Category: West Coast Swing

If I could play an instrument I could get my music fix without dancing. I don’t and so I must dance! You may be saying to your self…”Self (cause thats how self conversations start…right?) couldn’t he just listen to the music to get his fix?” Which is like asking someone addicted to 8 cups of coffee a day if they could drink warm water instead. 

Listening only involves one sense…hearing. Swing dancing utilizes ALL of the senses making the experience total body. You see your partner, feel their connection, hear the music, smell each other (this part can be just as bad as it is good which is why personal hygiene is a vital part of the equation), and you taste your own sweat as things get cooking (I nearly wrote a check that my ass couldn’t cash when I said ALL five senses so lets pretend it sounds normal and move on, shall we?)

For an outsider or beginner dancer the description above may seem like its bordering on disgusting at times but just like my coffee example…no one “likes” black coffee the first time they take a sip. What you like is what coffee gives you after you drink it and partner dancing is no different. No one gets up in the morning and looks forward to tasting their own sweat but when it happens in conjunction with a great dance you wouldn’t have it any other way.

“How do I have a great dance every time?” you ask. There are some keys to it but they all start with practice. Dancing after the lesson at a social doesn’t count either. You must do a little bit of drilling the basics every day. You don’t have to be an animal about it and work for an hour at a time but if you take 5 minutes and move through these 7 basics (see top video on home page)  to a song it makes ALL of the difference in the world!

Only when our body can go through the motions on “auto pilot” can we begin to focus on what is happening in the music. if you can’t think about something other than your whip while you are whipping(or being whipped) you may not even be dancing on the beat. If you are not focused on the music it may as well not be playing right?

This Friday is my actual birthday and in leu of any gifts (or that gawd awful birthday song) I am accepting donations for Youth Storm in any amount (or nothing…no pressure) This week I am playing a ton of new music and some stuff that I haven’t heard in a long while (for some of you it will be completely new sounding). I have already ready heard from several friends that are traveling up to celebrate the night away with us so I expect we will be going later than usual. Bring your dancing shoes and I will have the extra water and pizza to accommodate everyone!

Tuesday January 14th (Every Tuesday in January)

$10

7:30 Beginner/Advanced Beginner

Dance 7:30-?

125 N. Lowell Rd 

Bingo Hall in Windham, NH

(the light for the sign is out so look for the giant Silo and its across the street)

This Friday  (Pizza Party)

$10

Lesson 7:30-8:15 (level is very Beginner Friendly) 

Dance 8:15-?

DNE School of Dance

78 Princeton St.

Chelmsford, Ma

Sunday Night 

$10

6-6:45 2-Step lesson

6:45-7:30pm WCS

7:30-? California Mixer

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD (Rt 20)

