Category: West Coast Swing

Mr Jonathan’s West Coast Swing events and services

Posted on

The Disco Ball At The Roma

Mr. Jonathan’s Disco Ball

$20 Friday June 14, 2024 7-10pm in the Roma Restaurant ballroom on the second floor at 29MiddlesexS t Haverhill, Ma

Call or text 603-475-1391 with any questions.

7PM EASY SWING LESSON
8-10PM DANCING
THE MUSIC WILL BE A CALIFORNIA MIX WITH SWING
AND HUSTLE HEAVILY FEATURED SO BREAK OUT THOSE BELLBOTTOMS, PLATFORM SHOES, AND LEISURE SUITS!

Disco balls got their start in the 1920’s as swing via “Big Band Jazz” came into popularity. Later in the 70’s they became synonymous with disco music. Although disco music is the precursor to modern day House music at its root it shares more with swing than not. From large bands, complex syncopations, multiple musical instruments featured and dramatically arranged, they both changed the musical landscape forever. Both were loved by the masses for 3.5 years and then they were both turned on by pop culture at the time only to find their resurgence later in the form of competition dancing.

Over the years I have amassed a collection of great disco swing music that blurs the lines between hustle and swing. What I love about these two dances is that they can share the floor with each other without either interfering with the other. The party will be our standard California mix with some extra swingy hustles thrown in for good measure. I hope you all join me as I celebrate the last great renaissance in musical creativity and dress like it’s the late 70’s all over again. If its vintage great…If its a cheap costume off of amazon that is great too…if its a recycled costume from last halloween its even better!

Want to learn how to swing dance? Check out my Thursday night swing class!

Here are the details:

6:45-7:00 Basics lesson (when there are beginners otherwise we begin at 6:45)

7:00-7:45 Intermediate Lesson

There will be a guided dance practice time that follows and I am available for dances and questions with plans to wrap the night up by 8:45 The restaurant closes at 9pm

The cost of the night is $20

Its held at 29 Middlesex st

Haverhill, Ma 01835

Upstairs in the Ballroom

Posted on

Finding Your Connection in WCS

Finding your connection starts with great contact with the floor. It then comes from good central movement from both partners. Once contact is made, connection happens only when both parties are in complete opposition to each other.

The video linked to this article is a great illustration of this concept in action. Watch how Melissa keeps turning (about 30 seconds in) as she is searching for Ben’s connection. She makes no assumptions about what he may be leading. She simply (not saying it’s easy) goes from point A to point B and from connection to connection. She sits in the “pocket” of Ben’s lead for what seems like an eternity, yet they are never off time or out of sync.

This is the concept we drill in this month’s “Finding Your Connection” unit. These classes are never “stacked” — you don’t need to attend one to understand the next. The more of them you attend, the more reps and drills you’ll have under your belt.

Want to know when the next Finding Your Connection class is happening? Email me: MrJ@MrJonathanIsMyDJ.com and ask to be added to my list.

More articles that illustrated examples of the importance of connections:

Connection Creates Direction

Connection is a Universal Language

The Formula Behind Great West Coast Swing Connection

Posted on

Musicality Starts with Connection

Musicality Starts with connection

Musicality starts with connection but where does connection start? Is it in the hands? Could the feet have something to do with it? Does it go deeper into the body?

When we learn to walk as babies we figure out how to drive our center of gravity forward to stay balanced under our giant baby heads. Eventually we grow into our giant heads and we move through the world driving from our center of gravity in every activity from jump starting a standard transmission to playing tug of war. Every movement we make where we try to get something else to move we naturally move our hips into position. Then we see people couple dancing, we take a lesson, and we revert back in time to when we struggled to move our own bodies.

This week I plan to share with you the drill I use to help me connect with my partner on a deeper level. I know we are in a unit on how to be more musical and it seems like I am talking about some pretty basic stuff here but in order to lead or follow each other and “play” with the music, your connection must be on point. In order for your connection to be on point you must be moving the right way.

Check out how well these two dancers communicate with each other through connection. Look at how many times they achieve stillness. Check out how little energy they are wasting. Listen to the announcer at the end and then go back and watch the video one more time…Yeah its even more amazing the second time when you notice what you missed the first time around!

