The Love of Dance: Part One

Learning About Maxine Barrat

By Christine Trask

Standing in the doorway of Bravo's, an Italian restaurant in Naples, Florida, on the evening of June 12th, taking in the delightful aroma of garlic, I watched a sunny, glorious, ocean-blue sky turn quickly into a rainstorm, complete with crackling lightning. Shaking off the cool raindrops, I gazed at my surroundings—lavish, white Roman columns and large ornate light fixtures which cast a warm glow of welcome to the room. My aunt Darlene was waiting for me in a round, black leather booth, and soon, her very dear, longtime friend Liz appeared. We ordered our favorite happy-hour drinks and clinked our glasses in a toast dedicated to friendship.

As an icebreaker, I suggested we go around the table and each share a story about ourselves. Aunt Darlene shared the story of when she was seventeen and wanted a summer job at a popular Greek restaurant in Appleton, Wisconsin, owned by two Greek brothers. She applied for the job and was told they didn't want to take the time to train her because they felt she would leave them soon to go on to college. Persisting, Darlene said, "You don't have to train me; I have waited on my three older brothers and father my whole life." She was hired, and within a couple of weeks, she was running the restaurant and training the waitresses.

My new friend, Liz Elledge, shared her story of being eleven years old in a small New York town, when she and her father made a bargain that if she kept up her grades, he would pay for her attendance at the elite eastern school of Wellesley College. Liz's father said, "You will have to make all As, and I will have to make a lot of money," to which Liz replied, "I will if you will." They shook hands on the deal, and Liz proceeded to earn her degree at Wellesley in the field of psychology, teaching and counseling for many years.

The love of dance inspired me to tell a story about an article I wrote for the September 2009 issue of the Minnesota Dancing Times. The article was about meeting Carole Bradley, the owner of Maudie MacBride's Prom and a professional dancer in the movie Bye Bye Birdie featuring Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, and Ann-Margret.

Each of our anecdotes led into another fun story. When Liz told us that she was friends with Maxine Barrat—a famous show-biz ballroom dancer who was a personal friend of Ginger Rogers—I excitedly asked Liz to arrange a meeting.

Exchanging hugs, we left the restaurant quite full and happy, and Liz suggested I read Dancing with a Star: The Maxine Barrat Story by Kristin Baggelaar prior to meeting Maxine.

In the book, Baggelaar portrays Maxine as a young ballerina who danced every chance she could. In her early teens, Maxine would go to Radio City Music Hall to watch and learn from Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.

Maxine set out to fulfill her childhood dream of dance and found her perfect dance partner in international costume designer Don Loper. Their unique Brazilian dance move to "Tico-Tico no Fubá" at the glamorous Monte Proser's Copacabana—the top entertaining supper club of the 1940s—became an international hit.

This "Tico-Tico" dance was even featured in the 1943 film Thousand Cheers, a Gene Kelly movie made to boost the morale of World War II soldiers and their families. I purchased the last VHS from Amazon, and it has become one of my favorite classic movies.

Baggelaar describes Maxine as a humble, fun-loving person who surrounded herself with friends that included Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Katharine Hepburn, Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson, Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland, Eleanor Powell, Lucille Ball, Red Skelton, Lena Horne, and others. Even Mrs. Brady of The Brady Bunch, Florence Henderson, had only kind things to say about Maxine: she once said she hoped everyone would know Maxine.

I was fortunate enough to meet the warm, beautiful Maxine Barrat. Be sure to read the October issue of Sheer Dance to find out about my special interview with Maxine!