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(our goal is to post readers letters twice a month, unfortunately due to space limitations we can not publish them all)
Hey Ron, how are you!
This weekend
was a blast! The show featuring Edyta Sliwinska & Alec Mazo, from
Dancing With The Stars was amazing. Not only are they incredible
dancers but they a great couple that I had the opportunity to get to
know and spending time with! They are so down to earth. We went to
dinner & even caught a movie together! I was honored by opening
the evening show with a song & then we had a Salsa team perform.
Then the heat rose as Edyta and Alec performed 5 Outstanding Dances!!
They even gave us over a half an hour of Q & A..(questions &
answers) The room was full of high energy all night long. The private
lessons & group clases that they held, the next day, was so well
recieved. Everyone walked out of their lesson with a big smile on their
face :) I want to Thank everyone that attended and let them know that
I really appreciate their support! Stay tuned for the next Dancing
with The Stars Event!
Louis Del Prete
...........................
I
can;t believe that it is about 6 yrs that I have been dancing at
Michael's. Although it is the fifth year in celebrating my birthdays
with all of my dance family.....you still humble me when you sing that
Happy Birthday song and I am not allowed to HIDE! (I wished something
very wonderful for all of you when I blew out those candles!) Thank you
all for such another wonderful birthday celebration and for all the
growth - in dance as well as personal - you have helped me to achieve.
Everyone of you holds a special place in my heart and I hope this
Michael's thing never ends....it is magical because you ALL help create
it! Thank you to all the men and LADIES! who danced with me for my
birthday dance. Thank you for all the gifts, balloons and cards. DJ
Mark - thank you for my most favorite current songs! :) Thank you to
all my special friends who helped me celebrate my birthday in Miami at
IHDC and thank you most of all to my very special and best friend,
Patrick for all you have done and shared with me these last several
years. The carrot cake was delicious! God Bless!
Anita Gicone
...........................
Hey Ron,
I
love DanceTalk and just wanted to make a recommendation. I don't
receive the newsletter till very late on Monday evenings. Therefore by
the time I get to read it and get caught up it is usually Tuesday after
work, 6 o'clock-ish. Any chance of you sending the newsletter out
Monday mornings? It would help immensely, and start my week off with a
bang. Thank you,
Shana Morgan
...........................
Hi
Ron, You know how I love to give my 2 cents, so here goes. Dancing with
the Stars is a fabulous and popular show. But when they featured the
Hustle last season, both Tony Dovolani and Kim Johnson hopped their way
through it, Tony adding disgraceful John Travolta moves to his
routine. Young people watch this show. Ballroom dancing is taking
off as a response. Yet if I were a young person watching this I WOULD
NOT want to learn the Hustle. The pros made it look stupid, like a
ballroom bunny hop. That the judges praised them both is even more
misleading and personally upsetting to me. Until the young people see
the real Hustle, the beautiful, throbbing, rhythmic flowing Hustle that
got us all out there on the floor, you can give up trying to get them
into dancing it. What America has been shown as really great Hustle
looks idiotic. The Dancing with the Stars pros should stick to what
they know, ballroom, and stop bastardizing other dances. And yes, I
lost all respect for Tony Dovolani after that. I was at the Dancesport
party the night he trained with Maria Torres, so I KNOW he was taught
to do it properly, he just chose not to bother. He doesn't deserve a
trophy ball and I'm glad he didn't win last night. Shame on you Tony.
Regards,
Lisa
...........................
Hi Ron, long time
reader but first time writing to you. I want to weigh in on your topic
of the future of the hustle. For those that currently still have
studios and socials to enjoy. Hold on tight. I live in Lincoln, North
Dakota which has a population of less then 3000. Go figure. We live
pretty far from Fargo which is the entertainment city of the state. We
have nothing, zilch, nodda, when it comes to social dancing. There are
a few go go bars and country dance halls but that's about it. Word to
the wise, hang on to your hustle cause it takes everyone to keep it a
live or your end up like us - fishing, hunting and horseshoes. Rhonda
Sebe
...........................
Hello
My good friend Lisa
Sands and I have reconnected after 35 years. We first met at the #1
Disco in South NJ at a club known as Some Place Else when I was a
Bouncer/Bartender in the 70's. She (will kill me for saying this) came
in one night in her Catholic HS uniform with a ID that said she was 18
yrs old. Actually she was 16 or maybe 17. I knew it from the get go.
