Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, for the White River Valley Herald
RANDOLPH — Sid McLam stopped the music and walked the dancers through the next set of steps.
On a late September evening, the group stood in rows inside Chandler Music Hall, watching McLam demonstrate the routine. They tried it without music first, then started again with the song playing.
Some dancers moved easily through the steps. Others lost their place, chuckled and tried again.
McLam stopped between rehearsals to go over the steps again, while dancers encouraged each other after the routines. Some wore boots and jeans, while others looked like they had come from work.
The different skill levels are part of what makes Step ’N’ Time fun. Some dancers have been coming to the weekly line dancing lesson for nearly 20 years, while others are still learning how to put the steps together.
For some of the dancers, the class is a way to stay active and challenge themselves. For others, it has become a place to make friends and, in one case, part of recovering from a stroke.
McLam, 71, has been line dancing since 1992, when he took an adult education class in Randolph. He eventually began teaching and started the Randolph group around 2001.
The group has continued to attract new dancers. McLam said the Randolph class normally has about 10 to 12 regular dancers, but 19 people attended the previous class, including about 10 newcomers.
Teaching people at different levels can be difficult, McLam said. Each dance requires the memorization of intricate sequences of steps, often broken into groups of eight counts. Some routines have 16 steps, while most have around 32.
Marcia Dustin, 62, has been attending for about three years.
“The first year maybe catching on to the steps was more difficult, then after about a year it just started to click better,” Dustin said.
Dustin said the class is welcoming while still giving dancers something to work on.
“It’s challenging for our brains, but it’s good for them,” she said.
For Marla Tillberg of Randolph, line dancing has helped her recover after having a stroke.
“I had a hard time with left and right and following steps and stuff,” said Tillberg, who has now been line dancing for three years. “I kept coming back, kept coming back. So it’s been really good for that whole recovery.”
Tillberg said she was one of the weaker dancers when she started, but she kept coming back, saying that the class has given her a reason to get out of the house. She said many of the dancers were strangers when she started, but she now considers them a new group of friends.
Terri Parezo, 70, of Braintree, has been coming to the class for 20 years. She remembers attending when McLam held classes at the former Tony’s Gym on Pleasant Street.
Parezo said health is one of the reasons she has continued dancing.
“It’s excellent for physical health, mental health, and for me, dancing to music is good for my emotional health,” Parezo said.
But the dancing does not always stay inside Chandler Music Hall.
Parezo said a group of dancers sometimes meets at concerts when they know a band will be good. They try to find dances that fit whatever music the band is playing, figuring it out as they go.
“Just try your best,” Parezo said.