Trying to Firm Up Details For a New Dance Place

Hi Dancers,
  There almost were 2 or 3 dance places possible for this coming Thursday, but the info could not be confirmed, so maybe next week (Oct. 8th) there will be some place to try.  The facility managers have been unwilling to agree to the desired "every Thursday 6pm - 10pm" at a reasonable price.    Details that were "firm" evaporated, and new offers came in during the past seven days.  Meanwhile, other places catering to Fil-Am dancers day & night 7 days a week are listed on:  Upcoming Events.      

           (Note: If the following photos do not appear when you look at this email, click the words at the top of this email that say something like "Show images which are still blocked to protect your privacy" - I already know who you are):


TODAY'S EVALUATIONS OF DANCE PLACES:  


MOST LIKELY (at the moment):


1.  Mira Mesa Senior Center, 8460 Mira Mesa Blvd., San Diego. DJ Nickie Bascos, Jr., is the Fil-Am "coordinator".  It has excellent parking.  No a/c.  Tables & chairs are readily at hand on one side of the dance floor.  Big kitchen that we can use for whatever, including bringing in food & soft drinks.  Some of the other facility management includes Fil-Am ladies.  The main drawbacks of the Mira Mesa Sr. Center now are (a) schedule and price (it was 1st said to be $3 per person) is not firm, and (b) it is about 10 miles north (15 minute's drive) from next on the list: the Four Points by Sheraton. 

Above, Esta gave a night club 2-step ballroom dance lesson in the Mira Mesa Senior Center on Friday Sept 18th.

Above, the great kitchen in the Mira Mesa Senior Center that we'd have full access to.



2.  Skies Lounge and the Citrus Restaurant inside the Four Points by Sheraton, 8110 Aero Drive, by Montgomery Airfield, San Diego.  Neither of these nice floors seem to be in use on Thursday nights!  Edith & I have visited Four Points on the past two Thursday nights.  Great parking.  A/c.  Great tables & chairs & dance floor.  Probably the nicest-looking building of any under consideration here.  Nick Enriquez is trying to get use of one or the other floor for $300 every Thursday.   

Above, many of us danced at Four Points on Saturday nights for a few months in 2011, in the Citrus Lounge across the lobby from what is now the Skies Lounge.  The Skies Lounge looks similar to the Citrus Restaurant after the restaurant's tables are moved out of the way.  



3.  Point Point Joint, 916 E. 8th Street, National City.  Wow!  Point Point Joint climbed from "Doubtful" to "Most Likely" after a new manager there said there is a chance we could resume dancing there.  Later this week we are to have a follow-up conversation. 

Above is a photo from our last dance in Point Point Joint on Thursday night September 10th.



4.  Lions Hall & Restaurant, 3993 54th Street, San Diego.  This is the smaller of the 2 ballrooms that were part of Lucky Star - the bigger ballroom in the building is the Crystal Palace, also at 3993 54th Street, San Diego.  Edith & I visited and talked with Lions' manager Eddie on Thursday.  Lions Hall was not being used that day.  We got a so-so price and a good Thursday night schedule that I am trying to firm up.   It's a nice place - lots of parking and a/c with a big stage.  When we danced there in 2010-2012, people's main complaint then was "it's too far" - which is strange - The building is exactly halfway between Mira Mesa and Chula Vista.  

Above, Lions Hall & Restaurant is on the left, and Crystal Palace's entrance is on the right.  

Above, someone got a nice photo inside the main ballroom similar to Lions Hall.



VERY DOUBTFUL:


Cora Anderson Dance Studio, 8990 Miramar Road, San Diego.  Nice, new and big dance studio, with a/c. Parking OK. Thursdays are used by Moonlight Serenade Orchestra.  If the orchestra was replaced by our DJs, cost might be in $hundreds. 

Above is one of the Cora Anderson Dance Studio (CADS) publicity photos.



660 V Avenue, National City.  This is the office and clubhouse for Villa Paraiso Condominiums & Apartments.  The inside looks OK, but there is limited street parking, no a/c, and it's surrounded by residences which might complain about noise.  I heard that Nick Enriquez negotiated $200 for Thursday night dancing from 6 - 9pm.  

Above is the outside of Villa Paraiso's office and clubhouse.





ALMOST CERTAINLY "NO":

Synergy Dance Zone, 7480 Miramar Road, San Diego.  Big dance studio on 2nd floor, with a/c.  Parking OK.  Synergy has a busy schedule all week long.  After a discussion with manager Peter, I consider it to be "no way" to get a reasonable deal at Synergy.   


