John Yu, President, Sunday Dance Club
It is my privilege to announce the 30-year anniversary of our Sun Lakes Sunday Dance Club. Our dance club was founded in 1989 at Phase 1 with 100 member couples dancing to all the favorite ballroom dances. It was so popular then that there was a waiting list to be a member. The dancing venue has since migrated to Cottonwood’s San Tan Ballroom but is still enjoyed by residents of all communities within Sun Lakes and now even SunBird and beyond. Because our members today enjoy more than just ballroom, we have added a few more types of dances to our Sunday playlists, such as line dance, nightclub and country 2-step, but still no Hip Hop. We’ll save that for our 80th anniversary… LOL!
Being successful for this long can only be attributed to the many volunteers, past and present, who gave of themselves so that other seniors can enjoy at least one Sunday evening of dancing each month. It is to those volunteers that we dedicate this 30th year anniversary season.
Our opening dance will start with DK Orchestra, a long-time favorite, six-piece “big band.” For our anniversary season, we have added a new band, Rags Allen Band, to our list of entertainers. They will appear in October and twice more during the season. This new four-piece band features the following artists: Rags Allen on keyboard, an inductee into the Arizona Nightclub Performers Hall of Fame (Rags has performed with The Platters, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Charlie Pride); Chuck Bene, guitarist, an inductee in the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and songwriter for Ricky Nelson and the Hullabaloo TV show; Roy Calhoun, drummer, who played professionally since the age of 13 with celebrities including Wayne Newton, Eddie Arnold, Phil Harris and Julie London; and Mark Webb, lead singer, honored in 1995 as the Vocalist of the Year by the Phoenix Country Music Club.
The San Tan Ballroom doors will open at 6:00 p.m. on September 23, 2018. Music and dancing is from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Because many who come are not yet comfortable dancers, they may choose to participate in a Basic Dance Class taught by Mary Lou Kaye at the Oakwood Dance Room (4:45 p.m. start time).
For anyone interested in attending, the guest fee is $25. Please call 480-699-7334 with questions or visit www.sunlakes-sundaydanceclub.com for additional info.