Fancy footwork

• Portland dancers aim to take their ballroom prowess to the top

By Jill Spitznass

The Portland Tribune, Jan 23, 2004, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Like most couples, Sunnie Page and Jim Gray do their share of sidestepping, shuffling and the old give-and-take. They just do it better than the rest of us Ñ and on a dance floor.

Page and Gray are Portland’s modern-day Ginger and Fred, ballroom dancers who already have made their mark in international dance competition. Currently the third-ranked American couple in the world, the duo have invested an eye-popping number of hours and dollars into dancing since teaming up more than four years ago.

But as every competitor knows, sacrifice means nothing without talent.

Watching Page and Gray cover the dance floor, it’s clear that they have a wealth of both. The couple moves as one, a mirrored perfection that brings to mind the taut athleticism of pairs ice-skating. Yet there’s no iciness here: When the duo’s effortless grace, regal posture and real-life romance come together, sparks fly.

Gray first danced with Page in 1999, when each was looking for an equally dedicated ballroom partner. The fact that Gray had significantly more floor experience than Page was an issue for only a brief time.

“Sunnie didn’t have the skill, but she had the most important thing: drive. So learning was just a matter a time,” Gray says. “Actually, it’s a miracle that we found each other in the same town; some people come from other states Ñ other countries, even Ñ to dance with someone.”

With his cropped red hair, turned-up nose and aw-shucks demeanor, Gray is Opie Taylor in tails Ñ bright, articulate and friendly. His dance career began at an age when most teenagers are fleeing the dance floor.

“I went to a square dance with my dad when I was 15,” says Gray, an industrial patternmaker and Benson High School graduate who lives in Northeast Portland. “The dancing wasn’t especially impressive, but the people were having more fun than I ever knew could be had. It really made an impression on me, so I took it up.”

Six years later, Gray found his calling in ballroom dancing. “I liked the freedom and the increased difficulty of ballroom,” he says.

Although Page has been dancing competitively for only about five years, she’s long been preparing for it.

“I’ve always loved dancing, but only participated in club dance when I was younger,” says Page, a Lakeridge High School grad. She signed up for ballroom dance lessons after seeing an exhibition that left her awestruck.

“I had no idea that ballroom dance existed in today’s culture,” she says. “I thought it was something that people did 200 years ago, not now.”

A summa cum laude graduate of Georgetown University, Page brings that same intensity to the dance floor. Don’t let the doe-eyed loveliness fool you Ñ this woman is Patton in a ballgown, as serious about her craft as she is her business empire: Page owns and manages three hair salons in the Portland area. That industry know-how is put to work on the dance floor.

“You can’t wear your hair down or in a ponytail, because you’d hit people when you spin,” says Page, who when dancing wears dramatic stage makeup and her hair in a tight chignon.

“The judges have Ñ at tops Ñ five seconds to look at you, which is why your dress does come into play. In the initial rounds, when there are as many as 12 couples on the floor, it’s all about being seen.”

A dress code is enforced at the championship level, where female competitors are required to wear a gown and men must don tails and a bow tie. The least expensive gown that Page owns cost $1,800 and was made in New Zealand, where the exchange rate gets her the most glam for the buck.

A 10-minute workout

Page and Gray compete in the international standard category, which requires that they dance the waltz, fox trot, tango, Vienna waltz and quickstep. Each couple must perform all five dances in each round of competition, with each dance lasting 90 seconds.

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