STORY ONE: WE ARE BACK FROM ALASKA!
http://www.ssqq.com/travel/alaska2005.htm
We all returned safely from our July Cruise Trip to magnificent Alaska.
For seven days we had the time of our lives visiting the Mendenhall
Glacier in Juneau, taking a 40-mile train ride deep into the wilderness at
Skagway, flying high over the incredible Misty Fjords near Ketchikan, and
watching huge ice slabs fall into the ocean at the Hubbard Glacier.
It took me a while, but the story is now complete. The tales of adventure
include:
1. Ballroom Dancing aboard the Radiance
2. The Mysterious Radiance DJ Booth
3. Dance Workshops
4. Fish and Bear Stories
5. Exploring Alaska's Inside Passage
6. Mendenhall Glacier and Mt. Roberts at Juneau
7. Texans Not Welcome in Alaska
8. The mysterious disappearance of Alaska's Abundant Wildlife
9. Dead Horse Trail at Skagway
10. How Rick Almost Lands in Skagway Jail
11. The Secret they did not want revealed: Madness in Alaska
12. Pictures of Hubbard Glacier
13. Tales of Woe on the Radiance Basketball Court
14. What Ketchikan Alaska is most Famous For
15. The incredible self-discipline of the SSQQ Women
16. The Siren Call of the Misty Fjords
17. What loneliness does to some people
These stories plus the marvelous pictures of Alaskan Wilderness and the
members of our group taken by Gary Richardson.
STORY TWO: INTRODUCING THE SSQQ SUNDAY BALLROOM PROGRAM AND TEA DANCE
Many people have expressed an interest in learning more Ballroom Dancing.
However they all voice the same concern: Where am I going to dance it?
The simple answer to the question is that you can dance Ballroom at SSQQ
every Sunday evening at our Ballroom Tea Dance from 6 pm to 6:40 pm (7 pm
if you are signed up for the 7 pm classes as well). There will be Ballroom
Dancing in four different rooms at once!
Not only is the dance free ($2 if you are not taking a Sunday 4 pm
Ballroom class), you get popcorn and a complimentary Ice Tea as well (on
one condition - you have to dance ONE SONG in Room One; you get the Ice
Tea as a reward after the song is over! The song will be "Hooked on
Swing")
We initiated the Ballroom Program this past Sunday over the Labor Day
weekend with well over 100 people in attendance spread out over six
classes. We had Beginning and Intermediate Big Band Swing classes,
Beginning and Advanced Tango, Advanced Ballroom Waltz, and a general
Beginning Ballroom class.
After classes ended, we put non-stop music on in the rooms where the
classes were held. We had Tango dancing in Room 2, Big Band Swing Dancing
in Room 3, and Foxtrot dancing in Room 4.
In Room 1, our largest room, we had Tango, East Coast Swing, Waltz,
Foxtrot, Rumba, Bolero, Cha Cha, and West Coast Swing music rotating
constantly.
Last Sunday at our Inaugural Ball this idea worked like a charm. Using
this format, if the only kind of dance our students knew was Tango, then
they stayed in the Tango room. But for those with some experience at the
different Ballroom Dances, Room One was the place to dance it all!
Our plan is to have 2 Swing classes and 5 levels of different Ballroom
classes every month. My guess is over a six-month period, you should be
able to learn all the dances at least at the basic level and some of them
all the way through the Advanced level.
As the skill level of the studio rises, our bi-monthly Saturday night
Swing dances will transform into combined Swing and Ballroom dances.
Expect the first Swing and Ballroom dance in early November. We will keep
you posted on that.
In the meantime, if you would like to join the September Sunday Ballroom
Program, join us this coming Sunday, September 11th. We will review
everything you missed in the first week. Then if you still have a
question, we will help you after class during the Tea Dance.
Shall We Dance?
STORY THREE: SSQQ CLASS HIGHLIGHTS FOR SEPTEMBER
The September 2005 Dance Semester will start on Sunday, September 4th.
http://www.ssqq.com/ssqq/schedule.htm
A "Special Class" at SSQQ is defined as a class that isn't offered every
month.
In addition to our new Sunday Ballroom classes described above, "Special
Classes" in September include:
Scott Ladell will teach BEGINNING WESTERN WALTZ on Sundays at 7. His first
class last Sunday was very big. The famous Western dance of Romance is a
popular class indeed! If the interest stays high, we will offer definitely
one, possibly two classes at the higher levels.
Last Sunday at 7 pm MG Anseman survived teaching the very first ADVANCED
WESTERN SWING II class. Early reports were that it was slightly harder
than the regular Advanced WS class taught here at the studio, but the
difference wasn't that great.
Here at SSQQ we are known for having many "levels" of classes such as
Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced Western Swing. After our successful
experience with "branches" in our Salsa program, we have extended the
concept to Swing and Western classes as well.
The idea of a "Branch" class is to teach a class of different material
that is roughly equal in difficulty. So a Ghost Town Western Swing Class
is a "Level" up from Advanced Western Swing, but Advanced Western Swing II
is a "Branch", i.e. an extension of Advanced Western Swing I. Once you
finish Intermediate Western Swing, you can take either Adv WS II first or
Adv WS I first. Take your pick!
In September, ADVANCED WESTERN SWING II will be offered on Sundays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays all for the price of one. Enjoy!
On Mondays in September, East meets West! For several years, we have had a
West Coast Swing classes on Sundays. But we have also had Whip and West
Coast classes on Mondays in the past that have been successful. Now we
have decided to move both our Sunday West Coast classes over to Mondays.
West Coast Swing has officially joined East Coast Swing on Mondays for
"Swing Night".
On Labor Day Monday, September 5, our West Coast Swing/Whip classes were
among the largest classes offered. West Coast Swing Practice Night
afterward was very crowded which is an early indication that this was a
very positive move. Of course the Thursday Whip/West Coast Swing classes
are still the same!
With our Wild Halloween Whip Dancing at the annual SSQQ Halloween Party,
this is the perfect time to join our Beginning Whip/West Coast Swing class
taught on Mondays and Thursdays in September!
Salsa on Tuesdays continues to be one of the most amazing success stories
at our studio. In the past year, Salsa has overtaken Western dancing to
become the most popular dance at SSQQ. Last month the Tuesday Salsa
program actually had TWO different classes with a hundred people signed
up. Is it too crowded on Tuesdays? Yes. Is it hot in there? Yes. Do we get
many complaints? No. Very few actually. For some reason, everyone loves
the Tuesday energy just like it is.
However if you don't want to be crushed to death or melted, Thursday and
Saturday classes are conducted under far more humane conditions.
Be forewarned that Scott Ladell's GHOST TOWN 12 on Wednesdays should be a
tough class because all the easy moves are gone and only the hard ones are
left for Level 12! That said, some people like a challenge! Otherwise
consider taking a kinder, gentler Western Swing class such as GHOST TOWN 4
on Sundays or perhaps the brand new ADVANCED WESTERN SWING II class on
Sunday/Wednesday/Friday this month.
Sharon Crawford and John Jones will begin their annual Western Cha Cha
program in September. Western Cha Cha is a fun and flirtatious dance used
to polka music with a latin flavor. This class will run for three months
and will cover practically every Cha Cha move known to man! The smart move
is to join in at Square One! BEGINNING WESTERN CHA CHA starts this
Wednesday, September 7th.
BEGINNING AND ADVANCED WHIP AND WEST COAST SWING -
Please note you may take the Monday and the parallel Thursday classes for
the price of one.
MARTIAN WHIP TECHNIQUE I
Bryan Spivey 7:00 - 9:00 pm Thursday, September 8th
State Whip Champion Bryan's class on Thursday covers West Coast Swing
technique. This class is offered as a "Bridge" between Lunar Whip and the
elite Friday Martian Whip class.
BEGINNING LATIN HUSTLE
Scott Ladell 7:00 - 9:00 pm Friday, September 9th
Latin Hustle (also known as Hustle) is a popular partner dance used to
Disco and Smooth R&B music. It uses the same timing as West Coast Swing
but its patterns are similar to East Coast Swing and it's style is similar
to Salsa. Join Scott Ladell for at least two months, maybe more, of this
fabulous dance!
ZYDECO
Willie and Ronnie 4:30 - 6:30 pm Saturday, September 10th
Zydeco is a Creole Swing Dance that is extremely popular in the Houston
area. Zydeco music originated in the state of Louisiana. Similar to Cajun
music, Zydeco is more heavily influenced by blues and music from the West
Indies. Zydeco is fun, sexy, and pretty easy to learn! This is a great
Saturday class that will have you laughing all night long!
BEGINNING HIP HOP I
Kevin Coleman 4:30 - 6:30 pm Saturday, September 10th
Hip Hop has become the dominant form of Club Dancing in the 2000s. Tricky
footwork combined with eye-catching arm motions are difficult to learn
without a good teacher. This is a beginner class so expect a relaxed pace!
This class was a huge hit in August. Students loved Kevin's energy and
teaching excellence. Please note anyone who took Kevin's class in August
can take it again in September for half price.
(Note: For more details and lengthy descriptions of all the classes above
and more, please go to SEPTEMBER EXTRA ON THE SSQQ WEB SITE:
http://www.ssqq.com/ssqq/extra.htm )
If you miss the first week of classes, don't worry about it. YOU CAN SIGN
UP IN THE SECOND WEEK without any problem since we spend the first hour
reviewing what was covered in Week One.
.
STORY FOUR: THE KOOL KAT KLUB SWING DANCE
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 9:15 - Midnight, $7
http://www.ssqq.com/ssqq/party17.htm
CRASH COURSES 7-9 PM (to register, just show up and register at the door)
KOOL KAT KLUB ADV SWING PTNS! - Patty Oh
SLOW DANCING - Jill
SWING ACROBATICS - Paul (cpls only)
ARGENTINE TANGO - Don
WEST COAST SWING - Patty and Joe
BEG LINDY HOP - Gloria
DRESS KOOL OR GO SIT ON THE STOOL!
The idea behind the KOOL KAT KLUB party is to assume you are a Kool Kat,
male or female variety, on your way to a night of hot Swing dancing at the
Koolest night club in Harlem.
As most of you know, Harlem was the epicenter for the birth of Swing music
in the 20s and for the Lindy Hop at the same time. Harlem later became the
home of some of the most famous Jazz artists in history.
Now it is your job to dress Kool. Don't ask us how to dress. You are
supposed to just "know" how. Like a hotel so expensive that anyone who has
to ask shouldn't bother, anyone who doesn't have a clue how to dress "Kool"
doesn't deserve to come to a Kool Swing Party like this one either.
Swing Nerds stay away. Hot Kitties and Bad Cats only.
Patty Oh will be your DJ so come play and Swing the Night Away!
STORY FIVE: THE SEPTEMBER SSQQ HOEDOWN WESTERN PARTY
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 9:15 - 12:30 am, $8
http://www.ssqq.com/ssqq/party18.htm
CRASH COURSES 7-9 PM (to register, just show up and register at the door)
BEG TEXAS TWOSTEP - Abbie
BEGINNING WESTERN WALTZ - Karen Clawsen
NIGHT CLUB - Anita
LINDA'S FAV GHOST TOWN PTNS - Linda
SYNCHRONIZED POLKA - Amanda
HOEDOWN LINE DANCES - Rick
This party is shaping up as one of our biggest adventures in years.
First of all, since this party is held the night before we leave for the
Rhapsody Cruise, I expect most of our Wild Bunch to get an early start on
the fun by being the life of this party.
Second, in preparation for the party, we will sponsor five FREE Western
Line Dance classes to learn the 6 dances we will be performing for the
party.
We will learn the Boot Scoot Boogie and Tush Push from yesteryear, plus
Dizzy, Zorba the Greek, Country Twostep, and Cha Cha Stroll in order to
perform them at the party.
