Club JoEllen Purple Party – Event Details
Date: Sunday, September 13, 2026
Location: Club JoEllen – Longfellow Club (Boston area) 524 Boston Post Rd Wayland, Ma
Theme: Purple Party – celebrating JoEllen and the Club JoEllen dancing legacy. If you have something purple, wear it. If you don’t, then don’t give it a second thought… JoEllen would have wanted you to come as you are!
Lesson: 6:15 Country 2-Step
Dance Party: 7-10pm
Cost: $20
My Dance Journey: From Dive Bar to Club JoEllen and Dancing in Boston
I started my lead‑and‑follow dance journey at the dive bar of dive bars, ten years after line dancing had seen its peak. The White Buffalo, once a staple for Country Music Television’s “Line Dancing Showcase,” was so run down that we 2‑stepped around collection barrels when it rained. You had a 50/50 shot, when asking someone to dance, that they knew how, so the culture was very relaxed and no one thought anything of teaching right on the dance floor. It’s how I learned the 2‑Step basics!
I had the dance bug and started taking private lessons from someone who came highly recommended. After a few lessons, my instructor Cathy took me on a field trip to the Longfellow Club. The dance floor was massive and gorgeous, the dancers ALL seemed to know what they were doing, the music was intoxicating, and the partners were endless… I had found my new spot!
How I Became a DJ at Club JoEllen
After a year, of dancing at the Longfellow Club, I had discovered and collected enough music to ask JoEllen, the dance coordinator, for an audition to be one of her DJs. My buddy Paul let me play six songs after his 2‑Step mixer. I brought my A‑game and landed a 5th‑Sunday trial spot.
At my second audition, I played some music that I had always wanted to dance to, and judging from the response I got, I was in the minority. Before the night ended, I rallied with some old favorites and won the crowd back over, but JoEllen pulled me aside and had some gentle but choice words for me.
“You have some amazing music, but tonight you played stuff that was ‘too cool’ for the room. We have plenty of Boston country and swing dancers that enjoy newer songs, but just as many love the old favorites. I need you to consider making a bunch of sh*t sandwiches if you are going to experiment. Play an old stand by then a new song and finish with another old stand by. Music is the most important thing in dancing, and if you can’t play to your crowd, you can’t play here. I have you booked for the next 5th Sunday and I trust that will be enough time for you to figure your set out.”
She was coaching me and at the same time warning me as to how important my next showing was. Back then, Sunday nights drew 150–200 dancers, and the program was vibrant. Every year, three or four new DJs would try out and the rotation almost never changed unless someone quit or moved away.
My next showing, I played to my crowd. I paid attention to how many people danced to each song, and I wore them all out. That performance cemented every 5th Sunday for me and eventually earned me a residency on the second Sunday of every month.
JoEllen’s Legacy and the Birth of Club JoEllen
JoEllen passed tragically in 2005, and the club was renamed “Club JoEllen” in her honor. Her favorite color was purple, so our DJ tablecloth was purple and proudly displayed “Club JoEllen” on the front. Her favorite 2‑Step was Shania Twain’s “Forever and For Always,” and to this day it will pack the dance floor in that club.
COVID ended my 16‑year residency as DJ and my eight‑year run as the Sunday night 2‑Step/WCS instructor. Club JoEllen lives on with the help of Steel Shane and Alan Gaskell running dances when they can, but the program is not what it used to be.
Rebuilding the Boston Country & Swing Dance Community
My hope is to bring back all of the old friends that danced back in the day and introduce them to the new batch of dancers that enjoy all of the same dances now. Together I think we can rebuild this community!
Lesson and Dance Schedule
The lesson at 6:15 pm will not only be 2‑Step, but it will be the very first lesson plan that I ever taught in that space.
The party after will run from 7:00–10:00 pm and will feature:
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2‑Stepping
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East Coast Swing (ECS)
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Waltz
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Night Club 2
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Cha‑Cha
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West Coast Swing (WCS)
We will have a 2‑Step mixer and will all dance a tribute to JoEllen with her favorite song.
Invite Your Dance Friends
My hope is that if you are reading this, you send it to someone you know who used to attend those parties or someone who would appreciate great music in that epic dance space. Share this event with your Boston‑area dance friends, country dancers, and West Coast Swing folks So we can celebrate JoEllen’s Boston dancing legacy….Together we can fill that floor again and celebrate everything JoEllen built.
If you want to improve your WCS dancing check out my 3 part series on dancing with straight legs, how to, and the body mechanics behind the why.
