Poughkeepsie... Let's Dance!

And we start with a rock-step, step, step and rock-step. Got it? Good. Remember your frame. And rock-step. That's it. Now you're getting it. And rock-step.

I haven’t been doing this long, but my partner’s brand-new so I repeat what I’ve heard in my lessons. And rock step. She’s a bit shorter than me, but comes up to my height in her heels. She’s wearing a black dress and has black hair to match. I send her out and she follows like she’s been doing this for years. I keep it simple though, nothing like the couples around us bopping to the music, spinning, dipping, doing things I’ve never seen before while the live band is roaring. As we spin I catch a glimpse of my wife, Rosie, sitting in the blue plastic chairs smiling. She's got the next dance for sure.

The next one is slower and I pull Rosie in close. This one calls for a triple step and we move through the steps slow and smooth as syrup. Without the frenetic pace, I have a chance to take in the room here at the Poughkeepsie Tennis Club. The wide wood floors, the elegant stairs leading up to the lobby, the high ceilings, the beautiful chandeliers. It transports you to another era, a time even before the swing age of the twenties, thirties and forties, all the way to the late 19th century when this place was built. A time before cell-phones, TV, movies, or even radio. A time when community dances would have been one of the main entertainments to be had. A time when live music was the only music.

The music kicks me back to the present as the next number revs it up into high gear. By the end of the song we’re both ready to take a break and grab some water. I see a lot of other people have the same idea and I figure it’s probably a good time to interview a few people for the blog.

My one and only rule for my interviews is that the person I’m interviewing has to live in the city of Poughkeepsie. So I turn around and ask the person nearest to me “excuse me, do you live in Poughkeesie” “oh no, I’m here from Brooklyn actually.” She tells me that she’s here visiting her daughter and they came out together to the dance. Her daughter’s not from Poughkeepsie either. Neither is the next person I talk to or the one after that. I figure it’s a fluke, so I keep asking. But everyone I talk to is from somewhere else. And if you remember, this is a crowded dance. I start to suspect that Rosie and I might be the only ones at this dance that live in Poughkeepsie, but I’m determined. I go around systematically asking everyone who’s sitting out the dance. I ask over two dozen people. Aside from Brooklyn we’ve got New Paltz, Highland, Hyde Park, Pawling, Patterson, Fishkill, and just about everywhere else in a three county range except for Poughkeepsie.

You could be forgiven for thinking that in the modern age there were no community dances at all, that this event I’m describing is some kind of a one off fluke. Maybe that’s why people are coming from all over for this once in a lifetime event. Maybe you're afraid, dear citizens of Poughkeepsie, that you missed your one chance to swing dance. But you’d be wrong. If you live in Poughkeepsie you could go to a swing-dance at least once if not twice a week and never leave your hometown. 

There’s Po-Town Swing every Wednesday at Vassar College in Ely Hall and it’s not just for the students. People from 18 to 80 and everywhere in between come out for the lesson from 7:30 to 8:00 and the dance from 8:00 to 10:00. It’s another beautiful space and completely free to the public. Then there’s the fourth Friday dance at the Poughkeepsie Tennis Club which I describe above and another excellent dance on the third Sunday at the Arlington Reformed Church. There’s one tonight in fact, so if you’re feeling adventurous, polish those dancing shoes and get down there.

So I’m asking you Poughkeepsie, I’ve got my hand out with a smile on my face. I’m pretty new to this myself, but... would you like to dance?

Check out http://www.hudsonvalleydance.org/ for a calendar of all upcoming events. If you want some lessons before you take the plunge Chester and Linda from Got2Lindy are great.

Leave a comment if you've danced in Poughkeepsie. Where do you or did you go? What did you think of it?