You can't miss Mike Daniele on the dance floor. Just look for the shock of silver-white hair, the sparkling eyes and the smooth moves. Mike is a life-long dancer and student of the dance and an active supporter of swing dance in all forms. He's also an amazing cook and gardener. When I asked Mike if he would share his dance history with me I had no idea how extensive it is. I know you'll enjoy it as much as I did. Here's Mike in his own words. Oh, and by the way, don't forget to say "hello" when you see him and ask him to dance (or ask him about those amazing syncopations. He's just as fun to talk to as he is to dance with.)
"I was born September 3, 1940 and raised in San Francisco. In 1946 I was a very small part of a very large Sicilian family. My Aunts and Uncles were all Swing Dancers during the 1930's and 1940's. Most of them danced five times a week.
I was six years old when it was my turn to learn how to Swing Dance. I went into the dance room where my aunt was playing Big Band music. She told me to pick one instrument playing the music. I told her I liked the Trombone. She told me to "express" myself as the Trombone. I did my best to do what she told me to do. (Please remember I was only six)
As my lessons went on she asked me to express myself to the other instruments playing the music and to "express myself with attitude". I can only imagine with I may have looked like. I'm glad there are no pictures.
After a time my aunt would "dance", expressing herself as a different instrument playing the music. I had to watch her and listen to the music to find what instrument she was "dancing". Once I thought I had it I would "dance" expressing myself using the same instrument. The moment I had it she would change and "dance" to a different instrument. She repeated this process and every time "I had it" she, with that smile on her face, would change her selected instrument.
Holding hands and moving in various ways, she now began to "express herself" and danced the melody. As she danced, I was taught that I could either dance the melody with her, or better yet, I could dance the base and support her dancing the melody. There were no counts, as in six counts for this move or eight counts for that move, to what we danced. We danced using the composition of the instruments and overall timing of the music to provide our timing in the dance. We did focus on dancing "composed phrases" which were usually 32 counts of music.
I should note here that my Mother put me in tap dancing lessons when I was five. With this year of tap experience I had some advantage to "expressing" myself to the rhythms of the music.
I competed in my first Jack and Jill when I was eight. I won a hot dog! Just thought I would share that WOW moment.
Between the ages of six and thirteen, my family took me swing dancing at least once a week. I had some girl swing dancing cousins, some older, some younger. My aunts and cousins, and many other ladies, gave me the opportunity to experience the dance. Looking back, I am so grateful for all of those gracious ladies who helped a little boy swing dance.
I remember dancing in the back room of the Club New Yorker, obviously way under age. Josephine, the mother of Frankie Mannion (World Swing Dance Hall of Fame and beloved Bay Area dancer and teacher) and her daughter Joan would for years always take the time to dance with me.
My uncles, some of who were in the Merchant Marines during WW2, shipped out of LA. While in LA. they would swing dance at the Palladium. They brought home what they learned there and shared it with the rest of the family. When the war was over my uncles were able to give me some swing dance lessons.
I was a "Swing Dancer". The dance was not East Coast, Lindy, Jive nor Jitterbug. West Coast did not exist during those years.An example of what my uncles taught me was a movement they called the LA Whip. It began in open dance but with an attitude stance. We came together and I led a 720 degree "accelerated" turn. The idea was to accelerate the turn to a speed where when the lady was "thrown out to open dance" she did so with her feet airborne. When she landed she would face away from me and then, with a snap of her head, she looked back at me at the end count. When she snapped her head back at me I would "slam" the floor with my foot. The movement was akin to the snap and sound a whip makes when it pops.
I did a lot of swing dancing in the 1950's, somewhat less in the 1960's and 1970's. "Free Style" seemed to be the dance of the time. Swing Dance opportunities improved through the 1980's.
In the early 1990's I lived in Tracy and I joined a group of friends who danced West Coast. My method of Swing Dancing did not work well with some West Coast followers. They expected me to use very defined patterns of movement, no matter if the movement went with the music or not. I kept listening for the Ta-Ta-Te-Te-Te-Ta-Ta-Te-Te-Te repeated for 32 counts. I must admit, I could not hear it. I was lost.
I decided to take West Coast Swing private lessons from Phil Trau, a recent four time US Open Champion. I think I first took private lessons every Saturday along with his Beardsley's Wednesday night group lessons. I also took my daughters, Ninette at 7 years old and Rachelle at 5 years old, to Phil for their own private lessons. I was doing my best to keep up with the family swing dance tradition. I believe we did two years of privates with Phil. I continue to dance at Beardsley's every Wednesday night.
We then moved to West Coast private lessons with Randy and Stephanie Krul of Two Left Feet. They are both great instructors who were dedicated to making us all better dancers. We stayed with them for about two years.