Scheduled times to learn the dances:
Friday, September 9, 6-7 pm
Wednesday, September 14, 6-7 pm
Friday, September 16, 6-7 pm
Wednesday, September 21, 6-7 pm
Friday, September 23, 6-7 pm
Third, we will be dancing three famous group dances: the Virginia Reel,
the Beer Barrel Polka, and the Hoot Owl Barn Dance. We will teach each of
the three dances during the party.
So circle September 24 as a very big night at the studio!
..
STORY SIX: THE SEPTEMBER 25TH RHAPSODY REUNION CRUISE!!
QUICK REMINDER - WE WILL HAVE OUR RHAPSODY 2005 PRE-CRUISE MEETING THIS
COMING SUNDAY AT SSQQ, 2:30 PM- 4 PM.
Our second SSQQ cruise trip of the year will set sail on Sunday, September
25th for a week of fun-filled adventures across the Caribbean. It looks
like we will just barely fall short of taking 100 people.
We have had so many last-minute requests to join the trip that we should
have crossed the 100 threshold with ease. However a curious decision by
Carnival Cruise Line left thousands of Texans hanging at the last minute.
Carnival decided to allow FEMA to use some of its ships as emergency
shelters for the Katrina victims. Carnival literally told thousands of
people their reservations were no good UNLESS they wanted to pay more
money. Disgusted, many of the people told Carnival what they thought of
this move by booking the few remaining cabins on Royal Caribbean's
Rhapsody thus blocking any chance for us to take the last-minute people
along with us.
I am not a travel agent and I do not know the details of Carnival's
decision. Perhaps if I knew all the facts, I would feel differently about
what Carnival did. What I do know is that one of my friends at the studio,
OJ Bowman, said her Carnival cruise out of Galveston in October was
canceled. Another student, Stella Gutierrez, said her Carnival cruise was
canceled too. She had wanted desperately to go on the SSQQ Cruise, but her
daughter could not get permission from the US Military to take a vacation
on the dates we were sailing. So she booked her trip on Carnival two weeks
later. Seven people were scheduled to go including her daughter on leave
from active duty
and Carnival canceled the trip. They said she could book
all seven people on another one of their ships for an additional $3,000.
What Ms. Gutierrez replied cannot be printed at this time.
STORY SEVEN: STAFF COMINGS AND GOINGS.
THE DAWN OF THE MARLA AND DAKOTA ERA
MARLA ARCHER
Next week Marla Archer, my lovely wife of one year, will officially retire
from her day job to work at SSQQ full-time starting in October.
The first year of our marriage has been incredibly difficult for her. We
got married on Royal Caribbean's Rhapsody of the Seas on September 26,
2004, and promptly enjoyed a working honeymoon of sorts.
One month later, a certain important full-time employee quit the studio in
a huff and left us hanging. Marla stepped right into the breach and took
over the payroll and the books plus part-time registration duties. We
never missed a beat.
A month after that another certain full-time employee also quit the studio
without warning. This time Marla became the full-time head of studio
Registration, a job she describes as one of the most stressful jobs she
has ever handled in her life.
Two months after that yet a third important employee resigned to take a
job in Austin, Texas. Fortunately this time we had a little warning. Again
Marla assumed more responsibility by picking up the Ballroom teaching
duties that were vacated.
In addition Marla coordinated two incredibly successful cruise trips in
2005. She did all the work as the travel agent.
Did I mention she kept her full-time day job the whole time? Yes, Marla
has been working a full-time job and five part-time jobs for a year. If
you have noticed a certain exhausted look in her eyes, now you know the
reason.
Marla kept up this incredible workload so she could pay off her daughter
Marissa's college bill. Marissa graduated this year "Summa Cum Laude" from
Texas State with a business degree. Marla could not have been prouder. But
the debt and interest on the Visa bill was staggering. Marla decided the
bill had to go. Today thanks to her herculean efforts, the bill is
practically gone. This explains why Marla is ready now to move on to her
next career.
