The Dance Contest in the Bahamas
Summer, 1988
Story written by Rick Archer

After my Clear Lake fiasco in 1979, let us fast forward our story 9 years down the road to 1988.

Sharon Crawford started taking classes in 1987. By May of 1988 she had joined the SSQQ Staff. I can still remember her first class. Sharon was so nervous that her class had to crowd around her to hear what she had to say. She couldn't speak above a whisper. Now as I hear her bellowing from across the studio, I am always struck by how much her confidence has improved.

Sharon was an incredible dancer from the moment I met her.  I think Sharon is the closest thing to the perfect dance partner I have ever had.  This 1988 picture at right of Sharon and me was taken as a reflection in the mirror at the studio at our Dirty Dancing workshop.

In the summer of 1988, Sharon organized a trip for SSQQ to visit the Bahamas. We stayed at a lovely Jack Tar Village.  Sharon had put together a wonderful package.  So inexpensive!  Back in those days, the studio was still small enough in those days that everyone knew everyone. When someone found out a couple friends were going, they wanted to go too. The event snowballed till over 50 people decided to go. We looked like a small nation when we got off the plane.

Thanks to Sharon's hard work, our group had a great time.  These 50 people were a close-knit group of friends.  To this day, many people in that group still get together socially on ski trips and other events.

One night on our Bahamas trip there was a choice of events.  People had to pick between a boat ride with dinner or a Sock Hop in the Disco which included a dance contest.  46 members of our group went on the boat ride while four of us picked the Sock Hop - Sharon, my girlfriend Janet Gunthrie (pictured on right), Sharon's sister Cynthia, and me.

We remained on shore for the sole purpose of entering the dance contest.

And guess who wanted to win a dance contest?  Me?  Wrong.  Not this time.  I had previously discussed the issue with the Dance Gods on Mount Olympus and had reassured them this dance contest business wasn't for me.  I had learned my lesson.  This contest was all about Sharon.  I was just going along for the ride.

You see, Sharon did want to win a dance contest.  In fact Sharon wanted to win it a whole lot.   When she first brought up the idea, I tried to explain to her that I had a curse on me against performing and competing.  Sharon was undeterred.  She said that was a lot of superstitious nonsense.

Sharon then went on to say she had busted her butt organizing this trip and she deserved one crummy favor in return.  I suggested any man from our group would get the job done.  Nonsense, Sharon said.  She wanted me.  What was I going to say?  So that's how I got roped into entering the contest with Sharon despite my curse.

I spoke with my girlfriend Janet (this picture is from the Bahamas trip.  Look how tanned Janet was.  I was doing a Tom Easley impersonation at the time.) 

I told Janet that in the Hustler, Paul Newman got his fingers broken for shooting pool against people who weren't even remotely in his league.  But Janet replied this wasn't hustling.  I wasn't dancing for money.  She suggested maybe Sharon was right and this stuff was all in my head.  After all, my fiascos at the Ritz and down in Clear Lake were almost ten years in my rear view mirror.

I listened to what Janet said.  Yes, fate seemingly intervened in the Ritz performance and the Clear Lake dance contest, but maybe the Gods didn't care any more.  Maybe my Dance Demons were just a figment of my imagination.

I really wouldn't mind winning a contest. For crying out loud, why would the Cosmos really care?  Wasn't there enough mercy to allow someone who had come as far as I had with my dancing to win one stupid crummy dance contest?   Hadn't I been punished enough.

I really hadn't done anything evil that meant I had to be punished over and over again.  Plus this was about as remote a corner of the planet as they come.  I wasn't asking for a National Dance Championship or big-time fame.  Winning this contest would be a speck of sand in the cosmic scheme of things.  This had to be the least important dance contest in the history of mankind.  It wasn't like I was asking the Dance Gods for a Big Favor, now was I? 

Janet laughed.  She suggested that surely the Dance Gods would see that I had not asked to be in the contest.  Instead I was entering for the noblest of reasons... because it takes two to Jitterbug and Sharon deserved to have her favor honored. 

