Mr. Jonathan’s World

This week we are shifting our focus from 2-Step to Night Club 2-Step. Last week’s pattern is up for review along with my latest WCS sequence. This is a big weekend for fireworks so I am coming packing with some explosive music for Sunday night. I go on after Fred for the late night party 10pm-12:30am…We don’t have to work the next day so we can leave it ALL on the dance floor. Also since I don’t have to DJ until 10 I do have one private lesson spot open this Sunday night. Shoot me an email if you want it.

$15 (hamburgers and hotdogs provided)

Sunday, July 3rd

Night Club 2-Step: 6pm (New Pattern)

WCS: 6:45pm (New Pattern)

Dance: 7:30pm DJ Fred

Late Night Dance Party 10pm-12:30am DJ Mr. J

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

This Month’s Top Ten Songs That I am Diggin’ On:

Risin’ To The Top – Keni Burke

Light of my Life – The James Hunter Six

Mr. Sexy Man – Mellie Tiger Travis

Being With You – Smokey Robinson & Mary J. Blige

Spoonful – Volker Strifler Band

I’m Your Breadmaker Baby – Lazy Lester

I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight – Jimmy LaFave

Try It Baby(Stereo) – Marvin Gaye

Don’t Mess With My Man – Lucy Pearl

I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water – Victor Fields

This has been a great month for me finding music that you just can help but move to. This month’s “Top Ten” has a little more Blues in it than usual but man does this stuff cook! I hope you will join me this week end as I support my good friend Tessa Antolini while she celebrates 2 full years in business over at Forte Dance in Burlington. She runs a great program over there and deserves the support of the community. The atmosphere that she has created is extremely warm and inviting. Everyone dances with everyone and so far so good there is zero attitude. If you haven’t met Tessa yet this is the weekend to do it. She is teaching at her spot on Friday and then Longfellow’s Club JoEllen on Saturday…She won’t tell me what she is teaching because “It’s a surprise” and I for one can’t wait to find out what she has inshore for us this weekend!

Forte Dance Featuring Forte Fridays Turns 2 Tonight!

7:00pm Music Workshop

8:00pm Musicality Workshop

9-12am Social Dancing & Treats (with music by DJ Josh!)

9-9:30pm FREE Beginner WCS Workshop 

$20 for 2 Workshops + Dance

$10 for 1 Workshop + Dance

$10 for Dance

$10/5 for Students with Active ID 

FREE Beginner WCS Workshop

LOCATION:

Forte Dance

New England Movement Arts

123 Muller Rd. 

Burlington, MA 01803

Saturday, June 11

7:00 – 8:00 PM  – All Level  – West Coast Swing with Tessa Antolini

8:00 – 9:00 PM  – Intermediate West Coast Swing with Tessa Antolini

Tessa’s Workshops $20/2, $15/1 

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

9:00 – 12:30 West Coast Swing dance with DJ Mr Jonathan

$10 Beginner lesson includes dance

$10 dance only

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

Sunday, June 12

2-Step: 6pm (Final Review of D’Amico Patern)

WCS: 6:45pm (Recap of Last Week’s Pattern)

Dance: 7:30pm DJ Mr. Jonathan

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

This Month’s Top Ten Songs That I am Diggin’ On:

Risin’ To The Top – Keni Burke

Light of my Life – The James Hunter Six

Mr. Sexy Man – Mellie Tiger Travis

Being With You – Smokey Robinson & Mary J. Blige

Spoonful – Volker Strifler Band

I’m Your Breadmaker Baby – Lazy Lester

I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight – Jimmy LaFave

Try It Baby(Stereo) – Marvin Gaye

Don’t Mess With My Man – Lucy Pearl

I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water – Victor Fields

So I agreed, a month ago, to go out and see this kid Denis sing last night without realized that it was going to be Cinco De Mayo…The place was packed! If you closed your eyes while he was singing you would swear that the Temptations where on the stage on one song and Barry White on the next. This kid, at 20 years old, is on the cusp of getting discovered I am sure of it. Who knows how long he will be playing at Polcaries in Saugus on a Thursday night but if you want to join me he is coming back in two weeks and I am going to be there. There is no cover charge, its in a speakeasy looking back room of the Restaurant (which is open), and there is a small dance floor which gets sticky but someone had dance wax so we had no problem getting our groove on all night. He goes on at about 8:30 at 92 Broadway Saugus, Ma…His regular schedule is the first Thursday of the month (this month there is an extra show).