Soon you might actually see Marla around the studio smiling for a change.
..
DAKOTA WILHELM
Dakota Wilhelm joined the SSQQ Staff this month when an unexpected job
opening came up on Saturday. Dakota has extensive previous experience at
teaching Ballroom, Western, Salsa, East and West Coast Swing. Dakota was
steered to SSQQ by his wife Susan Allen, a former SSQQ dance student. She
had a hunch her husband's style would fit in here very well so she
suggested he contact me.
Meanwhile SSQQ instructors Bryan Spivey and Scott Ladell both gave him
recommendations.
When a class opened up in August, I asked him to give it a try. I already
could see Dakota was a good dancer, but I had no idea what sort of teacher
he was. Once I watched him teach for the first time, I realized he is also
a gifted instructor. His skill as an instructor convinced me to grant his
wish to work here at the studio full-time.
Currently he is teaching Tango on Sundays and Salsa on Saturdays. In
addition Dakota will be serving a two-month apprenticeship. Then starting
in November Dakota will be teaching five nights a week. Please give Dakota
a warm welcome when you meet him. He joins Linda Cook and myself as one of
three full-time instructors on the SSQQ Staff plus Marla who concentrates
mostly on administration.
STORY EIGHT: THE SSQQ LOGIC PUZZLE WINNERS FOR AUGUST 2005
Only 8 people sent in answers to the pathetically easy August Logic
Puzzle.
Where was the entry from my budding Western superstar Serita Serfoss?
Where was the entry from newcomer Patty Harrison?
And Steve Upchurch didn't send one in either after letting his impressive
eight month in a row streak lapse.
Even ever-reliable Holly Soehnge didn't contribute an answer.
What are we going to do with these logic scofflaws?
Fortunately the Usual Suspects checked in. Six of our eight winners were
returning victors from the July Puzzle. And we welcomed back the amazing
Karen Babb who overcame the color of her hair yet once more to win for the
eighth time!
1. Jarvae Pollock (First Time Winner!)
2. Susan Arevalo (22 months in a row!)
3. Anita Leung (Six Months in a row!)
4. Roger Cantley (Third Time Winner!)
5. Karen Babb (Two Months in a Row)
6. Jeff & Connie Woodman (Month Two for the new streak of our former
champions)
7. Ann Faget (Just ahead of Susan at 23 months in a row!)
8. Ritesh Laud (16 months in a row)
STORY NINE: THE 2005 SEPTEMBER LOGIC PUZZLE - LAKE WACKAWAKKA
http://ssqq.com/archive/logicpuzzle06.htm
Difficulty Level: Piece of cake
At Lake WackaWakka Boy Scout camp, there are five tiny islands in the
middle of the lake. They are connected to the Boy Scout camp and to each
other by a system of simple wood ramps (see map below). On each island
there is a tree house built and maintained by the scouts.
These islands are named Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omega. Whenever a
Scout attains a merit badge, he is rewarded by getting to spend the
weekend with one or two friends from his Boy Scout Troop in one of the
tree houses without a chaperone. Needless to say, the Scouts work extra
hard to attain this special privilege!
This puzzle asks you to solve the mystery of the name of each Scout that
spent the weekend on which island and what his merit badge was.
STORY TEN: JOKE PICTURE OF THE MONTH
Gary Richardson sent in this month's Joke Picture. I don't often use
cartoons, but this one captured my sentiments so accurately I had no
choice but to share it.
Enjoy!
http://www.ssqq.com/ssqq/jokepicture.htm
STORY ELEVEN: BEST NEW JOKES AND HALL OF FAME JOKES
We have six new jokes this month.
The Marriage Counselor - Anita Williams
Pedro - Milt Oglesby
America's Deficiency in Math - Milt Oglesby
The Italian Stud - Gary Richardson
Discussing a Car - Leroy Ginzel
The Hairdo - Stephanie Barrow
Anita Williams got Best Runner-up for her wonderful joke about the
difficult task of repairing a marriage on the rocks.