See you Thursday
304 S. Broadway
Salem NH 03079
$20 per person
6:30-7:30 Lesson
7:30-8:30 Guided Practice

Posted on

West Coast Swing in January

Thank you to all my West Coast Swing friends who showed up to not only support me as the DJ but the country dance scene in general. We are running out of venues who play this style of music and it felt so good to get out there and party with all of you. I was also able to dust off some Musical gems that I have not played or heard in a long time as well as the new music I found in the last couple of weeks.

This week December 24th Class is West Coast Swing Musicality

We are going to do a quick recap of some of the musical patterns we just learned and start to play with HOW to use them in our dance. I plan to keep it light, playful, and of course musical!
Here are the details for our next Thursday class:

The Thursdays Class, December 21st
6:30 lesson (West Coast Swing)
7:30ish There will be a guided dance practice time that follows and I am available for dances and questions with plans to wrap the night up by 8:30.
Cost $20
Its held at 304 S. Broadway in Salem, NH
Its Two Guys Smoke Shop across from T-Bones on Route 28 (Front Right hand Door)
You are welcome to park anywhere in the lot including the spots out front labeled for 20 minutes. We are using the door closest to the giant sign which will be marked with a sign.

Up Coming Events:
January 7th
Sweeny Post
for our California Mix at
Sweeny Post #2
251 Maple St, Manchester, NH 03103
Lesson 6-7 Cha-Cha Patterns W/Ray Huard
Dancing 7-9 (Julie Lutter DJ)
Cost: $20

January 14th
Sweeny Post
for our California Mix at
Sweeny Post #2
251 Maple St, Manchester, NH 03103
Lesson 6-7 Foxtrot Patterns W/Ray Huard
Dancing 7-9 (Julie Lutter DJ)
Cost: $20

About Ray Huard
PaperMoon Ballroom Instructor & Choreographer
Raymond Huard began ballroom dancing in 1997. He has studied at studios throughout New England, most notably with coaches Ian Folker, Ed Simon, Michael Ulbrich, and Suzanne Hamby. He specializes in American Smooth, American Rhythm and International Standard and has won the trust and affection of many students, who regularly place at or near the top of their events at Pro/Am competitions. Ray began competing in the Professional Rising Star American Smooth category in September 2009 with his partner Maria Huard under the coaching of Larinda McRaven, and danced in the finals at competitions throughout the Northeast.

January 19th
Roma Restaurant
29 Middlesex St.,Haverhill, MA
(Some GPS units may have this listed as Bradford, Ma)
7:30pm Lesson West Coast Swing
8:30-10:30pm West Coast Swing Dancing
Cost is $20
This is a restaurant with a full menu downstairs. My Friend Brett just bought it and has been making some serious improvements on the menu. If you like Italian style food you can certainly go a little early and have a meal making for a great date night. This may be a beginner crowd and has potential to draw a younger audience so I am coming in with the plan being no plan. I will be ready to teach to what ever level of dancer shows up and if it goes well we may have a new new spot to dance. The dance floor is hardwood and is spectacular!

January 28th
Sweeny Post
for our California Mix at
Sweeny Post #2
251 Maple St, Manchester, NH 03103
Lesson 6-7 Night Club 2 W/Mr. Jonathan
Dancing 7-9 (Mr. Jonathan DJ)
Cost: $20

Posted on

Why Should I Care About Musicality?

Students often ask me, “Why should I bother with Musicality when I can hardly distinguish between 6 and 8 count patterns?” My response varies, ranging from “Maybe it’s not your priority right now” to “It’s the essence of why you should embrace this dance.” I’ve given every possible answer in between. I understand that not everyone is as immersed in dance as I am, but as someone with ADHD, let me tell you why this dance has held my fascination for the past 25 years!

To comprehend the significance, we need to grasp what it means to be musical. In our dance, we work with 6 and 8 count patterns, each having its own inherent pulse accentuated by direction changes, pauses, or accelerations. Similarly, music has its pulse with accents typically on counts 1 and/or 5. Musicality is the art of harmonizing the natural accents of each pattern with the song’s accents. The more you achieve this synchronization, the more fulfilling the dance experience becomes. I’m not suggesting you can’t have fun without being musical; it’s like enjoying cake without knowing how to bake one. However, like everything else, there are different levels to this dance, and I hope you’ll join me on this journey!

What I find most appealing about musicality is that you can improve with practice. Constant exposure to new music keeps things exciting. What’s great is that both you and your dance partner don’t have to engage in musicality simultaneously. Two dancers at different skill levels can have a blast—one embracing musicality while the other focuses on maintaining the tempo during their triples.

Here are some patterns that lend themselves really well to being musical: