Where would you West Coast Swing on Valentines day? Welcome to the King or Queen of Harts Ball! Straight out of the deck of cards red is a symbol of passion, love, and all that is good. Its our West Coast Swing dance for Valentines day!
Dress to impress with your outfit of red. It’s Valentines Day so if you have a date bring them if you don’t there are lots of singles coming and you will make some new friends.
We dance West Coast Swing mostly but pepper in a ton of crossover Ballroom, Country, and Hustle…If you know how to dance you won’t stop all night. If you don’t know how to dance there is a lesson at 8pm to go over the basics and lots of friendly people to help you get started all night long.
I worked out a Valentines deal with the Roma so I expect some new dancers to come exploring what is going on upstairs!
Friday February 14th 7-11pm
$20pp
Roma Restaurant
29 Middlesex St
Haverhill, Ma
Join Mr. Jonathan and the band “Just Alright” at the iconic:
Roma Restaurant
29 Middlesex St
Haverhill, Ma
for an epic evening of swing dancing to both live and pre-recorded music!
Early bird pricing $40 pp includes:
7-8pm Easy swing Lesson
8-11pm California Mix of Swing, Ballroom, Country
Hors D’oeuvres stations, Climate Controled Room, Wood Floor
Lots of Space to Dance, No Partner Necessary, Dress To Impress
Tickets Purchased on or by January 10th will also recieve a free lesson on January 30th’s Thursday night swing class. Tickets purchased after Jan 10th will be $47.QUESTIONS? CALL OR TEXT 603-475-1391
If you follow me on the socials you know I love a themed party and I love to connect the dots. We dance our parties at The Roma Restaurant in their Ball Room. When ever I can I try to get the theme to be a “ball”
The Grease Bawl is all about getting dressed up 50’s style. You can come in a Tee-Shirt and Jeans or dressed as a greaser with a leather jacket. Poodle skirts are not mandatory but they are encouraged! See you on the dance floor Friday, October 11th for an easy swing lesson 7-8pm and a California Style Mix of music until 10pm. It’s a great night out for $20!
Connection Creates the Direction. It’s a simple sentence, at first blush, but if we dive into how it relates to leaders leading and follower’s following it proves to be quite powerful. Here is the story of how I came to discover this concept.
When I started following, 20+ years ago, I would move forward on count one because it was count one. Most of the time I would blow by the lead and realize, after it was too late, that I missed something…Connection. West Coast Swing (and the world) had not gone through any form of de-gendering. Back then 99.99% of men lead and 99.99% women followed.
Asking another man to dance was daunting task. I was on a mission to improve my connection as a follower. I was known for being a good leader so the expectations were always higher than I could deliver as a follower. With most leaders I had one shot to “impress” and I blew it time and time again. In those days I could dance 6 nights a week as a leader and maybe score one single yes to dance as a follower. No one has been turned down more than I have.
It was around this time I met Ramiro Gonzalez (click his name to see us dance). Ramiro was/is as good at following as leading. After leading him a handful of times, I worked up the courage to ask him to lead me. The dance began terribly…Ramiro, being a seasoned instructor, recognized right away what the issue was and made suggestions while we danced. We took turns swapping who was leading many more times that weekend and something clicked in my body.
The major shift was from “thinking about what to do” to “feeling where to go.” It no longer matters to my brain what the leader is actually leading. What matters is that I “back into” or “press into” the connection. When I began letting the connection create the direction, I never went back. Connected dancing is like riding a bike…once you do it you can never not do it!
This is the lesson plan I used to teach this concept:
Connection is a universal language. It’s so universal that when I have one of my main video partners tape a figure with me, 95% of the time they do not know what is coming and we tape the figure in one shot. The other 5% is because I forget where I am and have to start over. The leading and following after a certain point becomes second nature and doesn’t need any help for any other language to get expressed.
Just like learning a new language some parts of connection are exactly as they appear and others seem counter intuitive. One thing that connection is not is intermittent. In the same way a pitcher must stay connected to the ball with their follow thru; dancers must stay connected with each other through the entire figure.
Leaders should be looking to be clear and precise so there is no guess work for the follower and no chance they could “pick the wrong direction.” Followers must resist the urge to anticipate any portion of the figure by “riding the leaders lead” aka “staying in the pocket.” Imagine if the baseball was able to anticipate the pitcher’s throw and left the hand early? It would be chaotic!
This week I have a couple of drills that I do to keep myself in the pocket when I follow that are based on Oppositional Reflex. When pushed a good follower pushes back…When pulled a good Follower pulls back…Class on Thursday will get you Connecting Universally!
With respect to the Black & White Ball at the Roma Restaurant…I know that times are tough right now and I know that money can be tight. If you are not buying a ticket to the Black & White Ball because money is tight right now please reach out to me privately by replying to this email or by shooting me a text 603-475-1391 we can work something out I am sure.
