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To the Tampa Bay Swing Dance
Community,
After 15 years teaching and 13 years hosting swing dancing in Tampa
Bay , I am retiring. My final swing dance will be Wednesday, Marc h
31, at Simone Salsa.
Over the years I have Dejayed and hosted dances in more places than
I can remember, worked countless weddings and corporate events, and
convinced untold-thousands of people that they could dance. I have
worked with some of the most fabulous dance bands in the world --
one time dancing to the world-famous "Lavay Smith and the Red Hot
Skillet Lickers" where my partner and I were the only other people
there. The internationally acclaimed Jive Aces accompanied my dance
class on two separate occasions. I have enjoyed hundreds of unique
opportunities to travel, dine, and be entertained, usually enjoyed
only by the very rich.
Most memorable, however are the people I've met -- tens of thousands
of you. I have met every kind of person from all over the world. The
overwhelming majority of the people I've met have been very warm,
gracious, and friendly.
I owe a debt of gratitude to countless thousands who have enhanced
my life. I have learned more from my students than they could ever
learn from me. To the people who helped me, thanks for lending a
hand. To the people who were insulted by me, I ask for your
forgiveness. To the people who deliberately tried to hurt me, thank
you for agreeing to be my teachers. Most of all, to the people who
were kind to me -- most of you -- I will always carry fond memories
of you in my heart.
It's time for me to move on, and I will likely not see most of you
again. I will always remember my 15 years as a swing dance promoter
in Tampa Bay .
Blessings,
Jamie Norman
P.S. Arleene will continue to teach
and host dances, especially her Saturday night dance in Largo . . .
The Original Wednesday Swing was first held at the Gulfport Casino,
Hosted by James and Arleene Norman, on January 6, 1999.
While at the Casino, we helped to found the Suncoast Swing Gang,
offering them a meeting space, finding them a pro-bono attorney,
giving them their first dance venue (We negotiated with the Italian
Club, then brought in the Swing Gang), and brought them their first
band, Indigo.
In 2001 and 2002, the Gulfport Casino closed twice for renovations
totaling almost one year. The City of Gulfport cited the success of
our proprietary dance in their million-dollar grant requests.
While the Casino was closed we spent four months at the St
Petersburg Polish American Club in the Old Southeast. We also spent
almost eight months at the St Petersburg Moose Lodge.
In 2002, we opened the fabulous Savoy South Dance Hall in Parkside
Mall, where we substantially raised the bar of the type and quality
of entertainment for dancers.
After a brief two years, the landlord at Parkside Mall broke our
lease and we ended up at Boomers for only a short stay.
Later in 2004, we were welcomed with open arms at the Portuguese
American Club in west St Petersburg . PASA, as it's known, was our
longest-lived residence for Wednesday Swing.
After 11 years of uninterrupted Wednesday nights, I moved the dance
to Tampa to Simone Salsa.
I am grateful for all the time I had at all of these venues.
The ORIGINAL Wednesday Swing currently holds the record for the
longest running weekly swing dance still operating in the US. When
it is over, that honor will go to the Suncoast Swing Gang's Swing
Sunday.
----------------------------------------------
Last Dances -- Ever
The last two ever Original Wednesday Swing Dances will be held at
Simone Salsa in Tampa
Wednesday Marc h 24 (Week number 585) -- DJ Dance
Wednesday Marc h 31 (Week number 586) -- Jamie's Blowout Retirement
Party
at Simone Salsa
7:00 to 11:00 p.m.
8336 W Hillsborough Avenue
Tampa, FL
$5
BYOB (Coke products and Water available)
Don't just SIT THERE, get up and DANCE!
At SAVOY SOUTH
St Petersburg -- Largo -- Bradenton
The Navigation buttons are on the top and the upper right side of this window
Here are some brief descriptions:
You are on the HOME Page
Our gallery of PHOTOS contains more than 5000 images of more
than 11 years of dancing in Tampa Bay
The DANCE PARTIES pages explain where and when to find us on
the dance floor
OUR ARTWORK is an exhibit of three years of work from Our
Graphic Artist, Miss Diane Dempsey
Don't miss our Swingin' CRUISE 09
If you want us to know something you have to SPEAK UP
If there has been anything you heard, you need to GET IT
STRAIGHT
Our Graphic Artist, Miss Diane Dempsey, along with her
husband, Webmaster Brent Dempsey have started up WhatsBuzzin.com! Frankie
Manning has one of her shirts!
Our Saturday night dance in Largo is a
HUGE SUCCESS! Every Saturday at the Largo Community Center 65 - 4th Street NW Largo, FL A great venue for the
North of Ulmertoncrowd, and for the Can't get enough on Wednesdaycrowd. Find out MORE -- Click on
"DANCE PARTIES" on the right-margin menu ----->
PHOTOS,
PHOTOS, PHOTOS!
See more than 4000 photos of Savoy South Dance Hall, Strictly Swing
Entertainment, and Right Step Dance Studio. We have about 4000 more photos to
post -- and we want more -- send your photos to
james@savoysouth.com
Click HERE to see all the
pictures!
