The Shaka Crew took a rock and roll time trip with the Pennsylvania Club and Jim Boerman caught a severe case of the hippy hippy shakes.
It all happened Tuesday night at the La Hacienda Recreation Center. The Crew, directed and choreographed by Violet Ray, put on its “50’s Sock Hop” show, filled with music and dance.
The greaser guys and pink ladies from Pennsylvania loved the oldies but goodies during a combination club meeting and sock hop party.
“We loved those good old days and this music because it brings back so many memories,” said Tina Dewees, president of the Pennsylvania Club. She comes from Philadelphia, the home of “American Bandstand.”
Boerman moved like one of the Bandstand dancers, wearing jeans and a white tee shirt. He started rocking out to Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B Goode,” and Boerman turned into a twisting machine.
Watch video of Tuesday night’s performance here:
The B-man would shimmy, shake and twist all at the same time. His sneakers practically burned a hole on the stage. The audience kept hooting and hollering. It was all part of a Pennsylvania party.
“Pennsylvania is a special place with special people,” said Dewees, who was decked out like a ‘50s teen queen. “The best part of being in the club is the friendships you make and the people you meet.”
It also brings back a connection to home.
“We’re in The Villages now, but I feel that Pennsylvania is home,” said John Erb, a member of the club. “Pennsylvania will always be a part of me.”
So is the music from the 1950s.
“Everyone loves the music from that era because it was such a fun, upbeat time,” said Bill Ray, Violet’s husband, who was master of ceremonies for the stage show. “I can’t remember what I had for supper, but I can remember the words to the songs from the ‘50s. It was a great time to grow up.”
Dance routines highlighted the show. The Shaka Crew dancers on this night were: Violet Ray, Di Capasso, Dawn Jasinski, Kathy Byrne, Kathy Daniels, Sylvia Loric and Georgianne Hill. Bob Petrucelli also took part in some numbers and sang a couple of songs, as did Lydia Leduc.
The dance numbers included, “Splish Splash,” “Stagger Lee” “Shake Rattle and Roll,” and a medley from “Grease.” Things got off to a fast start, with the dancers rocking to “At the Hop.”
Leduc offered a jazzy take on “Kansas City” and then turned into Little Miss Dynamite, aka Brenda Lee, on “Sweet Nothings.” Hill sang “Lipstick on Your Collar” with a Connie Francis’ sound.
The dancers came out wearing huge, curlers and waltzing around the front of the stage as Petrucelli made like Frankie Avalon and sang “Beauty School Dropout.”
Bill Ray reminisced on stage about sneaking out his father’s car, picking up some friends and driving to Atlanta in 1955 to see Bill Haley and the Comets headline an early rock concert.
“We had a great time until I came home and my father looked at the odometer; he knew I took the car,” Ray said. “It didn’t matter to me, I saw Bill Haley.”
Rock and roll leaves such lasting memories.
“I think rock and roll was the beginning of a new era for dancing,” Violet Ray said. “It kind of mixes the jitterbug and rock. It’s a lot of fun and that’s why people are still dancing to rock and roll today.”
