Mr. Jonathan’s World

I Have Been Nominated

The past few weeks have been more than a little hectic some good and some bad. The bad is that I lost a very very good friend both in and out of the dance community. To watch her and I dance check out the video on the top right of my website. There just hasn’t been the drive to write about how dancing makes me feel when I have been feeling sad.

The good news is that I found out that I have been nominated as a “Living Legend of Dance” to be added to a list that includes John Festa, Ramiro, Andrew D’Angelo, Debby Szekely, Hazel Mead, and so many other dancers…I am truly humbled and honored and hope that my inclusion to the list don’t cheapen their being on it. I am booking my room and flights this week. There are 11 spots if I want to bring anyone down with me. My wife is one of the spots so with ten remaining. The list needs to be turned in in the next couple of weeks so they can mail you a formal invitation. In fact with out the formal invitation you can’t get in. Reply to this email if you want to come down to Virginia Beach the Weekend of Halloween with your name, address, and phone number so I can get you on my list.

This Week Tessa Antolini is the instructor for Longfellow’s Saturday night dance. She has some great style points for the followers and a couple of patterns that are great tools for the leaders to lead themselves out of a bind. The class is $20 with the dance…trust me she is worth it!

Saturday Night

$20 Dance and Lesson $10 Just the dance

WCS Intermediate Class 8-9pm W/Tessa

9-12:30ish WCS Mixer w/DJ Mr. J 

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

Sunday Night 

$10

6-6:45 Two-Step lesson w/Mr. J 

 6:45-7:30pm WCS w/Mr. J 

7:30-? California Mixer w/Mr. J

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

Lauren Hill wrote in one of her lyrics that “Music is supposed to inspire.” Songs are much more than gateways to the next cool pattern, they are the gateway to our souls if we let them. How many times have you heard the first couple of beats of a tune and said “I HAVE TO DANCE TO THIS!”? When its good its good right? This weekend coming up I have compiled way more music than I can possibly play in one sitting. Each song has been hand selected for one thing and one thing only…DRIVE! 

When a song has drive, you have to dance to it. It compels you to move your body. If you are tired of the same old playlist being played at the same old tired events then you are ready to be taken on this journey. If you have never thought about it before and are genuinely happy with what ever song is playing then you NEED to take this journey with us this weekend. This music is special and if you are not on the partner dance floor you may just find your self dancing anyway right in the isle!

This is a Mr. Jonathan weekend at Longfellow’s Club JoEllen:

Saturday Night

$10

WCS Intermediate Class 8-9pm Here is a Sneak Preview

9-12:30ish WCS Mixer w/DJ Mr. J 

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

Sunday Night 

$10

6-6:45 Two-Step lesson w/Mr. J Sneak Preview

 6:45-7:30pm WCS w/Mr. J Sneak Preview

7:30-? California Mixer w/Mr. J

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

 

This Just in…Tessa Antolini has just confirmed that she will be our instructor for Longfellow’s Saturday, June 13th dance. Tessa got her start in American Ballroom and continues to compete and do very well in that world. In addition to that she also competes, teaches, and choreographs West Coast Swing and is fast becoming the follower to beat at all of the national competitions. She is an absolute bundle of pure joy on and off the dance floor with a keen eye for good WCS basics and over all dance technique. 

Tessa will be available for Private lessons before and after her group class June 13th so whether you are a couple looking to improve your connection or a leader/follower trying to break out of your current division she is available to help for $80 per 45 minute lesson. She has 2 spots open right now for privates so please don’t wait till the last minute because she will be booked. Let me know if you are interested ASAP! 

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! 

Sunday Night

$10

6-6:45pm 2-step w/Mr. J

6:45-7:30pm WCS  w/Mr. J

7:30-? California Mixer w/Donna Shea

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! 

First of all I want to send a heart felt and warm thank you to John Festa for bringing his energy and passion for WCS to us this past weekend. Saturday’s turnout was much bigger than usual, the music kept us dancing till 2am, and the lessons ended with rave reviews from everyone that took the classes. So many people asked me to offer a review of what John taught so this week will be exactly that. I will break the patterns down for everyone Sunday night.

