School of Drama student B. Todi (known simply as "Todi") never refuses anyone's first invitation to dance. She also advises the nearly 400 Yale students who, under her tutelage, are learning such dance-floor moves as Russian splits, the fireman's tackle, the Shorty George and chicken legs to practice the same good manners. Proper etiquette in any social-dancing situation, she tells her dance students, also requires that they always tip the bartender, even if they only ask for water; never change their shoes in public; and freely flatter other dancers by asking them for the "next dance." Todi is known for her impeccable manners among the students in her swing dance classes, held in the Payne Whitney Gym and at GPSCY (the Graduate and Professional Student Center at Yale). When instructing her male students on their moves in a dance, she calls them "gentlemen." Her female students, naturally, are "ladies." This kind of courteous behavior went hand in hand with the swing music scene of the 1930s and 1940s, notes Todi, but it is only one of the reasons that she became interested in the era's popular dancing style. "I have to say that I do like some of the 'old-fashioned' politeness of that time, but it's the music that first attracted me and it's the music that has kept me dancing," says the drama student. "I'm a live-music junkie." Four evenings and one afternoon per week, Todi is on the dance floor, teaching swing and ballroom dancing. She has introduced hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students from diverse fields to the boogie woogie, Charleston, lindy hop and other dances, and to the music of such present-day swing bands as Lee Press-On and the Nails, Jet Set Six, Dem Brooklyn Bums, Royal Crown Revue, and Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers. Ironically, Todi has never had any formal ballroom dance training herself, and admits that her own skill on the dance floor is partly due to her slyness. "When I was a teenager growing up in San Francisco, a girlfriend and I would sneak into hotel ballrooms and dance the night away with the little old men," explains the drama student. "In San Francisco, there is always live music. I learned almost everything I know by watching other people and always saying 'yes' when invited to dance." At age 16, she was waltzing her way around the floor, but a year later, she developed a passion for swing. Todi also learned some of the fancy footwork and other ballroom-dance moves by doing research in libraries, where she pored over historical dance manuals, and by watching television. "When it comes to swing, a lot of people have grown up with it," she says. "Most of us have watched old television movies with Gene Kelly on the old-movie networks." By the time she was an undergraduate at San Francisco State University, where she earned her B.A. in directing in 1989 and was a competitive fencer, Todi had developed enough expertise to teach partner dancing. During her summer and winter vacations, she gave lessons in waltz, polka, tango, fox-trot, salsa, cha cha and swing at the Living History Centre in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Now in her third year in the School of Drama's theater management program, Todi decided to teach dance at Yale during a time when she found herself missing San Francisco, where the swing resurgence began. Last semester, she taught beginning swing at the Payne Whitney Gym to 150 students, including a group of 50 students from the School of Forestry. She also taught swing to 50 students at the School of Medicine. Many people had to be turned away from her gym class. Todi agreed to teach even more classes this semester to accommodate the hundreds of students interested in learning swing and ballroom dance. She is now the instructor for eight classes, six in swing and two in ballroom dance. Serving with Todi as a co-teacher of three of her swing sections is Pierson College junior Joe Furia. In a class at the Payne Whitney Gym dance studio on a recent Wednesday evening, Todi's students followed her moves carefully as she and Furia demonstrated rock steps, cross steps and other footwork, as well as lifts, jumps, throws and hip straddles. Among those watching the demonstration was medical student Max Laurans, who is taking the class to refresh himself on some of the swing steps his mother taught him when he was younger. "I love the music, and I hate to dance by myself," he says, adding that the class also gives him the opportunity to get some exercise. Yale College junior Itai Maytal says that the classes have given him the confidence to swing dance in clubs, where he is able to put his lessons to use. "A lot of people have made a big deal about the sociological implications of the swing resurgence -- saying that it signals a nostalgia for a more romantic time," he says. "I just want to learn how to swing because it's fun." Maytal's dance partner, senior Jeannie Kim, agrees. "It comes in handy for college dances," she says. "With swing, it's easy to find a partner and dance." For Todi, teaching the classes has allowed her the opportunity "to make connections with the campus at large," as well as to devote her final year at the University to her two biggest passions: dance and theater. Before coming to Yale, she choreographed a number of works for the stage in California, where she also worked as company manager of the Tony Award-winning Berkeley Repertory Theatre and as artistic director of a touring company called La Perduta Commedia. She currently serves as associate director of marketing, press and web publishing at the School of Drama and the Yale Repertory Theatre, and is also active in the Yale Cabaret. In addition to her assigned management duties, Todi's drama school projects have included serving as the choreographer for the Yale Cabaret's production of "Grease 2" and as a dance coach for a workshop production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." In spite of her demanding schedule, Todi also manages to squeeze in time occasionally to give private dance lessons. She and Furia are teaching a Yale couple some dance moves in anticipation of the pair's wedding reception, and several months ago instructed Trumbull College Dean Peter Novak and Master Dr. Janet Henrich how to swing before they attended the Trumbull College winter ball. Todi also choreographed the can-can for a group of students to perform at the forestry school's talent show. And whenever she travels to New York City in connection with a School of Drama assignment, Todi always finds the time for social dancing. "While I know some people want to learn how to swing because it is an 'in' thing to do, I try to show my students that dancing is a lifetime joy," Todi says. "You can go anywhere in the world, and -- even if you don't know a language -- you can communicate through dance. You can be 80 and still twirl around with someone you love. What could be more fun than that?" -- By Susan Gonzalez T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S 'Yale Constructs'--Program will explore future plans for campus facilities Happy 350th Birthday, Elihu!--Yale will honor the man for whom it is named Photosynthesis in a test tube? Scientists find a way . . . Noted historian to present talk on 'moral authority' of U.S. presidency Bennett will continue efforts to strengthen Yale's libraries This year's DeVane Medals go to two English professors League commissioner David Stern to speak on managing 'Global NBA' Drama student sharing her love of dance in campus classes Technology's impact on nation is topic of Sheffield Lecture Coach Dick Kuchen resigning after 13 years at the helm . . . 'Missing' work will be performed for first time in nearly 40 years Vladimir Petrov dies -- taught Russian at Yale Grants support innovative new projects using digital media Campus Notes Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events| Bulletin Board Classified Ads|Search Archives|Production Schedule|Bulletin Staff Public Affairs Home|News Releases|E-Mail Us|Yale Home Page

 Todi guides a couple through a complicated move during a class at the Payne Whitney Gym.