Kimball Senior Center, 1221 D Avenue, National City.  There has been Fil-Am dancing there - mostly on Sundays - for years.  Every 3rd Sunday from noon till 3pm there's a big Fil-Am dance for $7 with a band, often the Front Page Band. Parking is good and it has a/c, but the "coordinator" there assured me that we could not dance there on Thursday nights. 


Dance For 2, 7528 Clairement Mesa Blvd., San Diego.  Big dance studio, with a/c.  Thursday nights are now used by an Israeli Folk Dance group, according to a contact at Dance For 2.  Wednesday nights are also taken. 


Issues with Tita's II (formerly Jestoni Bistro and Manila-Tokyo Restaurant), and 32nd Street - ADM Robinson Recreation Center, were covered in my Sept 20th email.   

- - - - - - - - -

  Some of us continue looking for a suitable place for mid-week night-time ballroom & line dancing.  Places from Chula Vista all the way to Mira Mesa have been talked about.  More details next week.

Please call with your ideas and preferences,
Bert & Edith
619-224-3095 (house phone)

P.S.  You can click on Links to websites that are mentioned in this email (the links are colored like this one of "Upcoming Events").   And, see websites like: this email group's Home Page.

Searching For a New Dance Place

Hi Dancers,
  The search goes on.  Several of the dancers from the now-stopped Thursday nights at Point Point Joint are getting info about possible other places to have mid-week ballroom and line dancing at night.  Till then, other places catering to Fil-Am dancers day & night 7 days a week are listed on:  Upcoming Events.      

           (Note: If the following photos do not appear when you look at this email, click the words at the top of this email that say something like "Show images which are still blocked to protect your privacy" - I already know who you are):


SOME EVALUATIONS OF DANCE PLACES:  

TOP OPTIONS (at the moment):


Mira Mesa Senior Center, 8460 Mira Mesa Blvd., San Diego. DJ Nickie BAscos, Jr., is the Fil-Am coordinator! And, he has the keys!  So he showed us around and gave us all the info we need - so of the possible places, this is the only one that all the info is available.  Excellent parking.  No a/c.  Tables & chairs are readily at hand on one side of the dance floor.  Big kitchen that we can use for whatever, including bringing in food & soft drinks.  Some of the other facility management includes Fil-Am ladies.  The main drawback of the Mira Mesa Sr. Center is that it is about 10 miles north (15 minute's drive) from the runner-up: the Four Points Sheraton. 

Above, Esta gave a night club 2-step ballroom dance lesson in the Mira Mesa Senior Center on Friday Sept 18th.

Above, the great kitchen in the Mira Mesa Senior Center that we'd have full access to.




Skies Lounge inside the Four Points by Sheraton, 8110 Aero Drive, by Montgomery Airfield, San Diego.  I could not believe my eyes!  This fabulous lounge with a dance floor was closed Thursday night!  Apparently it's open just on weekends.  Great parking.  A/c.  Great tables & chairs & dance floor.  Probably the nicest-looking building of any under consideration here.  Nick thinks he can get use of it for $300 every Thursday.  More details needed.  

Above, many of us danced at Four Points on Saturday nights for a few months back in 2011, in what was the Citrus Lounge across the lobby from what is now the Skies Lounge.  The Skies Lounge looks very similar.  





LOOKS VERY NICE, BUT NO SOLID INFO:

Kimball Senior Center, 1221 D Avenue, National City.  There has been Fil-Am dancing there - mostly on Sundays - for years.  Every 3rd Sunday from noon till 3pm there's a big Fil-Am dance for $7 with a band, often the Front Page Band. Parking is good and it has a/c.  More info on availability is needed.

Above, photo of outside of Kimball Senior Center activity building.




DOUBTFUL:

Crystal Palace, 3993 54th Street, San Diego.  It's a big beautiful place - at least in the main ballroom.  When the place was named LUCKY STAR, with DJ Jun Ancho, and prior to him Eric DeLeon, Wednesday night dancing was a lot of fun back in 2010-2012.  I loved the smaller ballroom which is now called Lions Hall & Restaurant.  They used to let us DJ and dance for "free", just hoping we'd buy food & drink, like Point Point Joint was.  People's main complaint back then was "it's too far" - which is strange - The building is exactly halfway between Mira Mesa and Chula Vista.  Lots of parking, a/c, restaurant & bar.  My DOUBT - It looks way too busy now - I need to contact.

Above, someone got a nice photo inside the main ballroom.

Above, we had fun dancing in what was then called Lucky Star - now it's Crystal Palace.

Above, Crystal Palace was too busy to enter when we stopped by on Saturday,  so I snapped a photo from outside.




Dance For 2, 7528 Clairement Mesa Blvd., San Diego.  Big dance studio, with a/c.  Thursday nights are now used by an Israeli Folk Dance group, according to a contact at Dance For 2. 

