Saturday, July 17, 2010
Dance Spirit: an old school dance revoulution
Dave Urquidez is a big guy by any means, but that’s not to say he small either. He is slender and lengthy. His movements are elegant and poised. As a former professional dancer and champion many times over, Urquidez certainly knows how to move.
So well, in fact, he was once worked for the NFL teaching players how to dance in order to help their movement. One notable pupil: bad boy Lyle Alzado. Imagine elegantly-moving and sharply-dressed Urquidez teaching a group of tough guys ballroom steps.
With his professional days of competition done and his life in the NFL long since passed, Urquidez is spending time teaching his passion for dance at his small studio hidden between various blue- collar-type shops. It’s as if Urquidez’s love of dance is always in contrast with the world around him, but seemingly, it is always an absolute fit.
With no real ballroom scene in Cheyenne since the 1940s, Urquidez is finding that some 60 years later people are still drawn to the floor. He partially credits TV dance shows such as “Dancing with the stars” for the resurgence of interest. Whatever the reason for getting people into the studio is secondary to what keeps them coming back.
John and Kathy Keck, who began dancing under the tutelage of Urquidez one year ago, said they wanted to learn to dance and not just move about at weddings. Both admitted after a recent lesson that learning to dance is much harder than it looks. Mr. Keck said, “I’m not a math genius, so it’s difficult to remember all the steps.”
Despite the steep learning curve, Urquidez says the confidence and self discovery of dance keep people coming back.
And it certainly doesn’t hurt to have an instructor who knows how to move… and teach.
-AAron
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