In one classroom at Copiah-Lincoln Community College Natchez Campus, the normal sounds of students and professors are nowhere to be found. Instead, it is the sounds of rumba music and laughter as area residents learn to dance the rumba.

Thirty people filled the wellness center room at the college Thursday evening, as first-time dance instructors Walt and Teri Roddy of Natchez, showed the students the basic dance moves for the rumba.

“We wanted to get together with folks and dance,” Teri said about starting the class.

The two met at a dancing class nine years ago in San Diego, Calif., and have been dancing ever since.

The special interest class at Co-Lin is an eight-week session that started four weeks ago. The first two weeks covered swing dancing, last week and the week before was rumba, this week and next week is the waltz and the last two weeks of the session they are covering the Cha Cha.

“It seemed like a fun thing to do,” student Karen Partridge said. “And, it has been fun.”

For many of the couples, this has been their first time taking a dance class together.

“We just wanted to look better on the dance floor,” Mary Robertson of Natchez said about joining the class.

Since the class has been popular this fall, the Roddys plan on offering another session in the spring that anyone can join.