The Observer Newspapers |

July 4, 2008

Local Dancers Keep 'Lindy Hopping' With Gottaswing

By Leslie Perales
Observer Staff Writer

It is hard to tell who arrived with whom when you go to one of Gottaswing's dance parties at the Red Fox Room at the Hilton Washington Dulles Airport hotel. At the end of each song, dancers scatter around the room in search of a new dance partner. "Everybody's real friendly here," said Mary Alice Melton, an Ashburn resident who had taken dance classes for years when she learned about Gottaswing's Friday night dances in the Herndon area.

Each week, Gottaswing instructors teach hundreds of people throughout the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area to swing dance and Lindy Hop. Gottaswing also holds social events, like the Friday night party in Herndon, for dancers to get together and show off their moves. At the Red Fox Room on June 27, more than 125 people jumped and jived to the sounds of the Rock and Roll Relics, a band that traveled from Baltimore, Md., to provide the evening's retro sounds.

Before the dance party on Friday nights, instructors Gary and Sue Caley take about 30 minutes to teach basic dance moves to any newcomers or people who want to brush up on their skills. Sue Caley did not attend last Friday's dance party, but Gary Caley kept the crowd laughing as he taught them to spin, turn and "tease the girls."

"It's a lot of fun," Gary Caley said over the sounds of the tune "Rock Around the Clock." He said he and his wife began teaching dance because dancing is one of their favorite pastimes. One of the best parts about hosting the weekly event is watching their students improve their dancing skills, he said.

Gary Caley said he has been able to relate well to new dancers because he was not originally a dancer. "If you would have told me I'd be dancing on a stage in front of hundreds and thousands of people, I wouldn't have believed you," he said. Now every week, he and his wife teach guys and gals wearing wing tips, saddle shoes and zoot suits how to swing.

"The only way you can get better is to come and dance," said Patrick Lally, an Oakton resident, explaining that he started attending dances to improve his dance moves. Lally also said he enjoyed Gottaswing's events because dance partners are always availableÑno matter a person's skill level.

Herndon resident Carl Sivertsen, who also serves on the town's Planning Commission and is a regular at the dances, said he enjoys the atmosphere at the events. "I just really fell in love with the environment, the music," he said. Swing dancing allows him to develop a different part of his life and is great exercise, Sivertsen said. Knowing how to dance also comes in handy when attending weddings, reunions and other events, he said. "It's just a blast," he said.

Reston resident Paul Dunham said he and his wife, Pat, have attended the Friday night dances for about three years. He said they have been taking swing lessons for years and when they heard about Gottaswing's events they jumped at the opportunity to "rock 'n' roll dance."

They decided they've Gottaswing

"It started as a crime of passion," said Tom Koerner, who founded Gottaswing with Debra Sternberg. "We just like swing dancing." Koerner and Sternberg had been swing dancing together for years before the dance's resurgence in the late 1990s, he said. In 1994, Koerner and Sternberg won the United Kingdom Lindy Hop Championship and they were the only Americans to take part in the competition.

"For a very long time nobody really cared," Koerner said. "There was no mainstream swing-dance group. Lo and behold, a few things come together like the perfect storm." He said movies such as "Swingers" and the growth of the Internet, where swing-dance lovers could connect online, helped boost the popularity of swing dancing.

Koerner said he and Sternberg started teaching swing-dance classes once a week, and their business quickly expanded until they were teaching every day of the week. He said they realized that they had to decide how serious they were about swing dancing, and they started Gottaswing in the mid-1990s. With their business in full swing, Sternberg left her career as a graphic designer and Koerner, who is an attorney, reduced his workload to only part time.

Soon after, Sternberg and Koerner hired Sue Caley, who had been teaching ballroom dance. "We made her an offer she couldn't refuse," Koerner said jokingly. Now Sue Caley and her husband, Gary, both teach for Gottaswing. The company employs about 10 swing-dance instructors overall.

Koerner said what separates Gottaswing from ballroom dance groups is that it does not work off a syllabus. He said Gottaswing is simply a group of dancers who get together to have a good time and socialize, as well as get exercise while doing something they enjoy. These teaching methods are part of what has helped Gottaswing attract its strong following, Koerner said. "Our basic philosophy is if it's not fun, we're not going to do it," he said.

For example, he said, it takes longer to teach men how to swing dance and he remembered struggling to learn swing dancing when he first started. "I remember thinking, 'Why do they make it so tough?'" he said. Gottaswing, however, not only teaches swing dancing, but also provides students with the chance to practice their moves to the sounds of a live band, he said.

Recently, Gottaswing incorporated the nonprofit American Swing Music and Dance Association, Koerner said. He said he and Sternberg hope to receive grants through the nonprofit organization, and they would use those grants to teach swing dancing in high schools. He and Sternberg would like to teach swing dancing to high-school gym teachers from around the country, so that those teachers could then instruct their students on swing dancing.

Koerner said swing dancing appeals to a diverse audience and their students range from 11 years old to 80 years old. To the younger crowd, the music is brand new, he said. "For those that are older, the bar scene doesn't cut it anymore," Koerner said. "This way they can meet people, dance and have fun." He recommends that anyone who is interested in swing dancing sign up for a beginner class.