By Cynthia Robertson

La Mesa is becoming a go-to city for line dancing with two very popular line dance classes taking place at the Adult Enrichment Center on Mondays. Adrienne Hart draws a big group of people to her class to learn the latest line dance steps and Ed Griffith, who teaches line dance to soul music, has a large following, as well.

“Our main goals are to exercise our body, our mind and to have fun,” said Hart, who has been dancing for more than 20 years.

The students warm up with Hart to a lively song before starting the lessons. She usually reviews between six and nine dances per session. Many of the dances are repeated during the year, with the music ranging from all genres, including country, Latin, Irish, jazz, swing, rock and roll and even waltzes.

“My method is to slowly go over each step and then give counts, or beats, for each section,” she said.

Now 76 years old, Hart had no idea that the troupe would be such a hit in the community. Several of her students have been with her since she started teaching. Most are seniors between the ages of 60 and 90.

Barbara Jacobs, who has danced in Hart’s class for six years, said that every week she feels rejuvenated after the class.

“I have learned that I can still dance, appropriate to my age, but the joy I feel is the same throughout the many years I have lived,” Jacobs said.

Donna Geiger has been a student of Hart’s for seven years. “In this class, I have been given a great outlet for exercise as well as her own love of dancing,” she said.

“We are like a family,” Hart said. “We celebrate together, cry together, laugh together. The friendship and caring for each other is beautiful to see.”

Although the classes are mostly comprised of women, men are welcome, too. Hart’s own husband joins in on the fun after he sets up the equipment.

Griffith’s class of Soul Line Dance started up just last year, but he already has a faithful following.

“We’re an urban soul adult line dance group. The music genres we dance to are blues, gospel, jazz, Latin, R&B and zydeco,” Griffith said.

Recreation supervisor Kathy Tinsley even joins in on the fun.

“I was so impressed by this class that I signed up for it and take my lunch break during the class,” Tinsley said.

The first time Griffith ever tried line dancing was in 2003 by invitation of a friend who asked him to come so that there would be men in the class.

“I didn’t think I would like it, due to all the music was country and western. During that first class I felt so welcomed and had a blast dancing and meeting nice people. In 2010, I transitioned into the urban soul line dance side of dance,” Griffith said.

According to Griffith, line dance is exercise for both the body and the mind.

“It’s a workout using body movements and exercising all of your limbs. It stimulates the brain to think while having fun listening and following instructions. Students learn many rhythms of music along with counting out steps and using the steps in multiple dances. It’s wonderful for memory,” he said.

An easy dance can be learned in two minutes, a more advanced dance in 30 minutes to one hour, depending on the difficulty of the rhythm and steps.

“I’m learning my steps. So if I can do it, you can, too,” Tinsley said.

In both Griffith’s and Hart’s class, line dancing is open to all, including those with limited body movement. Dances can be modified to accommodate people’s special needs.

Griffith’s class also has a performance group called Verlosity. The dancers perform at line dance events all around San Diego County as well as the Los Angeles Cali Jam and Las Vegas Line Dance Jam.

Hart is a member of San Diego ‘N’ Line Dancers, teaching at their beginning and intermediate workshops.

As for the future of line dancing, Griffith said, “I see line dancing being around forever.”

For information about Hart’s and Griffith’s line dance classes, go to cityoflamesa.com.

—Write to Cynthia Robertson at [email protected].