NORTHERN VIRGINIA SHAG CLUB ShagRag DECEMBER 2018 President s Corner BY BONNIE ARMS MERRY CHRISTMAS 2018 and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2019 2018 has gone by so quickly. It is already December and soon to be 2019. As President, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board members, Committee Chairs, and ALL NVSC members for their support, hard work, and friendship. It has been a rewarding experience for me and one I will not soon forget. This year our Halloween Party was held on Thursday, November 1, at the American Legion Post 180 in Vienna, VA. Barbara Ebersole won Best individual Costume and John and Joan Rippingale won for Best Couple Costumes. Craig Jennings was our DJ. A fun time was had by all. Our annual election of Board of Directors was held on Wednesday, November 14 at the Elk s Lodge. The 2019 Board will consist of: Bonnie Arms, President; Sherri Wildoner, Vice President; Linda Barna, Secretary; Mark Hendrickson, Treasurer; Directors-at-Large Pamela Alfano, John Dent, Ken Gibbs, Jack Jones, and Sue Young. A big thank you goes out to Tom Brett and his Committee members David Barna, Barbara Dent, Barbara Ebersole, Kathy Kropat, Paula Lantzer, Emily Maroon, Jason Potter, Jeanne Potter, and Jim Scanlon for their hard work during this election process. Our Holiday Party will be held on December 1 at the Kingstowne Snyder Community Center in Alexandria, VA. Mike Harding will be the DJ. Pictures and recap will follow in the January 2019 Shag Rag. And the DC Hand Dance Club s New Year s Eve Party will be held at Doubletree Tree. See page 7 for details. There will be NO/NO dancing on Wednesday, December 5 and 26, 2018 and January 02, 2019. In Memoriam: Tom Woll, a NVSC member, passed away Thanksgiving week. Tom did not attend NVSC events often but he was an ardent supporter of the dance community and taught ballroom dancing in the DC area for 40 years. Visitation and Mass will be held Monday, December 17, 10:30 and 11 a.m. at St. Leo s Catholic Church, Fairfax City. He will be greatly missed by those who knew him. Inside Legacy of the Charleston...5 Shag Calendar...9 Need to Know...18 Birthdays, etc.... 10 Far left: Barbara Ebersole. Left: The Rippingales 1
About Our Organization Northern Virginia Shag Club (NVSC) was organized to preserve the Carolina Shag dance and its accompanying Beach music. NVSC dances the Carolina Shag every Wednesday night at: Elk s Lodge, 8421 Arlington Blvd, Fairfax, VA Come join us learn the Carolina Shag! Free beginner lessons begin at 7:30 pm. A Buffet dinner is available for purchase. Social dancing is from 6:30 to 10:00 pm. Cover charge: Members $9, Guests $10. COME JOIN US! 2018 Board Members Contact us: General Inquiries: shaglist@nvshag.org Membership: membership@nvshag.org Webmaster: webmaster@nvshag.org Hello Shagger: helloshagger@nvshag.org Through the National FastDance Association, our Club activities are licensed by: President Bonnie Arms 703-819-9654 bjrwa@verizon.net Vice President Sherri Wildoner 760-212-0981 smwildoner@yahoo.com Secretary Linda Barna 703-455-1090 whew50@cox.net Treasurer Mark Hendrickson 703-691-3053 mark_hendrickson@verizon.net Director at Large Pamela Alfano 202-414-9312 palfano@reedsmith.com Director at Large John Dent 703-440-0451 jfdent3@gmail.com Director at Large Ken Gibbs 804-539-9332 1kengibbs@gmail.com Director at Large Jack Jones 703-801-3555 jackejones@verizon.net Director at Large Sue Young 703-573-6870 susan.young19@yahoo.com 2018 Committees/Chairs Audit* Fern Seigler Capital Shag Classic Christine Werner fleur15@verizon.net> Shag-A-Thon* Sherri Wildoner smwildoner@yahoo.com Dance* Pamela Alfano palfano@reedsmith.com Facebook Angie Bushey angelaabushey@yahoo.com Hello Shaggers Kathy Kropat helloshagger@nvshag.org Historian Sherri Wildoner smwildoner@yahoo.com Membership* Bonnie Arms bjrwa@verizon.net Music* Fran Mong franmong@aol.com Newsletter Editor Adele Robey arobey@fusemail.com Newsletter Publisher Adele Robey arobey@fusemail.com Photographer John Romito jrdancer0501@yahoo.com Public Relations* Jeanne Potter jeanne.potter@outlook.com Social/Hospitality* Jeanne Potter jeanne.potter@outlook.com Sunshine Maryann Lesnick mlesnick@mlesnick.com Webmaster Loren Kropat webmaster@nvshag.org *Denotes Standing Committee 2
