This obituary is part of a series about people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic.

Even among the many lively cultural worlds of Detroit, the city’s ballroom dancing scene is singular.

Its style incorporates cha-cha steps, glides and twirls to R&B and hip-hop music — think Debbie Allen meets Chaka Khan — and expert Detroit ballroom dancers like Laneeka Barksdale are royalty in Motown.

Ms. Barksdale died on March 23 in a Detroit hospital at 47. The cause was complications of the coronavirus, her brother, Omari Barksdale, said. She had long had severe asthma, an underlying condition that can make people who have it particularly vulnerable to the virus.