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By Mary Shackelton
"Don't be afraid to move your right foot."
"1,2,3. Don't look down."
And "wunnerful, wunnerful," Lawrence We!k
style).
To social dance instructor Ellen Havlovic and her
twinkle toed students, these utterances mean a
return, and to some, a continuance of social dancing:
the foxtrot, the rumba, the swing, the polka and the
cha cha.
The Tuesday night social dancing courses,
sponsored by the UNL Recreation Dept., has drawn
both professionals who've said they've been dancing
almost 40 years, and college students, whose feet
have never moved to anything but Grand Funk and
Froggy Beaver.
Louise Simmons, a 53-year-old secretary who
takes lessons from another dance instructor, says she
likes the class because "people can enjoy themselves
and mix with different age groups."
John Muehlbeier, an agricultural economics
professor who contends he's still 39 and' has been
"interested in dancing and going to dances for a long
time," said he has picked up a lot of new steps from
the course,
"I couldn't have more fun anywhere for a quarter
a night than I could here," he said. The cost for the
8-week course is $2 a person.
Adeline Muehlbeier said she was impressed by the
enthusiasm shown by both the instructor and the
students. She also said she learned some steps that she
didn't know before. The steps taught in this course
are not the intricate ones dance instructors usually
teach, she said, but rather the kinds a person can use
on a crowded dance floor.
"The course if practical as well as delightful," she
added.
Other students came to class with little or no
experience in cheek to cheek dancing.
Jolene Armbrust, a UNL junior majoring in
elementary and special education, said she took the
course "because I wanted to learn close dances. I've
learned a lot, and it's really been fun."
Debbie Spicka, a secondary education major,
agreed. ,
"I like to dance and took this class to improve my
dancing . . : It's easier to come in couples, though."
Terry Princ, a sophomore majoring in music, said
he thinks "guys are afraid to dance with girls."
"I'm the kind of person who I ike3 to try different
things," said Princ, who's taking a square dancing and
social dancing class for a physical education
requirement.
Asked if he thought social dancing was on its way
back, he responded :
"I hope so. I really hope so. Dancing to rock just
doesn't have it. I really get Into square dancing and
the 2-step ... people thai don't try these dances
don't know what they're missing." .
A contrasting view came from Willard Hartz, 43.
"The modern dances are more fun," he said. v
Others took the dancing course for mora practical
reasons. ,
"We're getting married and decided to take this
class so we could dance at our wedding," said Kathy
Oak, a dental hygienist. Her fiancee is Dwayne
Odvody, assistant manager in the UNL Food
Purchasing Dept.
Dorothy Jorgensen said she and her husband,
Physics Prof. Theodore Jorgensen, took the course so
they "could dance at the faculty dance parties." -
Richard Reinke, who described himself as a "tired
custodian," had his health in mind when he decided
to take the course.
"Dancing is a way to catch up on jogging without
running," he said.
Watching the whirling from the sidelines were
Barbara Patronsky and Mr. and Mrs. Edward
Havlovic, the instructor's parents.
Her arm in a sling prevented Patronsky, an
elementary school teacher, from dancing. However,
she was busy taking notes on new steps, and said
she'd be back on the floor next week.
Ms. Havlovic explained that Ellen had been
exposed to dancing since childhood.
"We're from Brainard, a Czech community, and
we all like to dance," she said. Polkas and waltzes are
popular there, she said.
Ellen first became interested in teaching dancing
while attending Patricia Stevens College In Omaha,
Ms Havlovic said. She was studying fashiof?
merchandising and was required to take a poise class.
Ths instructor noticed she had a flair for dancing and
suggested she consider teaching dance.
Ellen is now an Arthur Murry dance Instructor and
a UNL senior majoring in physical education, besides
being a Recreation Dept. dance instructor.
"There were 68 people in this class the first
week," she said. ,
Attendance leveled off to between 30 and 40
people by the fourth week.
Asked if she thinks social dancing is making a
comeback, she said:
"Definitely. Social dancing goes right along with
the whole nostalgia thing-honky-tonk, the '40s
clothes."
Dance instructors are younger now than they were
In past years, and more high school students and
couples under 30 are taking dancing lessons, she said.
bourse for SUN
gets regents' ok
The SUN's rising in Nebraska, and the Board of
Regents gave it a boost Saturday.
The SUN is the State University of
Nebraska project, a multimedia educational project
that will allow persons to earn college credit at home.
Ths "boost" was the approval of the project's first
course, an introduction to accounting. Lessons for
the course will be carried by newspapers and the
Nebraska Educational Television Network. They will
be supplemented by textbooks and tape recordings.
The regents appointed Prof. Melvin George, dean
of the College of Arts and Sciences, as chief academic
officer of the project. George will be on leave from
the college until he takes the position Dec. 31.
Max Larsen, associate dean of the College of Arts
and Sciences, will become interim dean until a
permanent appointment is made.
In other personnel matters, the regents appointed
T.E. Hartung as dean of the college of agriculture. He
is now director of resident instruction at the college.
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The Recreation Dept.'s modern dance class has
attracted students of all ages.
IN "1
(II
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I
Pre-Summer Special
on Name Brand Swimsuits
70-80 off
and
Denim Jackets, Pants and Skirts
12 Off
monday, march 18, 1974
daily ncbrsskan
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