Wayland, MA

This past Tuesday Morning my Grampy died. He was not sickly nor did suffer, in fact he lived his life to the absolute fullest and when he had enough he left this world to be with my Memere his wife of 62 years! His 3 passions where smoking good cigars (where I get that awesome habit from) drinking scotch, and passing his wisdom down to his children, Grandchildren, Great Grand Children, and yes even a couple of Great Great Grandchildren.  Grampy taught me  many important things… For example There is a great place on 495 to really open your car up easily hitting 100MPH without having to worry about the police and their radar guns because there is simply no place for them to hide. Incidentally He left out the part that this only applies to the southbound side but don’t worry my ticket was only $300. Amoung other things he also shared that you should never leave the house without your pocket knife. If you treat your wife like the queen of the castle by default you become the king…incidentally this does not work the other way around. He taught me that the expression “Boys will Be Boys” is completely true! In fact as a man it still applied to him…and I am so thankful that he understood us all as children and he let us be the boys we were….Nothing seemed to ever bother him?…”Grampy can I help?” …”Of Course you can!” “Grampy could I try?” …”As long as you are careful” “Grampy do you know how to fix this” “I don’t, but I would be happy to try and figure it out with YOU” and that was in the first 5 minutes of every visit! This weekend my family will pass our stories around and I am sure we will laugh and cry with each other. This is one of my favorite Grampy stories. He had taken me to watch the Super Modified Race cars and when we pulled into his driveway at Old County Rd. I got out of the car and slammed the door of his car as hard as I could. Up till then I thought that ALL car doors should be slammed or they wouldn’t shut because every car my family owned up till then required some serious effort to get the doors to stay shut.  This was Grampy’s car and I wanted to be extra sure that his door was closed. So I put every ounce of strength I had into this particular slam. In my mind I was returning the favor…after all he took me to races, helped me find the bathroom so I didn’t have an accident, and bought me ice cream all on the same day…I had to be sure that this one time the door would close and stay closed! I loved my Grampy and wanted to give him the gift of not having to re-close my door. It would it be fair to say that door slamming was high on his very short list of pet peeves…but this particular one had to have shot straight to the top where it stayed forever!  He would have been more than justified to give me a smack, taken away a privilege, or a verbal dressing down. But this was not his way. With extreme patience he pulled me aside and asked calmly “Why did you slam my door?” I had no idea that he inside he was boiling mad.  I answered honestly “I wanted to make sure that it was closed all the way for you Grampy” He then opened his car door and closed it all the way with just one finger…”When you slam doors, before you know it that is the only way they will close. When you close doors gentle and firm they will close easy every time. You try it”  Sure enough his door closed with very little effort. He didn’t teach me how to close HIS door…He taught me how to close ALL doors.   Whether you called him Frank, Dad, or Grampy he called upon you to treat the world as he did…with a smile…but not his smile…he wanted yours! He challenged himself every single day to make someone else smile. He would say “Make someone smile every day, it cost you nothing and you never know how much they might have needed it!” How could you argue with that logic?   Can you help me make my Grampy’s living wish come true? Do you accept his challenge? Can you make someone smile every day? Tonight  (Pizza Party) $10 Lesson 7:30-8:15 (level is very Beginner Friendly)  Dance 8:15-? DNE School of Dance 78 Princeton St. Chelmsford, Ma This Saturday (I am Teaching a WCS Lesson) $10 Lesson 7:00-8:00 Dance 8:00-11:00pm DNE School of Dance 78 Princeton St. Chelmsford, Ma Then: I am Dancing at Twirl The Girl $30-All night pass! 2 workshops & dance Starting at 7:00 with Kimmie and Jimmy! $20-1 workshop & dance  $12-Dance after 9:15pm  Location K of C The Bouffard Council 15 Bassett Street North Providence, RI 02904  Tuesday January 21st (This past Tuesday we double our Attendance!) $10 7:30 Beginner/Advanced Beginner Dance Practice 8:15-? 125 N. Lowell Rd  Bingo Hall in Windham, NH (the light for the sign is out so look for the giant Silo and its across the street) 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!

As I moved up the ranks from beginner to intermediate, then advanced everyone around me was obsessed with dancing to slow music. Every pro, DJ, and advanced dancer waited with bated breath for the “late night groove” to begin and that is when the songs with slower tempos were played. The thought was that only the most advanced dancers could dance proficiently to slow music which made it special to have a solid 1/2 hour of smooth jazz, soft blues, and romantic ballads. 

Although some of my greatest dances, best memories, and favorite songs came out of this time period I was puzzled by something. If slow music is so difficult to dance to, then why were the instructors playing slower songs when the pattern was more difficult? The answer is simple…Slow music is easier to dance to! The only challenge with dancing to slow music is being patient enough to not out dance the beat. It requires a little more focus but you have the time because the song is slower. Here is the best part…ALL of this extra time in the music gives you a chance to really work your connection, stretch, and partnering. 

This week’s lesson is a reworking of our basics to slower music. All levels from the most beginner to advanced will get something out of this class…Lets all enjoy some “late night groove” together!

Tuesday January 14th (Every Tuesday in January)

$10

7:30 Beginner/Advanced Beginner

Dance 7:30-?

125 Lowell Rd 

Bingo Hall in Windham, NH

(the light for the sign is out so look for the giant Silo and its across the street)

This Wednesday – Twirl The Girl (I am the DJ)

$12-Dance after 9:15pm 

Location
K of C The Bouffard Council
15 Bassett Street
North Providence, RI 02904 

This Friday  (Pizza Party)

$10

Lesson 7:30-8:15 (level is very Beginner Friendly) 

Dance 8:15-?

DNE School of Dance

78 Princeton St.

Chelmsford, Ma

This Saturday (I am Teaching a WCS Lesson) $10 Lesson 7:00-8:00 Dance 8:00-11:00pm DNE School of Dance 78 Princeton St. Chelmsford, Ma Then: I am Dancing at Twirl The Girl $30-All night pass! 2 workshops & dance Starting at 7:00 with Kirsten Obermiller! $20-1 workshop & dance  $12-Dance after 9:15pm  Location K of C The Bouffard Council 15 Bassett Street North Providence, RI 02904

Sunday Night 

$10

6-6:45 2-Step lesson

6:45-7:30pm WCS

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

Lets talk about something important…Lets talk about loyalty…Honor…Respect…and Who has it is the dance world.