This Sunday I am continuing with the John Festa reviews with the lesson plan he taught on Sunday night plus another fun Two Step combination. Then after I am DJing with some new music I found recently and some oldies that I have rediscovered…We are going to have a lot of Fun and I hope YOU can make it ;-)

$10

Sunday, May 8th

2-Step: 6pm

WCS: 6:45pm

Dance: 7:30pm

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

Next Saturday we are featuring Matt and Desirae as the teachers and I will be DJing then as well.

They plan on teaching:

7-8 – Confident Commitment (all levels) $20 both lessons and the dance

-Know your footwork do’s and don’ts…where and why to step so you can dance with more confidence

8-9 – Show it Off (int/adv) $15 this lesson and the dance

-With your foot work correct and your confidence at an all time high its time to dance like you are the prize. Techniques for presenting your self and your partner with Polish

9pm -12am WCS DJ Mr. Jonathan

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

Their Bio:

“A love of expression and music drew both Matt and Desirae to West Coast Swing dance.  They met on the dance floor in 2013 and discovered their passions both for one another and for improving their dance musically and technically, individually and in partnership.  Matt and Desirae travel over 20 weekends a year all over the United States and Canada to compete, together and separately, and learn from the top professionals in the world.  Committed to bettering their teaching, Matt and Desirae are trained in both the Swing Literacy Development Method (SLDM) and the Global Professional Dance Instructors Association (GPDIA) Intermediate level of teacher’s training.  Matt and Desirae can also be found teaching West Coast Swing every Monday in Allston, as well as the second Friday of every month in Burlington.”

This Month’s Top Ten Songs That I am Diggin’ On:

Stay – Temptations

Then I knew – Dave Koz

Cool – The Time

Ain’t No Stopping Us Now – Wayman Tinsdale

Pillow Talk – Sun Soul Orchestra

Tomorrows Girls – Donald Fagen

Take my love with you – Bonnie Raitt

Casanova – Levert

Misbehaving’ – Pentatonix

My Babe – Little Walter (So fast but so great)

I first met John Festa in 2005 at one of his workshops at Longfellows. I remember that I was contemplating leaving swing because I was tired of hiring coaches to teach me “why” the techniques should be done a certain way but so many of them seemed intent on teaching me “what” to do. To me the “why” is the most important part of the learning process. Consider Danielson from the Karate Kid…he was nothing more than a day laborer until Mr. Miyagi illustrated “why” he was waxing on and waxing off. Only once the “why” is understood can we begin to process “what” needs to be done.

This Saturday at Longfellow join us with Living Legend John Festa as he teaches:

7-8pm “Swing Your Partner”

Don’t get nervous folks this is not a class about square dancing! Using basic patterns John is going to break down the “swing” in West Coast Swing. WCS is a leader centric dance, meaning he is physically in the center of the partnership while she travels back and forth. The leader is only half of the story when it comes to swing. This dance is considered to be very difficult to master but only by those that don’t know the “why” that John will reveal during this ALL LEVEL class. Whether you are a leader or a follower this workshop is the easiest and best way to level up.

8-9pm “Extreme Whips”

Stretch, torque, power, and control all converge into a pattern that we call “The Whip!” Whips are the very foundation of West Coast Swing and connect this dance to all other forms of swing. John will start of with the basic whip and then the sky is the limit as you learn how to get the most out of your self, your partner, and the music.

$25 gets you both classes and the dance
$15 gets you “Extreme Whips” and the dance
$10 get you into the dance with DJ John Festa
Longfellow’s Club JoEllen
524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD
(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

John loved teaching our Sunday group so much that he asked to stay over and teach the two classes again. The classes are shorter so he will be more intense with a similar lesson plan on Sunday.

6-6:45pm “Swing Your Partner Harder”
6:45-7:30  “Whips to the Extreme”

$20 gets you both classes and the dance
$15 gets you “Extreme Whips” and the dance
$10 get you into the dance with DJ Mr. Jonathan
Longfellow’s Club JoEllen
524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD
(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

This Week’s Top 10 Songs

Miles Away – Basia
Break Away – Bobby Caldwell
I.G.Y. – Donald Fagen
Rock Me Again & Again – Lyn Collins
Good Times – Ray Bonnevill
Bohemian Cowboy Blues – Jimmy LaFave
The Beast – Milt Buckner
The Continental Stroll – Sil Austin
Coffee To Go – Club Des Belugas
Sweet Rowena – Joe Bonamassa (Feat Vince Gill)