"I am not dancing if you don't organize a refresher course," was my husband Olaf's last attempt to make me finally look for a dance class. I knew the reason behind his pushiness. He wanted us, the parents of the groom, to look at least somewhat decent on the dance floor. The bride's parents were ardent dancers and attended dance classes regularly. For them it was easy: they practically had an in-house dance teacher in Davey's sister-in-law, Anna Inez, who owns a dance studio. (Wedding weekend in Virginia)

A couple of months earlier, we had found a dance studio on the Internet. It was close by, and I promised to scout it out. Easier said than done. During that time Olaf was on so many business trips that it was unlikely that we would find a date or a class that would work for both of us.

Then I remembered Cynthia Glinka, a dance teacher, whom I met at a wedding fair some time ago. "She is fabulous," my friend told me. "I don't know how she does it, but she really gets people to dance in no time." To make it more fun, I invited my son, Nik, his wife, Kristy, and her parents, Amy and Ming. A few weeks later on a beautiful spring morning, we all met at Cynthia's studio in Marin, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Cynthia, a former competitive dancer, and now choreographer, dance instructor, and hostess, knows exactly what is needed to make a good impression on the dance floor. She is available for extended classes or a one time brush-up. The latter begins with the couple's entrance onto the dance floor and the elegant turn of the woman into the starting position. To make it easy for the couple the steps are always "right, left, right, left." "It is the rhythm and the beat of each individual song that makes it look different. She taught us couple's turns, switch turns, cuddle-in-and-out, pirouettes, and twist dips. As a follow-up her students will be e-mailed an easy-to-use manual so they can practice the new steps at home.

We were glad we brushed up on our dancing. The bridal couple danced a beautiful Triple Swing, followed by the father-daughter dance featuring a Fox Trot and a Double Swing mix. As we found out later, the bride and groom, Jenn and Cornelius, had signed up for several dance glasses at the country club where the wedding took place.
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