Vanessa’s Positive Energy
Dancing back to South Los Angeles

By Shirley Hawkins
OW Staff Writer

Dozens of South Los Angeles residents are donning their dancing shoes to twirl, dip, and glide at the Positive Energy Entertainment Center located at 1301 W. Manchester Blvd.
Founded by Vanessa Bailey, the Center offers ballroom and urban line dancing and Chicago stepping Monday through Thursday from 6 to 10 p.m. Bailey teaches the line dance class.
“We have doctors, nurses, schoolteachers, school principals, bus drivers, and housewives coming in to twirl on the dance floor,” said Bailey, who said that she has loved dancing since she was a little girl. “Dancing energizes me. I get so excited when I hear the music–it makes me feel happy,” said Bailey.
Bailey said she started teaching line dancing 16 years ago under the banner of “Line Dancing with Vanessa.” “Back in the 80’s, my husband and I decided to take up square dancing. Then friends started asking me, ‘Why don’t you teach us how to square dance?’ So, I started teaching line dancing to R&B music.”
Although the classes were popular, Bailey said that she had no permanent building for her classes. “For 16 years, we danced in church fellowship halls, school auditoriums, recreation centers and, backyards.”
Thanks to Bailey’s daughter, a real estate agent, Bailey was able to secure a permanent location on Manchester Boulevard and held a grand opening for the dance center in May. According to the dance lover, the crowd has been coming ever since.
“People hear about Positive Energy through word of mouth,” said Bailey, who also works as a professional disc jockey and said that admission for the class is $5. “Right now, the most popular dances at the studio are Chicago Stepping and Detroit Ballroom. Believe it or not, there are usually more men than women in our ballroom classes,” Bailey said.
Bailey said that Positive Energy is more than just a catchy name for her center. “I’m a positive person and I wanted to spread that energy,” said Bailey. “When people have positive energy, you can feel it. Everybody talks about what they would like to do to overcome poverty, negativity, and harshness in the world–I think it can be overcome by having positive energy.”
Instructor Mack Hopson who has been teaching ballroom and line dancing for three years, said that teaching at Positve Energy has been “great.” “The students are very receptive and we’re patient with them. We break the steps down, so if the student has never danced before, they’ll learn the steps within a month’s time.”
Kim Lewis, who attends the classes with her eight-year-old daughter and has been taking line dancing with Bailey for several years, said, “Vanessa is an excellent teacher. She makes the most complicated dances seem so simple. The classes are fun and the people you dance with are like family.”
Lewis said that she has learned nearly a dozen line dances, including “The Wild Wild West,” “Black Dresses,” “Cupid Shuffle,” “Cleveland Shuffle,” “The Rip” and “Trans Two.”
Asked what attracts her to dancing, Lewis said, “I like the fact that I’m able to mingle with other people and just have a good time. It’s fun because we even celebrate each other’s birthdays.”
A quick survey of the dance floor shows patrons apparently having the times of their lives as they dip and swirl to the music. Couples can be observed holding hands and demonstrating their latest dance moves.
“We play all kinds of music, from R&B to salsa to hip hop,” said Bailey. “It’s a social setting, so we’ve had some single men and women who met right here in dance class and now they’re a couple.”
Asked if there have been any marriages, Bailey laughs and says, “Not yet!”
Bailey said that the feedback from the community has been phenomenal. “A lady came by last night and said she’s really proud of me. She thinks it’s so great that I stepped out here and took a risk because having dance classes for adults is something that’s not been done in our community.”
To contact Positive Energy, call (213) 760-8429.