Above, one of Dance For 2's publicity photos.

Synergy Dance Zone, 7480 Miramar Road, San Diego.  Big dance studio on 2nd floor, with a/c.  Parking OK.  No other info obtained yet. 

Above, there was dancing inside Synergy on July 19, 2013. 




Cora Anderson Dance Studio, 8990 Miramar Road, San Diego.  Nice, new and big dance studio, with a/c. Parking OK. Thursdays are used by Moonlight Serenade Orchestra.  If the orchestra was replaced by our DJs, cost might be in $hundreds. 

Above is one of the Cora Anderson Dance Studio (CADS) publicity photos.




660 V Avenue, National City.  This is the office and clubhouse for Villa Paraiso Condominiums & Apartments.  The inside looks OK, but there is limited street parking and no a/c.  I heard that Nick negotiated $200 for Thursday night dancing from 6 - 9pm. 

Above is the outside of Villa Paraiso's office and clubhouse.



Point Point Joint, 916 E. 8th Street, National City.  Yes, there still is a faint chance we could resume dancing there.  Mike Craig, who sat by me on Thursday nights, said he's going to go there and try to get a change of heart by new managers.

Above is a photo from our last dance in Point Point Joint.




ALMOST CERTAINLY "NO":

Tita's II (formerly Jestoni Bistro and Manila-Tokyo Restaurant), The place is usually packed even on Thursday nights.  Our dancing would be a major disruption of their usual activities. This past Thursday we saw the band Snap Shot playing, including bass player Nick Mamerto, who gets these emails. 

Above is a photo of weekend dancing in Tita's II from a couple years ago.




32nd Street - ADM Robinson Recreation Center.  The 32nd Street Dancers have a fabulous place for Friday and Sunday dancing.  Lots of parking, air conditioned, restaurant (short order grill), beer & wine bar and bowling. Low cost.  You can't ask for more.  EXCEPT, on Thursday nights the ballroom is often used for Fleet purposes like training, according to an MWR contact. 

Above is an old photo from inside the 32nd Street Dance Group's ballroom in side the ADM Robinson Rec Ctr. 

- - - - - - - - - - -

  Some of us continue looking for a suitable place for mid-week night-time ballroom & line dancing.  Places from Chula Vista all the way to Mira Mesa have been talked about.  More details next week.

Please call with your ideas and preferences,
Bert & Edith
619-224-3095 (house phone)

P.S.  You can click on Links to websites that are mentioned in this email (the links are colored like this one of "Upcoming Events").   And, see websites like: this email group's Home Page.

Thank You and Goodbye - to Point Point Joint

Hi Dancers - It Was Fun While It Lasted,

  "That's all folks" after five years of Thursday nights at Point Point Joint.  Last month we gave our "Thank You's" to Lydia for letting us dance there on Thursday nights.  Several possible other places to have mid-week ballroom and line dancing at night in San Diego were discussed last Thursday night at Point Point Joint, so evaluations are underway.  Till then, other places catering to Fil-Am dancers day & night 7 days a week are listed on:  Upcoming Events.      

 Last Thursday September 10, 2015, was HOT!  The hottest night of the year with the temperature inside Point Point Joint over 90 degrees.  Nevertheless, DJ Bing Villafuerte played every cool song he had, and 35 dancers had a lot of fun at what now seems to have been our last night in Point Point Joint.  The six photos below tell part of the story.           (Note: If the following photos do not appear when you look at this email, click the words at the top of this email that say something like "Show images which are still blocked to protect your privacy" - I already know who you are):


THURSDAY NIGHT AT POINT POINT JOINT (THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2015):

Ladies enjoyed lots of line dances, again non-stop from 6 to 7pm.   Above it was Edith, Nora and Hillary in front dancing "Let Your Love Flow". 

Next it was Rei, Dolores, Sally and Manolo in front dancing the line dance  "La Ultima Noche" ("last night" - how appropriate!). 

We guys preferred the ballroom dances.  We got to dance the swing or hustle "Ex's and Oh's" before it becomes a line dance.  Above, Lou and Romy enjoyed dancing to it.  

Hillary and Nedy were looking for partners to dance to it.  Let me set the camera down.  Hillary owns Hillary's Beauty salon in the same plaza as Point Point. 

Beth and  Nick also enjoyed dancing to "Ex's and Oh's" (hmmm - Point Point is now our "ex").  

I got to dance rumba and cha cha with Neriza, one of the first-timers who came in for the final Thursday night dance, and who said she had just returned to San Diego after spending a couple years in the Philippines.  She assured me that the Philippines is NOT hotter than Point Point Joint.


Here is a plan for late September & on - Some of us continue looking for a suitable place for mid-week night-time ballroom & line dancing.  Places from Chula Vista all the way to Mira Mesa have been talked about.  More details next week.

