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Smooth Talk

Artist ExtraordinaireSpotlight on John Stokes

by Brenda Gettig, Editor

The month ly news l e t t e r o f the San Diego Smooth Dancers

Artists create in many different media. How many artists do you know who are master jigsaw puzzle cutters? They are rare, yet we have one in our club ...John Stokes. In fact, John is likely the only jigsaw puzzle maker in California. John started his business “ Custom Puzzle Craft” in 1999 after seeing some beautiful custom made puzzles for auction on eBay. Within a year, he embarked on an ambitious project. He would make one new puzzle every month and auction it on eBay and continue until he had made and sold 100 puzzles. Called the “100 Puzzles Project,” the endeavor took ten years to complete. Each puzzle John made in the 100 Puzzles Project was the first time he offered for sale a puzzle of that design. The 100th puzzle was sold in July of this year. And what a puzzle it is! Modeled after The Garden of Earthly Delights, an oil-on-wood triptych painted by Hieronymus Bosch in the sixteenth century, the finished jigsaw puzzle created by John consists of 4,271 pieces and measures 56 1/4 inches by 30 inches. The puzzle sold for $25,100 after 18 bids and was described by Bob Armstrong, a puzzle collector, as “arguably the greatest jigsaw puzzle every made.” Other than the 100 puzzles auctioned on eBay, John takes orders for custom puzzles. He’s made puzzles for large corporations, puzzle collectors, and individuals. In fact, he’s made a total of 840

puzzles, all of which are logged in detail on his website. Some are marriage proposal puzzles, in which the hopeful suitor gives the puzzle to his intended fiance while withholding the last critical piece on which is printed “will you marry me?” Some are wedding reception puzzles in which the guests sign the various puzzle pieces. Some of John’s puzzles are from existing images (other artists’ artwork, photographs, and images supplied by customers) and some are geometric patterns he creates himself. In fact, John was a computer programmer for 19 years before he was a puzzle maker and during that time he created a methodology for pattern generation and the software to produce his amazingly beautiful geometric

images. John uses a scroll saw to cut the puzzle pieces -- the blade is so fine he gently flicks it and listens to the vibration it emits (like a musical note) to “tune” it before cutting. The shapes he creates are diverse and whimsical -- animals, intricate swirls, his own signature piece, an

John’s 100th puzzle in his ten-year 100 Puzzles Project

John in his studio with some of his puzzle images.

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Smooth TalkEditor’s Note

I’m not supposed to tell you this. Really. It’s a secret, ok? It has to do with our December showcase and dance party. Every year in December we have a showcase with a dozen or so performances and most of them have a Christmas theme. You know, Christmas music, holiday decorations, and 99% of the people wearing red. Ho-ho-hum. Well, this year it’s going to be different. I can’t tell you the details. Just come prepared to be surprised -- pleasantly. And, of course, entertained -- fabulously. And save the red for Valentine’s day (it’s so last year)! On a serious note, I miss my good friend Carmine. As many of you know, he has been in the hospital since September 27th recovering from a stroke. His exuberant personality has added so much to our classes, parties and movie nights, making his current absence quite evident. Please continue to keep Carmine and Susan in your thoughts and prayers as they come through this difficult time. In addition to Carmine, we have so many interesting people in our club. The cover article this month on John Stokes is a shining example of that. Just how well do we know the people we dance with? Perhaps not well enough -- our dance partners are involved in all kinds of interesting ventures! I hope you enjoy the article. Have a great month!

Smooth Talk is a monthly publication of the San Diego Smooth Dancers, a non-profit organization that supports and encourages ballroom dancing. Submissions and questions about this newsletter can be directed to the editor, Brenda Gettig, at brendag30@hotmail.com. Information and club photos can be found on the website: www.sdsdwebsite.com

Next Business MeetingThe next business meeting takes place on November 13th at 2:30. The meeting place is the home of Been Kao and Mark Chapman. Their address is 7637 Rustico Dr in Carlsbad. There will be a potluck after the meeting, so bring a dish to share and plan on staying afterward.

