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LOS ANGELES SWING DANCE CLUB, INC. (LASDC) Bi-Monthly Newsletter
JULY/AUGUST 2017
Volume 47 – Number 4 Club founded in 1970
Website: laswingdanceclub.com Visit & ‘Like’: facebook.com
Los Angeles Swing Dance Club
Special Membership Discount Rates July through December
Singles $20 – Couples $30
(Only Members enjoy $2 discount on entry fee
and free $25 membership drawing each Sunday)
BIG GET WELL TO CHARTER MEMBER, JACK HAYES, WHO FELL
AND IS IN REHAB
July 4th Independence Day Celebration…July 2, 2017….Join in and
wear your
red, white and blue - Swing dancing to William Porter Band 3:00
– 6:30 p.m.
Annual General Membership Meeting per LASDC By-Laws , 2:45 p.m.,
August 20, 2017
at our regular Sunday dance. Your presence is requested.
BAND SCHEDULE – JULY/AUGUST 2017
Sunday, July 2, 2017 William Porter Band
Sunday, July 16, 2017 Good Rockin Daddy
Sunday, July 30, 2017 Good Rockin Daddy 6:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Crystal Room
47th Anniversary Dinner Dance ( no afternoon dance)
Sunday, August 6, 2017 William Porter Band
Sunday, August 20 Good Rockin Daddy
SAVE THE DATE – SUNDAY EVENING, JULY 30, 2017
47TH ANNIVERSARY DINNER DANCE, Golden Sales Hotel
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L.A.S.D.C. BOARD MEMBERS @ June 2017
President Jim Harris (562) 430-1836 [email protected]
Vice President Nancy Taylor (310) 837-9501
[email protected]
Secretary
Treasurer Linda Bontemple (562) 597-3255 [email protected]
Entertainment Director Barbara Wallace (562) 597-1345
[email protected]
Ways & Means Martine Whitford (562) 426-4338
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor Fran Tassin (714) 826-6712
[email protected]
Membership Chairperson Karen Smith (714) 403-2125
[email protected]
Ambassadors-at-Large: LeRoy Pendray (562) 433-8977 Mary Collins
(714) 965-0335
Bill Parker (562) 927-7575 Joanne Harrold (949) 675-1255
Historian: Colleen Johnson (562) 694-4951 Webmaster: Larry Kroeze
Dance Teacher: Linda Davis
L.A.S.D.C. ADVERTISING RATES
Please support L.A.S.D.C. bi-monthly newsletter. We have 300
members who share an enthusiasm for West Coast Swing
Dancing. Our members are interested in dancing items,
businesses, services, real estate, food, etc.
Charge for ads: Full Page -$30.00, One Half Page - $20.00, One
Quarter Page - $15.00, Business Card - $10.00
To advertise in our Newsletter, please email notification and/or
ready to print copy to Newsletter Editor: [email protected] or
call (714) 826-6712
L.A.S.D.C. FACEBOOK AND WEBSITE
For more information on our club, please view our Website,
laswingdanceclub.com. It is updated regularly by our Webmaster,
Larry Kroeze, and includes photos, special events, places to dance
and our current Newsletter.
Also, please “like” us on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/LASwingDanceClub for latest news.
To sign up for a new Facebook account, enter your name,
birthday, gender and email address into the form on
www.facebook.com. Then pick a password. After you complete the
sign-up form, they will send you an email. Just click
the confirmation link to complete the sign-up process. Now all
you need to do is search for the LosAngelesSwingDanceClub and click
on the LIKE button. You will then be notified automatically when we
post
something to Facebook. You can also post pictures or news to our
Facebook account.
NEWSLETTER DELIVERY by U.S. MAIL vs. EMAIL
We will continue to send the Newsletter by U. S. Mail but are
asking our members to “opt-out” and help save $$$ (and
trees) by requesting your bi-monthly Newsletter by email. The
benefits: your email Newsletter will be in color, you will
receive it faster, and it will help us defray postage costs.
Please contact Newsletter Editor at [email protected] or call
Fran Tassin at (714) 826-6712. Thank you.
mailto:[email protected]://www.facebook.com/LASwingDanceClubmailto:[email protected]
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SUNDAY SCENE MAY/JUNE 2017
HELLO Dona Schessler - glad to see you
back…Don and Shirley Estep were on hand at
Terra & Kent’s going away party…Rick Hanna –
he’s back…danced the afternoon away to Dave
Alcantar Band…Charter Member, Mary Beth
Treen says hello from La Quinta ‘say hello to
everyone – sure miss the camaraderie’ (we miss
you, too)…great to see Ray Willingham back –
remember he fell at the Desert Dance in February…
SEATING AT DANCES: first come first served-
welcome people to empty seats near you- let’s show
we are a friendly dance club… Good Rockin Daddy
band – some said ‘too loud’, others said ‘sounds
great’ – one thing for certain they played great
dancing music…new President, Jim Harris,
received the gavel from termed out President, Bill
Parker…Dan and Maria came out to hear William
Porter Band…Herb Marsh visiting and still
recovering..
