Finding dance floor‘magic’ since jr. high
- Sr Perspective
- Jun 6
- 6 min read
Couple has also taught dance lessons for 30+ yrs
BY FAITH ANDERSON
Sixty-eight years ago, Jewett and Barbara Benson of Alexandria spent their first date at a roller rink, and they’ve been dancing together ever since. The two of them grew up in Moorhead and met in junior high when Jewett invited Barbara to a roller-skating party organized by his church. The event was held in the basement of a building at Concordia College, just a few blocks from Barbara’s home. Even though she had never roller skated, she accepted the invitation. After Jewett helped strap on her skates, she stood up.
“I quickly sat down and had to tell him I didn’t know how to skate,” Barbara said, recalling the moment.
With Jewett’s kind encouragement, they shuffled to the floor, and as the music played, Jewett wrapped his arms around Barbara to keep her on her feet.
“By the end of the night,” said Barbara, “we actually could circle the rink with a primitive roller dance.”
That day, Jewett and Barbara formed a lasting friendship that would eventually lead to marriage, family and a lifetime of dancing.
During their high school days, Jewett and Barbara joined other Moorhead youth who were allowed to dance in the American Legion grand ballroom each Friday evening for 25 cents a person. A police officer welcomed everyone at the door and a classmate served as the DJ, spinning the 45 rpm vinyl records with the latest trend in music -- rock and roll.
After they married, the couple moved to Alexandria where Jewett worked as a high school art teacher for 35 years. Barbara was Manager of Recreation for the city of Alexandria, School District 206 and four townships. They enrolled in a community education class to learn swing dancing, and it wasn’t long before they were teaching classes.
In 2000, Jewett and Barbara joined the Lakeside Dance Club in Glenwood and were happy to find a place where they could practice their dance steps, meet others and just enjoy dancing on the old hardwood floors of the historic ballroom by Lake Minnewaska. The club had been founded in 1983 by two local couples, Rod and Joan Wolf and Erv and Betty Zuber. Events were held from June through October, drawing folks from as many as 50 different communities to the ballroom.
“We’ve kept returning to the Lakeside because, as well as the fun of dancing, it is truly an amazing opportunity to make friends from all over the state,” remarked Barbara.
“We met some wonderful people at those dances,” said Jewett. “And as we danced, I realized that we weren’t bankers, teachers or farmers --we were just people who loved to dance.”
“That old ballroom had great acoustics too,” said Jewett. He recalled how the sound seemed to be absorbed by the walls and deflected by all the metallic streamers that hung from the rafters. On summer days, they’d open the windows of the ballroom to bring in the breezes off the lake. On the hottest days, they’d turn on huge floor fans to keep the air flowing for the comfort of the dancers and others who were relaxing in the booths near the dance floor.
“We always felt welcome and comfortable there,” said Barbara. “And that made it so much easier and lots of fun.”
But in 2003, a tragic fire destroyed the 90-year-old ballroom. Club leaders, Earl and Judy Anderson of Alexandria, were forced to find other venues so that the organization could continue. Dances were held at the Lakeside Pavilion in Barrett, which is about 50 miles northwest of Glenwood. That facility was built in 1929 and is still in operation today.
Members of the dance club held fundraising events and many donated to the rebuilding of Glenwood’s ballroom.
“It took an extraordinary effort by the community to rebuild,” said Jewett.
The new ballroom opened in 2005 at a cost of $2.4 million. At the grand opening, Barbara remembers then Mayor John Stone saying that the new ballroom would build memories for a new generation.
After belonging to the dance club for six years, the Bensons collaborated with other members to form an offshoot that would plan events during the winter months.
“Not everyone goes south during the winter,” said Barbara.
So in 2006, they formed the Winter Lakeside Dance Club and the two of them served as chairpersons. That meant Jewett and Barbara needed to organize a schedule, book the bands, get the word out and coordinate everything with the ballroom manager. The club covers all the expenses for each event through annual or sustaining memberships.
Dance club events have always included live music performed by various bands from the region. One local band, The Velvet Brass, led by John ‘Duffy’ Morton, is a ballroom favorite and has been performing authentic big band music (and a bit of rock and roll) for years. One unique opportunity for members is that individuals or couples can take free lessons prior to the Sunday afternoon dances. Jewett and Barbara and other volunteers from the club have taught those lessons in the past.
The Bensons have taught lessons in many communities throughout Minnesota and especially in Alexandria for over 30 years. They estimate that they have taught 1,700 couples to swing dance, including many Alexandria High School students.
Jewett and Barbara have many stories about how people who take just a few lessons improve to the point that they feel comfortable dancing in public. Men seem to be a bit more resistant to learning dance moves, but Jewett says that they usually loosen up quickly. He recalls working with a young man who came to his first lesson in his camouflage shirt and pants and seemed to struggle to learn the patterns and steps.
“By the third lesson though, he was doing quite well,” said Jewett. “And he told me that it is the most fun a man and wife can have together that doesn’t involve killing small animals!”
Many engaged couples seek dance lessons to be able to feel confident at their own wedding dances.
“I always tell people to talk to their feet,” said Jewett. “They’ll listen…step, step, slide, step…repetition is the key. You have to do it thousands of times to create muscle memory,” he added.
Jewett and Barbara always encourage people to practice their skills at home.
“There’s nothing better than dancing in the kitchen,” Jewett said.
Barbara and Jewett both agree that another good way to improve skills is to just watch other people.
Jewett remembers some of the things he did when learning to dance. Once he drew a diagram of the steps for a particular dance and pinned the piece of paper to Barbara’s blouse so he could follow the pattern as they danced. Sometime later, members of the club had T-shirts made that mimicked Jewett’s unique idea.
When working with other couples, the Bensons use a lead/follow approach to closed position partner dancing.
“In our early days, Jewett moved to the music, and I moved with Jewett,” said Barbara. “I called that Jewett Jazz…and it worked for us for a long time.”
Now, after dancing for 68 years, Barbara and Jewett have learned the secret to what she calls the magic of dancing together.
“The magic involves letting go of what’s coming next,” said Barbara.
It’s more about relaxing instead of anticipating. When you see two people who glide flawlessly across the dance floor, moving to the rhythm of the music and chatting with each other, you know that they’ve found the magic.
Eric Randleman and Nikki Wait of Glenwood are a couple who have taken lessons from Jewett and Barbara and are finding the magic.
Nikki’s dance experience during college included participating in the dance ensemble program and as a choreographer/instructor with that program. Seven years ago, she began working with Just For Kix, a local dance program for children three years old and up and now serves as the local director.
Eric is relatively new to dancing.
“I had never danced before meeting Nikki two years ago,” said Eric. But he had some experience playing drums and understood rhythm and that was helpful.
Just six months into their relationship, Nikki asked him if he was willing to go to a dance with her.
“He immediately and enthusiastically agreed,” said Nikki, “and we’ve been making that a part of our lives ever since.”
“I just had to say yes to that first invitation,” Eric said with a smile. “Nikki’s 11 years younger than me and I just wanted to keep up!”
As the winter dance club reaches its 20th year, it will merge with the summer club and will be simply known as the Lakeside Dance Club, hosting 10 dances a year. Eric and Nikki have agreed to take over leadership of the club and are in the process of being mentored by Jewett and Barbara. Both couples are enthusiastic about dancing and plan to continue encouraging others to experience what they’ve found to be a fascinating art form that combines rhythm, exercise, and partnership…along with a little magic.
Eric’s advice for other guys who don’t dance is this: “Give it a try! It’s well worth it to see the light in her eyes when you say, ‘Let’s go dancing!’”
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