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Wednesday, November 3, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C1 Arts & Entertainment OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR O F TH E OAKVILLE CENTRE FO R TH E PERFORMING ARTS O akville B eaver E ntertainm ent Editor: Carol Baldwin 845-3824 (Extension 254 ) Fax:337-5567 Photos by Peter J. Thompson Donna Marie Gray and husband Chuck, above, along with Pauline Wal dron and Desmond Baker, right, boogie on down to the big band music of the Starlight Orchestra last Sunday afternoon in Oakville's Legion Hall. The next Live Big Band Dance will take place this Sunday (Nov. 7th) from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Enjoy swingin' Sundays at the Oakville Legion By Carol Baldwin ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR For a sw ingin' time, call Ruth Hannigan. No, that isn't graffiti copied from a wash room wall. When Hannigan says it's a sw ingin' time, she means swing - the dance craze that's enjoying a country-wide resurgence. And Oakville has jum ped on the bandwagon, thanks to Hannigan, who is a colum nist for the m aga zine Big Band World. Although Hannigan lives in Toronto, it was Oakville's demographics that convinced her to start Live Big Band Dances in our town by the lake. And couples have been dancing - jive, waltz, rumba, fox trot, tango, cha-cha, etc. - to big band music at the Oakville Legion every other Sunday afternoon since the inaugural dance in September, which featured the original Inkspots. Hannigan, who works with musician Lenny Graf, says G raf's keyboard player also works with the Inkspots, a perfect `in' for booking the popular quartet to open O akville's big band dance series. However, the idea for the series itself came dancing to big band music for years. from Hannigan when she began getting more For example, one of her columns focused on and more bookings for Graf, a big band musi a 72-year-old woman who could still boogie cian as well as a children's entertainer, to do big with the best of them. band gigs. "I could see a vision of this woman, leaping and dancing as a teenager...She's a wonderful "More and more requests have come in over the years for big band, dancer. She's always and now big band danced like that," says "/ firmly believe th at boys swing," she explains. the 48-year-old Hanni who go to schoolshould learn "His work in big band is gan, who claims her gen not so much rock 'n ' roll eration listened to seri how to cook and should learn ous, thought-provoking swing; it's big band how to dance - these are swing. So he does a mix music, unsuitable for basic life skills ture of Dixieland swing, dancing. Consequently, Benny Goodman swing, they ever learned to Charleston - that type of dance. So, she has music. H e's coming to it from that point of become a big proponent of dancing. view, rather than rock 'n' roll," she explains. "I "I Firmly believe that boys who go to school have never gone after a big band job for should learn how to cook and should learn how him ...H e just has all these requests come in." to dance - these are basic life skills," she says, quite seriously. From the multitude of requests came the idea to have a regular big band dance, especially "I 've met so many men who are now after Hannigan began writing a column for Big alone...B ut if they only knew how to dance, Band World and meeting with so many people what a wonderful world it would be. There are who love to ballroom dance and who have been lots of women for them to dance with," she con tinues. "I think that dancing is the ultimate ice breaker in life. You get to a point in life where loneliness is an issue, and meeting people becomes an even greater issue. And dancing is one of those things that helps make it happen." So, for those who want to make it happen through dance, there are Live Big Band Dances at the Oakville Legion on alternate Sundays from 2:30 to 5 p.m. These dances, says Hannigan, attract over 100 people, some couples, some singles. And for the latter, Hannigan "works the room" mak ing sure they meet one another, so they will have someone to socialize with. "I have taken it upon myself to introduce people. It's fun," she says with a laugh. "I'm a bit o f a matchmaker." Tickets for the Oakville big band dances are $15 ($10 for Legion members), which includes coffee, tea, and light snack foods. This Sunday (Nov. 7th) Eddie Graf (Lenny's father) and his orchestra will provide the dance music. Tickets are available at the door or by calling Hannigan at (416) 690-8254. % OTHS ushers in m illennium with `Sound of Music' To usher in the millennium, Oakville Trafalgar High School, in concert with its school council, is hosting a musical celebration gala as part of its fall musical produc tion of The Sound o f Music. The fund-raising event, which begins today (Wednes day), will include a non-alcoholic cocktail reception com plete with hors d 'oeuvres. It will also include a silent auc tion, a balloon pop, a raffle, a 50/50 draw, a bake sale, and other sale tables. All proceeds raised will go towards enhancing and replacing worn and much needed equipment in the arts departments o f the school. A program of the festivities will be produced, featuring the performance, cast members, and other information about the school. This program will be distributed to over 1,200 parents with all advertising revenue also to be donat ed to the school. Along with the thanks and the appreciation of the stu dents, staff and parents, upon completion of the gala, dona tions will be acknowledged with a charitable tax donation receipt, issued by the Halton District School Board. The five performances o f The Sound o f M usic produc tion will begin today (Wednesday) at OTHS and will run through to Saturday, Nov. 6th. Evening performances begin at 7:30; the Saturday mati nee starts at 1:30 p.m. Tickets for opening night are $15 and include the open ing reception from 6 to 7 p.m. with refreshments and snacks as well as the silent auction and prizes. All other performances are $10 for adults, $8 for students. Tickets are available through the school at 1460 Devon Rd,, 845-2875. t Photo by Ron Kuzyk The Sound O f Music opens tonight (Wednesday) at Oakville Trafalgar High School. Cast members are (standing, left to right) Mike Denby as Admiral Von Schreiber, Megan Brady as Frau Schmidt, Diana Banks as Elsa Schraeder, Shannon Roszell as Mother Abbess, and Malcolm Maclure as Franz. Sitting are Pat Dessaulles as Captain VonTrapp and Lauren Kouba as Maria.