Sisters has its own dancing star

Sue Leek may not be tripping the light fantastic for the TV cameras on a Hollywood set, but she's definitely a dancing star.

The proprietor of MacKenzie Creek Mercantile and Peggy Sue's Dance Store in Sisters has returned from the Caribbean Dancesport Classic in Puerto Rico, not with a mirror ball trophy but with dozens of top finishes in a wide range of dance categories.

Leek, 68, was one of five Central Oregon dancers who study under Travis Kokkeler, who made the trek to San Juan for the November 2-6 competition. The dancers were so successful that they earned their instructor a fourth-place finish among 90 professionals.

"They give awards to the top 10 teachers, and the way that's gauged is by how well your students do," Leek explained.

Leek did her part. The dancer made 52 "entries" in the competition. "In each entry you get on the floor and dance for a minute and 30 seconds," she said.

The Sisters dancer scored 39 first-places; 14 second-places; and three third-places dancing with the pro Kokkeler for a panel of international judges. Dance schools from all over North America attended the event, putting thousands of dancers on the floor.

Kokkeler's students do not specialize as many dancers do. They perform in "standard" dances including tango, waltz, quickstep and Viennese waltz and in "rhythm" dances like bolero, hustle, salsa, samba, merengue, cha-cha, rumba and East Coast and West Coast

swing.

"Travis likes to have us more rounded," Leek explained. "His theory is that we need to know all the dances."

Leek is best in the rhythm dances. Dancers are allowed to dance in their own age category and "challenge" in the age category below them. Leek challenged the 55-65 age category in those dances - and cleaned up.

She's been dancing for eight years, all under Kokkeler's tutelage.

The other dancers were Peggy Barnett (the "Peggy Sue" that leant her moniker to the dance store); Marilyn Porges and Tom and Vicie Nagy, who danced amateur/amateur as a couple.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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