See you on the dance floor,
Bert & Edith
619-224-3095 (house phone)

P.S.  You can click on Links to to many YouTube MUSIC VIDEOS and other websites that are mentioned in this email (the links are colored like this one of "Ex's and Oh's").   And, see websites like: this email group's Home Page where you can see group reports & photos back to 2009.

Heat Warning - Shorts OK on Thursday Sept 10th

Hi Dancers,
   The forecast is for a hot Thursday, with temperatures 10 degrees hotter than last week (and a couple degrees hotter than Aug 27th's Caribbean Night).  So, wear something cool, like shorts.  DJ Bing will play cool dance music from 6pm-10pm at Point Point Joint.

Bert & Edith
619-224-3095

Dance (Again!!) this Thursday at Point Point Joint (Sept 10, 2015)

OK Dancers - We Still Dance,

  Dance again this Thursday night September 10, 2015 at Point Point Joint, and find out if it's the last time (more details below).  This is your invitation to join the fun & frolic from 6pm until 10pm.  The phenomenal DJ Bing Villafuerte will be playing swing, cha cha, rumba, and much more - and of course - LINE DANCING - which has been non-stop from 6-7pm lately.  The place: Point Point Joint, 916 E. 8th Street, National City.     

 Last Thursday September 3, 2015, was the first of a 2-week extension at Point Point Joint.  Dancers were happy to have a cooler night.  50 dancers enjoyed the music of DJ Nickie Bascos, Jr.  The ten photos below tell part of the story.           (Note: If the following photos do not appear when you look at this email, click the words at the top of this email that say something like "Show images which are still blocked to protect your privacy" - I already know who you are):

THURSDAY NIGHT AT POINT POINT JOINT (THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 3, 2015):

Ladies enjoyed lots of line dances, again non-stop from 6 to 7pm.  "Caballero" remains a favorite.  Above it was Lou, Edith and Elsie in front. 

We guys preferred the ballroom dances.  Above, Dolores and Lito enjoyed dancing the great tango "La Cumparsita".

Eden and Nick also looked very good dancing to the "La Cumparsita" tango.

DJ Nickie came out from his DJ booth to dance with Lou to the fox trot "New York, New York".

Above, Dr. Iyabo Daramola of the Caring Hearts Medical Clinic described and invited everyone to a free health screening event on Saturday October 10, 2015, at the Turning Hearts Center, 345 5th Avenue, Chula Vista, from 9am-2pm.  Dr. Daramola and Ruben had donated $100 of prizes at the Aug 27th Caribbean Night party at Point Point.  

"Uptown Funk" also remains a line dance favorite.  Above it was Lou again along with Eva and Edith dancing that line dance.

Carlos got to dance the rumba "Beguine Per Sognare" with Sally while the line dancers danced the line dance behind them.

The boogie "Jailhouse Rock" packed the floor.  Above it was Mel dancing with Nedy.

And, Ruben danced the boogie with Elsie.

Also, Gigi got onto the dance floor with Ping to dance to "Jailhouse Rock".


  It'll be another fun dance party again this Thursday night September 10th, and maybe the last one at Point Point Joint, although Lydia (now retired) introduced her sister & brother-in-law last week.  Anyway, there will be line dances and ballroom dances like swing including Manila Swing (also known as 4-count hustle or Philippine swing or Filipino swing), cha cha, night club 2-step, tango and much much more.  For this week's Dance Party on Thursday (September 10, 2015), Point Point Joint Restaurant, 916 E. 8th Street, National City, as usual will offer their special price of $10 for 2-entree dinner plus drink for Thursday Night dancers. 

  Here's the dance plan for what may be the last Thursday night dance at Point Point Joint:   

Thursday  September 10, 2015  6-10pm, DJ Bing Villafuerte. 

Late September & on - Some of us continue looking for a suitable place for mid-week night-time ballroom & line dancing.  Places from Chula Vista all the way to Mira Mar have been talked about.  More details next week.


See you on the dance floor,
Bert & Edith
619-224-3095 (house phone)

P.S. Other Notes: (1) It'll be one more fun ballroom and line dance party this is Thursday night September 10, 2015, in Point Point Joint Restaurant, a mere four miles from downtown San Diego.  While the dancing is continuous, there are dancers who are happy to give free one-on-one dance lessons during the dances, in case you don't know the steps of a particular dance.  
(2) You can click on Links to to many YouTube MUSIC VIDEOS and other websites that are mentioned in this email (the links are colored like this one of the "Uptown Funk" line dance performed by the 32nd Street Dance Group dancers led by Edna).   And, see websites like: this group's Home Page, and Upcoming Dances.