Dance is both a fun and creative way to exercise and socialize, and Fairfax County has some great dance locations, if you know where to look.
Gail Crum didn’t like dancing when she was younger. In high school, she felt like she couldn’t dance and that kids made fun of her. In 1998, she decided to overcome her fears and signed up for a dance class. One night at an event, she met Ed Cottrell.
“He was doing this thing that I thought was stupid called West Coast Swing,” said Crum. “He tried to get me to do it. And I thought, ‘This is dumb. I’m never going to get this. No, I have no interest.’ And then he cajoled me into going to a lesson with him.”
Today, the two run several dance evenings a month at Colvin Run Dance Hall in Great Falls. They both very much enjoy West Coast Swing, though they teach a wide variety of dance lessons every Tuesday at 7 p.m. After the lesson, the dance floor is open for dancers to enjoy themselves from 8 to 10 p.m.
Crum and Cottrell often bring in additional teachers so that dancers can learn from a range of instructors. Events take place on the first and third Sundays of the month from 4 to 7 p.m., and the second and fourth Saturdays of the month from 7 to 11 p.m. This Saturday, guest instructor Joyce Szili will start the evening with an easy Hustle lesson, followed by an intermediate-level one. From 8:30 to 11 p.m., the dance floor will be open for a mix of Hustle and West Coast music…