Y’all have heard of “the announcer’s jinx”? You know, when a sports announcer on radio or TV says something along the lines of “this kicker has been perfect on extra points this season” then immediately afterwards the kicker will shank an extra point so he’s not perfect any more? I feel like I recently made a “blogger’s jinx” when I blogged about the First Friday dances in Chicago with the Midway Ramblers. The Ramblers have a dance this Friday, November 5, then a dance on Sunday, December 5 (with Morris Ardoin), and then will not have any more regular dances (at least for a while).
I received this email from Denise Thompson of the Midway Ramblers:
Hello everyone
I’ve been thinking for awhile about ending the dances and have decided that the December dance (with the Morris Ardoin Creole Quartet and Dennis Stroughmatt) will be the last regular dance for us, at least for awhile. We might schedule one dance in the spring and we’ll certainly manage any guest bands that come our way. There is no one reason for wanting a break, just a feeling that this is the right time to move on. We’ve been at it for ten years and will have left the dance scene in much better shape than when we started when there was no cohesive dance scene at all
I know that many of you started your “careers” in Cajun with our dances and that some of you go at least as far back in decades as we do with our love of Cajun dance music. I thank you all for attending our dances over the last ten years. We certainly grew as a band and many of you made new friends.
The early part of the year will be taken up with a long Mardi Gras season and perhaps we’ll play a dance in April. After that, the summer season begins so there will be plenty of Cajun goings on in Chicago
We hope to see you on November 5th for the regular dance and on December 5th for the wonderful Morris Ardoin Creole Quartet.
A bientot….
Denise
Quel dommage! But I understand how hard it is to manage a regular monthly dance, and I can also understand why the Ramblers might feel they need to take a break from those dances for a while.
So, if you can possibly make it to the November 5 or December 5 dances, do so!
As a reminder, the November 5th dance is at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox (at Wilson), Chicago, IL. The dance is in the Shanachie Room and starts at 8:00 pm, some dance instruction is given around 8:45 pm. Admission is $8. Info: 630-833-3515.
Tags: Cajun music, Chicago, dance, Midway Ramblers