wedding

TAKING THE RIGHT STEPS Fathers, brides-to-be embrace lessons for special dance on wedding day Christina A. Stavale THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Print Run Date: Saturday, Aug. 7 // Life and Arts section centerpiece Long before his daughter got engaged, Michael Repas had thought about the dance they would one day share at her wedding.

The resident of Powell always wanted the father-daughter moment to be memorable -- for them and their guests.

So, with her big day fast approaching (next Saturday), Lauren Repas signed up with her father several weeks ago for dance lessons.

"It's a special day," said Mr. Repas, 63. "With all the stress of planning weddings, everything that Lauren's going through right now, I thought this would be special -- a chance for the two of us to be together."

He is learning steps along with his daughter, 29, at Dance Plus Ballroom in Grandview Heights.

Every year, the studio prepares about 100 dads for the traditional wedding-day dance with their daughters, said Ron Clark, co-owner of the studio.

Dance Plus also instructs hundreds of bridal-party members -- many of them brides- and grooms-to-be, he said.

Other Columbus-area studios see similar patterns.

Lessons help make a memorable day even more memorable, said Sergei Bakalov, owner of Columbus Dance Centre in Gahanna.

"I always ask (couples) how many weddings they want to have: 'Only one -- that's it.'

Why don't you invest a little bit of time, a little bit of money, and you will have memories of a lifetime?"

Because a daughter's bond with her father typically begins at a young age, Clark said, many dads take the wedding-day tradition to heart.

"That connection goes all the way through life," he said. "And when the daughter's finally getting married -- going to somebody else -- . . . (that dance) becomes important for a father."

Lauren Repas, an only child, lost her mother when she was 20, she said, so she has long been "Daddy's girl."

Their dance will be the rumba, a Latin-inspired ballroom style, to Isn't She Lovely.

"Stevie Wonder wrote that song about his daughter," Mr. Repas said. "It's Lauren's day; it's my daughter's day. If I could write a song about my daughter, it would be pretty much like that."

Don Floyd felt the same about the song he chose to dance with his daughter, Kristin, at her wedding last month.

They took lessons at the same studio and learned to dance the Viennese waltz to the Heartland tune I Loved Her First.

The lessons were a Father's Day gift from Kristin to her father. Because she took dance lessons growing up, she said, the moment was an important part of her wedding.

"I think dance tells a story," she said. "If you would go to a Broadway show, a lot of times the most touching moments are when people aren't talking but watching what's going on."

Anja Winikka -- editor of TheKnot.com, a website dedicated to wedding planning -- said other couples, too, are beginning to think similarly, largely because of TV shows such as Dancing With the Stars.

"There are so many television shows out there touting the dancing thing," Winikka said, "so maybe people are more comfortable with it or more exposed to the idea of dancing in front of the crowd."

Choreographed dances -- whether sweet and simple or fun and flashy -- provide a way to show off personality and make a wedding distinct, she said.

"Your guests notice if you're doing more than a back-and-forth, swaying-bearhug thing.

It's a memorable detail from the day."

Instructors say that even one crash course can help set a dance apart.

Debbie and Dale Voitus recently began taking lessons at Rawlins Dance Studio in the Clintonville neighborhood, in preparation for their niece's February wedding.

They originally signed up because they wanted to feel comfortable line-dancing. But as they've continued their lessons, dance has become a hobby -- something for the couple to do.

"I'm starting to look forward to it," Mr. Voitus said. "It's going to make this time a lot different because we'll be taking part in a wedding that we don't normally take part in."

The ultimate goal, said Columbus Dance Centre's Bakalov, is for the couples he teaches to feel comfortable enough with dancing that they savor the moment.

"It's different when you have a wedding and it's 150 people looking at you, flashing lights and cameras," Bakalov said. "The last thing I want is a guy to think (about) what he's doing. I want him to think 'Where's the cake?' or 'Where's my drink?' or talk to his wife and have a good time. That's special."

That's exactly how the dance went for Floyd and his daughter -- no nervousness, just enjoyment.

Kristin (now Kristin Dinovo) said that being able to share that moment on the dance floor with her father was special.

"It brought tears to my eyes," she said. "I don't know what I would do without him in my life.

"The dance was a perfect ending to the year of planning -- a chance for us to celebrate the day we'd been planning for." cstavale@dispatch.com