Some quickly learn dance steps during scavenger hunt

Katherine Anderson and Craig Childs receive swing dance lessons from USC dance instructor Richard Durlach at the Seibels House on Richland Street, one of Columbia's oldest homes. PHOTO: Clif LeBlanc

The 1-2-3 rhythm of the steps from the dance instructor on Saturday were familiar to Katherine Anderson.

"These are the steps I learned from Miss Sloan," the lifelong Columbia resident said at the Seibels House, one of the stops along Historic Columbia Foundation's first citywide scavenger hunt contest.

Anderson and her contest partner, Craig Childs, chose a quick dance lesson in the basics of Swing dancing at one of the 60 contest venues across downtown.

Anderson, as many Columbians did in the 1950s and '60s, learned dance at the "Miss Sloan" school that once operated at the Women's Club near the USC campus.

Anderson and Childs followed instructor Richard Durlach's moves as he hurriedly took them through the steps. "It sounded as if it would be a challenge," Childs said as Durlach declared them "dance certified."

Anderson and Childs scurried out of the one of Columbia's oldest buildings so they could move to the next step of the 3-hour scavenger hunt event.

H.E. and Becky Barkley also gave the dance venue a shot Saturday.

"Are you dancer?" Durlach, who teaches dance at USC, asked.

"No," came the response from the couple.

"Well, you're about to become one," the optimistic instructor said.

The Barkleys did their best to follow the steps. "I wasn't going to do it, but she pushed me," H.E. Barkley said of his wife.

Then both seemed eager to move to the next venue.

This story was originally published April 21, 2012 at 12:55 PM with the headline "Some quickly learn dance steps during scavenger hunt."