Tag Archives: Dancing

LORD OF THE SQUARE DANCE Howard Richman gets Dancers Swinging

Adding Flair to Tradition, Richman’s Dancers Promenade to Madonna

 By Sally Deering

Howard Richman Lord of the Square Dance Slip the Clutch, Shoot the Star and Roll Away with a Half Sashay; these may be non-sequiturs to most of us but to square-dance fans these terms get them twirling on the dance floor and if Howard Richman’s calling the dance, there might be some Madonna in the mix.

Square Dance calling may not be a typical job found on a resume, but Richman does it to add to his income as a theater artist and he travels throughout the Tri-State area to gyms, schools and church halls to put people through their paces on the dance floor.

Continue reading LORD OF THE SQUARE DANCE Howard Richman gets Dancers Swinging

COVER STORY-Leading The Kennedy Dancers

Diane Dragone (still) has the Dancer in Her Soul

new-diane-in-sailor-suit-in-air

by Sally Deering 

 In the 1920s, when Shirley Temple tapped into America’s hearts with her bouncing ringlets, ruffled crinolines and shiny black tap shoes, mothers from Canarsie to Kenosha trundled their daughters off to their local dance school dreaming of their baby girl’s name in lights. Nowadays, child stars go by first names like Britney, but the local dance school still thrives as the only training ground for kids who dream of a dancing career.

 One local dance pioneer who has kept the stage lights burning in her neighborhood dance studio for the past 34 years is Diane Dragone, Artistic Director of The Kennedy Dancers, a professional dance company and dance school that stands in the wings of New York City.  Through her school and with her years as a teacher and choreographer, Dragone has trained and enriched the lives of thousands of inner-city kids – some who became professional dancers — and she has brought modern and classical dance performances to the multi-cultural and economically-diverse Hudson community. Continue reading COVER STORY-Leading The Kennedy Dancers