Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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A CLASS OF country dancers the new steps they have been introduced to at the Ranch Saloon. Lessons were offered throughout the year, free of charge, at several bars in the Manhattan area and the Union Station. (Photo by J. Matthew Rhea) A COUPLE SHARES A moment while th ey on dancing at the Ranch Saloon. The various dances the lessons covered were the two-step, ten-step and the Cotton-Eyed Joe. (Photo by J. Matthew Rhea)

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STEP BY STEP Country dancing lessons lure students to learn BY RENEE MARTIN AS THE first strains of the country song began to play, the couple moved to the middle of the dance floor and began to wind around each other, twirling and spinning faster and faster. When the song fin ished, the man turned and addressed the group to learn country dances. What did you think about that? asked Jeff Link, senior in park resources management. I think I ' m going to leave, answered a bewildered man in the corner. Link simply laughed and began to demonstrate the moves with his Kim Schlaefli, junior in agricultural mechanization. Link and Schlaefli taught country dance together for two years. Lessons were offered through the Union Program Council and held in the Union Station three nights a week, with a total attendance of about 50 couples. But Link and Schlaefli also taught lessons at Blue River Pub, Charl Neighborhood Bar and various private functions. We ' ve probably taught over 200 students this year, Link said. We dance about 12 hours a week because of teaching. DANCE INSTRUCTORS DON DUNCAN AND MARY Howell demonstrate the finer points of the two-step during country swing dance lessons at the Ranch Saloon. (Photo by J. Matthew Rhea) Link and Schlaefli, who learned to dance from their parents, met at K-State and started dancing They began lessons at Union after the manager saw Schlaefli helping a good friend and asked her if she ' d give lessons to other students. Schlaefli, in turn, asked Link to teach with her. We start our lessons by teaching the basic step, Link said. We have to be able to work with all levels of dancers. We get some people who have never even listened to country music, and others who know the basic moves. The class taught the ten-step, waltz, Joe and the swing. Link and Schlaefli said anyone could learn to dance, but it did require practice. We can teach you the moves, Link said, but we can ' t teach you to dance. You have to practice. Tauni Wing, sophomore in human development and familystudies, and Bret Wilken, junior in engineering, decided to take the class after others dance. Every time we go to a dance they play country music, Wing said. There is always someone who knows how to do it. We wanted to learn so we could do it, too. Schlaefli said more people are becoming interested in dancing because of an increase in country music ' s popularity. I think a lot of people want to learn country dancing because of the new popularity of artists like Clint Black and Garth Brooks, Schlaefli said. I think people are tired of hard rock and want to dance to mellow music. You can swing to almost anything. And they did, as their teaching kept them around the floor. I have the greatest job in the world, Link said. I ' m getting paid to do what I want to do. is just fun.

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THE BEER DRINKERS ' Society was formed in 1989. The society had 50 members at K-State and another 50 members around the state. (Photo by J. Kyle Wyatt) MEMBERS OF THE Beer Drinkers ' Society, or Beta Delta Sigma, huddle around a fire barrel for warmth during a party. The BDS sponsored the party which featured four kegs and two bands. (Photo by J. Kyle Wyatt)