Pittsburgh West Coast Swing

There are many small dance communities in America that most of us never get to explore. We travel to big dance conventions and maybe stay for a few days to check out the local venues. 

Some of the best dancing we never get to do ... 
     is in places we never get the chance to visit.

Pittsburgh is one of those towns. 

Off the beaten path ... kitschy ... eclectic and unique. 

This dance environment was cultivated at first by Stephanie McHenry (then Batista) and Aaron Batista. 

Later the gauntlet was picked up by Brad & Sarah Wheeler.

Most recently the endeavor has become a cooperative effort which includes Frank Blakemore, Faith Musko, Victoria Andromalos Dale, Kendra Zara and Randy Peters ... with contributions from many others in the community.

On the way to Spotlight Dance Celebration in Detroit for New Years weekend dance convention, I planned a stop in Pittsburgh. 

Ever since my brief visit on the way home from Chicago during Hurricane Sandy, I've wanted to explore this charming city. 

Faith & Kendra Zara

Faith Musko stepped forward and invited me to dinner and the Tuesday night WCS venue.

The Mid-west is filled with fabulous dancers and teachers. Faith is one of those people.

(By the way, Pittsburgh considers itself to be part of the east coast. Ridiculous! They are much too nice!!!)

In all my travels to all the west coast swing cities in America ... 

     this is the 1st time anyone ever drove up to my motel room and whisked me off to an evening of dining, sightseeing and dancing! 

Count on Faith to look after guests in her city. This chick has sooooo much class!

Faith took me to Primero Bros which is a famous local restaurant chain. Everyone who visits Pittsburgh gets to try their signature sandwich. 

It's some kind of meat, between white bread with cold slaw and cheese (and the kitchen sink)! Perfect carb loading for dancing ... in a wild and crazy "Fridays" style of eatery ... my kind of joint.

Truthfully, it didn't matter where we dined.

Communities that treat their guests like family are exactly what makes this dance grow in all the best ways. 

People will travel to this town for a dance ... 

     and for a dance convention.

Faith with Jason Miklic

It was very interesting to spend time with Faith. 

I already knew she was an AAAmazing  dancer. 

It was quite interesting to learn that she is a forensic professor. More importantly, I found her to be the kind of person I like to consider a friend. 

After dinner, Faith drove me to a fabulous lookout point so that I could photo the skyline. 

I am madly in love with Pittsburgh! 

This place has boat filled rivers and bright arch bridges ... forested hills and deep tunnels.  

The architecture seems to be a crazy mix of Gothic inspired spires and columns 

     ... yet opened with modern light filled glass. Sort of a vision of the future by Nostradamus.

We arrived at Absolute Ballroom and Faith wouldn't let me pay for anything. 
(http://absoluteballroomdancecenter.com) 

(Watch out ... I'll get even with that girl!) 

Luv'd the studio. Fresh and airy, lots of glass, light and a great dance floor. 

4 lessons are offered on Tuesday nights, 2 going on concurrently. 
(1) Technique (2) Invitational (competitor level) (3) Beginner/Basic and (4) Patterns.

My dear friend, Frankie Blakemore immediately came and got me to join his & Lauren Stoffer's "Invitational" class for competitors. 


I was very impressed with Frankie's teaching style. Down to earth, common sensical and clear. His competitor class worked on completing the full stretch in the anchor ... to very challenging music. 

This should be standard everywhere but I only see this concept effectively explored in the Mid-west.

Afterwards, I joined the patterns lesson taught by Victoria Andromodos Dale & Randy Peters. 

Victoria's teaching style is the epitome of "chutzpah." 

She is so sure of herself that everyone has complete confidence in her and in themselves. 

Together with Randy Peters ... these dance students couldn't hope for better teachers.

Randy is Mr. Charisma. We all love this guy because he makes all his dance partners feel special. Randy was never afraid to fail until he succeeded. This inspired others. 

Brad Wheeler was the DJ du jour and together with his wife Sarah, they danced with everyone.

There were about 50 dancers at the Tuesday night venue. 

Keep in mind that this was the night before New Years Eve and there was as much enthusiasm as if it were any other night of the year.

Frankie Blakemore is one of my most favorite people in the entire world! He was a pleasure to dance with when I was terrible. 

You can imagine the divine experience of dancing with him now that I've spent a small fortune on private lessons! He inspires those around him to be good ... and to be kind.

The dance that followed was a blast! 

These people are very friendly and easy to be around. 

I felt very much at home. 

Everyone dances with everyone else. 

No pretense, no snobbery. 

Watching Frankie, Kendra, Victoria, Faith, Randy all jump into a group dance 

... watching the crowd watch them 

     ... how could this dance community NOT grow in leaps and bounds?

Check out the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UinHW-m9Wg

Pittsburgh would love to start their own dance convention. 

They seem to be under the impression that the location is too remote. 


I say that's a giant pile of 

... dinosaur DO-DO!!! 

Would YOU travel to Pittsburgh for a weekend in dance Paradise? 

Thanx Pittsburgh for welcoming me to your dance community. 

Thanx Faith ... for being a friend.

I will be back.

(https://www.facebook.com/groups/pghwcs/) 

PJ with Crystal Auclair

By the way, PJ Turner is coming in April. 

Stay tuned for more information and hotel recommendations. 

Let's show em' who'll travel to Pittsburgh!