Janet was right.  I wasn't hurting anybody.  This was for Sharon, not me.  If I accidentally won a dance contest, I would give all the credit to Sharon.  Who the heck on Dance Olympus would notice, much less care? 

I would do it for Sharon.  I figured this noble sentiment would soothe the Dance Gods.  They would see that my intentions were pure and remove the Curse of Rick. 

After all, curses have been removed before. 

"After 18 failed nominations in a row for her role as Erica on All My Children, it came as a complete shock to both Susan Lucci as well as the viewing audience when she finally won an Emmy in 1999.  When Lucci's name was announced, the audience erupted in a standing ovation that lasted several minutes. The actress began to sob uncontrollably, bringing nearly the entire auditorium to tears as well."

So obviously Curses don't have to be permanent, now do they?

HOW GOOD WERE OUR CHANCES?

Having cleared my conscience, I took stock of our chances.  Even though I had truly resisted participating in this contest, I intended to dance my very best and "get it over with".  I did not tell Sharon I was taking this contest seriously to avoid having her feel any pressure.  I decided that since I had agreed to do this, I intended to win and get the monkey off my back.

I was 38 years old.  I was at the very peak of my dancing ability.  Unlike 10 years ago, now I could lead. Oh boy, could I lead!  In 1986 I had gone Whip dancing 201 nights in a row.  After this incredible amount of practice, I had quietly taken my place amongst the best male dancers in Houston.

Sharon was equal to the task.  Sharon was a phenomenal dancer.  A former Kilgore Rangerette, Sharon was one of the best dancers I have ever met.  Thanks to her innate grace and perfect timing, Sharon was a joy to watch.  Sharon was also an excellent acrobat.   Sharon could do anything - back flips, lifts, drops, dips.  The woman was fearless. 

With her beautiful long legs and great figure, Sharon cut such an imposing figure when she danced that we had a nickname for her - the Whip Goddess.  Sharon liked the nickname as you can see from her Halloween costume.

Sharon and I danced well together.  Sharon knew every one of my moves and followed me perfectly.  Our favorite spot was Wild West.  Whenever we danced at Wild West, Sharon and I would receive the ultimate compliment - people would line the railing four deep to watch us.  I would throw Sharon into the air or slingshot her between my legs and hear the oohs and aahs of the crowd as they gasped with delight.

Please forgive the immodesty, but at this particular moment in our lives, the two of us were excellent dance performers.  We were trained, experienced professional dancers at the top of our game.  If it had been important to me, I have no doubt we could have entered any dance contest in Houston and done very well.

THE BIG CONTEST

We waved goodbye as our 46 friends sailed off into the sunset.  Then Sharon, Janet, Cynthia and I headed over to the Disco.  As we waited for the contest to begin, we checked out our potential competition on the dance floor.  To be honest, the dancing was pretty lame.  Every time my conscience began to bother me,  I reminded myself I was doing this for Sharon.

Sharon and I danced a little before the contest, but I held back.  Nothing fancy.  Just warming up. Sharon was worried that if we showed off too much, no one would enter!! 

How absurd.  There was no one in this building to even remotely strike fear in my heart.  The only true competition we might have had would be from our friends and they were all conveniently out at sea getting drunk.

The pressure was so intense, in fact, I was getting sleepy.  Janet nudged me back to consciousness.  The Sock Hop was about to begin.   Sharon had been doing her homework.  She told me in this contest each couple would dance separately. This made me feel better - at least Sharon was in no danger of some moron hitting her while she was upside down (Memories of Clear Lake).

Plus I knew they could blindfold me and I would still dance better than anyone here (Memories of the Ritz).  I was also pleased to note my conscience was clear so there no danger of any Freudian mistakes ('I don't deserve to win!').

At my request, on came the 50s classic At the Hop .

For starters I spun Sharon 15 times and ended in a flashy move called the Death Drop. Sharon plunged sharply to the floor only to come to an instant stop.  I supported her back with my hand as her weight rested on my thigh.  The audience gasped. 

For a second they thought Sharon was going to hit the floor.  Well, scaring them was the whole idea.  They had no idea I had her under control!  I think we had their attention now.

