Category: West Coast Swing

To reiterate, for this article only, an Elite dancer is someone who can recognize a patten quickly and be proficient at said pattern in a very short amount of time. Think back to your high school or college years when you took that first foreign language class. There were the kids that were good at remembering the information from that “cram session” the night before, and then there were the kids that learned how to think in the foreign language (when I was in high school spanish these were the dudes who impressed the spanish ladies on our class trip to Spain). Is learning a new dance so different from learning how to converse in a foreign language? 

The only way  to be proficient in anything you must to be able to think in that activity. The only way you can “think in swing”  is to put in your time by your self and master your footwork. Larry Bird once nailed 30 3pt shoots in a row at a shoot off in the late 80’s. He was the first Celtic on the court before practice and the last to leave after practice. Nobody worked harder off the competition court than he did and no one could make it look as easy as he did until Michael Jordan came along…the only man willing to work harder than Bird.

There are two ways to transition into that “elite” status “pay to play” or “blood, sweat, and tears.” I see people in the chat rooms talking about how if you want to get good you hire top pros and pay them for private lessons. That is certainly one way to go about it. The other way is to study your self dancing in the mirror. Be you own critic. Record your self dancing and analyze what you like and what you don’t. Watch YouTube videos of pros you think look like the dancer that you see your self becoming. Think about your dancing while you are on your lunch break. Listen to music that makes you want to dance…Live it…Breath it…and Be it! 

As a side bar if you pick the “blood, sweat, and tears” route you will never enjoy dance more than you will on your journey. Notice I didn’t say you will never enjoy it more once you arrive. There is no arrive! Its a journey you will be on for the rest of your life. However, nothing in your life will give you the same high as a great dance, to a great song, with a great partner…Nothing!

Coming soon to my news letter will be the “real” story behind what happened to swing music, why “Top 40” is being pushed back out, and when swing will see its resurgence…Stay tuned!

 

Here is what is happening this weekend:

 Friday Night

$10

7:30 – 8:15pm Lesson
8:15 – ? Social Dance Practice
DNE School of Dance
78 Princeton St
N. Chelmsford, MA

As I travel from venue to venue teaching, DJing, and dancing just for fun, I have notice that we are turning over an awful lot of dancers. Even at my own dances the faces seam to change all too quickly and it has given me pause to think about why that is. These next couple of weeks I am going to touch on some topics that most people on the “inside” are not comfortable discussing. They need to be talked about and so I am going to bring them up. If you disagree with my thoughts or have thoughts of your own, I welcome yours. Simply reply and I would love to hear from you.

There is no dance this week as I will be traveling with the Radio Show. Next week we will pick up where we left off and I hear through the grape vine that some old friends will be joining us on Friday the 24th…I for one can’t wait!

Sunday Night 

$10

6-6:45 2-Step lesson w/Mike and Donna

6:45-7:30pm WCS w/Mike and Donna

7:30-? California Mixer w/Steel

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

Leadership is the manipulation of energy. 

Following is the embodiment of energy.

Connection is the tie that binds the two together.

Mr. Jonathan

www.MrJonathanIsMyDJ.com

603 475 1391  

Dance on! 

This weekend I got some advanced notice that a couple of my favorite swing friends are going to be in the area on Friday night and they plan on swinging by to get their dance on! Also I am DJing this Sunday night at Longfellow’s Club JoEllen…So basically my entire weekend will be filled with Joy, Music, and of course Dance!

Here is What the Weekend Looks like:

Friday  

$10

Lesson 7:30-8:15 

Dance 8:15-?

DNE School of Dance

78 Princeton St. Chelmsford, Ma

If you are looking for a place to dance on Saturday night Longfellow’s is hosting a World Champion Instructor:

Saturday October 11th

2 West Coast Swing Workshops

with

World Champion

Reisa Alexander! 

7:00 – 8:00 All level – Improving Your WCS With Connection

  

8:00 – 9:00 Snazzy Patterns & Styling – Intermediate West Coast Swing

  

Intermediate Workshops $30/2, $15/1 Both lessons includes admission into the dance

8:00 – 9:00 Beginner West Coast Swing Lesson with Steele Shane

  

9:00 – 12:30  West Coast Swing Dance

  

Beginner Lesson $10 includes dance

Dance only $10

I belong to a 3000+ discussing page on facebook and a question was posed: WCS is the land of the cool kid bullies…How much longer will this “High School Mentality” continue? The cool kids can do and say what ever/whenever they want until a “cooler kid” calls them out on it and everyone jumps on the band wagon. When will it be that what is right is right and what is wrong be wrong?

My friend Kelli Kilgore had the best answer that I had seen:

 

“There comes a time when we all need to just get over ourselves. Yeah I said it. From the top down and the bottom up. We need to take a step back and reset the situation. You have to take some ownership and realize that dancers aren’t just dancers but real people. Talent doesn’t automatically make you grow people skills overnight. Some people are terrible at interacting with others. Some people are just plain jerks. Some people are extremely shy and dance is how they’ve learned to interact with others. I had to ask myself if there is a lead whose ego is too big to fit through door and treats me like trash, why am I crying in a corner when they turn me down? Cause they are supposedly so “awesome”? Screw that! There are plenty of awesome people in the room and they don’t need the most points or notoriety for me to enjoy dancing with them. I learned to seek out great dancers and if they are rude and mean, walk away head held high and move on to the next one. Also rejecting a dance and being a jerk aren’t the same thing. That some no’s aren’t as mean as we make them. I am constantly putting myself in check and resetting my expectations and giving people second and third chances to change my opinion of them. But I also have this pie in the sky mentality that there is good in everyone and I make it my mission to seek that good out. I’m not saying you have to go that far LOL that’s my own way of navigating through life in general.”

What a refreshing outlook!

Friday  

$10

Lesson 7:30-8:15 

Dance 8:15-?

DNE School of Dance

78 Princeton St. Chelmsford, Ma

Sunday Night 

$10

6-6:45 2-Step lesson With Donna Shea

6:45-7:30pm WCS With Donna Shea

7:30-? California Mixer 

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

Leadership is the manipulation of energy. 

Following is the embodiment of energy.

Connection is the tie that binds the two together.

Mr. Jonathan

www.MrJonathanIsMyDJ.com

603 475 1391  

Dance on!