Ninette and Rachelle were in 4H. I was the 4H dance project leader for San Joaquin and San Mateo counties. I had about 50 children in the dance projects ages 12 to 18. I taught them how to dance West Coast Swing and Cowboy Two Step. Every Friday night we would go dancing. It was a caravan of vans. We danced at various venues including Two Left Feet and the Cowboy Country Club. We choreographed swing routines and performed at various clubs and fairs.
In 2001, Rachelle, uncomfortable with how the West Coast followers were using "sex" to sell their dance, asked me to take Lindy with her. I said "yes". I lost 47 lbs. in the first year! I was dancing to the same music in which I had expressed myself as a boy. I was dancing with enthusiastic, creative followers full of musicality. Lindy dancers continue to express themselves with EXCITEMENT and FUN!
One morning in December 2005 I was looking in the mirror and I thought, "I need a last hoo-rah". "Hoo-rah?" you may ask. "Hoo-rah" as in, I need to do something, one thing, in these later years of my life to try to better myself and be all I can be in that one endeavor.
I chose Swing Dancing!
I called Buddy Schwimmer and explained what I wanted to do. We talked and he liked the idea AND he made me a deal I could not refuse! Once a month I would take six hours of private lessons from Buddy. Buddy's studio is in Redlands, California. This called for air travel and would be an adventure to say the least.
On January 5, 2006 I began my swing dance lessons with Buddy. The lessons were scheduled from Saturday morning 10 am to noon, we would go to lunch and then back to the studio for one more hour. We repeated the same on Sunday. I was fortunate in there were many followers who were more than willing to help me with my lessons. My first six hours of lessons included: 11 Underarm Turn variations, 4 variations of Tuck Turns, 5 different Sugar Pushes, 6 variations of Left Side Passes, 14 different Whips and 8 variations of Right Side Passes.
I have a complete video history of ALL of Buddy's lessons. I further documented in writing All the lead and follower's movements for each pattern. I included each pattern's rhythm options, syncopation variations, various hand positions, along with applied technique and styling applications for both the leader and the follower. I have LOTS OF STUFF!!
In June 2006, Buddy opened his Father's Swing Dance Book (a compilation of his moves). Buddy told us that his father had competed against Shorty George and WON! My daughter Rachelle and I looked forward to dancing Buddy's "Dad's Stuff".
Rachelle and I were instructed in approximately 100 of Buddy's dad's swing patterns. Some of the movements and patterns included: The New York Style Lindy, Flying Lindy, Dad's Shag, Chorus Girl, Off Beat, Savoy, Flying Feet, Sling Shot, Neck Drops and the Death Drop to name a few. Buddy choreographed a routine for Rachelle and I.The routine was 1/3 West Coast to Tom Jones' If You Only Knew and 2/3 Lindy to Bette Midler's Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. The only competition division we, as a young lady of 19 and her Daddy at 66, could enter was Showcase. Buddy put the required "lifts" into the routine (little easy ones). Rachelle and I demonstrated the routine at six venues including the Atomic Ballroom. We performed the routine once in a Showcase competition at Buddy's World Swing Dance Event. Rachelle's college schedule conflicted with our plans to perform a more advanced version of the routine but I, as Daddy, had danced with my daughter in a Showcase Competition. What a memorable life's moment. Unforgettable!
In his lessons, Buddy explained that Swing Dancing has three basic rhythms. They are: triple-triple (as in the starter step), double-triple-triple (as in six count movements) and double-triple-double-triple (as in eight count movements). There are countless ways to dance these rhythms without violating the basic rhythms. Any double may be danced with your Feet as a two or four. Any triple may be danced with your FEET as a one, three or five count. There are many options selecting a one count in the triple. The five count is & 3 & 4 &. Weight down on any one count or weight on the first & and hold for the other four is still only one weighted step. Likewise, there are many options for stepping a triple. You may select 3 & 4, & 3-4, 3-4 &, for example. There are endless variations to dancing the 5 count.
I have in my swing files six hundred syncopations which do not violate the basic rhythms. The dancers may add these syncopations to any of the above selected rhythms. These syncopations are basically applied in three categories. The first category of syncopations may be applied in the beginning of a pattern. The second category may be applied to the middle of the patterns and the third category may be applied to the endings of a pattern.
Other variations which may be added to the dance patterns are hand positions. These options are: leader's left to follower's right, left to left, right to right, right to left, two hand, left over right, right over left. Now add the option of all those rhythms, the mix of 600 syncopations and apply all the hand variations to 800 different defined patterns and you have the "Swing Dance" I know and now study. Be it Lindy or West Coast Swing, makes no difference, it's all Swing!
Buddy Schwimmer choreographed another routine for me and my partner that we competed with at Dallas Dance and the U.S. Open. I continued taking six hour monthly privates from Buddy for 5 and half years. This doesn't mean that I am a great Swing Dancer but it does mean I know a lot of "stuff"!