Next we did a Slingshot.  This is a move where Sharon shoots through my legs with her body parallel to the floor, then comes back out and flies into an aerial way above my head. Sharon almost touched the ceiling as she stayed suspended for two seconds in midair.  People's mouths were hanging open.

No one in the audience had anticipated dancing like this!  I imagine the native Hawaiians seeing the European ships of James Cook pull into Pearl Harbor for the first time back in 1778 could not have been more shocked than our spectators.  Who are these guys?

The degree that their jaws dropped is just a simple example of how much Sharon and I did NOT belong in this contest.  We had clearly beamed down from another planet.

But here we were. Why not give it our best?  Now that Sharon had figured out how serious I was, she laughed and got in the mood.  Sharon grinned from head to toe.  It was just like holding court back at Wild West. It's Showtime! 

Now Sharon turned it on too!  I felt her afterburners kicking in!   The rocket is ready to lift off.... We're heading to the Moon! 

Next up was the Flying Flip followed by a Back Flip.  This exciting move had me throwing Sharon over my back and my head.  By coincidence, Sharon and I had practiced that move during our Bahamas trip.  I found a picture to share.

Sharon will OF COURSE kill me for showing this picture, but if it will help authenticate my story, then remember a picture is worth a thousand words!

First I had spun Sharon 15 times.  Then I scared everybody with the Death Drop.  Then I had thrown Sharon in the air. Then in quick succession came the Slingshot, Flying Flip, and Back Flip. 

By my count, Sharon had already been upside down half a dozen times.

So what next?   Why not add a little sex appeal for change of pace?  The movie Dirty Dancing been released not long ago. Sharon and I had developed a crash course with moves based on patterns from the movie.  It was time to dance dirty. 

So I sat Sharon on my leg and held her firmly as she leaned away from me and arched her back.  I swept Sharon off her feet.  She clung to me with as I shifted her one way, then the other.

Sharon was so flexible her head was nearly touching the floor.  (see picture on left)

Here is what happened. On the afternoon of the dance contest, 40 people from Fort Worth had flown into the Jack Tar Village.  This was their first night at the place. 

So the entire battalion was at the Disco drinking beer, hootin', hollerin', and carrying on.  These good ole Texas bubbas were having a very good time.  We knew they were there, but hadn't paid much attention to them.  From what we saw during our scouting, there were no dance threats in the bunch.

After Sharon and I left the floor to applause, a couple from the Fort Worth group decided to enter.  I think someone actually pushed them out there.  They were two drunk people who could barely stand up, much less dance. They did the Twist very badly for three minutes.  While they were up there, their friends cheered for them like they were the Second Coming of Fred and Ginger. The Fort Worth group screamed their heads off.

After the dubious Twist performance, no one else seemed interested in competing.  So that was it.  The Emcee took the floor and announced the audience would decide the winner.

He had Sharon and I stand up. We got a nice round of sincere applause. But when our fellow Texans arose, the Fort Worth Forty erupted as if the Cowboys had just won another Super Bowl.  They stood up, whistled, hooted, stomped their feet, and cheered like banshees for their two heroes who had wiggled for 3 minutes to Louie Louie.

Aftermath

There are a couple sub notes to this story.  

After breakfast the next morning Sharon, Janet, Cynthia, and I were leaving the dining room when the Emcee from the night before came up and asked to speak with us. 

First he handed Sharon a bottle of champagne.   He said he was embarrassed by what had happened the night before and wanted to apologize.  He said he considered us to be the real winners. 

This was a very kind gesture on this man's part.  He was trying to be gracious. 

Sorry to say, my dark side was still raging.  I was pretty angry at the stupidity of the Fort Worth Yahoos.  I thought what they had done was a profound insult.  One look at Sharon's drawn face showed me how much their behavior had hurt this kind, sensitive woman.  She had meant no harm.   

On a brighter note, a couple years down the road Sharon and her dance partner Patrick Steerman went on to win several Country-Western contests in the mid-90s.

Justice eventually smiled on the fair-haired Sharona.