Learn to cha-cha like the stars with dance club

Ted Suszek scratches his head while looking down at his feet, wondering why they are not taking the steps he wants them to take.

Lurlie Burdick has a different problem she's trying to fix. Her feet are taking the proper steps; they just stay in one place too long.

It's all in an attempt to master cha-cha-cha steps known as the New Yorker, sliding door and shoulder-to-shoulder.

All the while, Chris Burdick of Glendale Heights, ballroom and round dance instructor for the Dance Connection dancing club, tries to coax her students' minds and feet to work as one for the cha-cha-cha and other sequences.

The Dance Connection club meets from 2 to 3:30 p.m. most Sundays at the St. Charles School of Dance, 1429 W. Main St., where Burdick rents space for the opportunity to expose more people to ballroom dancing and synchronized ballroom, or "round" dancing.

The 31-year-old Burdick has been dancing since she was 5 years old, starting with ballet and tap. She got more interested in ballroom in the past few years and has participated in dance programs at park districts, College of DuPage and Northern Illinois University.

"I was looking on the Web for a dance studio that was not yet offering ballroom, and I contacted St. Charles School of Dance and we talked about trying to get this dancing club going," said Burdick, who will also be teaching ballroom to youth ages 7 to 15 at the studio in another month or two.

Burdick said her teaching experiences have led her to believe that it is beneficial to accept -- and even encourage -- singles to get involved in dancing and taking lessons.

"So many studios prefer just couples," Burdick said. "But so many more women than men tend to want to learn, so I will teach singles."

Burdick said the trick in teaching singles, especially the women, is to explain how they must adapt to changing dance partners frequently.

"I tell them that they'll be changing dance partners all of the time, so they need to know the steps even better and understand how a good lead feels compared to a weaker lead," Burdick said.

"You don't want the woman leading at all, but in some cases, if the man is not a good lead, then it is helpful for the woman to know the steps and be able to guide them through it."

Burdick's Dance Connection club also preps dancers for "round dances," which are often paired with square dancing events. As a member of Roundalab and the Wisconsin round dance leader's association, Burdick cues, or calls, "rounds" at events she calls "synchronized ballroom" throughout the suburbs.

During these "round" dances, a caller gives instructions on the steps, guiding participants through the changes, much like a traditional square dance.

"But they will do any number of step sequences from all of the ballroom dances," she added.

Suszek, a 72-year-old Chicago resident, drives for one hour and 15 minutes to get to his Sunday session with Burdick, saying it is important for him to do so to keep his mind sharp.

"They say that dancing helps keep your mind active and fights off Alzheimer's, and I believe it," said Suszek, who dances at the sessions with Lurlie Burdick, Chris' mother.

"At these round dances, it really keeps you alert because you have to listen for the cue and then do the steps."

Burdick said that International ballroom, as opposed to American, is the style most commonly used in the round dances.

"Everything I teach can be used in regular ballroom dancing settings or in the round dances," said Burdick, who has shown her dedication to dancing in the past two years by bouncing back quickly from a broken ankle (from slipping when walking her dog) and a broken wrist (from a fall she actually took on a dance floor).

"The club just started a few months ago and it is small now, but we want it to grow," she said.

More men are becoming interested in ballroom dancing, Burdick said, because it is going to be recognized on a bigger international stage soon.

"This really is a sport, and it will be a competition in the Olympics in 2016," she said. "I am convinced that anyone can learn how to dance."

Information about Dance Connection or area round dances is available by calling Burdick at (630) 202-3222 or e-mailing dupageflute@aol.com.