The Soapbox Archives:
With unfriendly landlords who raise the rent and the declining number of customers, he keeps debating over whether or not to continue running the monthly Boston Swing Dance Network dances next year. Since the June and July crowds are traditionally sparse anyway, the May 11 dance may make or break the dance (though I'm really looking forward to the July 13 dance). After expending a lot of energy on the longest-running swing dance in Boston (26 years!), his concerns are far from surprising.
His dance was the second public dance I had ever attended back in April of 1991. I still remember wearing a suit & tie...and holding up the back wall until a very nice woman came over and asked me to dance. Life hasn't been the same since.
I believe most dancers in Boston probably started there before moving into the various dance cliques in Boston. This venue has to be the most beginner friendly swing dance in the Boston area with a wide range of dance experiences and abilities attending. Many of us might not remember everything that's happened since then, but we do remember feeling welcomed.
And since so many people started there and because of the venue's longevity, when people leave the scene and come back years later, the first place they'll check out is the BSDN dance because most likely, someone they remembered from the past will be there.
It's unfortunate that the two venues could not negotiate a solution that would allow their customers to attend both events. I know that the BSDN could not get their preferred date and had to pick another. I would imagine that Swing City probably has the same issue with getting another date (otherwise, they'd probably be open very week). Still, I've seen some of the email from Swing City refusing to negotiate except on their terms so I'm not going to feel sorry for them.
I'll be at the BSDN dance on Saturday where I've been going every month since April of 1991. I think I've missed no more than 10 dances there since I started going there. I was stuck in California on 9/11 and I still managed to make it home in time for the dance that Saturday.