Cathy & Wade Boogie On Cathy and Wade O’Harra moved to an active 55 and over community this year. Cathy reports that they are “fitting in very well” in the community. In fact, Cathy (assisted by Wade) leads more than a dozen of her new neighbors in a weekly dance exercise class every Wednesday afternoon. Using a Dancing With the Stars DVD, the group is learning dance steps while getting an energetic workout. Great idea, Cathy -- let us know when your group is performing!

Cathy, Wade and their afternoon dance group

Watch the Ohio Star Ball The 33rd annual Ohio Star Ball takes place November 16th through 21st in Columbus, Ohio. This year you can watch it via live streaming video on your computer. Tickets start at $4.95 for day sessions and $14.95 for evening sessions. Details can be found at: http://www.ohiostarball.com/.

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President’s Message by SDSD President Anthony Wood

This month’s President’s Message will touch on four important subjects. Dance Classes, Socials, upcoming elections and survey results. So……….let’s get started. SURVEY RESULTS: First of all, a great big “thank you” to each of you who responded to the survey that I sent out to the membership. The results can be found in this month’s Smooth Talk. Because we’re in the middle of negotiating our 2011 contract, results for the section dealing with “Dance Venue” will be withheld until a new lease is signed. I’ll post the results for this section in

January. DANCE CLASSES: Carrie Kloss is such a great, creative teacher. The Cha-Cha class has some of the most imaginative combinations of patterns; yet, they’re all very easy to lead and follow. I’m sure that there will be several of us students dancing these new steps at the next social. The Viennese Waltz has an elegance all its own. Carrie has done a wonderful job with the choreography. The classic movement of this dance is really shown off by the routine that Carrie is teaching. If you haven’t come to a class this month, grab your shoes and come on down to Champion Ballroom. The dance patterns are reviewed each week and this makes it easy to catch up. Once you’ve had a class with Carrie, you’ll understand why she’s our most popular teacher. SOCIALS: There are only three more socials left this year. With the exception of our annual Coronation, the next three socials are our best! The annual “Black & White” Anniversary Dance (this is our 61st anniversary), our Christmas Dance and Showcase, and last, the fun-filled New Years Eve Dance. This year, our Anniversary social will feature the professional couple Ira & Abby Pollock as they entertain us with three international dances. The annual Christmas dance will showcase some of our members and will also feature two formation dances from our monthly dance classes taught by Carrie Kloss. The classes for next year will also be revealed. Each year, the New Years Eve Dance social has proven to be the best way to ring out ( or ring in) the new year.If you haven’t been to a social in a while, then you’ve missed all of the new and fun things we’ve been trying. ELECTIONS: Twice each year we hold elections to fill the expired Board members & officers positions. The election will be conducted at our November 13th general membership meeting. Please plan on attending. If for some reason you can’t get to the meeting, then just download the ballot from our website and mail it to Terry Ghianni. Please make sure your name appears somewhere on the envelope (but not on the ballot) so that your vote can be counted. The slate of candidates appears elsewhere in this newsletter.

Smooth TalkSurvey Results

On Classes:What would it take to get you to join our Sunday night classes? Already attend: 32 Variety: 2 Price: 2

What classes would you like to see offered? Variety: 2 Technique/style: 7 Workshop: 3 Rumba: 2 Tango: 3 Bolero: 2 Samba: 2 Cha-cha: 4 Hustle: 2 2-Step: 2 Paso Doble: 2 Argentine Tango: 3 Latin: 3 Standard: 3 Smooth: 2

What time of day would you prefer? 9:00 am 1 1:00 pm 1 2:00 pm 2 3:00 pm 3 4:00 pm 1 5:00 pm 21 7:00 pm 2

What day of the week would you prefer? Sunday 29 Tuesday 1 Thursday 3 Friday 1 Saturday 1 Weekday 3

