of us was comfortable with. We affectionately referred to it as the 'twisty turny thing'.

This involved David shwooshing me round ready for the start of the next sequence. Thankfully a lot of other couples were having the same problem, so we didn't feel so clumsy.

By the end of the evening we were confidently gliding our way round the dance floor, apart from the 'twisty turny thing' - but we just blagged that bit.

With a few more lessons I'm sure we would have given Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire a run for their money.

"You can have 42-50 new dances to learn a year, that's one a week," explains Sue. "It's a memory function, it's making your brain work. It's something that's fun and you meet lots of different people.

"Anybody, any age can come to Simply Sequence. Ideally I want to introduce the under 30s to dancing."

Both David and I are in our 20s and we had a really good laugh trying to do the moves. The classes are held every Thursday evening and I couldn't think of a better way to have a laugh and exercise at the same time.

For information on the classes contact Sue on 01494 521727 or email suejackson@themutual.net. Or just drop in on Thursdays at The Polish Club, in Forest Way, Micklefield, High Wycombe.

'Paul Mercurio I wasn't'

by David Langton

WHEN my colleague asked me to go to ballroom dancing I had visions of the hot-stepping Paul Mercurio in 90s feel-good flick Strictly Ballroom.

But in the 'oh so unglamorous surroundings' of the Polish Club in Micklefield I could not have felt further away from the glittering costumes I had envisaged.

But everyone has to learn their first steps somewhere.

It all started off quite simple with some back and forth steps without music.

Then we had to execute this Angela Rippon style twirl which might as well have been Michael Jackson's moonwalk for all I could make of it.

And then they start the music and off we trot around the hall side-stepping, twisting and twirling. And believe it or not I was building up a bit of sweat.

With a fast-footed pensioner couple to the rear carving us up and two ladies who were as incompetent as us to the front, I had trouble steering my sweetheart safely round the hall.

But I think we managed, and where we couldn't we just held each other close and jiggled about.

The whole affair felt very innocent and 1940s which was rather nice. I half expected to see masking tape crosses on the windows and a gramophone sitting in the corner.

But having watched the film Strictly Ballroom since my lesson, I have seen the dizzy heights of top notch ballroom dancing, and I want to be Mr Mercurio sooo much. But you have to walk before you can run and the Polish Club is as good and friendly a place as any to begin.