Karen Papazian and Jordan Schnipke at the Friday night dance class. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Intrigued with the idea of learning swing dance, Bromfield junior Garrett Cosgrave rounded up a group of high school students and persuaded them to sign up for Phyllis Norton’s Friday night dance class through Harvard community education. The group of 30 paired off neatly into 15 couples to learn swing, tango, salsa, and a line dance in the elementary school cafeteria four Friday evenings in a row. At the conclusion of every class, students lined up to follow Norton’s moves to the disco classic “Stayin’ Alive.”

“It was just great fun,” said junior Jordan Schnipke.

Youthful in appearance and spirit, Norton has been a dance teacher for more than 50 years, she said in an interview Thursday, March 29. While she and her husband, Dick, have now settled in Kennebunk, Maine, they continue to teach in Acton, Wellesley, Weston—and now Harvard. She is pleased to see the resurgence of interest in dancing brought about by programs like Dancing with the Stars, she said, and believes that it’s important to teach dance to as many young people as possible while interest is on the upswing. “Teaching young people is exciting,” she said. “If you can get some people to enjoy it, you know it will continue on.” Norton is also a strong believer in the other benefits of knowing how to dance well, including social grace and the confidence to meet and mingle. “Dancing is a wonderful social attribute to have in college and business,” she said.

Taylor Cardosi and Danny Child. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)

Watching the class in action on a recent Friday night, those social graces were on full display. Young men in dress shirts and slacks partnered with young women dressed to the nines in skirts and heels. All of them listened carefully to Norton as she led the class through the first steps of the tango, then turned on the music for them to practice with. Dick Norton, who assists his wife in all her classes, also took a turn on the dance floor to fill in for a missing partner.

Taylor Cardosi, who joined Chris Martin for the tango, said the best part about the class was getting together for a fun evening with a mixed group of friends. “It’s innocent fun for teenagers,” she said in an impromptu interview at Town Meeting. “We’re all friends and this was something guys and girls could do together.” Ally Cohen agreed: “It’s fun—kind of a different social thing to do.”

Cosgrave said he would sign up for another class in a heartbeat, and was pleased with how well the group came together. “It was a lot of fun, and I’m glad that all my friends humored me and signed up for the class, because they had a lot of fun, too,” he said. “I hope it’s encouraged more people than just me to learn and use the new kinds of dances.” Cosgrave doesn’t really like the dancing that’s common at parties today, and he is looking forward to showing off more classic moves at the prom. “It will be fun,” he said. “It kind of impresses people.”

Schnipke had a great time in the class too, he said, although it was the first time he had done anything like it. Any apprehension he might have had vanished quickly, though. “I always thought dancing was going to be some huge intimidating thing, but it wasn’t that difficult,” he said. “It felt natural once you got into it.” Schnipke hopes the DJ at prom will have some Sinatra on hand, and promised that if he does, he will get a group together for a swing dance. “I’m excited to show off, and I hope other people are, too,” he said.