When and Where to Shag Every Wednesday, 6:30-10:00 pm at the Elks Lodge 8421 Arlington Blvd., Fairfax, VA (on Route 50 near Prosperity Avenue). Cover charge: Nonmembers $10.00, members $9.00; free lessons at 7:30 pm, no partners needed. Buffet dinner available, 6:45-8:00pm, $9.00, or order from the menu. For example, Appetizers (Buffalo Wings, Quesadilla, etc.), Salads (Caesar, Chef), Burgers & Sandwiches (Bacon & Blue, Pulled Pork BBQ). December 9 at Mixing Bowl (formerly JW & Friends) 6531 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA. 5:00-8:00 pm, no cover charge. Future dates: Dec. 9 and Jan. 6. DJ Schedule Please check the website for updates to the DJ schedule Dance Lesson Schedule at the Elks on Wednesdays Beginner Level Shag Steps Intermediate Level Shag Steps December 5 No dancing December 5 No dancing December 12 Basic and Start December 12 Pivot & Tuck Turn December 19 Basic and Male Turn December 19 Pivot & Belly Roll December 26 No dancing happy holidays! December 26 No dancing happy holidays! See more places to dance with other ACSC Virginia Shag Clubs, listed on page 12. Beginner lessons are FREE to non-members, but membership is required for the Intermediate class. Membership is $25/year. Lessons begin at 7:30 pm. Social dancing before and after lessons to 10:00 pm. Please remember to ask Red Dot beginner dancers to dance. It takes lots of practice to become a better dancer! 3
NVSC Board of Directors Ladies and Gentlemen, we present the winners: President Bonnie Arms Vice President Sherri Wildoner Secretary Linda Barna Treasurer Mark Hendrickson Director at Large Pamela Alfano Director at Large John Dent Director at Large Ken Gibbs Director at Large Jack Jones Director at Large Sue Young NVSC is represented at the Capital Caring Gala Happy Holidays! 4
The Legacy of the Charleston Editor s note: I am on the mailing list of the National Fast Dance Association which from time to time has some fun stuff of general interest. This was one of those times. The Legacy of the Charleston Paulette Brockington Presented by NFA member and guest blogger, Paulette Brockington, whose organization Artspectrum/A Company of Dancers is the host of the American Lindy Hop Championships. Iso want to say that this article about the Charleston has a grand moral to the story like Aesop s Fables. Alas, it does not. I want to be able to say It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I can say that, but Charles Dickens already did in A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens goes on to say it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness. This is really so true even when applying it a half century after it was penned. My commentary about the Charleston started when, on YouTube, I watched a video about dance crazes. Actually there ve been a couple that were unabashedly inaccurate. One of the video authors said that James P. Johnson composed the song The Charleston (1925) and magically the world started doing it. NOT. I signed in and told them so. I m sure they don t care. I do. So just to be sure you know the dance was created in Charleston, SC around 1914. The world prior to that had been doing the Peabody, the Texas Tommy and was on the path to creating some 114 animal dances. The only one to remain popular after the first world war the Foxtrot. The Foxtrot managed to skirt the stain of war and prosper in the Jazz Age and beyond. So now back to the Charleston. We owe the Charleston so much. It helped those rebellious younguns throw off the shackles of Victorian apparel, including those lace-up, hightopped shoes that used to flap when they walked because they couldn t be bothered to lace them all the way. And who could blame them (except of course their parents) when World War I was raging and family and friends were dying. They HAD TO live life to the fullest, however else would the leave their mark. Their dance is part of that mark. One video put Swing dance in the mid-1920s. Booooooo! Usually they lump Charleston and Black Bottom together for the 1920s with little or no differentiation between the two. At least I can understand that. They were kindred. And we should remember that dancers and musicians fed off each other turning The Jazz Age into the Swing Era. I will give James P. Johnson props here. He was a pioneer of the stride style of jazz piano. He was one of the most important pianists who bridged the ragtime and jazz eras, and, with Jelly Roll Morton, one of the two most important catalysts in the evolution of ragtime piano into jazz. As such, he was a model for Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Art Tatum and Fats Waller. Without him we wouldn t have the Swing Era we ve come to love. It simply wouldn t be the same. So I toyed with the idea of doing my own top 10 dance