Mark Hood (Freda’s friend) says “Yes, I’ve been
to Golden Sails 12 – maybe 15 times, but not in the
last 30 or more months. I hope to find a way to
make it in the coming June or July. I imagine and
hope they now have a good band for swing dance
and would suggest Alec Markens’ group if and
when one is needed.”
SUNSHINE WISHES to: Manny Torres still
recovering…Roger Lombard after hip surgery had
another hip accident and is recovering…Jackie
Cobb recovering from minor surgery…Skippy
Blair home after hospitalization.
OUR SINCERE CONDOLENCES to:
Jean Lozano on the loss of her brother…
Iz Smith’s daughter in Redding, CA said her mom
passed away in April…
REMEMBRANCE DANCE
Colleen Johnson and Fran Tassin provided all the
pictures, albums and list of recent members who are
now in that Ballroom in the Sky. The founders of
the Remembrance Dance are Danny Darryl and
Paul Rubenstein. We are sorry neither was able to
attend. Danny is at Advanced Rehab and Paul
Rubenstein was unable to attend because of illness.
Everyone enjoyed remembering all the dancers.
PLACES TO DANCE
Sundays 1st, 3rd, & 5th - LASDC, Great Western
Golden Sails, 6285 E. Pacific Coast Hwy, Long
Beach. Dancing to a Live Band 3:00 - 6:30 p.m.
(Dance lessons 2 - 3 p.m. included with paid admission)
www.laswingdanceclub.com Visit & “Like” Facebook. com / Los
Angeles Swing Dance Club (562) 597-1345
Sundays - SDSDC, 3 - 7 p.m. El Cajon - Elks
Lodge - 1400 East Washington Av. (619) 444-1812 or
(858) 274-6422 - www.elks.org Tuesdays - DSDC 7 - 9 p.m.
Pavilion Dance
Studio, 401 S. Pavilion Way, Palm Springs 92262
(760) 323-8272
Thursdays –Atomic Ballroom, West Coast
Swing Dancing, Irvine (949) 250-3332
Fridays-Press Box, 8 – 12 pm Westminster
Bob Brewer www.thepressboxdance.com Saturday - 2nd Sat. each
month – Starting Gate,
Los Alamitos 1 - 5 p.m. Non-stop dancing to music of
Don Estep [email protected] Las Vegas - for dancing events,
call Lynn
Martinez (702) 239-2268 or Ron Meyer (702) 283-1491
UPCOMING EVENTS
Phoenix 4th July Convention July 6-9, 2017
35-year Anniversary Contacts:
Ben (925) 922-9572 or Cameo (480) 707-8149
Portland Dance Festival July 6-9, 2017
Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel
Contacts: Randy & Rhonda Shotts (503) 330-0976
Sacramento All Swing Convention
July 20-23, 2017
HotelPlazaHotelwww.SacramentoAllSwing.com
Swingtacular The Galactic Open
Marriott Santa Clara
8-4-17 through 8-7-17
Contact: Ben McHenry dancegeekproductions.com
South Bay Dance Fling-Holiday Inn
Aug 31, 2017 – September 4, 2017
Glen, Sue & Candace Cravalho
(209) 608-1414 or [email protected]
http://www.laswingdanceclub.com/http://r.search.yahoo.com/r/_ylt=A0SO8zlR.QpTF2EAGENXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTB0cmU0Ymt0BHNlYwNzYwRjb2xvA2dxMQR2dGlkA1ZJUDM3MF8x/SIG=118firfvi/EXP=1393256913/**http%3a/www.elks.org/http://www.thepressboxdance.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.sacramentoallswing.com/
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HAPPY
BIRTHDAY
WISHES to
JULY & AUG.
