Chapter 1
The Huntsville Swing Dance Society started swinging in 1995 when Paul Wieland and a few friends began meeting at Gorin’s Ice Cream and Sandwich Shop on the corner of Washington and Clinton Streets in Huntsville. Free dances to recorded music, of classic and neo-swing bands, were held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month.
In 1999 Gorin’s closed unexpectedly and for the next several months the HSDS dances were held at Zesto’s on Pratt Avenue near 5 Points and at a Chinese restaurant on south Parkway. Attendance suffered however and it was decided to find a new location and hold a dance with a live band. To raise money to pay for the dance hall and band, swing dance classes taught by Paul, with Stacey Haire, were offered and tickets to dances were sold in advance. Also, the HSDS became a membership organization, with members receiving discounted prices for dances and classes.
The Swing Into Spring dance held at the Knights of Columbus on Leeman Ferry Road on March 25, 2000 was the first dance with a band, featuring a local band, The Crackerjacks, recommended by UAH student Heather Elliott, a swing dance aficionado. Over 100 dancers attended. That was followed by the June Jump dance on June 30, also featuring The Crackerjacks and well attended. A quarterly newsletter, the HSDS Swing Times!, began publication in July 2000 to announce swing dances in Huntsville and surrounding locales, and events at other dance clubs and dance studios in the area.
Dances were held several times a year, most at the Knights of Columbus (though also at the Elks Lodge and the Senior Center), such as the Jivin’ in July, Cool Moves in August, and September Stomp dances. Bands included local groups such as The Lost Troubadours from the Ford Galaxy, the Blue Savoy Combo, The Band in Demand (later renamed the Rocket City Jazz Orchestra), and Swing Shift, as well as the Crackerjacks. Bands from out of town also played for HSDS dances including B & the Buzz from Birmingham, Swing Asylum from Nashville, and Patton James and the Synchromatics, also from Nashville.
Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the September Stomp on September 22 was a benefit dance for the American Red Cross. The Lost Troubadours played for that dance and also donated a portion of their fee to the Red Cross.
Chapter 2
In March 2002, Steve and Lynne Edmondson joined the HSDS and were enthusiastic members. On July 27, 2002, a well-attended afternoon workshop was held that was taught by Joel Damoe and Melanie Myers, from Atlanta. With the growing popularity of the HSDS dances and workshops, in 2003, dances were held more frequently and, with Steve and Lynne’s assistance became monthly dances, most with a live band. Al and Alta Bogush, who joined the HSDS in February 2003, and Carolyn Harrell, who joined in April 2003, were also enthusiastic members who helped to make the dances, and the organization, successful.
In 2001, Steve and Lynne Edmondson moved to Huntsville. Steve and Lynne also offered swing and Lindy Hop lessons and were instrumental in community outreach activities. Steve worked with Paul to increase the frequency of dances, and with help from many others, Steve and Paul started having monthly dances. Unlike other dance events in Huntsville, these dances were devoted strictly swing. They started promoting the dances to try to attract enough participants to be able to bring in live swing bands instead of using DJ'd music.
Bob Garrett, who joined in May 2000, and Shirley Garrett, who joined later, were also enthusiastic and participated with other members in community outreach activities such as swing dance performances at Panoply in 2004 and 2005, and the "roaring 20’s" dance performance at the Russell Erskine Hotel in April 2006, to commemorate The Big Read selection of The Great Gatsby. Other outreach activities include dancing at the Library Concert Series to the music of the Sentimental Journey Big Band in June 2004, participation in the Blue Hair Ball to support CASA/Family Planning Services on April 2, 2005, a dance scene of Paul and Stacey videotaped for use by the Huntsville Land Trust to advertise their Three Caves Dance fundraiser, and participating in the Botanical Garden Scarecrow Trail for several years.
In 2005, after leading the HSDS for ten years, Paul "passed the baton" to Steve. Steve and Lynne took the next big step of incorporating HSDS as a state non-profit organization. It was this incorporation that allows HSDS to do many of the modern things it accomplishes today. For over half a decade Steve and Lynne ran HSDS. During this time, Bob and Shirley as well as Carolyn assisted in HSDS's running.
Chapter 3
In 2007, Erica and Adam Roberts formed a Sunday lindy hop dance upstairs at the former House of Brews, (where Amendment XXI currently resides). It was this dance that introduced many of the current HSDS board members. Later that year, Steve passed the torch on to a new board, many who still run HSDS. It included Rob and Kristen Bethlenfalvay, Huy Huynh and Danielle Beardsley, and Gabriel and Tabitha Bassett.
The new board took on an ambitious plan, transitioning HSDS from mainly DJ'd dances to primarily live band dances. The new board, under the oversight of Kristen, went on a hunt for new venues. They finally partnered with the Flying Monkey Arts Center to provide a new, more intimate venue for HSDS dances. Huy and Erica began regular lindy lessons at the UAH Fitness Center, continued on by Tabitha and Gabriel Bassett. Rob Bethlenfalvay scouted multiple new bands with the help of Danielle and others to provide the diverse musical line-up we currently enjoy. Gabriel re-constructed the website, newsletter, and facebook group in their current forms. And the board as a whole strove to recreate top-notch workshops including instruction from Reuel Reis, Mike Legett, Megan Adair, Michael Gamble and Jaya Dorf, and many others. These workshops marked Reuel's first foray into teaching in Huntsville; a very productive relationship.
Since then many others have helped support HSDS. Dana Dafner and Chris King have joined the HSDS board as promotion and DJ focals respectively. Kansas Cavanaugh assists as an event focal. And HSDS has a great list of volunteers who assist us in running our dances.
In the spring of 2011, the HSDS board significantly expanded to provide better promotion and support for new parts Gabriel and Tabitha and Rob and Kristen. Ryan McKannan, Kansas Cavanaugh, and Paul Fryer were added to assist Dana with Promotions. Amber Rauschkolb, Briana Austin McIntire, and Stephanie Long were added to take over core HSDS duties (President, Vice President, and Treasurer). Huy also returned as DJ focal. With the new blood, HSDS began ambitiously promoting standard events as well as organizing new ones (includings dances on Monte Sano, dances at Bridge Street, new bands and new workshops). To provide for a focus on intermediate and advanced swing, the HSDS board created the HSDS Core Members group. The HSDS Core Members meet weekly to focus on sharing advanced skills to improve their social, performance, and competition/critiqued dancing.
Conclusion
Many former HSDS members have carried what they learned at HSDS on to other dance organizations. After a brief stint on the HSDS board, Leighanne Dauro has carried swing to the UAH student community by continuing Thursday Night Swing, (formerly Ninja Swing started by Seth Farrington), and hosting many swing workshops and lessons. Swing protege Dana Dafner teaches swing for KCDC studio. HSDS has truely spread it's influence well beyond the small group Paul started with, not just to local dancers, but even as far as Nashville, Birmingham and Atlanta. And it will continue to be the epicenter of swing in the Huntsville area!
I have pieced the above together from multiple sources. If any dates or facts are incorrect, please email me at swing@huntsvilleswingdance.org and I'll correct it.
Also, many of the couples cited in this page were not married when they started the activities credited to them.