Anyway we became friends and I was like her "protector" as were all the
guys who worked there. I put her on a pedestal there and everyone
followed. She loved dancing. The song "Disco Queen" applied to
her. "Good things come to those who wait" is true....35 years later!
Lew
...........................
Hi Ron,
I
would like to share my opinion on the music which dancers hustle too!
I am a mobile DJ and have been working parties, weddings, sweet 16's
etc for over 20 years. As a professional I purchase in excess of over
$200.00 a month in new music! Its my obligation to provide the right
music! My gut feeling is that the DJs playing for socials, hustle
dances are not making that commitment!!! They get paid but continue to
play the disco classics that they all ready own, not reinvesting in
their own business or making that commitment to providing new music!!!
I'm not saying all the DJs are this way but as a professional, all DJs
should take pride in their work and expand their music collection to
provide the newest and correct music for all occasions.
Thanks for permititng me to share my thoughts.
W.C.
Our favorite clubs from back in the day
Any
avid dancer knows the emotional impact that a club can have on you. It
can inspire you for years to come. The early discotheques and night
clubs were the roots of the hustle. Before the Dance weekends and
socials, the hustle was mainstream, in the clubs. During the early 70's
through the 80's, the hustle could be seen in discotheques and night
clubs through out the country. Great dancers would frequent the discos
that catered to them for: new music, great dance floor, fellow
dancers, ambiance.... Here are some letters (part 1) that share some
great club memories as we unlock the time capsule. Enjoy part 1 of our
feature.
RB
...........................
I had moved to Mass
from NJ/NY area where I was used to dancing almost every night at a
different club. I spent 3 months searching for the Hustle dancers in
the Boston area without success and much frustration. Finally I found
them at club "Cache" It was an amazing club; perhaps because of all the
universities/colleges/schools in the area, it was an international
flavor - a real melting pot of 20 somethings and finally for me, Hustle
dancers. You could find us there every Thursday night without
fail...the music was great, the floor a long narrow oval that had a
slightly elevated stage like area. Special memory was the night I
co-choreographed and organized a Hustle dance show there with a
formation team, duos and solos and "cut ins" in less than 2 weeks!
Many of those dancers are still friends and dancing today as well!
Kim Vanaman
...........................
My
favorite club back in the day was the Boombamaccao, located on Broadway
and 52nd Street. The Ipanema and Roseland were right across the street.
The Boomba - as it was called at the time - featured the best dancers.
From Billy and Sandra to Floyd and Annette, Eddie and Rosemary. The
music spun by no other than George Wheeler was the best in the city,
not to mention a fabulous light show. There was even a large banner
that hung outside of the club, proclaiming "The Best Hustle Dancers in
the World".
Luis Rivera
...........................
Oh my
there were so many back then to choose from, and gosh what part of town
do I pick from Brooklyn Manhattan, Long Island, Staten Island, Queens
...... I am going to stay close to home where I first started Jasmines
and Upstairs Lounge in Brooklyn. They were small quaint places that I
myself and a lot of the local dancers danced and it was a great time
for me because it was the start of my dancing career. I do have to
favorite places that were not clubs but dance studios where allot of us
dancers got together like we do now at Dancesport and Club 412 my
favorite was Darian's in Brooklyn and Alexis in Manhattan. I will never
forget them. Those were the days you had to be there to understand. I
wish dancers of today could experience what we had back then. Hustle
was at it's prime and Hustle dancers were blowing off the charts.
Diane K Nardone
...........................
My
favorite clubs were the 3101/2 and The Play Pen, Barey Googles, The
Corso, The Red and White, The Ice Palace and the Hideaway.
Maria "Smiley" Vega
...........................
One
of the first clubs I went to was converted from a department store into
this huge disco right near Times Square. It was called Bonds. The place
was huge. The sounds system rocked and we would dance from 11PM till
4AM non stop. If you got there after midnight you would wait in a long
line to get in. They had a big dance contest that I think Miquel won
with his wife. The excietment going to this club was off the wall. You
never knew who may show up and the dancers were the best. Those were
the days,
Juan Sanchez
...........................
