2014:The Harvest Moon Ball Swing Dance
On November 8th The Harlem Swing Dance Society partnered with the NYC Parks and Recreation to have the annual Harvest Moon Ball (HMB)Swing Dance with HMB Champions and Winners present to tell their stories.
Beatrice Pierce with her partner Smitty (John Smith) in 1953
- and here she is today just as sharp!
Beatrice Pierce (Champ, 1953), Barbara Billups (3rd Place, 1958) and Sonny Allen (Champ, 1958) represented the Last of the Best of the Savoy Ballroom era.
Sonny Allen Barbara Billups
Representing the Savoy Manor era we had two rare and history making champions present: Clementine "Tiny" Thomas (a TWO time Champ, 1971 and 1976) and Crystal Johnson who is a 2nd generation champion! Crystal won in 1972, and her father Tops Lee (of Tops and Wilder) won in 1940. Needless to say THIS will never happen again, and these two brought a few prized artifacts for all to view.
Ralph Hopkins and Bernard Dove
The surprise of the evening was Ralph Hopkins, a 2nd and 3rd place winner in the late 1960's and 1970's with a slew of medals to prove it - and getting back into his costume of over 40 plus yeas ago! His partner back in the day was Sheryl D. Sullivan..... yes the daughter of George Sullivan and Sugar Sullivan 1955 Champions
Recounting and hearing their first hand experiences had many guests excited; this with a free dance lesson,classic film clips, music and social dancing made the evening electric and memorable! The words were repeated over and over: "Lets bring this back to Harlem and it's youth!"
STAY TUNED: As we get more photos we'll be posting them here and on Facebook!
