STEPPING OUT; BIG NIGHT NEARS FOR DANCING NEOPHYTES.

Byline: Gloria Gonzales / Daily News Staff Writer

Students and faculty in Sandi Patterson's dance class at Moorpark College have a deadline looming, but not midterms.

Those attending the Moorpark College 30th Anniversary Community Ball on Sept. 20 have exactly eight days to brush up on their ballroom techniques, eight days before a friend or colleague extends a hand and asks the question that inspires dread in the awkward and keeps the clumsy crowded around the bar: ``May I have this dance?''

``That's the purpose of this class,'' Patterson told a class of dance neophytes Wednesday afternoon. ``To provide you with an eclectic universe of steps, so whoever grabs you and pulls you toward the dance floor, you'll have some idea what to do.

``As a single lady waiting to dance this is especially important, since she doesn't know what to expect from a man asking her to dance - or I should say more precisely that she doesn't know which variation he'll lead into,'' she said.

The ball is the culminating evening in a series of lectures, exhibits and events celebrating the college's 30th anniversary.

During Wednesday's class, faculty, staff and students practiced several variations on the basic steps that make up the East Coast Swing. Watching the unskilled pairs step-brush-kick-step to a steamy rendition of ``Night Train,'' it was sometimes difficult to say who was leading whom.

``We're just learning these steps but we came last week, too,'' said Ginny Sullivan, a computer science instructor who brought her husband, Tom, an airline pilot, along to the dance lessons. ``We like the fox trot and we're pretty good at it. I think we're ready for the ball, or at least we can fake it pretty well.''

That may be half the battle, according to Patterson, who has taught ballroom dance at the college for 22 years.

``I know it's a little harder when you add the kick before the step,'' she said. ``Just remember that if you miss a step, it's not a mistake, it's a variation!''

Mary Seko, a petite ceramics instructor practicing with Patterson, went through the sequence a second time, her eyes firmly locked on her instructor's feet.

``I use a lot of `variations,' '' Seko chuckled. ``I don't know if I'll go to the ball, I just thought it would be fun to come here and learn some steps.''

Patterson worked with each pair, and left them with this parting advice.

``Gaze into your partner's eyes instead of looking at his or her feet,'' said the statuesque dancer, sweeping her hand up from her chest to her chin to demonstrate the proper posture. ``It's harder to look down at the feet if you're gazing into each others' eyes . . . and the secret is, if you look down, so will everyone else, and then everyone notices what's happening with your feet.''

Moorpark faculty, staff and students can attend one more class prior to the 30th Anniversary Community Ball. The final class - from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Wednesday in Room 122 of the gymnasium - will focus on the waltz.

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3 Photos

PHOTO (1--color) Moorpark College dance instructor Sandi Patterson shows ceramics teacher Mary Seko a spin at the college on Wednesday.

(2--color) Sandi Patterson gives pointers to Ginny Sullivan, who dances with her husband, Tom.

(3--ran in Conejo edition only) Computer science instructor Ginny Sullivan and Tom, her husband, execute a dance move at Moorpark College on Wednesday.

Hans Gutknecht/Daily News