Gotta dance? There’s hope for every boomer who remembers awkwardly stepping on toes at the high school dance.
Wendy Taylor is one of a number of inspiring dance teachers in the city who offer classes for people like us who have two left feet but want a fun and painless way to exercise.
The youthful 68-year-old retired university professor is the perfect advertisement for her classes.
She is currently teaching dance at several locations, including the Parkside Centre and the Connected Living Yoga and Wellness Centre.
No partner is needed. Her classes are designed for singles to increase their energy levels, improve cognitive skills and socialize.
Students learn the basic steps of the waltz, fox trot, tango and cha cha. A class favourite is the John Travolta “Night Fever” hustle.
“I like dance because it combines physical and mental exercise,” Taylor said. “Ballroom dance also improves your relationship with her partner. It is something you can do together for a lifetime.”
Taylor met her husband, James, at ballroom dance classes when she was living in Thunder Bay and teaching mathematics at Lakehead University.
The Taylors taught ballroom dancing for 20 years, but since moving to Sudbury, they prefer to dance just for fun two or three times a week.
The couple are often seen on the dance floor at the dinner dance hosted by the Caruso Club 55+ Social Club on the third Wednesday of the month and the weekly dances at the Minnow Lake Legion every Thursday afternoon.
For more information about other dances in Sudbury, read Dieter Buse’s informative Sudbury.com article, “Nickel city’s love affair with dancing.”
Taylor was born in Shanghai, China, and moved to Canada in 1989 at the age of 32 to study for her PhD in mathematics at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
“Halifax winter is very icy. I fell three times at least,” she remembered.
After retiring from Lakehead in 2022, she moved to Sudbury with her husband, who grew up here and has family in the city.
Taylor didn’t start studying ballroom dancing until the late 1990s and is still taking classes. She also attends special camps and workshops in places such as Las Vegas, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
“I studied Chinese dance during the COVID pandemic, online, when there was nothing else to do. That was the best time because I studied with the best teachers from around the world,” she said. “I was busy during that COVID time.”
This talented lady plays several Chinese instruments, speaks fluent English and has studied Russian, Japanese and French.
She also teaches tai chi, a martial art that focuses on health with gentle, low-impact movements.
Taylor has visited China — a country that has changed dramatically since she left — numerous times and is involved with the Chinese Association of Sudbury.
In addition to Taylor’s dance fit fusion class, the Parkside Centre offers numerous dancing classes for beginner, intermediate and advanced dancers, including line-dancing with Carol Larocque and ballroom dancing with Jan Fregonese. For more information, visit the Parkside website.
The Parkside Centre is located at 140 Durham Street in the Centre for Life building.
Vicki Gilhula is a freelance writer and dance student. Prime is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