If you are looking for something to do Friday and Saturday night you really should check out the Boston Tea Party. There are lots of pros to check out if you are looking to take in a workshop or two. Someone who is worth her weight in gold is Blake Hobby. She can make any man look good and her knowledge is unmatched when it comes to keeping your dance grounded and elegant. She is on the books for 3 or 4 workshops throughout the weekend. Also Hazel and Tybalt are offering a couple of workshops if what you dig is down and dirty lead and follow. Looking at a list of pros can be over whelming but if you can make it these are the ones I would hit.

As for the dancing most events have always been either Lindy Hop or West Coast Swing. This weekend offers a “Cross-Over Room” and is featuring the most sought after DJ duo in the history of this unique approach to swing, Peter Strom (Lindy) and John Festa (WCS). These two will “battle” it out song for song all night and leave you wishing they started earlier and finished later. “Crossing over” simply means that both Lindy Hop Dancers and WCS dancers can dance to the music at the same time. The room will feature a mix of soul, blues, oldies, funk, and swing. The music is on the faster side for WCS and the slower side for Lindy Hop. If you are new to the dance you don’t have to worry because the music will takes dips into slower tunes for all the true WCS dancers as well as jump up to faster for the true Lindy Hoppers. The room is smaller, the floor is tighter, and the sidelines are filled with ego free dancers that are more about the music than who they are dancing with. You WILL HAVE THE BEST DANCES OF YOUR LIFE in this room without question…and you will want to dance to EVERY SONG! 

Boston Tea Party Schedule

Sunday Night (Festa Review)

$10

6-6:45pm 2-step w/Mr. J

6:45-7:30pm WCS (John Festa Review) w/Mr. J

7:30-? California Mixer w/Donna Shea

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! 

Dances have always been either Lindy Hop events or West Coast Swing events. There have always only been 2 events that cater to both and also feature a “Crossover Room” The Boston Tea Party (which is at the end of this month) and Swinging New England (November). “Crossing over” simply means that both Lindy Hop Dancers and WCS dancers can dance to the music at the same time. The music is on the faster side for WCS and the slower side for Lindy Hop. Maybe 8 years ago I was hanging out with John Festa in the crossover room dancing my ass off with anyone that said yes. This meant Lindy Hoppers, West Coast Swingers, Beginners, Advanced…it didn’t matter because I wasn’t there because of who I was dancing with. I was there for what I was dancing to…Swing Music! 

The faster music drew better dancers as the evening wore on and I got to see John Festa dance with Blake Hobby live for the first time. She was light on her feet and elegant…any man that feasts his eyes on Blake has to admit that she is the “Jessica Rabbit” of West Coast Swing. As beautiful as she was with her Elvira Dress slit up to her hip, I was not watching her dance…nope…I was watching John Festa’s feet drive the two of them through a brisket Wilson Picket tune. His feet were splitting the beat in half, quarters, eighths, and yet still were landing in time with the song. In my life, to that point, I had never seen anything like it and I wanted what he had!

As with most Dance events I went to the launch party on Thursday night and danced till 3 am, then Friday night (the night in question) I was out until 4am trying to figure out how to do what John had done just hours prior, so by Saturday I was so sleep deprived that taking every mirror off the walls of my home seemed like a great way to be able to watched my feet in real time as I tried to duplicate what I saw. Thank god that not every mirror was pointed at my feet because what I discovered was if I could make my HIPS move like his my feet followed along…There was no way to get my feet to do it on their own!

During John’s 4 classes this weekend he is going to systematically give you the tools you need to do what he does. There are lots of Pros out there that are pretty amazing to watch but they take/have taken lessons from John or one of his students. Think what you will about my dancing but if you think I have anything going on at all, I owe it to Mr. Festa and his fancy feet!

 

Saturday Night

$30/2 Classes and the dance 7-8pm

$20/1 Class and the Dance 8-9pm

$10 Just the dance feat. DJ John Festa 9-12:30ish

Longfellow’s Club JoEllen

524 Minuteman Dr off of Boston Post RD

(Rt 20) Wayland, MA

 

Sunday Night 

$20 (both classes)6-6:45 Level 1 WCS lesson w/John Festa

$10 (just this class and the dance) 6:45-7:30pm Level 2 WCS w/John Festa

7:30-? California Mixer w/Mr. J

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!