A little about Wanda and Jim

Wanda and Jim started their career in dance instruction and DJing as a fund raising project for their church.  They decided to share their love of country dancing and hired the instructors from their adult school class to teach the night of the dance.  Their instructors, Rich & Trish Dolph, suggested that for everyone to really enjoy the dance, there should be dance classes prior to the night of the activity.  Wanda and Jim took this as a challenge and decided to teach these first classes; they taught beginner dances like Cowboy Boogie, the 16-step, and the basic 2-step.  After four weeks of teaching "everything they knew," they had a successful dance with Jim DJing for the first time, using a combination of home stereo equipment and a borrowed mixer.  For the next few weeks, they got calls from people saying, "We all should be dancing instead eating snacks in front of the TV."  Ever since, they have been dancing in the church hall enjoying old friends and meeting new who get "Hooked On Dancin."

For the past 15 years on Friday nights, except during July and August, approximately 40-70 people gather at the Dance Hall at St. Francis.  Wanda and Jim teach both new dances and old favorites, playing the dancers' requests throughout the evening.

Wanda and Jim were also instructors at South Plainfield Adult Education for 14 years. They have taught for the Tim Gillis Band, at the Whiskey Cafe, Colorado Cafe, Victorian Manor and private and corporate parties.  They have also taught their dances at events in Kansas City, Indiana, New York, Pennsylvania and at the National Senior Olympics in Virginia.  Their dancing had taken them as far away as Canada, England, Switzerland and Venezuela.  In addition, they have choreographed the award-winning dance "Late Night Swing"  as well as "Whoops, I Fell In Love," which has been on dance floors all over the world. "Whoops" (choreographed with Joanne Brady) was nominated for a Crystal Boot Award as the "Beginners Dance Of The Year" with ceremonies in Blackpool, England. Their partner dance, "Lovers' Swing," has been taught at weekend events and dance halls in all over the US and Canada.

Wanda and Jim have now started a new chapter in their “life adventure” with a move to Calabash, North Carolina, between Wilmington, NC and Myrtle Beach, SC.  They now plan to continue spreading their joy of dance throughout the Carolinas starting with dancing at the Silver Coast Winery near Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.

This page last updated 01/26/2012 11:02 AM