On Saturday, May 5th, the Bel Air High School Jazz Band took on a tremendous challenge and hosted a Swing Dance that was open to the public. The dance went from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. with free swing dance lessons provided to all people who were new to swing dancing. About 200 dancers learned the basics of swing dancing, like how to find the beat and some simple steps with their dancing partner. The Jazz Band started playing their first set of songs at 7 p.m. Each of their 3 sets lasted about 50 minutes. In total, the band played 46 tunes including standards such as Glenn Miller’s In the Mood and A String of Pearls, Count Basie’s Jumpin’ at the Woodside and Swingin’ the Blues, Duke Ellington’s Such Sweet Thunder and Night Train, and one of the crowd favorites, Sing, Sing, Sing by Louis Prima, featuring a long solo by drummer James Scherba. Emancipation Blues by Oliver Nelson, features Steve Nam on alto sax and Nick Reedy on trumpet. Proceeds from ticket sales went to the Bel Air High School music program.
The band is directed and lead by Bel Air High School music teacher Mr. Anthony Domenico. When reflecting back on the evening Mr. Domenico responded, “I was very happy of the band’s performance and very proud of all the hard work they put in to play the dance.” He explained the difference between playing for a normal concert and playing for a swing dance. “In a concert in an auditorium, the audience sits back and appreciates the music. In a dance, it’s a whole different kind of energy. The band plays off of the dancers’ energy.” The dancers picked up the style of music pretty quickly. When the band got loud, the dancers echoed the noise. “From the first note to the last, there was a good crowd on the floor and there was real dancing.” The dance this year raises one question. Will there be a dance next year? “All I’ll say is I might be possibly thinking about it. Maybe.”
The Jazz Band’s next event will be the spring concert. The concert will be on Friday, May 18th at 7 p.m. in the Bel Air High School auditorium. They will be performing after the Bel Air Middle School Jazz Band and the Bel Air High School Pop Choir.