Dancing's part of the fun

Joanne Himes, of Ava, has been attending the Scott Joplin Festival for 10 years. Thursday afternoon she danced circles around people at the Veterans of Foreign Wars building — or as it is known this weekend, “Cakewalk Hall.”

“I come down mostly for the dancing,” Himes said.

Himes can do the cakewalk, waltz and two-step dances with ease.

“I never knew how to dance those until I came here,” Himes said.

Rod and Tricia Biensen, of Nevada, Iowa, showed a small group of couples how to dance as people did during the ragtime era.
“It’s pretty easy, for the most part,” Rod Biensen said.

He began taking an interest in dance in sixth grade. His parents danced when he was a child and for about 25 years he has been teaching others how to do the fox trot, waltz and other ballroom dances.

“He’s a great teacher,” Tricia Biensen said.

The couple met in 2005 and Tricia had to quickly learn steps to keep up with her husband. She took a ballroom dancing class in college, but her degree in music has helped her learn how to dance. She said knowing how to play the flute and piano helps her hear the beat of the music while dancing.

Rod Biensen started off the group with a one-step dance. He said it is just like fast walking.

“Touch, step. Touch, step,” he repeated to remind dancers what to do next. “Toe, heel. Toe, heel.”

Dancers learned short combinations and practiced while ragtime music played before combining moves.

Tom and Judy Warner, of Kansas City, danced together before the lessons began.

“The music is so danceable,” Judy Warner said.

She has always liked to dance and said ragtime music has influenced much of the music people enjoy today.

“We love it,” she said.

Rod Biensen said that during the ragtime era, dances were simple but fun.

“The beauty of dance is that it’s for everyone,” he said.

The Beinsens will be teaching dance lessons for free at Cakewalk Hall from 11 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m. today and Saturday.