crazes with a accurate timeline; tracing swing dance s birth or just putting together some nice clips that might make you smile. At any rate the U.S. s worldwide dance crazes start in the nineteen-teens with Charleston and it s many variations. ( I know I skipped the Cakewalk. But it really isn t a couples dance.) Dancers in the twenties made an animal dance mainstream with the Black Bottom. Then, of course, there s the Lindy Hop. It took Charleston, that jazzy Foxtrot, the Breakaway and all those solo jazz dances people were doing and became distinctively different from other dances of the time. The dance named Lindy Hop in 1927 really was renamed a half dozen times by Shorty George Snowden before he went back to Lindy Hop. That last time stuck. The 1927 version was different from the 1930s version. We should all recognize that, because after all, the dancers fed off the musicians and the musicians were inspired by the dancers steps. Music styles broadened and the dancing that accompanied it morphed too. So we should thank the Jazz Age for throwing out the Castle Walk, the Peabody, the Grizzly Bear, the Bunny Hop, the Turkey Trot and so many others then taking that jazzy Foxtrot and bequeathed us the rock step and triple time swing. They used the chaos within them to give birth to a legacy of dances. Nietzsche, kind of, said that. Paulette Brockington is Artistic Director of Detroit s A Company of Dancers. She is on the faculties of WCCCD and the Worship Arts Conservatory and a Master Teacher at Michigan State University. On the swing dance circuit she is a former World Fast Dance Champion, World Swing Dance Champion and Open Hustle Champion. She directs the American Lindy Hop Championships, coaches & teaches around the world. 5
H Saturday, December December 1, 1, 2018 2018 7:00-11:00 pm 7:30 11:30 pm Kingstowne s Snyder Community Center 6450 South Van Dorn St., Alexandria, VA 22315 Special Guest DJ: Mike Harding Members - FREE Non-members - $10 Celebrate the oliday S eason with NVSC! Pot Luck Dinner NVSC will provide turkey, ham, & rolls. BYOB - set-ups provided. If your last name begins with: A-I - bring a side dish J-Q - bring a dessert R-Z - bring an appetizer Please bring a new unwrapped toy for our Toys-For-Tots drive. Questions? Contact jeanne.potter@outlook.com Volunteers needed for set up and clean up. Please sign up at the Elks on Wednesday. Directions from the Fairfax County Parkway: Go east until you reach Beulah Rd., cross Beulah and the road changes names to Manchester Blvd. Continue down Manchester (it becomes Kingstown Blvd) turn left on to South Van Dorn St. At the Dr. Take an immediate left and the Community Center will be a few buildings down on your right. Directions from the Beltway: Exit the Beltway at South Van Dorn St. and proceed south on South Van Dorn St. Cross over Franconia Rd., where you will enter Kingstown, after crossing Franconia Rd., continue on South Van Dorn and turn right Dr. Then take an immediate left and you will see the Community Center a few building down on your right. Parking lots are on both sides of the street. 6
DCHD DC Presentss a Doubletree by Hilton BWI 890 Elkridge Landing Rd. Linthicum Heights, MD 21090 410-859-8400 Special room rates $95 any type Rate guaranteed: November 1, 2018 December 17, 2018 Tickets: $80 me mbers; $90 non-me mbers Reservations start November 1, 2018 Reserve early/space limited! Forms and more information: http:/ //dchanddanceclub.net Tables of 10: fill out form, mail w/checks & signed liability forms to: DCHDC, 103 Coronet Dr., Linthicum, MD 21090 Join us as we kick offf our 25-ye ar Anniversary Celebration! Music & Dancing 7pm-1am Hospita lity Suite 5-7 pm (famous White Russians, wine, beer) Buffet Dinner 8-9:30 pm Cake and Special Desserts Pa arty Favors Champagne Toast Free Soda and Water 7
Need to Know? Welcome New Members Alynne Faughnan Welcome Back, Patricia Parrott Where do I Get a Copy of the Shag Rag? Go to www.nvshag.org, click on Shag Rag tab, click on the desired month. It s in PDF format. Also, copies will be available at the Fairfax Elks on Wednesdays. Hello Shagger Emails Are you getting the Hello Shagger e-mails? If not, visit our website at www.nvshag.org. On the right side, click on the blue box that says Hello Shagger e-mail list and give us your e-mail address! Hello Shagger Input Anyone with information to be included in the Hello Shagger email (including DJ schedules and menus), please send to helloshagger@nvshag.org. Keep Your Membership Information Current Have you moved, changed