Which instructors would you like to see teaching our classes? Carrie Kloss 18 Michael Kiehm 11 Scott Dodson 6 Mary Murphy 2 John Selby 2 Irina Chalkevitch 8 Peter Edwards 6 Shawn Torgerson 6 Philip Gott 4 Steve Showers 2

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Smooth TalkSurvey Results (continued from page 3)

What do you consider a “fair” price to charge for classes? $ 5 2 $ 8 2 $10 24 2 for $15 4 discount for 2 classes: 5 break for members: 1

On Socials:If you don't regularly attend our Socials, what would it take to bring you back? I attend 28 start time 2 themes & showcases 3 younger crowd 1 lessons 3

Do you prefer more or fewer mixers? 1 mixer 0 2 mixers 11 3 mixers 13 4 mixers 9

What starting time do you prefer for the socials? 5:00 2 7:00 8 7:30 4 8:00 16

What day of the week do you prefer for the socials? Friday 3 Saturday 26 Sunday 1

Would you pay $65 per person if the New Years Eve party was catered (heavy hors d’oeuvres) and had a live ballroom disc jockey? no 26 yes 13

Do you prefer the New Years party the way it is currently held? no 9 yes 17

Ballroom Dancers – Just a Bunch of Sinners?

by Glenn Walker, Editor of “The San Diego DanceVibes Newsletter”

One can’t help feeling a shiver of excitement when watching certain performances by professional dance couples. As spectators, we’re often imbued with the desire to emulate the skills of these professionals, not infrequently cloaked by a sense of righteousness in the pursuit of developing an art, an athletic ability or a higher sense of character and standing with one’s peers. Yet, the evolution of dance to modern ballroom dancing has been fraught with religious condemnation, while most forms of dancing at one time or another have been disparaged with labels of ‘sinful,’ ‘disgusting’ and ‘immoral.’ Dancing history is filled with denouncements from moral leaders of the times, as any new dance craze which came along became a message from Satan and an act that Church officials assured everyone would result in the complete moral demise of society. It seems the more morally ‘reprehensible’ and controversial a dance became, the more likely it was to endure. The waltz was originally considered sinful and vulgar with its ‘closed hold’ and fast turns, and its introduction was received with considerable dismay. In its debut at the English Court in London in 1816, the waltz was described as ‘shocking’ and an indecent display of “voluptuous intertwining of the limbs and close compressure of the

bodies.” The waltz was banned in parts of Europe, and when introduced in the U.S., then-president John Tyler dissuaded his daughter from any ideas of taking up such a ‘vulgar’ dance. The waltz, along with the polka and other ‘closed-hold’ derivatives which pervaded Europe in the 19th century, were blamed for the many evils of society. Dance halls gained a reputation as being wicked and immoral. Clergymen declared dancing to be sinful. T.A. Faulkner in his 1892 book, From the Ballroom to Hell, declared that dancing was responsible for most of the ‘fallen women’ of society. Today’s critics, reacting in disgust when seeing the grinding, ‘dirty dancing’ society’s youth engage in, forget (or are unaware) that it’s nothing new. Many of the ‘animal dances’ and predecessors of ragtime in the early 1900’s were performed with similar grinding, bumping and rubbing of bodies. In fact, one of the favorites of the era, the ‘slow

Variety makes life interesting...one day a juicy ripe berry for breakfast...the next

day a fat ugly worm...it’s all

good.

Bird’s-Eye Viewby Smooth Finchy

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Smooth TalkSDSD Winter Election Absentee Ballot

If you cannot vote in person at the November 13th business meeting, then please fill out this ballot and mail to Terry Ghianni, 5706-368 Baltimore Dr., La Mesa, CA 91942. Do not write your name on the ballot, but do sign your name across the back of the sealed envelope. Mail this so that Terry will receive it by November 12th.Please vote for one candidate for each position or write in your choice:

For President:_____ Anthony Wood or

Write-in candidate: __________________________

For Board Member (must be a past SDSD president):_____ Mark Chapman or

Write-in candidate:__________________________

For Social Chair:Write-in candidate:__________________________

For Queen (no write-in allowed):_____ Mary King

San Diego Smooth Dancers 2011 Membership RenewalDues of $30 per person are due January 1st for 2011. To reinstate after 30-day delinquency, you will have to apply as a new member. Please fill in completely the information listed below and indicate any part of the information that you do not want published in the chapter directory.