Leroy Ginzel won the Best Joke of the Month award for his joke about a
father's quick-witted reply to his son's request to drive the family car.
Enjoy!
http://www.ssqq.com/ssqq/jokesnew.htm
HALL OF FAME JOKES
Newcomers to SSQQ may not be aware of how wonderful our Joke page is. Over
the years Newsletter readers have been sending in their favorite jokes. I
dutifully collect them, edit them, and save them. We are now up to
somewhere around 700 jokes.
Unfortunately there are no new members to our Hall of Fame this month
since I didn't add any new jokes last September. To avoid such sadness
from ever occurring again, send me your favorite new jokes to dance@ssqq.com
Meanwhile, you can read this month's Hall of Fame jokes at:
http://www.ssqq.com/ssqq/jokes.htm
STORY TWELVE: SLOW DANCE AND ROMANCE: THREE NEW ENGAGEMENTS!
BRYAN SPIVEY AND LISA PALMER GET ENGAGED!
On Saturday, August 27, SSQQ West Coast Swing instructor Bryan Spivey
proposed to his beautiful girlfriend Lisa Palmer, an SSQQ West Coast Swing
instructor as well. Amazingly, she accepted.
Bryan's proposal to Lisa has been cloaked with intrigue and mystery.
Several months ago Bryan told me he was going to propose to Lisa just as
soon as he got the ring. I am so ignorant, I wasn't even aware you are
supposed to have a ring before proposing. (I proposed to Marla the second
time the idea popped into my head. The first time I was drunk, so I
thought I should wait till I sobered up and think about it one more time.)
Obviously Bryan is a traditionalist, which meant he had to wait for a
while. My guess is about two and a half months passed between the time he
told me and the day he made his move. I have a hunch that Bryan told more
people than just me. In fact I have a feeling a bunch of people were privy
to this important inside information. With all the whispering, I wonder if
Lisa even had an inkling. My guess is Lisa was very pleased, but not
terribly surprised.
Lisa and Bryan will become approximately the 48th and 49st SSQQ
instructors to get married to someone they met here at the dance studio.
SSQQ Dance Studio is legendary for its subtle matchmaking skills. The
easiest way on earth to find a husband or a wife is to become an SSQQ
instructor. Earlier this year Sharon Crawford continued our tradition with
her marriage to Bill Shaw as did Randy Winfrey with his marriage to
Melissa Gauthier.
It is indeed an amazing tradition.
KEVIN LEE AND MICHELLE SPIRIS GET ENGAGED!
Kevin and Michelle were members of the July SSQQ Alaska Cruise group. One
day on board the Radiance they told me during dance class that they had
just gotten engaged!
Kevin has family up in Vancouver so he took Michelle up several days
before the cruise began so he could let Michelle meet her future in-laws.
Michelle and Kevin met at the studio in the spring of 2002.
Best wishes to both!
AUBREY SMITH AND BILLYE KRIDNER GET ENGAGED!
Aubrey and Billye have been favorite students of mine for three years. I
have a hunch they met in a Swing class around the summer of 2003. My guess
is they have been over half a dozen classes of mine. Both showed up in my
August Slow Dance and Romance class and of course they were the best
dancers in the class.
Then one day they inquired about a private lesson in Foxtrot. That's when
something clicked. I casually asked if they were engaged. They smiled and
nodded. I'm not sure if they really wanted the attention, but I couldn't
help myself. Aubrey and Billye are very quiet. They are obviously already
a well-matched couple
they showed up wearing identical colors for the
class unbeknownst to each other. They are a very sweet pair.
Congratulations!
..
STORY THIRTEEN: COMPLAINT OF THE MONTH
RICK ARCHER DOESN'T KNOW FLIP ABOUT WESTERN DANCING!
Back in the 1990s we watched as Swing Dancing came back with a vengeance
not seen since the 1930s. And currently the first half of our new century
has seen the unprecedented emergence of Salsa dancing to become the single
most popular form of partner dancing in America.
Back in 1979 "Urban Cowboy" took Western dancing in Houston to heights it
had never seen before. Since I was there along for the ride, I wrote a
lengthy story about how it all happened.
