The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Swing dance club reopens, requires COVID vaccinations
MIDDLETOWN — Louis Armstrong blasts from a speaker as approximately nine pairs of people swing dance on the wooden floors of Vinnie’s Jump and Jive.
The dancing comes after a 15-month hiatus at the dance hall because of the pandemic, and officials and participants say it feels good to be back in the groove.
“That was torture,” Michael Garner said of not being able to dance. “It really was hard, because, if nothing else we really enjoyed the exercise. I think that coming back was the right timing.”
Garner, a Middletown resident, said he has been taking classes at Vinnie’s for five years.
“It was very challenging at first,” he said. “But we stuck with it — just figured we’ll get this.”
Noting he has always had a passion for music, Garner said he thought dancing was out of the realm of possibilities for him.
“Like it was just something you do at a wedding or something,” he said, adding he realized that wasn’t true. “There’s a very welcoming community here. After five years of being involved, we met a lot of great people who keep coming back, and that’s why we keep coming back. Vinnie’s is the hot place to be.”
Nat Holmes, the community
wellness and engagement program specialist for Community Health Center, which runs the nonprofit dance hall, said it reopened in mid- June. He said all dancers show proof of vaccination and need to sign a waiver.
Holmes said the swing dance program is the most popular choice among patrons. He said 21 people are signed up for four weeks of classes on the Lindy hop, beginners swing and blues dancing.
“Right after (Monday’s class) it goes into practicum,” he said. “That’s from 8 to 10 o’clock when they do an hour of swing and an hour of blues.”
Holmes noted Vinnie’s is offering country line dance, swing lessons and a monthly swing dance, acroyoga, power yoga, private lessons and Blues dance on the third Saturday of the month.
Started in 2000, Holmes said CHC became the first community health center to open a dance hall for the public.
“Mark (Masselli) and his wife Jennifer Alexander, founder of KidCity Children’s Museum, thought that bringing dance to the community would move everyone’s health one step forward,” he said. “Vinnie’s Jump and Jive opened as a fun and active way to promote wellness in the community.”
Holmes said Vinnie’s Jump & Jive is named after Vincent Amato, a long-time Middletown resident and owner of Amato’s Toys on Main Street, who originally donated the space for classes. To thank him for helping, he said, CHC decided to make his name a part of the dance hall.
Holmes said it was tough to close the doors of the dance hall to loyal followers. He said there were plans to have a 20-year anniversary dance with classes to get people reenergized about Vinnie’s — but they were dashed by the pandemic.
“We have one of the best dance floors around,” he said. “Our swing program has bands. In normal times we have bands six to eight times a year. When he have a band, we’ll get 40 or 50 people in here for a dance.”
People know about Vinnie’s, Holmes said, adding that popular swing dancers from across the world have come to participate. While most people who come are from Middlesex County, he said others venture from Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Kristi-Lynn Jacovino, a member of Vinnie’s swing committee, said people are drawn in by the fun of the music and dance.
“A lot of people don’t know, hip hop has it’s roots in swing,” she said. “They’re not unrelated. It was an African American dance that was done in the streets of Harlem. Those roots still stick I think. It’s just really fun.”
Jacovino said Swing class dancers will groove to Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and a variety of classic artists with paces both fast and slow.
“But all with the same swing,” she said.
Jen Abraham, a Wetherfield resident, said she started dancing at Vinnie’s a few years ago after friends “dragged her in.”
“We’d been dancing in Hartford and then we came here — just trying to explore the swing community,” she said.
Abraham, 33, said she previously hadn’t danced since her teenage years, but noted she passed up an opportunity to dance in college.
“It’s something that I’m trying to learn now as an adult,” she said. “It’s great for socialization. It’s a great workout and I’m learning what my body is capable of.”
Abraham agreed with Garner that it was torture not being able to come out and dance during the pandemic.
“I tried dancing at home,” she said. “It’s not the same. In fact, it kind of made it worse because you’re not with you’re friends. You’re not with the live music when there’s bands. It’s great. There’s no words to describe how awesome it feels to be back.”