phone numbers or email address? Let Bonnie Arms know at bjrwa@verizon.net. Shag Rag The deadline for Shag Rag input is the 25th of every month. Please send content (including opinions, humor and recipes) to Adele Robey at arobey@fusemail.com J.R. s Framing & Photography JOHN ROMITO 6020 Westcott Hills Way Kingstowne, VA 222315 High Quality Framing at Great Prices! Photographs, Prints and Posters Artwork including Oils, Water Colors & Pastels Shadow Boxes, Mirrors & Cross Stitch Service and Quality Guaranteed! Call John at 703-971-1618 for an appointment or email him at jrdancer0501@yahoo.com Dennis Gehley The Time Machine Hits from terday and Today Beach, Shag, Rhythm & Blues, Oldies, Top 40 703-451-6764 E-mail: dmgehley@me.com PHOENIX GRAPHICS INC. Design and production for print Vaughn W. Royal Attorney at Law Real Estate,Will, Trusts, Estate Planning, Administration of Decedents Estates, Corporate Law, Contract and Business Civil Litigation Chevy Chase Pavilion, Suite 440 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20015-2079 at Friendship Heights Metro Adele Robey 202.544.0703 arobey@fusemail.com (202) 895-1530 Telephone (202) 686-6405 Facsimile E-Mail: Vroyal@Royal-Law.Com Admitted in VA, MD and DC 8
There s a whole lotta shaggin goin on! December 1, 2018 Northern Virginia Shag Club (NVSC) Holiday Party Kingstowne Snyder Center 6450 S. Van Dorn St., Alexandria, VA 22315 Members: Free / Non-Members: $10 7:30-11:30 pm DJ: Mike Harding See flyer in the November Shag Rag or the website nvshag.org for more information December 5, 2018 No Dancing Northern Virginia Shag Club Elk s Lodge December 26, 2018 No Dancing Northern Virginia Shag Club Elk s Lodge December 31, 2018 DCHDC New Year s Eve Gala Doubletree by Hilton BWI 890 Elkridge Landing Rd. Linthicum Heights, MD 21090 (410) 869-8400 Special Room Rate: $95 (Nov 1-Dec 17, 2018) Tickets: $80 Members/$90 Non-Members Reservations start: November 1, 2018 Forms and more info: http://dchanddanceclub.net January 2, 2019 No Dancing Northern Virginia Shag Club Elk s Lodge January 16-20, 2019 ACSC Mid Winter Workshop North Myrtle Beach, SC See official website shagdance.com for more information February 1-3, 2019 Boogie on the Bay Shag Club Shaggers @ Heart Doubletree by Hilton 50 Kingsmill Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185 Hotel website: www.williamsburg.doubletree.com $100 Registration (non refundable but transferable) Instructors: Charlie Womble & Jackie McGee Tom Edwards & Marsha Ruth DJs: Jerry Hardy & Harvey Taylor Website: www.boogieonthebay.com/shagheart February 23, 2019 Rock Hill Shag Club Winter Beach Blast American Legion 524 Heckle Blvd., Rock Hill, SC 7pm-Midnight $40 sold ONLY in advance Cash Bar (No coolers allowed) DJ: Frank Price Contact: Debbie Brown 803-242-6104, shagdeb@comporium.net Recommended Hotel: Wingate by Wyndham 760 Galleria Blvd., Rock Hill, SC 29732 Phone: 803-324-9000 MUST reserve by 2/1/19 $89.90 includes Tax & Breakfast Mention Rock Hill Shag Club March 29-30, 2019 Capital City Shag Club Capital City Shag Extravaganza X Shaggin Under Silver Stars Tickets: $80 each (non-refundable but transferable) $90 after March 8, 2019 DJs: Ray Scott & Gene Sistare Saturday night: Band of Oz Embassy Suites 200 Stoneridge Dr., Columbia, SC 803-744-8124 Special Group Code: CCS Contact: Marie Kiesel 118 Thorn Tree Ln., Columbia, SC 29212 803-606-3030 / mkiesel@sc.rr.com MARK YOUR CALENDARS! 9
etc. December Birthdays Nancy Snead December 1 Jeanne Potter December 7 Lynda Gumnick December 18 Abbey Compton December 2 Victor Clemann December 8 Cookie Bell December 19 John Rippingale December 3 Jane James December 9 Dave Rapson December 19 John Yuskaitis December 3 Cathy Metcalf December 12 Michael Deese December 24 Barry Kumar December 6 Ida Draim December 14 Sandra Traylor December 31 Ray Jones December 7 Judy Anderson December 15 Other ACSC Virginia Shag Clubs Visit the club websites for venues and schedules. Battlefield Boogie Club, www.battlefieldboogieclub.com Boogie On The Bay Shag Club, www.boogieonthebay.com Colonial Shag Club (Newport News), www.colonialshagclub.com Danville Shag Club, www.danvilleshagclub.com Franklin Shag Club, gramelia@yahoo.com Lynchburg Shag Club, www.lynchburgareashagclub.com Richmond Shag Club, www.richmondshagclub.org Roanoke Valley Shag Club, www.rvsc.memberlodge.com Virginia Beach Shag Club, www.vbshagclub.com ShagRag Northern Virginia Shag Club P.O. Box 2298 Merrifield, VA 22116 We re on the Web! www.nvshag.org And on Facebook at Northern Virginia Shag Club 10