Married because of Music & Dance - Bruce & Laura
On Saturday, September 24, 2012, Anna and I were invited to a wedding. It wasn't just any wedding. It was the wedding of Bruce, one of my most long-term students, and Laura, the woman that he met while attending MidSummer Night Swing, a dance event in New York City.
As much as I would like to take full or even partial credit for both of them meeting, I will allow fate to be responsible for this amazing occurrence. Here's how they met:
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
Anna and I were invited to teach at Midsummer Night Swing at Lincoln Center in July 2009. We were thrilled to be invited to teach at one of the best Swing events in the entire world and invited our students from Connecticut to attend. Anna and I would be teaching the lesson and the band would play after us. The band that night wasn't just any nationally recognized swing band - it was Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.
The horn section
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has one of best horn and saxophone sections on planet earth, especially if you love swing music. Just that fact alone, might have allured Bruce to attend the event. He, too, is an amazing saxophone player. But Bruce and Laura did not meet during the band portion of the evening - they met before, during the dance lesson.
The Dance Lesson
Prior to every dance during Midsummer Night Swing, there is a dance lesson. It's a way for newcomers to meet new people and know how to enjoy their first night with a live swing band.
When we started our lesson at 6:30pm, there were probably about 100 people on the dance floor, a relatively light crowd. Bruce was already there. As we progressed through the lesson, and the crowd increased to about 500 people, we encouraged people to "scramble" to try their new steps on someone else and also as a way creating a social mixer. Of course, we encouraged couples to hug to show that they were not "mixing".
Bruce had been a part of my regular West Coast Swing classes in Connecticut for almost 3 years. He probably didn't really need the lesson, but he new the social value of just being on the dance floor. During the lesson, he danced with a newcomer named Laura, the rest is history. Here's how Bruce describes the moment (from his own wedding web site):
We met at New York City’s Lincoln Center, at an outdoor music and dance event called Midsummer Night Swing. We randomly partnered as part of a group lesson; when offered the choice to move to a new partner or not, we decided to stay together. We enjoyed ourselves so much that we arranged to meet up again.
Laura
I met Laura shortly after Midsummer Night Swing. Although she had been overseas for a few months after the event, Bruce brought her to our Hustle and West Coast Swing classes when she returned to the Connecticut area. She seemed to be a wonderful person and very intelligent. Her work abroad with Doctors Without Borders made her extremely caring and worldly. Best of all, she really liked Bruce and it showed.
Their Wedding
Bruce and Laura's wedding as a great culmination of music and dance, and of family and dance-family. Bruce even played his saxophone to "call" his bride to the ceremony. Their speeches to each other were profound and their kiss was passionately sincere.
Their party started with their first dance using West Coast Swing to a piece by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy. I was so happy. They were so happy. After their first dance, Laura and her mother started a cool, choreographed dance that was joined by Bruce - it ended with the groom kissing his bride.
A first-rate, live band - Pimpinella - played throughout the evening. Dancing was pervasive throughout almost every aspect of their wedding. There were even about 10 other people from our dance community who were at the wedding. To me, it was a wonderful to watch the groom's family and the bride's family mixed with the local Connecticut dance community. Bruce and Laura's wedding was a wonderful combination of music, dance, friends and love. It was an honor for me to attend their special day.
