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