Pink lights illuminated the dance floor in the lobby of the Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall at Santa Fe College on Friday night where about 50 lovers of swing dance turned out for a Valentine’s Day dance.
The dance was organized by the Santa Fe College Fine Arts and Entertainment Technology Department and, for the first hour, dance instructors, Edward Gavlick, 26, and Jennifer Kolesari, 32, taught guests the basics of swing dancing.
David Smith, the associate professor of music at Santa Fe College, coordinated the college jazz ensemble to play live music for the dancers. The band performed popular jazz music by some of the great artists from that era, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Benny Goodman.
According to the event announcement on SFC’s website, Smith described jazz as “the most popular form of music during the 1920s and 1930s and was played in ballrooms and hotels for entertainment and dancing. That period was known as the ‘Swing Era.’ Marked by segregation, this music had the ability to break racial barriers by bringing people together to enjoy the music, to dance and to have fun.”
According to the Lincoln Center’s website, the Savoy Ballroom was a popular dance hall in Harlem, New York, from 1926 to 1958 and showcased the world’s finest jazz musicians. It was a place where Black people and white people walked through the doors together and joined in unity through a dance called swing. Swing is now celebrated throughout the world as a form of loving dance that unites people beyond their differences.
Smith said the Valentine’s Day dance has been an annual event for about seven to eight years. He said that this event went on prior to his employment at SFC and was put on by his predecessor.
“We get a good turnout of participants,” he said. "People are coming here just for the music. People are coming to actually swing dance or come just to have a good time.”
Gavlick has been a swing instructor for three years but started swing dancing five years ago at the University of Florida Swing Dance Club. Kolesari has only been swing dancing for two years and has been an instructor for one of those years.
“I learned to dance at the UF club, but now we run GSD, a community swing dance organization,” Gavlick said.
The Gainesville Swing Dance meets every Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. free of charge at the Rosa B. William Center. It offers lessons, live music and dancing. There is no experience or partner needed and all ages are welcome.
Smith has been working with the Santa Fe Band for six years. He was an adjunct director of bands in 2018 then was hired full time in 2019.
“This environment is basically where I wanted to be at, at this level,” Smith said.
