&uot;One, two, three, one, two, three … Yes! Yes!&uot; Argentinean tango teacher Facuno Posados shouted as two beginning students finally mastered the steps of the dance mi longa.

It was a scene repeated often on Saturday afternoon, when Posados, wife Kelly Posados and fellow instructor Christina Johnson taught 35 people how to dance. The $15-per-person event was a fund-raiser for the Natchez Association for the Preservation of African-American Culture.

Jeff Upton of Natchez admitted that his wife, Sonya, only got him to try the tango because the ballgames he wanted to attend were rained out. &uot;He drew the short straw today,&uot; Sonya Upton said, laughing as her husband rolled his eyes. Then the instructors caught their attention, and they were off to the dance floor.

First, students learned mi longa, a precursor of the tango, then the tango itself. Posados could speak little English – Johnson was his translator – but dance has a language of its own, Posados said.

&uot;You’ve got to have a dialogue with your feet,&uot;&160;he told the group of 20 students that gathered for the last of two classes. Rows of students lined up behind the instructors, self-conscientiously following their steps – forward, right, back, then three quick steps in place. Then partners paired off to try the steps themselves while a singer on the instructional record sang in Spanish, a language few of the dancers could understand. Soon, many forgot to look at their feet and began having fun, adding their own flourishes to the steps.

After the classes, NAPAC sponsored a reception at the foundation’s museum at Main and Wall streets.

The reception was a chance for the public to see the newly renovated Pat Powers Conference Room and view an exhibit of paintings now being displayed at the museum. The paintings are copies of works by 18th-century Spanish artist Francisco Clapera.

It is appropriate that a fund-raiser for a foundation that focuses on African-American history have a Spanish theme, especially in Natchez, said Dr. Samuel White, president of NAPAC’s board.

For one thing, Natchez was once occupied by the Spanish, who had an open mind about families of mixed African and Spanish ancestry, White said. &uot;But the Spanish were also involved in the slave trade,&uot; White said.