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Margaret Hair's column appears Fridays in the 4 Points arts and entertainment section in the Steamboat Today. Contact her at 871-4204 or e-mail mhair@steamboatpilot.com.

Steamboat Springs — If you've never taken a dance class, stepping into a guest workshop with the well-practiced Steamboat Springs African Dance & Drum Ensemble isn't the easiest thing to do.

In a continuing effort to try things in Routt County I haven't thought to participate in before - here, or anywhere else - I took the chance to jump in on the first part of Titos Sompa's lessons in Congolese dance Tuesday night.

Even from a short time in the class - and having absolutely no idea what was going on during the aerobic warmup session - I can see how this group got so big in a town so small.

First, it's a heck of a workout. And Sompa, a small man with a huge presence, doesn't let his dancers get away with doing moves half-heartedly. He'll shoot you a beaming smile and shout out a motivational greeting, but he'll also turn your shoulders in the right direction to get the whole body into a dance.

More importantly, in an all-levels workshop, Sompa has the patience to break down steps to their basic components. That meant a line of first-time dancers had a decent chance of making it across wooden floors at the Depot Art Center without injuring themselves, and a line of small children could make it across with a general idea of what to do.

With Sompa's enthusiasm for inspiring joy through his chosen art forms - a lesson in Congolese drumming started the evening of workshops, it's not hard to see why members of the Dance & Drum Ensemble beam when he comes up in conversation.

That the class took up most of the floor in the Depot's back room is a pretty strong indication that I won't have any trouble finding new things to try in Steamboat Springs.