by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Daniel Héroux

Age: 40

Occupation: Ballroom dance instructor

Bio: This dashing West Island resident first discovered the joy of ballroom dancing at age 12, he and his sister being the hottest pre-pubescent dance team this side of Pete Townshend’s hard drive. Later hitting it big on the competitive disco dance scene as one half of “Daniel and Johanne” in the ’70s, (“It was very much like Saturday Night Fever”), Daniel eventually went on to study ballet, was asked to tour with several companies, but ultimately chose to teach instead. He now owns an Arthur Murray Dance School franchise in DDO (www.arthurmurraymtl.com), and sponsors the annual La Classique du Québec ballroom dance competition, this year going down at the Bonaventure Hilton on Feb. 13, 14 and 15.

Did the other kids at his school ever beat on him for being so passionate about ballroom dancing - with his sister no less? No. “At first I was a little worried that maybe talking about it all the time wasn’t so cool, but I had a group of friends, maybe six or eight of us, who were all into it, so that made it a little easier.”

As a younger man, was he forever worrying about what the future held in store when he could no longer dance for a living? Absolutely.

Has he any regrets? Absolutely not.

Who the hell wants to learn ballroom dancing? “Everybody - young people, older people, people interested in competitive dance or who have a wedding coming up and want to learn how to tango, everybody. Learning to dance is very good for your self-confidence, you know.”

The cost of a lesson: About $40 for a 45-minute session.

Do many strippers seek out his services? Yes. “I think what probably happens is that they get told by a potential employer that they had better take a few dance lessons first. They usually only come once or twice and then you never see them again. But, you know, you don’t really improve very much with just a couple of lessons.”

Are students regularly so impressed with his grace and talent that they throw themselves upon him, eager to discover how graceful he is in the sack? “Yes, but I think this happens to a lot of instructors. Especially with dance where you are physically touching your students. Dance instructors used to have a reputation for taking advantage of their students, but it’s not like that anymore. People are very professional today.”

Something he never does: Dance in clubs. “I’ve done enough of that in my life.”

Favourite local restaurant: L’Express on St-Denis.

Musical preferences: “Pretty well anything but Country and Western or hip hop.”

Last book read: Leadership 101, by John C. Maxwell.

A recent film he dug: My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Favourite film of all time: The original Planet of the Apes.

One television show he watches: Will and Grace.

Words of wisdom: “Balance. If you can balance everything in your life and achieve harmony, then you’ve got it. That’s what we’re here to do.” :

Comments? dimwit@openface.ca