It is now more than 9 years since the birth of the Northern California Lindy Society (NCLS). (See the NCLS website for information about the current NCLS.) Here's some reflections on that rather magical event.
In mid 1993, the circumstances in the Bay Area did not seem favorable for the creation of a Lindy Society and for the creation of a thriving Lindy community. (See notes by George Woolley, February 6, 1994.) But three deeply committed people lay the foundation for just that in the second half of 1993. They were Belinda Ricklefs (an experienced Bay Area dance teacher), Margaret Batiuchok (a well known Lindy teacher and Lindy historian from New York City) and myself.
During the second half of 1993, we talked to many people who were supportive of our aims. But most of them were dubious about our success, and none of them joined us strongly in our commitment. We became clearer on our aims. We planned our first Lindy event which was intended to bring a Lindy Society into existence in Northern California. And we communicated what we were up to over and over again by: diseminating Lindy calendars and reports on what we were doing; by making phone calls; etc. (See for example Lindy Notes #2, October 17, 1993.)
Our efforts culminated in a successful weekend of Lindy events and the birth of the NCLS in January 1994. The event was called a Jitterbug/Lindy Weekend and featured Margaret Batiuchok as a teacher. It included: a teachers workshop, a workshop called "The Essence of Lindy", 2 dances, 3 classes before the dances and private lessons. (See front side of flyer for A Jitterbug/Lindy Weekend.)
The Bay Swingers Swing Dance Club was supportive of Lindy long before the NCLS existed. This included bringing Jonathan and Sylvia to teach at their conventions a number of times. The Club acknowledged the three original founders of the NCLS at one of their monthly dances in 1997. All three of the original founders were present.
Belinda Ricklefs was one of the original founders of the NCLS. She first danced swing as a teenager. She has been teaching social dancing in the East Bay since 1975 and has focused on Lindy since 1994. She is currently the Treasurer of the NCLS. You can learn more about Belinda as a dancer and a dance teacher at her dance web site. (See the home page of that site.)
The Candelight Ballroom is where the first dance sponsored by NCLS was held on January 15, 1994. It became the home of the monthly dances that the NCLS held in the early days. The Candelight Ballroom is no longer in operation.
George Woolley (that's me) was one of the three original founders of the NCLS. He is a social dancer and vocal advocate of dance magic. He also was a co-founder of the East Bay West Coast dance club. He has not been involved with the NCLS in years. For more about George, including his involvement in dance, see his many web sites. (A good starting place is George's home page.)
The Intergalactic Lindy Society was considered as a possible name for the Lindy Society. The Intergalactic Lindy Society went on to have its own amorphous existence. That included contributing a Happy Birthday page to the Journal for Frankie Manning's 80th birthday celebration. The first NCLS T shirt included the words "an affiliate of the intergalactic lindy society" at the bottom.
Jitterbug Magazine published "A New Club in California" by Margaret Batiuchok in July 1995. The article covered the process of the original founding of the NCLS by Belinda, Margaret and myself.
Jonathan and Sylvia, that is, Jonathan Bixby and Sylvia Sykes from Santa Barbara, taught many Lindy workshops in the Bay Area before the NCLS existed.
"The Lindy" masters thesis was written by Margaret Batiuchok and included four two hour tapes on excellent Lindy dancers. Her thesis, and especially the tapes, were a catalyst that led to the creation of the NCLS. (See thesis text and thesis review.)
Margaret Batiuchok was one of the original founders of the NCLS. She won the Harvest Moon Ball competition dancing with the late George Lloyd in 1983. She has published many articles related to Lindy and wrote an often referenced thesis on "The Lindy". She was a co-founder of the New York Swing Dance Society. She has not been actively involved with the NCLS in years. A number of years after her involvement with NCLS, Margaret married George Candler. A starting place for learning more about Margaret is the Margaret Batiuchok website. (See the home page of that site.)
There were a number of people who contributed to Lindy in the Bay Area before the NCLS came into existence. Only a few of them are mentioned here.
Nancy Pincus, who had moved here from New York and had been deeply involved in the Lindy community there, was quite interested in what we were doing, but ended up putting her energies into her upcoming marriage instead. Good for her.
The New York Times mentioned the presence of people from the Intergalactic Lindy Society in one of their articles about the Frankie Manning 80th birthday event.
The Next Generation Swing Dance Club gave the Jitterbug/Lindy Weekend really good coverage in their calendar for January 1994.
Red Donnelly was organizing workshops by Jonathan and Sylvia long before the NCLS existed.
The Rose Suite is the bed and breakfast in Oakland where Margaret stayed for the Lindy weekend in January 1994.
© Copyright 2003 George Woolley
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