Not often, but every couple of months I get asked why I choose to teach and dance so far away from home. Lets face it the drive to Longfellow’s Club JoEllen is an hour and ten minutes door to door from my home in NH, and there are 50 places to get my dance on that are closer but I take the pilgrimage every single week. My answer is simple…JoEllen is the reason. JoEllen was a very close friend of mine that had a stroke which eventually took her life the day after Christmas in 2005. Although very few days go by that I don’t think about her, this story is not about a light that burned out before we all where ready its about how bright that light shined for all to see. 

When JoEllen first hired me to DJ on Sunday nights I was the 5th DJ in a 4 week rotation. This meant I got to DJ only when there was a fifth Sunday, or once per quarter. My 3rd time DJing I hit a rough patch and played several songs in a row that were not a good fit for my audience. Amid the 30+ complaints that she fielded JoEllen never wavered on me with the malcontents. She simply smiled at them, put her hand to there shoulder and said “Its only 3.5 minutes out of your life…Relax…have a cookie and a sip of water and there will be a new song.” She then calmly walked up to me and asked me if I could play a couple of “Old School Favorites”?

At the end of the night I knew that I had let her down. Two hundred people had come out to get their dance on, at her venue, and the jackass playing the music ruined the whole thing. If she had chastised me it would have been well deserved. Had she fired me on the spot I would not have blamed her. What she did I hope to some day be able to pay forward because it changed my life as a DJ, dancer, and person. She looked me in the eye and said “You have a gift for finding some un believable music. Some of the stuff you played tonight was so good that unfortunately I think a lot of it was lost on your audience. Tonight was too much of a good thing…You need to ease these folks into  your music if you are going to be that different. Just so you know there were over 30 complains tonight about your music but I think you are great so I am going to invite you back next month to fill in for Paul (the fan favorite at the time). It was like striking out in the minor leagues and being called up to the “Big Show” for the World Series.

This was JoEllen. She didn’t cheap shot anyone…She never kicked you when you were down…She only loved! She loved music, dancing, and YOU! So even though she is gone, her club lives on through those of us that love all things dance. Some of us would never think of dancing somewhere else if Club JoEllen is hosting a dance.

My Good Friend Rob Glover is Teaching at Longfellow’s Club JoEllen this Saturday and Sunday. His classes are very high energy and he is a riot! I plan on dancing the night away on the biggest WCS floor in New England  and I hope to see you there as well!

 Also don’t forget about the weekly lesson in Windham, NH that Starts this Tuesday. I have a young energetic group of young adults that have a passion for learning swing this past week’s attendance was UNBELIEVABLE! 

This Friday  

$10

Lesson 7:30-8:15 (level is Beginner Friendly) 

Dance 8:15-?

DNE School of Dance

78 Princeton St.

Chelmsford, Ma

This Saturday 

$10

8-9 lesson

9-12:30pm

WCS 

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD (Rt 20)

Wayland, MA

Sunday Night 

$10

6-6:45 2-Step lesson

6:45-7:30pm WCS

7:30-? California Mixer

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD (Rt 20)

Wayland, MA

Tuesday January 14th (Every Tuesday in January)

$10

7:30 Beginner/Advanced Beginner

Dance 7:30-?

125 Lowell Rd 

Bingo Hall in Windham, NH

There is a lot of ugliness in this world that we can either choose to ignore or look into our selves and see what we can do change it from within. This Friday is Ugly Sweater Friday and I am hosting the party before the New Year in hopes of bringing about some change. Inside each of us there is something ugly that is covering up something beautiful. We wear the ugly sweater to symbolically put the our demons out where all can see them there by holding ourselves accountable to make the change. 

As we head into the season of resolution my hope is that each and everyone of us change something that really matters in our hearts. I for one will be wearing my biggest demon out in the open this Friday…You may not know this about me but, I tend to buck the system in the name of what I believe is right…I know its hard for you to believe that shy quiet me would ever find a reason to stand up against “the man” so I can voice my opinion and prove the “the other side” is wrong… but Its true and I want to make a change! 

This year’s goal is to live and let live. People do and say things that I do not agree with all of the time and they have every right to live their life as they see fit. My sweater is going to represent the curmudgeon that seems to be hardwired inside of me. This year I will replace him with a happy go lucky kindred spirit that is excited for someone that has a different point of view. 

Ok I put mine out there and on my sweater…Now its your turn to name your demon and make a change even if its only a small one!

See you this Friday with your Ugly Sweater!

This Friday 

$10

Lesson 7:30-8:15 (level is Beginner Friendly) 

Dance 8:15-?

DNE School of Dance

78 Princeton St.

Chelmsford, Ma

This Sunday

$10

6-6:45 Intermediate 2-Step Lesson (with me)

6:45-7:30 Intermediate 

Dance 7:30-?

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr

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