competition was a silver
medal for her jazz solo of
"Don't Rain on My Parade."
"I worked on that dance
since last September," she
said. "I had to do a lot of
pirouettes and attitude
turns. I really got into it."
Ten-year-old Jennifer
Silver was also a dancing
success at the competition.
For the second year in a row,
Silver won a dance scholar-
ship. According to several
dancin' kids, including
Bindes and Bleyer, Silver is
"one of the most incredible
young dancers."
In addition to taking jazz,
Silver has been studying
ballet at Miss Julie's in West
Bloomfield for the past six
years.
"My first love is ballet,"
said Silver, who manages
straight A's between her
busy dance schedule. "I love
to perform, and ballet really
builds self-confidence."
Andrew Short, 10, is an-
other ballet student at Miss
Julie's.
"Last year was my first
year dancing — not the first
year I attempted something
athletic though," Short said.
"Dancing really gets you co-
ordinated. My mom took
ballet when she was a kid.
She said it was interesting
and that I should try it, and I
said, 'Why not?' I've liked it
ever since."
Also a beginner is 4-year-
old Shayna Fink, who has
been taking ballet and tap
for the past year at Miss
Barbara's in Farmington
Hills.
"I want to one day dance
like Janet Jackson," Fink
said. But that doesn't mean
she wants to have a career as
a dancer and singer: "When
I grow up I want to be a
queen with a crown on my
head."
Eight-year-old Joanna
Miller also dances at Miss

Stefani Bindes prepares for next month's recital.

Dee-Lightful Dancer Aims For 100 Trophies

STEVE HARTZ

Staff Writer

I

n 1946, she made her
stage debut with Cab
Calloway at Toledo's
Paramount Theatre.
Although Calloway was the
featured performer, 3-year-
old Dee, who was in the au-
dience with her parents,
decided she wanted to dance
with him.
"I heard that music, and I
got so caught up that I ran
on stage," said Shapiro, a
resident of West Bloomfield.
"Before I knew it, my

mother grabbed me and
made me sit down. I realized
right then that I wanted to
be a professional dancer. But
my mother thought it was
not the right thing for a nice
Jewish girl to pursue."
For years, Shapiro would
sneak back stage at the
Cascade Gardens Dance
Hall, operated by her father,
in Devil's Lake, Mich., and
watch big band performers
like Skitch Henderson and
John Long entertain.
Fulfilling her mother's
wishes, Shapiro fox trotted
to college and tangoed the
world of academia, earning a

degree in physical therapy.
In 1983, Shapiro, who was
married and had a grown
family, decided to pursue her
dream — ballroom dancing.
In seven years she has col-
lected 57 trophies.
Shapiro and her dance
teacher and dance partner,
Corey Riojas, fox trot, waltz,
jitterbug, tango, cha cha,
rhumba, bolero, swing and
samba every year in the an-
nual Detroit International
Dance Ball and Dance
Championship held at
Detroit's Cobo Hall.
This year they added 15
trophies to their collection.

Dee Shapiro

"I'm not going to retire un-
til I win at least 100
trophies; that's my goal"
Shapiro said. ❑

Barbara's. She's been study-
ing tap since she was 3 and
jazz since she was 5.
"I like tap because it's sort
of a challenge learning the
steps, and jazz is fun because
it's a good work out," Miller
said.
Although she wants to be a
dancer when she grows up,
Miller also has other ambi-
tions. "I want to be a
teacher, lawyer, singer and
tennis player, too."
Shayna Loss, 11, has
narrowed down her future
career choice.
"I want to be a profes-
sional dancer when I grow
up," she said.
One of Loss' favorite
dancers is her friend, 11-
year-old Alana Miller,
formerly of Detroit, now
starring on Disney TV's
"Mickey Mouse Club,"
which is filmed in Florida.
Loss' other favorite dancer
was her assistant teacher at
Miss Barbara's, Elizabeth
Berkley, who stars on NBC
every Saturday morning in
"Saved by the Bell."
Drums — not bells — are
played every Tuesday morn-
ing as Miss Harriet (Berg)
leads her Tuesday Twinkle
Toes class at the Jewish
Community Center's Jimmy
Prentis Morris building.
To help them learn
rhythm, students receive a
little drum and play their
name when it is announced
during attendance.
Before they begin to dance,
the toddlers hop to the dance
bar to stretch their legs,
hang like monkeys and do
"the tushie jump."
After they are all warmed
up, they travel down the
yellow brick road ( go behind
a cardboard screen). But in-
stead of visiting Oz, the
youngsters fly to Israel
where they dance the horah.
Three-year-old Yael Ross,
wearing a multi-colored
tutu, said she wants to be a
fireman when she grows up.
What she really enjoys dur-
ing class is when she gets to
pretend to be a doll that
comes to life and dances dur-
ing the night.
"I have three dolls at
home, Skipper, Jazzy and
Barbie, and I love them,"
Ross said.
Although Peter Weltman
and David Miller don't own
Barbie dolls or wear tutus,
they also enjoy dancing at
Miss Harriet's.
Some day, the Tuesday
Twinkle Toes students will
prepare for their b'nai mitz-
vah. And for many Detroit
pre-teen-agers, that means
enrolling in a ballroom
dance class.
Continued on Page 71

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 69

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