Titled "The History of Western Swing", I chronicled the events that led to
the emergence of a brand new form of Western dancing, the dance we know as
Western Swing.
http://ssqq.com/information/westswng.htm
The email below was from a man named Emmett Durham who seemed oddly grumpy
about my story.
-----Original Message-----
From: Emmett Durham
Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2005 2:32 PM
To: dance@ssqq.com
Subject: Kicker Dancing
I have taken a couple of classes in the past at SSQQ, but I've recently
starting hanging out with a group of people in Clear Lake who are dancing
fiends. Consequently, I find myself at your website looking at the
schedule.
I've read your account of the history of c&w dancing a couple of times in
the last 3-4 years, and each time I end up asking myself what that was I
was doing back in the late sixties at rodeo dances and at places like the
Western Club, Proctor Lake, the Melody Ranch, and the Ramblin' Rose (all
in central Texas) and London Hall in London, Texas. Charlie Pride's
classic album "In Person - Live at Panther Hall" is a true honky-tonk
dance classic. It was recorded in the mid sixties.
Your article drops the names of George Strait, Clint Black, Garth Brooks,
and Reba McIntire like there was no music to "polish belt buckles" by
before they came onto the scene. However, I remember the tunes that would
launch streams of guys to the first available women to be "Freulein" by
Bobby Helms and "Faded Love" by Bob Wills. By the way, I thought Bob Wills
was the father of Western Swing music, dating back to the at least the
'40s.
So, I wonder what that was people were doing on dance floors across Texas
then? And don't forget Joe Stampley, Jackie Ward, Charlie Walker,
Stonewall Jackson, Conway Twitty, and Ernest Tubb.
I remember Gilley's (pre-Urban Cowboy,) and the Winchester, and Van's
Stampede Ballroom. I also remember that up until Urban Cowboy and until
Houston filled up with people from Michigan and the likes, that the
dancing done in those places was the same as that I learned from my
girlfriend back in 1969 at a rodeo dance in Gatesville, Texas (she learned
from her dad, who had been reserve world champion calf roper in the
fifties.) I remember one of the best times I ever had was at a dance at
the Bluebonnet, in Eddy, Texas, where Conway Twitty played and people
danced; it wasn't a concert. This was in 1972. The Bluebonnet was quite a
place. It was as big as Gilley's and the house band was Roy Robinson and
the Availables, a local band that could cover anything. Every Friday and
Saturday night we'd go there by the carload.
Anyway, I used to love to dance, but I've lost my joy for it over the
years because those wonderful steps at which I excelled back then have
been replaced by those that I have come to learn from reading your article
are the very foundation of western dancing, invented about 1978.
Boy, thanks for coming along and inventing kicker dancing.
Emmett Durham
MY REPLY:
-----Original Message-----
From: Rick Archer
Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 9:22 PM
To: Emmett Durham
Subject: Kicker Dancing
I am not quite sure why you feel the need to be so sarcastic.
I never claimed to invent Western dancing. I simply said I was present
when the nature of Western dancing here in Houston changed from basic
Twostep into Western Swing and that I contributed to the development of
the dance at that time.
My story covered a specific era, i.e. the days when Western Swing (or
Twostep w Turns) became popular during the Urban Cowboy era. I chronicled
the events of those days as best I could.
Of course there was western dancing before I came along. I never said it
didn't exist. I wonder how you expect me to write about the earlier days
of Western Dancing of which I have no experience?
I do know this: Western dancing was barely a blip on the radar screen here
in Houston before Urban Cowboy. Thanks to the popularity of that movie 25
years ago, it moved Western dancing into mainstream consciousness for the
very first time.
That movie did everyone a favor as it literally put Kicker Dancing on the
map throughout the country.
Rick Archer
(Editor's Note: Mr. Durham did not respond to my letter)
.
And that's a wrap for September.
Thanks for reading this month's issue of the SSQQ Newsletter!
Rick Archer
dance@ssqq.com (email)
