Arthur Murray Dance Studio

When I was in third grade around our house I began to hear a lot about someone named Arthur Murray and his dance studio. I really didn’t know what it was all about and I certainly wasn’t interested in dancing.

My mother decided that my sister Loretta would benefit from some dance lessons since she would soon be going into junior high. My mother arranged 6 weeks of lessons that winter at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Burlington. Kind of as an after thought Mother decided I might was well take them, too, as I would be going along anyway.

On the trips I remember being relegated to the back seat. I had to wear my best church outfit. It was a jacket, shirt, tie, dress pants and some very uncomfortable shoes. I would ride along and listen to my Mother and sister chatter. By then they were talking about things older people talked about and I wondered if that would ever happen to me. Sometimes my mother stayed and watched and sometimes she went and visited my Aunt Lucille who lived in Burlington.

In was on the third trip I finally asked when Arthur Murray would be there? Our teacher was a rather unfriendly woman and I was looking forward to a change. Mother and Loretta just laughed. I didn’t realize there were Arthur Murray studios all over the country.

The studio was on the 3rd floor of a building in downtown Burlington. It was a very large room with a wooden floor. All around the outside of the room was a bench that was fastened to the wall. There were no other chairs in the room. A row of support posts was evenly spaced down the center of the room. Next to one of the posts was a small table with a record player on top.

So, we would all gather on the bench along the wall and the instructor would start talking. She was strictly business and wasted no time. I couldn’t imagine why anyone would want to do this if it was so serious. She didn’t seem like someone who could ever have fun. She was a tall, thin woman who scowled every time she looked at me. She would tell about some dance step, then cue a record and grab someone to demonstrate it with her. I dreaded the day that she would pick me. It didn’t come until near the end and all she could say as she jerked me around on the floor was ‘loosen up!” I figured if I did I would break my neck!

Once she had demonstrated the step she expected us to pair up and dance all over the floor. Loretta, of course, was mortified at the suggestion of dancing with her little brother and so she always paired up with someone else and left me orphaned in the middle of the floor. My choices were limited!

I usually ended up dancing with a very unattractive girl. She was at least a foot taller than me and had big feet. She was kind of cubby and wore thick glasses. I really hated putting my hand on her waste. She had very bad teeth and breath to go along with it. I must have danced with her twenty times and she never once looked at or spoke to me. I don’t think I ever knew her name or her mine. I imagine her out there today dancing in that stiff legged way and never looking anyone in the eye.

I actually did learn a few steps but with no place to practice them for years after that I soon forgot everything. There are still Arthur Murray Dance Studios out there. Just thinking about it makes me nervous!