Not everyone is born with the gift of dancing – including many Cajuns – but a growing number are taking the first step in finding a teacher that can bring out their inner two-stepper. A good dance instructor is part therapist, part couple’s counselor, encouraging confidence, turning anxiety into personal growth and teaching couples to work together in harmony. For more than 35 years, owner of Glide Studios in Lafayette, Harold Bernard has brought thousands the joy of learning local dances like the Cajun waltz, zydeco, jitterbug, two-step and country western swing.

Dancing since he was 16, Bernard has learned from watching the great dancers in his family and frequenting dance halls. “I grew up watching the older ones dance at weddings and other celebrations, and I lived in dance halls like La Poussiere and had the privilege of seeing some great dancers in those places,” he recalls.

His love and passion for dance led him to travel with some of the most renowned bands and musicians, holding dance workshops before performances so concertgoers could learn to Cajun dance. He’s toured across the U.S., and into Canada and Europe with musicians like Dewey Balfa, Balfa Toujours, Steve Riley, iconic fiddler Lionel Leleux and Canray Fontenot, one of the greatest Creole fiddlers of our time. The summers brought bookings for dance workshops at festivals across the country.

It was during his eight years teaching dance in New Orleans that Bernard was awakened to the craze of Cajun and Zydeco dance. “People from all over the country, who never learned to dance were showing up – including Cajuns,” he remembers. “Not every Cajun can dance or cook a gumbo. I taught them how to dance in a style authentic to this area – I still do.” Bernard opened Glide Studios in 2017 while maintaining his New Orleans studio for a year, before moving to Lafayette permanently.

In his Lee Avenue studio, he teaches (in French as well) individuals and groups of up to 20, incorporating lessons into private parties at the studio summer camps for those as young as three and corporate team building. He explains, “When you’re learning different dance moves, you’re getting new information and when you switch partners, you’re learning to adapt again; you’re working as a team.”

Getting a client’s trust and confidence is the biggest hurdle. The process of building confidence can sometimes dredge up memories of unpleasant experiences. “Some people are scarred from a high school experience,” he shares. Bernard says he begins by teaching a quick two-step, a universal six-count step that coordinates with 99 percent of music and can be applied to a slow or fast dance, Cajun waltz or even jitterbug. “It doesn’t take long to learn; within an hour they’re moving good, smiling and are immediately confident,” he assures. That was the case when he taught television Travel Channel host Samantha Brown her first Cajun dance lesson during the videotaping of an episode of Brown’s Places to Love “Lafayette and Cajun Country.”

While the main point is to have fun, Bernard lays down a couple of ground rules: 1. Never out dance your partner – it’s a couple dancing. 2. The man leads.

In distinguishing himself from others Bernard says, “What clients like about my studio is that they can get a private session, where I can focus on them and move at their pace. If they kick it up then I move on to the next steps. Most clients come to me three to four times and then they have it. I had a group of eight who came from Crowley; they made their lessons a date night. In the beginning, none of them knew how to dance, but they learned how to jitterbug and started going dancing at places.”

Last year Bernard’s wedding choreography business took off unexpectedly. “I think more people are getting married these days and wanting to make sure they look good on the dance floor,” he notes. “I teach them how to move and hold each other- whatever shape they are. I want them to look like one, and I assure them that I am going to make them look good together. There was a couple who came to me, and they each had their own idea of dancing. Before it was over, the guy learned to dance and she learned to let him lead. They saw their interest come together. The mother of the bride told me later that on the night of the wedding she’d never seen her daughter that happy.”

Bernard brings more than footwork to the dance floor; he has a repertoire of stories of the places he’s traveled and the famous musicians he’s had the honor of accompanying. He begins, “I was at the Triangle Club in ’71…I carried Bois Sec Ardoin’s accordion for him.”

The sounds of Glide Studios take on a different tempo on those evenings that it is transformed into an art studio. The wooden floors, light gray walls and track lighting make it a perfect venue for art exhibitions. Having studied fine arts at UL, Bernard has an appreciation for the artistic talents in Louisiana and has hosted bi-monthly exhibits for the past six years, the likes of Trent Oubre, Kathy Dumesnil, Andy Perrin, Megan Barra and Doug Nehrbass. This February through May, the black and white photography of Lafayette native Kristie Cornell will be on display.

While he doesn’t travel nearly as much, Bernard says teaching in the studio has given him a sense of joy. “The reward comes when I get people who go from not knowing how to dance at all to embracing it. It’s a success for them as a couple – a small success that might have them dancing in the kitchen.”

If you’ve been thinking about learning to dance, now is the time; Bernard says so many of the good dance halls are gone, with only a few remaining.