Everett, Wash.
Published: Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Community sports

Two tiny dancers plan to show off stuff at nationals

Rickie Taylor and Erik Linder, both 7, are headed to Baltimore in two weeks to compete in the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships

By Rich Myhre
Herald Writer

 EVERETT -- At an age when friends are kicking soccer balls and dribbling basketballs, Erik Linder of Lake Stevens and Everett's Rickie Taylor prefer to step, slide and swirl.

Linder and Taylor have discovered the magical elegance and joyous excitement of competitive ballroom dancing. And even though they're both just 7 years old, they're already pretty good.

Good enough, in fact, to have earned the chance to compete at the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships, April 4-6 in Baltimore.

The two, who qualified at a regional competition, "have a pretty good chance of doing really well," said Lars Linder, Erik's father. In addition to their talent, they are poised performers because "they're both so used to being in front of a lot of people and in front of the cameras," he said.

Erik Linder says the best part of dancing is "feeling good about winning and just having fun." And he doesn't worry about getting teased by classmates because many of them "think it's really cool. And my closest friend is signing up."

Taylor, meanwhile, says she likes competing because "it's just you and another person. … It's not scary. But when we're going against kids that are a lot older than us, then it's kind of scary."

The two became national contenders by practicing four days and up to eight hours a week at Oly's Dance Studio in Everett. They take private lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays from Pavel Balykin -- himself a top national competitor -- and group classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Lars Linder and his wife Holly got their son interested in dance classes because they were also learning to dance. Although an older son plays hockey and wants to stick with that sport, "Erik has just been naturally wiggly," Lars Linder said. "He wants to move around a lot. And he's very precise and sharp and quick, so he's done well with this."

Like their son, the Linders will compete at the upcoming nationals. And for them, dancing has become both a competitive outlet and chance for marital togetherness.

Dancing with her husband is "extra special and extra challenging in some ways," Holly Linder said with a laugh. "A lot of times we have to do our practice, and then when we're finished we have to go home and leave all of our (dancing) struggles here at the studio."

"In the years we've been competing, there's probably been the most growth we've had in our marriage," Lars Linder said. Dancing "forces you to work together and it forces you to communicate. That's been a real positive side of dancing."

Michelle Taylor, Rickie's mother, heard a friend talking about dance classes years ago, and was so intrigued that she went to the studio to inquire. An instructor took her onto the dance floor "and showed me a few things, and I just couldn't stop. I just wanted to dance, dance, dance."

The births of three children interrupted her own competitive dancing career, but all three of her daughters are now involved in the sport. One of them, 10-year-old Maxine Taylor, and her partner Paul Stovall, 11, of Sammamish, are also headed to nationals.

All the parents appreciate the ancillary benefits of dancing for their children. Along with learning about discipline and commitment, "it's a great thing for kids to learn the poise and (for boys to learn) how to treat a lady," Holly Linder said.

"It's also good for girls to let someone lead them and to know they don't have to lead," agreed Michelle Taylor. Also, she went on, "learning how to deal with another human (through practice and competition) is just an incredible skill that I think everybody should have."

Beyond that, there is simply the pleasure of the music, the pageantry and, above all else, the dance.

"Dancing is the one sport or activity where you can put on the most gorgeous silk gowns with stones and get yourself all done up, and the men are in tails suits, and then you go out on the floor and it's like a fairy tale," Holly Linder said. "You come out of the real world and go into this fairy tale land of dancing. And I just love the beauty of it."
© 2009The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA