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Letter to the editor

Dancer: 'Why take it away from us?'

Bring back weekly tea dances, these seniors ask.

By CRISTINA SILVA, Times Staff Writer
Published December 26, 2007

The city cut the tea dance from weekly to twice a month. Dancers want to restore the old schedule.
	[Scott Keeler | Times]

The bright lights hanging from the rafters serve as a spotlight as Harry Liquerman dips and spins his girlfriend across the historic dance floor of the Coliseum.

The velvet trim on her skirt flutters as they dance the bolero, their favorite, because it is a little bit sexier than the rumba.

In recent months, these moments have become rarer. In October, the city, which owns and operates the Coliseum, reduced frequency of the tea dances from once a week to every other Wednesday.

That decision has turned out to be a big deal to Liquerman and his friends. They have collected more than 700 signatures and are petitioning the City Council to reinstate the weekly tea dances.

To the seniors who waited all week for a chance to dress in their finest clothes and tango across the Coliseum floor, the tea dances are a throwback to a time when ballroom dancing was more than just the premise of a cheesy reality television show.

As St. Petersburg gets younger, with the median age hovering close to 39 years old according to the census, there are fewer places for seniors to socialize and, seemingly, fewer reasons to advocate for these sort of venues.

The tea dances have evolved into a haven amid the onslaught of martini bars and punk rock pubs lining Central Avenue. At the Coliseum, the men are Fred Astaire. The women are Ginger Rogers.

"It's a release," said Liquerman, 77, of Seminole. "Why take it away from us?"

City officials point out that the tea dances are a profitless venture. A decade ago, the dance paid for itself. Nearly 400 seniors attended every week and paid the $5 admission. Now the city is lucky if 150 people show up. Last year, the city lost nearly $30,000 hosting the dance. When the state Legislature demanded local governments trim their budgets, the dances were the first to go.

"It was simply a budget issue," said Lauren Kleinfeld, the city's manager of the Coliseum. "We are still going to be losing money with two dances a month."

The tea dances have been held for more than 80 years at the Coliseum. In its heyday, the dance hall attracted big names. Count Basie. Frank Sinatra. Duke Ellington.

These days, there are no celebrities, but there is still glamor. On a recent afternoon, more than a hundred seniors spread out across the Coliseum ballroom floor as a band on stage played classic tunes.

Rachel Hamilton, 61, of Seminole, went from one dance partner to the next, laughing as the men took turns twirling her around the floor. She, too, signed the petition to restore the weekly tea dance.

She doesn't care about how much the dance costs the city. To her, the experience is priceless.

Hamilton is narcoleptic. She was mostly bedridden before she started coming to the tea dances two years ago. Now, she is one of the more popular dancers at the Coliseum.

"If my body would let me, I would break-dance," she said. "This is my home."

Liquerman began attending after he moved to St. Petersburg from New York City afterhis wife died from breast cancer. He hadn't danced since he got married and had children more than 40 years earlier. But once the band started playing, his moves came back.

As a single man, he was a popular fixture at the tea dances, where women outnumber men. But eventually, only one woman caught his eye.

Ivy Brown, 71, of St. Petersburg is a thin blond who had rarely danced before. After her husband died in 2003, the idea of meeting someone else terrified her. Her sister finally dragged her out to the Coliseum, where she learned to tango, waltz and rumba.

Liquerman danced with her sister first, and then her. He was smitten.

"You know what happens when boy meets girl," he said.

They have been together ever since, dancing at the Coliseum as if they were Fred and Ginger.

Cristina Silva can be reached at csilva@sptimes.com or 727 893-8846.

Fast facts: 

350 Average attendance at tea dance in 1997

150 Average attendance at tea dance in 2007

$56,350 Total tea dance expenses in 2007

$27,960 Total tea dance admissions in 2007

$28,390 Net loss

Source: City of St. Petersburg

[Last modified December 25, 2007, 21:02:57]