I'm grateful at 71 years old that I can continue to be a student of the dance I call Swing."
Besides his intensive study and practice of Swing Dance, Mike, as a board member of the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame, has also been instrumental in honoring people and organizations who have made significant contributions to the California Swing Dance community. Here is the concept paper he submitted to the board and the awards that were given as a result of his work.
"In August 2009 I was appointed by the California Swing Dance Hall of Fame as a member of their Board of Directors. I was motivated to become a director by my long held desire to somehow say "thank you" to the various dance venues that serve our swing dance community. In December 2009, I submitted a "Concept Paper" to the Board of Directors. I titled the paper, "In Recognition of an Outstanding Contribution to the California Swing Dance Community". I included the following definitions and criteria for the entries to be considered for recognition and award:
1. The Business Organization: The establishment and continuation of a business organization which has offered, for a minimum of twenty five years, swing dancing and swing dance lessons which are open to the community at large. The minimum requirement of one swing dance, with it's associated swing dance lesson per month, or one swing dance convention/exchange per year. If the originating principles continue to operate the business at the time of the awards, their names shall be engraved on the award plaques.
2. The Dance Club: (A 'Club' with elected officials and voting members). The establishment and continuation of an Official Swing Dance Club which has offered, for a minimum of twenty five years, swing dancing and swing dance lessons, which are open to the community at large. The minimum requirement of one swing dance, and it's associated swing dance lessons per month, or one swing dance convention/exchange per year.
3. The Volunteer Organization: The establishment and continuation of a volunteer organization which offers, for a minimum of ten years without financial compensation, free swing dancing and free swing dance lessons.
4. The Volunteer Individual: Three categories of awards for the 'Recognition of an Outstanding Contribution to the Californian Swing Dance Community'.
a. A Fifteen Year 'Plaque Award': in recognition of the volunteer individual who has established on or about fifteen continuous years of volunteer service to the Swing Dance Community.
b. A Ten Year 'Plaque Award': in recognition of the volunteer individual who has established on or about ten continuous years of volunteer service to the Swing Dance Community.
c. A Five Year 'Plaque Award': in recognition of the volunteer individual who has established on or about five continuous years of service to the Swing Dance Community.
In January 2010 the Board appointed me to form a committee to investigate the feasibility of the concept.
In February 2010, the Board adopted my concept as policy to be immediately implemented by the CSDHOF.
I surveyed nineteen business's, seven Clubs, three Volunteer organizations and three Volunteer individuals. In November 2010, at the CSDHOF Awards Event, it was my honor to present the Plaque Awards in Recognition of an Outstanding Contribution to the California Swing Dance Community. The 2010 winners of the awards were as follows:
Business category: Top of Beardsleys, 100 North B St., San Mateo, CA. Founded June 1978 and continuously serving the swing dance community for 32 years. Note: April 29th I attended their 34th anniversary.
Club category: Los Angeles Swing Dance Club, 6285 E. Pacific Coast Highway, Long Beach, CA. Founded November 1970 and continuously serving the swing dance community for 40 years.
Volunteer Organization category: Lindy in the Park, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA. Founded August 1996 and continuously serving the swing dance community for 14 years. Note: Dancing at Lindy in the Park is truly a unique experience. LITP continues every Sunday. See you there!
Volunteer Individuals category:
Ken Watanabe, Lindy in the Park, served continuously from August 1996 to date.
Naomi Walenta, Lindy in the Park, served continuously from 1999 to date.
Jennifer A. Holland, Lindy in the Park, served continuously from 2004 to date.
Note: I solicited the help of Rebecca Shannon and David Blood to establish a fundraiser to send Ken, Naomi and Jennifer, 'all expenses paid' to the HOF awards event in Los Angeles. At the fundraiser dance we also recognized and presented 'Plaques' to the originators of Lindy in the Park, Chad Kubo and Ken Watanabe.
Rebecca and David were instrumental in making the fundraiser dance a success. Their contribution to our swing dance community has always been and continues to be invaluable.
In addition to the above, I ,as Director, nominated for induction into the California Hall of Fame, Carla Heiney, Nick Williams, Buddy Schwimmer, Lacy Schwimmer, Torri Smith and Hannah and Nicole Clonch. All except Hannah and Nicole were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
I was instrumental in the Hall of Fame specifically including "Lindy" categories for nomination and induction into the Hall of Fame. Our Lindy 2010 inductions into the Hall of Fame were an overwhelming success!
I am grateful for the opportunity to serve our Swing Dance Community.
The only thing greater than the dance is the people who make it happen!"
Mike Daniele
I have to add that it was a real pleasure working with Mike and David on the LITP fundraiser. Mike was so passionate about having LITP and Lindy Hop categories recognized that his enthusiasm was infectious. He has made a very real and important contribution to swing dancers and swing dance organizations in the the state of California.
Thank you Mike!
