MAY I HAVE THIS DANCE? MOVIE INSPIRES FLOCK OF BALLROOM BUFFS TO HIT FLOOR.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

Not since ``Swingers'' launched a new generation of jitterbuggers in the '90s have the joints been as jumpin.'

As the new Richard Gere/Jennifer Lopez film ``Shall We Dance?'' sashays across the silver screen, moviegoers are flocking to ballroom dance studios.

At a recent dance party night at Arthur Murray's, a ``Shall We Dance?'' poster reads ``Make Your Move This October.'' And that's precisely the point, say hoofers. Getting lost in the shuffle. In waltzes to Patsy Cline. Fox trots to Norah Jones. Salsa to Enrique Iglesias. And in swing to Frank Sinatra.

``It's not as hard as I thought,'' marveled Hendrik Hartono, 33, of Encino on his first night on the dance floor, where 30 dancers clasped hands and clutched waists alongside 10 Arthur Murray instructors.

``You pretty much got to get over your fear of dancing in front of other people. You gotta learn to think like children - they forget about themselves.''

The feel-good dance film has been a box-office hit - echoed by the sweet proposals of hundreds of moviegoers hoping to hoof it into the latest Hollywood dance craze.

``It's a great movie; have to take the tux out,'' declared Gordon Larson, 63, of Sun Valley, strolling with his honey from a Burbank showing.

``How long has it been?,'' asked Katherine, his wife, ruminating on the the last time they both shook a leg. ``We'd love to go take lessons.''

``Shall We Dance?'' opened in fourth place, grossing $12 million. By Tuesday, it had waltzed past its competitors to become the top-grossing release, making more money each weekday than any movie in the marketplace.

``It's unreal, and I expect it to get more unrealer,'' said Tom Antonellis, assistant manager of Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Sherman Oaks. ``The opening week, there's already a change in the air.

``We expect to get a 'Saturday Night Fever' kind of response. (But) instead of wanting to be John Travolta, everybody'll want to be Richard Gere.''

Other studios, including Arthur Murray in Woodland Hills, Betty Cates Dance Concern in Chatsworth, Sloan & Sloan School of Dancing in Glendale and the Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association in Pasadena, report similar interest.

Based on the 1996 Japanese film of the same name, ``Shall We Dance?'' finds a happily married John Clark (Gere) setting eyes on a melancholy woman (Lopez) gazing from a Chicago dance studio.

The smitten yuppie is soon standing beside two dorks tripping over themselves learning how to waltz, tango and perform other sultry moves.

Like many dance movies, it's a story of personal transcendence - from humdrum estate lawyer into whirling swan.

On the floor, dancers move to the lilting rhythm of slooow, slooow, quick-quick, slooow.

The old become young. The young become old. Backs become straight. Chests become bold. Legs stretch long. And all eyes glimmer toward a distant tango paradise.

When Terry Weiss signed up for a class with her husband four months ago, she said she felt unhealthy, overweight and ``not a happy camper about life.'' A manager of 650 workers in 56 locations for the Los Angeles Superior Courts, she was wound.

On the dance floor, however, her blues have been banished.

``Doing something that's fun, away from work, with nothing on your mind except the music, I get lost in the dancing,'' said Weiss, 50, of Sherman Oaks. ``Work is gone, everything is gone.

``This makes me feel better inside.''

Dance instructors say the hot numbers are still salsa and swing, with tango on the uptick. But in no way is ballroom dancing similar to ``Shall We Dance?'' and its competition dancing.

``It catches people's interest, but a lot of people will relax because they find out they can have fun,'' said Betty Cates of Chatsworth, who has taught dancing for more than 50 years.

Cates once took a refresher tango class with actor Robert Duvall, who was good-natured about his progress.

``I want to tell ya,'' said Cates, with a raucous laugh, ``he was all left feet.''

At After Five, a dim Filipino dance club in Burbank, dancers cha-cha- cha'd, rumba'd and tangoed late into the night.

``We encourage our students to see the movie; they love it,'' said Rhina Dumlao, the studio's co-owner. ``We have had 10 to 15 calls because of (it).''

Cynthia Meneses, who is married with two children, said she signed up after seeing how sexy competitive dancers looked on TV. Since then, she's discovered her true nature.

``It just brings out the best in me, especially when I love the song,'' said Meneses, 46, wearing a gold lame dress with tassels. ``I feel that I am fire.''

Around the corner at Fuddruckers, talk turns to the movie, from which Richard Gere's moves inspired hostess Strawn Martins.

``It wasn't like 'Flashdance,''' said Martins, 17, who will soon sign up for a dance class. ``It made me think I could do it - dance like him.''

As moviegoers filed out of the AMC Burbank 16 showing, they seemed to float to some unseen Fred Astaire or Ginger Rogers impulse.

``We'll have to sign up for a class,'' said Nancy Sullivan, 63, of North Hollywood, a widow who loves to tango. ``It's been a long time.''

``He was dancing in the aisle when it ended,'' said Katherine Larson of her husband. ``(Dancing) makes you happy.''

Dana Bartholomew, [phone]

dana.bartholomew(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Instructor Tom Antonellis dances the salsa with Katie Johnson as students watch at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio.

(2 -- color) ``Shall We Dance?'' has inspired new sign-ups for ballroom dance lessons. Here the movie poster hangs on the wall of Arthur Murray's in Sherman Oaks.

(3 -- color) Instructor Sonya Micheals dances with Peter Van Nuys of Torrance at the Arthur Murray studio in Sherman Oaks.

(4 -- color) Pairs practice basic dance steps in lessons at Arthur Murray's. The surge in interest in dancing after the release of ``Shall We Dance?'' is similar to that seen after ``Saturday Night Fever.'' Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer