BOARD OF DIRECTORS BOARD OF DIRECTORS BOARD OF DIRECTORS BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Polly Culbreth (760) 698-8198 [email protected]VICE PRESIDENT Ron Bishop (951) 285-7227 [email protected]SECRETARY Deborah Lloyd (760) 989-1252 [email protected]TREASURER Sara Roth (630) 536-6819 [email protected]DIRECTORS AT LARGE EVENTS Josie Nelson (760) 328-6611 MEMBERSHIP Ann McGowan [email protected](760) 832-9229 Payments to: 58 Calle Solano Rancho Mirage, Ca. 92270 CARES & CONCERNS Donna Lofgren (425) 280-8333 [email protected]PUBLICITY Ursula Auer Longo (760) 285-7124 NEWSLETTER Lynn Fontana-Krohn (760) 364-2440 [email protected]WEBMASTER Larry Kroeze (562) 799-9274 [email protected]P.O. Box 669, Desert Hot Springs, CA., 92240 APRIL, MAY, JUNE, 2018 Friends and fellow dancers, DAFT (DANCE FLOOR TEACHERS) Shut up and dance!! Dance floor teachers, (daft for short), please don’t stop dancing during a general dance session to show your partner a step. The vast majority of the ladies are just there for dancing, not a lesson; besides if you want to improve your dancing, learn to adapt your style and to "cover" if your partner doesn’t do the step exactly correct. In a contest you can’t stop and say, “Hey, you didn’t do that step right!”. Remember it’s the difference in the way the person does the step that determines style. Don’t try to teach a lady a step unless she asks; even then, don’t take up valuable dance floor space. There is always room off the floor to count and block to your heart’s content. Please, please, be absolutely sure you are doing the step right. Teaching some one the wrong way is very harmful; it confuses and discourages them. Learn to lead better. If your partner seems to be missing a lot of steps, question your lead. Most ladies will follow if your lead is correct. Learn to "cover". If you plan to compete, especially in the Jack and Jill , or if you just want to become a better dancer, you must learn to cover. No dancer, no matter how good or how seasoned, dances without making mistakes. The top dancers are so good at covering that only a practiced and trained eye will notice a goof. IT NEVER HURTS TO REPEAT SOME THINGS FOR NEWBYS!! DON’T FORGET SAN DIEGO SWING DANCE CLUB’S SPRING FLING! See Ron Bishop, or me for information. (Also check the "Special Events" section on Page 2 of this newsletter.) Polly Polly Polly Polly
Transcript
BOARD OF DIRECTORSBOARD OF DIRECTORSBOARD OF DIRECTORSBOARD OF DIRECTORS
P.O. Box 669, Desert Hot Springs, CA., 92240 APRIL, MAY, JUNE, 2018
Friends and fellow dancers,
DAFT (DANCE FLOOR TEACHERS)
Shut up and dance!! Dance floor teachers, (daft for short), please don’t stop dancing during a general dance session to show your partner a step. The vast majority of the ladies are just there for dancing, not a lesson; besides if you want to improve your dancing, learn to adapt your style and to "cover" if your partner doesn’t do the step exactly correct. In a contest you can’t stop and say, “Hey, you didn’t do that step right!”. Remember it’s the difference in the way the person does the step that determines style. Don’t try to teach a lady a step unless she asks; even then, don’t take up valuable dance floor space. There is always room off the floor to count and block to your heart’s content. Please, please, be absolutely sure you are doing the step right. Teaching some one the wrong way is very harmful; it confuses and discourages them. Learn to lead better. If your partner seems to be missing a lot of steps, question your lead. Most ladies will follow if your lead is correct. Learn to "cover". If you plan to compete, especially in the Jack and Jill , or if you just want to become a better dancer, you must learn to cover. No dancer, no matter how good or how seasoned, dances without making mistakes. The top dancers are so good at covering that only a practiced and trained eye will notice a goof. IT NEVER HURTS TO REPEAT SOME THINGS FOR NEWBYS!! DON’T FORGET SAN DIEGO SWING DANCE CLUB’S SPRING FLING! See Ron Bishop, or me for information. (Also check the "Special Events" section on Page 2 of this newsletter.)
PollyPollyPollyPolly
●●●● ●●●● Weekly: Dancing @ The Palm Springs Pavilion, - EVERY TUESDAY. Lesson begins at 6:00 pm and open dancing from 7:00 to 9:00pm, 401 So. Pavilion Way, Palm Springs. Admission: DSDC or other dance club members; Dance-$7.00, Dance and Lesson-$12.00 Non-members; Dance-$10.00, Dance and Lesson-$15.00 Members and Non-Members; Lesson Only-$10:00, Dance and Lesson, $17.00
We honor all swing dance club members; please present your member’s card. Lessons begin at 6:00 pm and feature our two alternating instructors:
JANICE HILL RAYMOND STANTON with Beginning & Beyond with West Coast Swing, West Coast Swing. Country Two Step & other dances. dances
Please note that every dance is a“Ladies Choice” at the DSDC.. Our very cool music is by DJ, Randy. Please notice the TIP JAR located in front of the DJ booth. We ask everyone to be generous and show our appreciation to Randy. All contributions go to our DJ – not to the DSDC. Monthly: DSDC Board meeting: 1st Tuesday of the month, unless otherwise noted. Meeting is held at the Palm Springs Pavilion at 5:00 p.m. just before our Tuesday dance. All members are invited to attend. Please call any board member ahead of time if you wish to be put on the agenda or in case of last minute changes.
CHECK US OUT AT: Our website, DesertSwingDanceClub.com, Facebook, Desert Swing Dance Club, Meetup.com/Desert-Swing-Dance-Club
●●●● SPECIAL EVENTS ●●●●
Saturday, May 26, SAN DIEGO SWING DANCE CLUB'S ANNUAL "SPRING FLING", Elks Lodge, 1400 E. Washington St., El Cajon, CA. Doors open at 5:00PM, DJ from 5:00 to 6:00PM, Dinner at 6:30, Live band from 6:00 to ?, $25.00 for San Diego Swing Club Members, $35.00 for Sister Clubs and $40.00 for non-club members. For Tickets contact Bob Pomeroy at 858-274-6422.
●●●● OTHER PLACES TO DANCE ●●●● Sundays 1st, 3rd & 5th, LOS ANGELES SWING DANCE CLUB, Golden Sails Hotel, 6285 E. Pacific Coast Hwy. , Long Beach.
Lessons from 2-3pm free w/admission, dancing, live band 3-6:30pm, Members $6.00 Non-members $8.00, (714) 826-6712, www.laswingdanceclub.com Sundays every week, SAN DIEGO SWING DANCE CLUB, Elks Lodge, 1400 E. Washington, El Cajon
Dancing from 3-7pm, (858)274-6422, www.sandiegoswingdance.com
Robert Bielenberg 6/5 Andrea Kramer 6/3 Gina Russo-Hartman 6/23
Terry Clark 5/24 Donna Lofgren 5/24 Ray Stanton 4/30
Jerry Griffin 5/25 John McClain 4/2 Scott Tansor 5/22
Cherie Hamilton 4/1 Ann McGowan 4/16 Tim VanDusen 6/27
Phillip Highducheck 4/5 Josie Nelson 4/12 Kelly Walker 6/30
Stuart Ingwerson 4/16 Tony Ricco 6/6
WELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERSWELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERSWELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERSWELCOME TO OUR NEW MEMBERS
Carlene Duke Joe Faherty Yolanda Moreno Javier Valenzuela Rebecca Pinkstaff Kelly Walker
Joyce Ottavinia Graham by Lynn Fontanaby Lynn Fontanaby Lynn Fontanaby Lynn Fontana----KrohnKrohnKrohnKrohn
Love of dance just came naturally for Joyce . "'It was 'one of those things'. I had no choice. My Russian mother and my Italian father were both dancers. Everybody danced in my family. I'm from Mildred, Pennsylvania, a coal mining town, not too far from the New York State border. My sister and my two brothers and I probably started doing the Polka first because my mother was Russian and every time there was a wedding in town, (Russian weddings lasted for three days), we would go to the Russian hall and dance. All the children were invited too no matter how old they were and we danced the Polka for three days. We would go home to eat and sleep and then come back the next day." When Joyce was about ten and her sister was seven, her Italian grandparents owned and operated a tavern in the middle of the town. They had "Blue Laws" in those days which meant that if you operated a restaurant where alcohol was sold you couldn't open it to the public on Sundays. "So my family would go in there and play the juke box for free on Sundays. That's how my sister and I learned to jitterbug. Then I could at least dance the jitterbug at all the school dances. We knew nothing of West Coast Swing at that time." The family then moved to Elmira, New York, just over the Pennsylvania border and Joyce went to High School in Elmira. "That's when I knew that I had to do something with dance - I just knew it." After she graduated, she took lessons in all the ballroom dances from Arthur Murray Studio in Elmira because she wanted to teach. Her plan was to go to Washington, D.C. where a couple of classmates were going to be living. She would meet them there and already have a job... or so she thought. She did go to Washington D.C. but didn't end up as a dance teacher. "I found that the studio doesn't pay the instructors unless they have students. I wanted a job where I'd be guaranteed a paycheck at the end of the week." So she got a job working for the American Farm Bureau Federation, a lobbyist group in Washington D.C. "I was the secretary to the Public Relations Director and I would have to take a cab up to Capitol Hill to get the latest piece of legislation that was passed. That was Joyce's introduction to Washington D.C. but her boss, (who was very fatherly), somehow intuitively knew she wasn't happy there and he actually encouraged her to go back to college. "I enrolled in Mansfield State Teacher's College in Pennsylvania which is really close to the New York state border. I double majored in Drama and Theater and also English and Literature because I thought, 'If I don't get into the theater, then I can fall back on teaching English.' I was there three years and did a lot of theater at that time. Then I bailed out of college. I never finished. That is one big regret I have today. I like to tell kids in my family, 'Think twice about leaving school because it's not always as bad you're picturing it.' Of course I know that now." She got married at age twenty eight. He was a non-dancer and at that point Joyce didn't think that dancing was going to be that important in her life. "He and I dated during our junior year in high school but then broke up. After ten years, we met at our class reunion and we started dating again. He was at the Cornell Law School in his second year. We got married and while he was in his third year of law school, I worked at Cornell while he worked on his law degree. It seems like he was always studying so we had no social life at all. "Twelve years and two beautiful daughters later, we divorced in New Jersey and he was going to relocate to Seattle. He pleaded with me to move to Seattle so he could be an influence in our daughters lives and I really did want