On Friday mornings for the past 30 years, Angel Benes has taught senior adult tap dance for Roseville Parks and Recreation.
Angel demonstrates the proper tap and brush steps to her students and teaches them playful dance routines to crowd-pleasing classics including “Big Spender” and “Mack the Knife.”
But this group of women, who now fill three dance classes, has grown well beyond a dance ensemble striving to perfect their steps. They’ve become friends, who also meet for book and card clubs, field trips and impromptu support sessions.
“I am so motivated by working with these women in the 70s, 80s and 90s. They show up every week. They are there to get some exercise to socialize and to laugh. We do a lot of laughing. No one takes themselves too seriously,” Angel said. “They’ve become my family. They have supported me through two cancer diagnoses the loss of my mom. We as a group have been there to support each other.” 
Like many of her adult students, Angel started dancing as a young child. Dance has been part of his life since then. Even as she pursued a career in the airline industry and later became a mental health therapist and substance abuse counselor, she found time to practice and teach dance.
“For many years I had to negotiate my Friday mornings so I could teach. I would trade work schedules with people, or I would work a night shift so I could continue teaching,” Angel said.
“Teaching dance is a release for me. I have worked some pretty tough jobs, so it’s wonderful to be able to go dance and let go of some of that, to laugh and have fun and connect.”