Member 1 Name_______________________________________________________

Member 2 Name_______________________________________________________

Address________________________________________________________

City____________________________State_____________Zip___________

Home Phone_________________________

Member 1 Cell Phone________________________ Email_____________________________ Birthdate: Month______________________ Date______________________________

Member 2 Cell Phone________________________ Email_____________________________ Birthdate: Month______________________ Date______________________________

Newsletter delivery (check one): by email by U.S. mail

Mail completed form with your check to: Caron Schattel, Vice President 4983 Mt. Ararat Drive, San Diego, CA. 92111

Be a cool cat and check “by email” for newsletter delivery. You get it sooner...you get it in color...you help save the planet.

Be cool and go green.

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Smooth Talkdrag,’ involved couples engaging in prolonged erotic ‘hugs’ while grinding to and fro in one spot. The turkey trot, one of the more popular ragtime era dances, was condemned as sinful, yet the more it was condemned, the closer together the more rebellious danced it. As we know, these dance crazes gradually made way for the more enduring ballroom favorites like the foxtrot, Lindy and quickstep, and produced a lot of fun ragtime and Charleston in the process. Around 1900, the tango, a ‘clearly erotic’ dance which was spreading rapidly, became in such disfavor for its ‘naughtiness’ even many dance instructors considered it immoral. A French clergyman announced that “anyone who danced the ‘outrageous tango’ was endangering the sanctity of the holy sacraments.” The native rumba folk dance was a sex pantomime, involving sinuous movements of the hips, trunk and shoulders, and sometimes referred to as a ‘method for practicing safe sex.’ Of course the more refined rumba and bolero of modern ballroom have been considerably tamed and are now known as the ‘dance of love,’ but admittedly, the sexual movements of these and other Latin and rhythm dances represent a major appeal to spectators and dancers alike. Even today, these dances are about pure lust. John Lawrence Reynolds, in his excellent contemporary dance book, Ballroom Dancing (Laurel Glen Publishing, c 1998), writes that “First-time spectators at professional-level Latin competitions are often stunned by the … open eroticism of the dancers.” The popularity of many current dance shows on t.v. can be attributed in part for their sexy moves, but more

often for the sexy bodies flaunted by men wearing open or no shirts and the ladies wearing little more than they would to a Brazilian beach on a hot day. Despite the projection of such images to spur further interest in dance, some officials still want to curtail dancing in an attempt to limit the ‘sin.’ A 2003 article in Dancing USA cites a group of Lindy dancers being arrested in Salt Lake City for dancing too late into the night. In some towns, it’s still against the church to dance on Sundays. A High School was recently in the news for banning ‘sexual bending or touching, and leg straddling’ at its dances. Most local ballroom parties frown upon sexy costumes at their Halloween parties, and at least one local party explicitly prohibits women’s hemlines above mid-thigh. So, as dance enthusiasts, are we all sinners? It’s clear that society’s determination of what is ‘sinful’ changes with time, so, perhaps it’s not for society to judge. Some say the sexy aura projected by dance is needed to attract more guys to a traditionally women-oriented activity, while a more staid aura would fail to attract newcomers and lead to the demise of ballroom dancing. Surely, sexier moves will come along from time to time on the dance floor, whether it be to send out an appeal for more exciting dance participants or just to ‘show off.’ Evolution tends to refine and cleanse, and trust in that principle emboldens us to ‘push it to the edge.’ Hopefully, evolution will serve to advance the excitement and appeal of ballroom dancing, while maintaining it as a unique venue for expressing, in the most stylish and graceful of ways, the emotion and romance tucked away within us.

