Swing Dance Workshop at the Harvester
09.04.2024 - During my younger days as a musician, I played a bunch of proms, homecoming dances, etc,. and I can tell you from experience, the whole entire “dance thang” for both male and female is awkward. Usually, the first 30 or 40 minutes were spent with the boys on one side and girls on the other... until some extrovert, (maybe with some Schlitz courage) finally had the guts to hit the dancefloor. Although I’m not a dancer myself, I can tell you from watching the ritual for years, it’s a LOT more fun dancing than standing around wishing you could.
That’s why I was in full support of Bert Driver hosting a Swing Dance Workshop at the Harvester Event Center when he mentioned the idea months ago (another first for the Harvester). That idea came to fruition on Wednesday evening, when Dr. Robyn Reil (better known to us as Ranger Robyn) and Grant Billings presented an excellent 3-hour program that had even those of us with three left feet making some “smooth moves” by the end of the program.
One of the more “cool” couples that attended the workshop was a Mom and her 13 year-old son—talk about a kid that’s gonna be “well-rounded”, he’s into football, hunting, fishing and all that “boy stuff”, and also is not shy about learning to dance with his Mom in public. I had a short convo with him, and he’s an amazing young man, who’ll give you faith in his generation…and, I’ll bet he’s gonna be a great swing dancer, and I’ll bet he won’t be plagued by “the awful awkwardness” at his prom! WTG, kid! WTG, Mom & Dad!
We also had a mechanical engineer from France, a dentist, a doctor and his wife who just relocated here from Texas, and Ben Benjamin who consequently is Santa Claus (he portrays Saint Nick as a profession and he was The Harvester’s Santa Claus last year). As anyone can tell from last night, swing dance gets the heart pumping and is long-time cardio to keep your body moving. Dr Robyn and Grant both gave us all a history lesson as to the heritage and development of Swing Dancing which is to say, these two demonstrate job dropping moves that were absolutely stunning.
All attendees at Wednesday’s Swing Dance Workshop can hone their newfound skills with complimentary tix to The Hi-Jivers live performance, appearing at the Harvester on Friday, 9/6/24.
Many thanks to the Pro Swing Dance Instructors, to the Security and Service staff at the Harvester, Lala’s Food Truck (for the superb grub), and mostly a big thank you to the loyal Harvester fans, who always support our varied endeavors!
The premier evening of the Swing Dance Workshop Concept went so well that more of these type events will definitely be in the Harv’s 2025 lineup - stay tuned, there’s more on the way in our “Learn & Live” Series.
Up next is The Hi-Jivers with Wild Bill and the Bruisers on Friday, 9/6, and our 5th Annual Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead with Plainview Vibes and Austin Grimm on Friday, 11/1. More shows in the works to finish out the year! Stay tuned for upcoming special music events at the Harvester, and stay up-to-date with all the events in the Bert Driver Network (Nursery, Burlap Room, and the Harvester) by signing up for our ‘The Local Vibe’ Newsletter - released the first Tuesday of the month, straight to your inbox! And don’t forget the Harvester is for rent: corporate events and parties, weddings, receptions, graduations, baby showers, or whatever you’re celebrating, we host ‘em all! Contact us for more information, and check us out on Wedding Wire or The Knot!