my two little girls to know their father and not just on summer vacations. I prayed about it and I got God's message that, 'You can go and you're going to be okay because I'm going to watch over you.' So we moved there." Joyce was now single and free to lead her life on her own. "I joined the Seattle Swing Dance Club right away, prompted by my then boyfriend, George Daly." (George Daly was a long time member of the Desert Swing Dance Club until he passed away in 2010.) Before he moved to the desert, he lived in the suburbs of Seattle. "We met at a dance and he was a strong lead. He would just sort of 'put' me where I was supposed to go! He took me to my first West Coast Swing Dance in Seattle and I was in awe of their expertise! So I said to George, 'I'm going to have to take some lessons'. They're a lovely group of people and that's when I became interested in doing something for the board. I became the Newsletter Editor and later Vice President." Sadly, Joyce soon had to leave Seattle because her parents were in Phoenix and her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Her father needed help with her mother's care so she left her home and job and moved to Phoenix. Then she got involved with the Phoenix Swing Dance Club and for four years she was a regular member of that club.
"After four years in Phoenix I realized I really wanted to return to Seattle. My mom had been gone for a whole year by then and I kept in touch with the Seattle club during that time. My daughter and my son-in-law and their three children were living there which was a big influence in my decision. When I went back to the Seattle Swing Dance Club, some of the members told me they were thinking of starting another club. There were about sixty members who wanted to start a club where they could do West Coast Swing and Ballroom and they wanted me to be the President. So I said, 'Well why are you picking on me?' They said, 'You're the only one who nobody's mad at!'" (The Seattle Swing Dance Club felt that if a new club was started, it would take away their dancers and they would lose members.) Joyce argued that there was no conflict because it won't be a West Coast Swing Club, it will be a Ballroom and West Coast Swing Club. "Well the Swing dancers didn't like it anyway. But I said I would do it." The new club was named 'Just Dance' and the first year they signed up 120 members. "We were on a roll!, Joyce recalls." The second year attendance was fine. The third year, there was still a core group of sixty members but they started to analyze why they were not getting any more members. They were operating in the red. One of the major factors was that all over the Seattle area, little dance clubs were springing up and there was just too much competition. So they gave up Just Dance
after a three year run. By the year 2000, Joyce had her fill of the cold and the wetness of living in Seattle for so long. She had been there thirty three years and had a terrible sinus condition especially in the winter time. "My daughter in L.A said, 'Mom, why don't you come down here? You haven't spent much time with us.' So I sold my mobile home. It was on a lake and it was hard to leave that pretty area. I could see Mt. Rainier from my place. But I came to L.A. and I contacted Janis Hill. I had been visiting in the desert about ten years earlier and met Janis and kept in touch with her over the years. So I called her to say, 'Hey, I'm going to be coming down pretty soon.' She said, 'Great!'" After staying with her daughter in Los Angeles for three or four months, Joyce decided to locate right here in Palm Springs. "That's where I wanted to be. There's less traffic, fewer people, less of a cosmopolitan vibe and Janis and Cherie, (two thirds of the McGuire Sisters act), were here. I moved to a senior apartment in Cathedral City and right away I joined the Desert Swing Dance Club, continued my dancing and then of course we got the McGuire Sisters performances going. Janis said, 'We're getting this group together and we'd love to have you as our third sister. Do you think you want to do it?' I said, 'Well yes I would. It's theater isn't it?' We regard each other as sisters to this day. As of this date we've actually been doing the act for ten years." "I really do think that my appreciation of dancing probably was the best thing that could have happened to me after my divorce. I found activities that I loved and people that I loved and things that I loved to do and being part of something bigger than myself. The only thing I could add to this story is that my two daughters didn't turn out to be dancers but I have high hopes for my granddaughters. I have three of them and they love to dance. At this point, they've taken ballet, jazz, tap and all the other dances that teenagers do. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if one of them becomes a dancer and that pleases me so much."
Joyce Ottavinia Graham, Janis Hill and Cherie Hamilton as "The McJoyce Ottavinia Graham, Janis Hill and Cherie Hamilton as "The McJoyce Ottavinia Graham, Janis Hill and Cherie Hamilton as "The McJoyce Ottavinia Graham, Janis Hill and Cherie Hamilton as "The McGGGGuire Sisters"uire Sisters"uire Sisters"uire Sisters"
Desert Swing Dance Club PO Box #35 66311 Two Bunch Palms Trail Desert Hot Springs, CA 922240 Forwarding Address & Corrections Requested
