Family Almanac: 'Put on your dancing shoes': Line dancing is a big hit at Encinal Family Almanac: 'Put on your dancing shoes': Line dancing is a big hit at Encinal (March 16, 2005)

By Marjorie Mader

Almanac Staff Writer

Kids hurry to Encinal School's multi-use room as soon as the final bell rings, and start moving their feet and swinging to the beat.

It's time for line dancing with Kathy Smithlin, Encinal's bouncy and dedicated physical education specialist.

She loves line dancing and volunteers to share her hobby with Encinal's third-graders on Tuesdays and with fourth- and fifth-graders on Wednesdays from 2:40 to 3:30 p.m.

Line dancing, for the uninitiated, is simply dancing without a partner, says Ms. Smithlin, as she begins playing "Tropicana" on a CD.

The kids quickly spread out in lines across the room. Ms. Smithlin leads the group, reviewing and calling some of the steps -- "toes and heels, heels and toes, kick ball chain, cross and cross, stop pivot walk, knees, knees, round and round."

Ms. Smithlin introduced line dancing to Encinal, the Menlo Park City School District's grade 3-5 school in Atherton, about eight years ago. A colleague asked, "Why don't you try it in your PE classes?"

"I thought the kids might not like it, but they loved it," says Ms. Smithlin.

Their enjoyment and fun prompted her to start an after-school club with about 10 kids that grew each year, and now there's about 100 members in the Encinal Line Dancers.

It's the only line-dancing group in area elementary schools.
Favorites

Students have their favorites songs: "Ooh, Aah," "Watermelon Crawl -- cha, cha, cha," and "Crazy Legs," to name a few.

Shahar Matman, a fourth-grader, confides she likes "Ophelia" the best, next to "Tropicana." Everyone gets into "Lost in Texas," calling out "Woo! Woo!" at appropriate times.

Ms. Smithlin's sessions move at such a fast pace that the hour breezes by.

But the boys and girls keep dancing. They circle up for a Romanian or Hungarian folk dance, and master some fancy footwork. It's an active workout disguised as fun.

Sometimes, Ms. Smithlin's husband John, an engineer, drops by, pulls on his Western boots and joins the group. Another afternoon, a mom slipped into the room and began dancing along with her daughter.

The Encinal Line Dancers show their stuff at the school's annual spring picnic. At the end of the year, Ms. Smithlin throws an ice cream party and hands out certificates for participation. Those who've danced three straight years get a pin in the shape of a boot.

"I have watched the children be utterly focused and intent on mastering the usually complicated steps, and seen them improve their coordination and concentration in the process," said Jacob Asher, parent of a fourth-grader.

He felt so strongly about the unusual program that he urged the Almanac to "show how dedicated and creative teachers can make a huge difference in children's lives."
E-mail Marjorie Mader at mmader@AlmanacNews.com

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