BIRTHDAY
MEMBERS
Corrections: contact Membership Chairman, Karen Smith at (714)
403-2125
Corrections: Robert Lanier was May 1st, not June 1st; Vicki
Haywood – we are so sorry, we missed your
birthday June 17 “Happy Birthday and thanks for all the goodies
you bake and share”
JULY 2017 01 Karen Romano
Daniel Schwartz
04 Annette Bynon 06 Carol Camasta 07 Glenn Syrop 08 Chickee
Arisohn Jennie Magdaleno 09 Joseph Pittarelli Terese Smith 10
Robert Travis 12 Karen Smith Laura Peterson 15 Sandra Allbee 16
Jackie Crowley 20 LeRoy Pendray 21 Shirley Smith 22 Frank DeSarro
Larry Kroeze 24 Tom Boots 26 Fred Baron Dee Cheston 27 Karma Haltom
28 Joanne Harrold 29 Richard Voltmer
AUGUST 2017 03 Walter Furfey 04 Barbara Dyer 05 Don Estep 09
Salvador Gomez 17 Benita Coombs 18 Barbara Wallace Mejchahl
Blackburn 19 Lucia Duffield 20 Lucy Frint 21 Joy Lang 22 Jerry
Jacques 23 Mike Lucas 25 Jacquie Watson 26 Judy Wilson Stella
Cabral 27 Shay McBain 28 Warde Souza 29 Bill Parker
We are so sad to report that members, Bud and Lenora Harrison’s
son, Lenny Pearson, passed away suddenly…
Jackie Ford died after a lengthy illness. Jackie was a CSDHF
recipient, Head Judge for many swing conventions and Head Judge for
OCWCSDC contests. Her soulmate, John Tripp (former LASDC Newsletter
Editor) passed away 12 years ago. They are dancing together in that
Big Ballroom in the Sky.
Shirley Tretta passed away in March. She had a steady decline
since her husband Fred Tretta died.
Our sincere condolences to the families of our dancing
friends.
ROOM FOR RENT $750 PER MONTH, IN
HUNTINGTON BEACH-BEDROOM WITH
PRIVATE BATHROOM, GARAGE PARKING &
KITCHEN ACCESS.
FOR MORE INFORMATION,
CALL CAROL KLASING 714-904-5799
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PERSONALITY PROFILE
POLLY CULBRETH
President DSDC and LASDC member
Thank you, LASDC, for inviting me to write a Bio. I was just a
cowgirl, living on a 432-acre ranch. We lived just outside of Fort
Worth, TX and had 100 milk cows, 3 bulls, 300 chickens, 3 pigs and
3 Herefords. I raised the calves and in the summer, I herded the
cows for 10 to 12 hours a day. After high school, I followed my
fiancé to Redondo Beach, CA and went to work at Southern California
Edison Co. We had one son before the big ‘D’ came along. I
continued at SCE where I met my good friend Norma Jean who
introduced me to Phi Sigma Phi, a Philanthropic working women’s
club. We went to the Norwalk State Mental Hospital once a month for
over two years. We would take cake, cookies, play cards and
dominoes with the men. We were preparing them for the outside. Two
new members joined our group but they did not like the Hospital. We
voted to start going to a private home that housed retarded
children (word in late 1950’s). We remembered their birthdays, took
cake, ice cream and played games with them. We were like their
family and took them to the beach and parks. There were eight of us
and we were all working mothers. None of us had any extra money. We
had two rummage sales a year in Compton and sold a lot of stuff we
had saved or collected from neighbors. We also had a booth at the
Fisherman’s Fiesta in San Pedro for three days. We sold hot dogs,
hamburgers, popcorn and soft drinks. This was a special event every
year to bless the fishing fleet. I must say we had a great time
doing this and every penny we took in went to the children. The
only thing we did was take our car mileage off on our taxes. I
joined the LASDC and met Danny Darryl, who also had a Real Estate
License. Danny was a fabulous dancer and we became great friends.
If my office had a grand opening with music, Danny would come and
be my dancing partner and if his office had a party I would go and
be Danny’s partner. We attended weddings together. Several of our
Phi Sigma Phi members had passed by
then and I was transferred to Palm Springs. Besides Real
Estate I joined the DSDC where I met Jerry Pollack. He
was very active with the Palm Springs Stroke Recovery
Center and asked me to help with Fundraising. They
had large dances with three bands and I helped sell
tables for several years. This is the only Stroke Center
that is completely free to everyone in America. I have
also been a volunteer at the BNP Paribas Tennis
Tournament for several years. I have been a Board
member of the Dance Club for 20 years, presently
President of DSDC and have organized the Tri-City
Dance seven times and enjoy all of you coming to our
dances.
See you soon – Polly Culbreth
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(Ed. The story story below expresses only one point of view. It
does not reflect the opinion or endorsement
of the LASDC officers and/or appointees.)
D.J. or BAND?
A wailing harmonica frolics amidst the primal throb of muttering
drums. A nimble guitar constructs a tantalizing melody.
A saxophone growls in vibrant harmony. This musical confection
intoxicates dancers lost in an ever-ascending eurhythmic
tapestry.
But wait: the music falters -- it stops. Dancers turn to the
source and, “Oh no, the bands back!”