“Sinners” continued from page 4

Dance Class Report by SDSD President Anthony Wood

Once again, Carrie Kloss has come up with a great, easy to lead, routine in both the Cha Cha and the Viennese Waltz. She keeps the dancers rotating often, which really helps in the learning process. The Viennese Waltz is as beautiful as any dance you’ll ever learn……and so easy, too. This is truly quality instruction with attention to technique. The Cha Cha will have you “chomping at the bit” to try it out at our next social. Just in case you’re still thinking about trying out one of our Sunday night classes, Carrie recaps everything for you at the beginning of each class. Treat yourself to a Smooth Dancers’ class. Cha Cha is at 5:00 PM and the Viennese Waltz is at 6:00 PM. If you’d like a “sneak” preview of the routines they can be accessed on Carrie’s website, or, you can follow this link: http://sites.google.com/site/carriekloss/Home/smooth-dancers-oct-nov-2010

Norm Bornstein 2

Marie Moore 3

Doug Wray 5

Glenn Thomson 7

George Plikshe 11

Bob Churchill 15

Susan St. Martin 15

Gay Tyrrell 22

Greg Bartholomew 30

Happy November Birthday!

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Nov 6th 8 pm: Black & White Anniversary Ball at Champion Ballroom. Cost is $10 for members.

Nov 6th 6 pm: San Fernando Valley Chapter Coronation of Queen Elect Roberta LaZar. Details for the “Dance me to the End of Love” event at http://nsdsfv.org/coronation.htm.

Nov 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th: Sunday night dance class with Carrie Kloss at Champion Ballroom. Cha-cha at 5 pm, Viennese Waltz at 6 pm, practice time at 7 pm. Cost is $10 per class.

Nov 13th 2:30 pm: SDSD business meeting & potluck dinner at Mark & Kao’s house.

Nov 19th 8 pm: Third Friday “Smoothie night” at Champion’s Friday night party. Cost is $5.

November

Events

Smooth Talk

    

Black &White

Anniversary BallNovember 6th at 8 pmLocation: Champion Ballroom, 3580 Fifth AvenueSpecial performance by Ira & Abby PollockCost is $10 for members and $15 for non-membersBe there

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Smooth Talk

Above: “Synthesized Serendipity,” one of John’s original geometric pattern puzzles

Above: “September 11, 2001”-- John’s jigsaw puzzle of the American flag designed to exact specification. Below: some of the shapes (“figurals”) that make up the puzzle.

Above: “Six Piece Golden Ratio Compulsory #2”

Above: John using his scroll saw to make some sample cuts. Below: close-up of the fine saw blade.

Some of John’s figurals

“observer,” a dancer, and many others. He uses several cutting styles, and one he calls the “foxtrot pattern” because it has a slow, quick, quick rhythm to the cut. While he was demonstrating for me how he cuts the puzzle pieces, I could not help but notice how artistic and yet ritualistic the process seems. Technique, creative artistry, free-flowing within the confines of a particular style... so like dancing! John showed me two drawings he had done when he was six years old. They look like his puzzle pieces! I also learned that at only four years old he was assembling jigsaw puzzles of 400 to 500 pieces, and at 13 years old he made his first jigsaw puzzle of 40 pieces! John Stokes is probably best known in the dancing community for his comprehensive web page on social dancing in San Diego. In fact, if you browse through John’s website you’ll find everything about it is comprehensive -- including a detailed log of the creation of all of his puzzles. There is so much more there than I can write about here, so please check it out: http://www.custompuzzlecraft.com/. Some of John’s other interests include metal work, computer programming and time lapse photography. He also has a weather archive on his website. In case you’re thinking you’d like to place an order with John for one of his puzzles, just hold that thought. John is taking a well-deserved break from the puzzle making business while he pursues some of his other interests and catches up on his dancing. Try him next year...and in the meantime, look for some of his artistry on the dance floor.

John Stokes, continued from page 1