My favorite
club from the 70's was Directoire in NYC. It was a railroad set up with
the first room being a bar, the middle being a lounge to play
Backgammon and the last, the dance area. It had a well-dressed, chic
crowd who were all learning "The Hustle" at it's inception, with my
good friend Bill Carroll as the DJ where he got his start. He was
nick-named Bouncing Billy because he was always bouncing to the music
in his DJ Booth. He is now on of the top DJs and travels the world. I
liked that place because you talk in the front room with out blaring
music, or sit and play Backgammon with some of the best players in the
city or dance the night away on the dance floor. I have many great
memories from that club.
Robin Amante
...........................
I
have been everywhere from Roseland, STUDIO 54, XENON'S REGINES NEW
YORK, NEW YORK to name a few clubs. Long Island, CHAZZ, THE BIJOU,
SPEAK EASY, UNCLE SAMS, CHANNEL 80, THE SAVOY
My favorite CLUB was
the LEMON TREE . Here is where I met DJ JENNY COSTA and promoters bobby
goodrich, stan the man and al. The Lemon tree was an unbelievable club,
it was like a magnet drawing people from, FOREST HILLS, all over
QUEENS, LONG ISLAND, THE BRONX, STATEN ISLAND AND OF COURSE MANHATTEN.
The beautiful people of NEW YORK used to line-up rain or shine, in the
snow to jamn pack i a highly decorated basement with LEMON TREES, The
pulsating sounds of JENNY COSTA, MITCH ST. MITCH, DJ STAN, MAD WAYNE,
MIKE THE BIRDMAN ETC. Hustle dancers used to go--Going out to this club
was an EVENT. They gave out a multitude, of T SHIRTS ,They had drink
give aways, beautiful waitresses, very stylish bartenders. This place
catered to dancers,rock people, clubbers, sinleers and married folk.
This was a heck of a money making BONANZA. I have had some of my best
memories at THE LEMON TREE. We used to TEAR IT UP ALL NIGHT LONG. Later
on SECONDS and ELEPHAS got busy and evberyone still went to the LEMON
TREE.
BOBBY O
Club 747 in Buffalo, NY from 1975 - 78 was the
place to be. A real 747 airplane that used the actual plane interior as
the disco. The cockpit was the DJ area -- for none other than Marty
Angelo. They used the original interior complete w/ the chairs and
tray tables and windows. The 1st class section (upstairs) was also
original 747 equipment and that's where the VIP section was located.
Every nite there was a great party in a "vacation" atmosphere! Very
cool!
Thanks for asking and bringing back some very fond, fun memories!
Trish Warren
...........................
My
favorite club had to be "Peachtree" and "Marty and Lenny" in New
Rochell, Westchester County. They were across the street from each
other. They had it all, great music, interior and great dancers. They
were
considered "The Club" in Westchester County as ppl were lining up to
get in on the weekends. Of course my favorite part was that my group
didn't have to wait in line and we always had our own table by the
dance floor as we were the top dancers from the area. Tho I had the
most fun at Marty and Lenny, Peachtree will be always in my heart as we
all went to Peachtree to celebrate on the nite when I won the Harvest
Moonball.
Best Regards,
Alex Kim
...........................
What a great question, too bad I can't just narrow it down to one, cuz in my day everything was happening.
1. Starship - is where I met my daughters Father ( Hector )
2. Latin Times -lots of good times
3.The Mariposa - is where I met Floyd
4.The Basement - in the Bronx
5. Sesame Street - memories galore
6.Barney Googles - where I first saw Billy & Sandra perform
7.Roseland
8. Arthur Avenue - where it all started for me
9. Alexis Dance Studio -
10.The Corso - First time I porformed - made 15 dollars each lol
11.Ice Palace - The place to be on a Tuesday
12.Ipanema - The only club that asked me for ID lol
I can go on and on but the list will never end lol. Take care Ron, hope all is well.
Luv ya bunches
Always,
Nelly Pacatun Cotto
June
6 Sat - NY - Ultimate Dance Zone - p
with Mark James & Karen Lupo, 8:30pm -12:30AM, Dance
- At the
beautiful Wantagh Jewish Center - - $15 
June 21 - Sun - Karen's
Sexy
Latin Styling -
Karen Lupo
-
11:30 am - 1:00 pm - 320 Smith St - Infinity Fitness - Farmingdale
- CLICK
HERE FOR MORE
June 28 - Sun -
HUSTLE
WORKSHOP - Mark James & Karen Lupo - 1 - 4:45 pm 
There are still Spaces @ June's Stardust Dance week end @
- 1 - 4:45 pm - 