Yuba City Senior Center’s beginner line dancing class offers ‘camaraderie’

The hubbub of weddings can spark change.

“My only grandson and a girl that was like a daughter to me were both being married,” Carol Nelson explained. “And they both were having western-themed weddings, and I swore I would dance at their weddings.”

There was, of course, some line dancing involved. So, in preparation for that, Nelson said that she took a line dancing class at the Yuba City Senior Center, ensuring that she would have some familiarity.

“Even if they don’t do the precise dances you do, you can do your own thing,” Nelson said. “I persuaded the groom to dance with me since he was my grandson.”

Taking that initial inspiration further down the line, Nelson is now one of the line dancing instructors who teaches at the senior center. This is quite a different kind of engagement with the world than she had with her career, as she retired as a civil engineer and worked for Caltrans.

“The previous teacher, whose first name was Dena, was so kind and so good to me that I wanted – when they didn’t have a teacher, and they needed one – I was going to try as a tribute to her. And how much she has been helping me,” Nelson said.

Reflecting on whether this line dancing interest has changed her character, Nelson doesn’t know.

“I’m pretty stuck in my ways,” Nelson laughed.

The one thing that did happen, though, was that her youngest brother, who was a college football player, shook his head at her.

“And said, ‘You know, it’s a shame Title IX didn’t exist when you were in college,’” Nelson said. “Because he could see through the line dancing that I had abilities that the women of my generation weren’t able to follow through on.”

When Title IX was signed into law in 1972, it stated that no person could be discriminated against based on sex in any educational program or activity that receives federal funding. According to a Women’s Sports Foundation study, female high school participation rose from 294,015 in the 1971 to 1972 school year to 3.4 million in 2018 to 2019 (participation by boys was 3.67 million from 1971 to 1972 and 4.53 million in 2018 to 2019).

The co-teacher of the Yuba City Senior Center’s beginner line dancing class, Marilyn Frerichs, also became an instructor after initially starting as a class member.

“It's fun,” Frerichs said. “There’s numerous basic steps involved choreographed to different music.”

Frerichs is no stranger to teaching as she said that she taught with Yuba City Unified School District.

Her favorite memory with line dancing features a time when Nelson spent an hour teaching her one line dance called the Last Cheater's Waltz.

When the pair were asked about if they have developed a friendship through co-teaching the beginner class, they laughed.

“We hate each other,” Nelson joked. “We just respect each other’s style and each other’s approach, and neither one of us think we’ve been given the gift of perfect understanding to be able to say, ‘My way in the right way.’”

Everybody has their own style, Frerichs said.

“We’re both struggling forward,” Nelson laughed.

Regardless of one’s skill, it is a friendly atmosphere.

“There is a camaraderie that comes with line dancing,” Frerichs said. “We all become friends.”

There are people that will bring a buddy, but pretty soon you are just a part of the community.

There are multiple class options at the Yuba City Senior Center. The line dance basics for absolute beginners class occurs on Thursdays from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m.; the beginner line dancing class occurs on Thursdays from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and the line dancing class, which is an intermediate class, occurs on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Line dancing classes, as well as many other types of classes, are included with a current activity card for the Yuba City Senior Center. Activity cards are available at the front desk from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. An activity card costs $9 per quarter for residents and $10 per quarter for non-residents. For more information, call the Yuba City Senior Center at 530-822-4608.