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Palo Alto Online

Old ways

by Rachel Metz

Under the spell of Old Blue Eye's tunes, boys in dress shirts and girls in pink and lace dance the fox trot and waltz. On a Tuesday night, these students in Jordan Middle School's cafeteria aren't studying math or science, but perhaps a more complicated subject matter for their pubescent minds -- the art of chivalry and etiquette.

For seven years, Palo Alto middle school students have been learning how to ballroom dance and socialize through cotillion classes at Jordan Middle School. About 80 students are signed up for the fall classes, taught by dance instructor and high school teacher Barry Woodruff, who holds fall classes at Jordan and at St. Simon Catholic School in Los Altos.

In the spring, the classes will be held at two other Bay Area schools. Woodruff, who has been dancing for more than 40 years, also teaches drama at Woodside High School.

Speaking via a wireless headset to the roomful of chattering middle school students Tuesday night, Woodruff helped students acquaint themselves with dancing abd common courtesy.

Most boys arrived smartly dressed in suits or slacks and sports coats, though there were a few in T-shirts and sneakers. For the girls, style was a little more scattered -- some came in dresses and heels, others in skirts and shirts. One girl wore a slinky miniskirt and tight tank-top while another sported a pink dress and hot-pink Converse high-tops.

Dance partners were paired up randomly and, at first, moved awkwardly to Frank Sinatra tunes.

"This may be a little culture shock for some of you," Woodruff said.

Kids took their cues from Woodruff. Soon after examining and testing basic steps, students began dancing. Every few minutes, Woodruff instructed them to switch partners. At the Jordan cotillion, you can't say "no" to a potential dance partner.

"Isn't it amazing? It's just amazing how they just start dancing," Woodruff's assistant, Stephanie Hill, said as students began exploring the steps.

After some dancing and instruction, it was time for a break. Boys led their partners to chairs lining the room and then served them juice and cookies.

Nina Berman, a Jordan seventh-grader, liked being served refreshments.

"That's cool. It's very proper," she said.

She was also pleased with her new moves.

"I've never heard of a school that has cotillion and I've always wanted to learn to ballroom dance," she said.

Lucas Matze, a seventh-grader who participated last year, is back for a second go-round. He said he likes the classes because they're fun and he likes to dance. However, Matze conceded it can be hard to keep up with some of the fancier moves.

Matze said he thinks some students' parents probably force them to attend the cotillion classes, but "I think they eventually have a little bit of fun," he said.

For Woodruff, the best thing about working with middle schoolers is seeing how they grow through the eight weeks of class.

"It just gives them confidence," he said.

Rachel Metz can be e-mailed at rmetz@paweekly.com