This fall, Mr. Dick Blake is teaching his 25th annual round of dance and deportment classes for the sixth graders at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School. The seven classes, which are held from the middle of October until December, teach young students basic formal dance routines as well as etiquette and manners.
Dick Blake has taught dance and deportment classes for more than 30 years at dozens of different locations, including Hillcrest Hospital, Giovanni’s Ristorante, Cuyahoga Community College and The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. In addition, Blake has taught individuals as well: Kirsten Anderson (Channel 3 News), Merle S. Gorden (Mayor, Beachwood), Alex Machaskee (Publisher of Plain Dealer), and many other local celebrities.
In order to demonstrate the importance of acting like a lady or gentleman, the girls in the class were required to wear dresses or skirts with white gloves to the classes, while the boys wore a sports coat and tie. Mr. Blake began the class with dancing. The students practicing dancing in time with various pop songs and basic footwork for formal dancing.
Throughout the class, Mr. Blake reminded the students of their manners: sit up straight, ladies first, say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, and the mantra “rudeness is a weak imitation of a person’s strength,” was repeated throughout the lesson, along with many other manners-oriented phrases.
With the help of Dick Blake and dance and deportment class tradition, Intermediate School sixth graders are becoming more and more like ladies and gentlemen this fall as they learn what it means to be polite and professional.
Submitted by DYLANA FELTON, Junior, Chagrin Falls High School