Does this sound familiar boys and girls? Regrettably, we can all
connect with this one. Very simply, there is no way in
hell any band can hope to compete with the fully stocked music
library of a professional disc jockey who’s plugged into the
musical tastes of their audience
Ask any dancer what they consider the most important element for
a successful event and the answer is always – music.
This takes on real significance for those dedicated to dancing,
as interpretation of nuance is vital for personal enjoyment
and performance.
There are those who feel it’s not a real dance without a live
band. However, when you hire a band for your event, you’re
stuck. If they’re good – “All right.” If they’re bad – “Oh
No!”
When hiring a band you must be vigilant. A favorite subterfuge
of the leader is to substitute poorer musicians for a
casual date, pay them less, and pocket the difference. Who needs
this? The prominent dance clubs use DJ’s for their regular,
as well as special events. All the monster conventions use
pre-recorded sound, and why not? With today’s technology we
experience the very best efforts of the most talented musicians,
recorded with state-of-the-art equipment in a flawless studio
environment. What pick-up band can match that?
There’s also the matter of cost. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper to
pay a good DJ than to suffer a bad band. Yes, a DJ may
play a bad number, but may correct this by reaching into their
music library and playing something more crowd-pleasing.
A lousy band just gets worse.
Finely, what are your personal requirements? Do you believe good
music is important for a dance event? Do you believe
the quality of the music is more important than the pastry on
the bandstand? Or, do you wish simply to attend a social event
and be entertained by a band? It’s often been said: “Dancers
don’t require entertainment, they provide their own.” Which
are you: dancer or dilettante?
Bert Anderson (951) 282-2889. [email protected]
LOS ANGELES SWING DANCE CLUB
CLUB JACKETS AND T-SHIRTS AVAILABLE
Club Jackets $31.00 (includes tax)
Includes nylon jacket, embroidery with club initials, logo and
your first name
T-Shirts $14.00 (includes tax)
Includes T-Shirt Cost, embroidery with club initials, logo and
your first name
Pro Embroidery and Engraving
2031 Westminster Mall, Westminster, CA 92683
(2nd Floor – near J. C. Penney) (No checks accepted)
(714) 891-3645
Place your order today by contacting Pro Embroidery and
Engraving or see Board Member, Fran Tassin
(714) 826-6712
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TIMING – TECHNIQUE – TOGETHER
We’ve all witnessed a pair of dancers who appear to be on time
and doing some interesting footwork and hand
changes, but it just seems unfocused and vaguely disturbing.
Reason: they’re not dancing TOGETHER!
A grinning couple walking off the dance floor aglow, and
complementing each other, means one thing: they
nailed that number together.
Everyone can keep time. Timing comes with practice. For our
purposes it’s assumed the reader has achieved
timing capabilities equal to intermediate level and we’ll move
on.
Technique is more than raw terpsichorean talent: it embodies
restraint and respect for your partner.
Dance judges are acutely sensitive to a partner who over-dances
the other in competition. Often, the audience
doesn’t understand why a couple that danced like a
bat-out-of-hell lost to a couple that were much more sedate.
Pretty simple, the flash couple were entertaining, but they
weren’t dancing in harmony. If not dancing together,
competition dancers go to the cellar, and social dancers just
muddle through.
Gentlemen: Scan the lady. Concentrate your direct and peripheral
vision to view her in totality. – Adjust to
your partners’ style. -- Know what you’re going to do. – Lead
with your body, not your biceps. – Lead the lady
and stay out of her way. – Always remember: you are merely the
frame; she is the picture.
Ladies: Adjust to you partners’ style. – Protect yourself. Keep
that pinkie tucked in or it might get snapped
off. Keep your lead arm slightly bent with tension in elbow and
forearm so Godzilla doesn’t yank your shoulder
out of its socket. – Don’t try to duplicate your partners’
pattern as it happens; you can’t catch up. You’re in real
time and it’s already over. Wait till the next break-ending and
dazzle him with something amazing. – If you feel
he’s able to handle it, and you’re confident to back-lead a step
– do it!
Ladies and Gentlemen: Practice “compression code;” the
transmission of lead and follow information through
the hands. – Take a beginners class as an opposite gender. It’s
easy stuff; extremely beneficial to leader and
follower, and it’s a real eye-opener. – Less is more. Dial it
down. Think about it: when you see dancers you
would emulate, they’re not flopping about the floor, jumping up
and down and coming all unhinged. No, there
is a reserve, a subtlety of motion, which merely suggests
intent.
EURYTHMICS
The physical interpretation of music.
PHASING
The proper pattern at the proper time, which best interprets
the music at that point in time.
A DANCERS PROGRESS
Timing – Patterns – Technique – Style – Character
BEST DANCER ON THE FLOOR
The one having the most fun.
Bert Anderson
(951) 282-2889
[email protected]
