© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

De Barker: KC's Queen Of The Line Dance & The Two-Step

De Barker (right) teaches Kansas City Two Step.
Susan B. Wilson
/
KCUR
De Barker (right) teaches Kansas City Two Step.

When it comes to line dancing, most people think of country & western dances like the Boot Scootin’ Boogie. But in African American communities all over the country, “soul” line dancing is everywhere—at wedding and retirement receptions, nightclubs and parties.Here locally, the Kansas City Two-Step—a couples dance—is also wildly popular.

And we have our own line and step-dancing guru: De Barker is a software engineer by day, and, in the evening, she teaches line dancing and two- step at the Southeast Community Center.

De Barker is hosting an event called I Dance With Deon April 27 and 28 at Southeast Community Center.

This story was produced for KC Currents, which airs Sundays at 5pm with a repeat Mondays at 8pm. To listen on your own schedule, subscribe to the KCCurrents podcast.

A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
KCUR serves the Kansas City region with breaking news and award-winning podcasts.
Your donation helps keep nonprofit journalism free and available for everyone.