Jen Alexander ’88 co-founded a dance studio, but you might not guess it by the way she talks. She insists she is not a “great” dancer, and instead prefers the term “learning.” It wasn’t until she danced her heart out to a swing band with her husband Mark Masselli at her 2000 college reunion that the two became fascinated with the idea of making dance more accessible to the Middletown community.
“After [the swing dance], we walked downtown in the dark, talking about how Middletown needed a place to go dancing,” Alexander said. “On Main Street, we stopped in front of a storefront that had been vacant for years and thought, ‘this could be it.’”
That year, Vinnie’s Jump & Jive was born. A few days after that walk downtown, Masselli spoke with the owner of the storefront, Vinnie Amato of Amato’s Toy and Hobby, who had been waiting for a tenant who was a good fit for the downtown area. They named the studio after him and held their first swing dance in December 2000.
“We got goosebumps watching people from all over New England do wild moves to Lindy Hop music from the 1930s,” said Alexander, who is also the founder of Kidcity Children’s Museum.
Vinnie’s receives funding from the Community Health Center (CHC), a non-profit healthcare provider Masselli founded in the 1970s. While the studio has non-profit status under the aegis of CHC, its owners hope Vinnie’s will eventually be self-sustaining.
The support the studio receives from CHC reflects the organizations’ charitable goals: CHC seeks to provide healthcare to individuals of every background, and Vinnie’s hopes to bring people of different backgrounds together. According to Vinnie’s manager Mary Farnsworth, the studio brings into contact individuals who otherwise might not interact by offering diverse dance styles with an emphasis on keeping prices low. The studio’s motto: “All kinds of dance. All kinds of people.”
“Dance is an important part of keeping the community healthy, in that it’s a fun way to stay active and build social networks,” Farnsworth said.
The Vinnie’s model worked for Andrea Wilson ’03, who started country line dance classes there after she graduated. She planned to work out West after college, but hated it and after three days she flew back to Middletown, where she has lived since.
“Part of the reason I fell in love with this town is because of places like Vinnie’s,” Wilson said. “It’s such an interesting mixed bag in terms of the people around and the things you can do.”
Vinnie’s was a good choice for Wilson, she said, because of its flexible pricing structure.
“If you want to dance and you’re a twenty-something, it’s too expensive,” Wilson said. “At Vinnie’s, it’s five bucks and you pay when you show up. I can’t afford yoga classes and I can’t afford a gym membership, so this is perfect.”
Vinnie’s grew substantially after it opened five years ago. Once it got off its feet, Ken Selling ’88 took charge and expanded the swing program, running the studio entirely through volunteer labor. Selling helped to recruit Farnsworth, Vinnie’s first full-time manager, who started this year.
“We’ve got more students and numbers than ever before,” said Farnsworth, who noted that some classes now come close to reaching capacity. Classes at Vinnie’s include Nia, yoga, salsa, swing, ballroom, hip hop, capoeira, belly dancing, break dancing, Argentine tango, and country line dancing.
Farnsworth said she encourages visitors to Vinnie’s to try many styles of dance, always hoping to facilitate community interaction. Graduate student Cassie Fallscheer began taking classes last year in Nia, a hybrid of yoga, dance, and martial arts. She then began ballroom classes, and said she would be interested in trying salsa as well.
“When my boyfriend is visiting, we see what is being offered and sometimes take a class or two,” Fallscheer said. “[Vinnie’s offers] fun classes without the obligation of going when your schedule gets cramped.”
Vinnie’s appeals to Wesleyan students as a link to the Middletown community and a site where students can find styles that are not taught on campus.
“It’s a space that serves a larger community,” said Owen O’Connor ’07, who took an introductory b-boy (breakdancing) class at Vinnie’s and a swing class during Middletown Dances, a community dance festival. “It offers classes in styles that don’t fit under the ‘physical education’ or ‘dance’ departments of Wesleyan.”
Luis Henao ’04, a Capoeira teacher at Vinnie’s and former leader of the Wesleyan Capoeira Group, began teaching there to facilitate greater interaction between the Wesleyan and Middletown communities.
“I saw an opportunity for a shared space between Wesleyan and Middletown,” Henao said. “On the Sunday classes we’ve had both Wesleyan students and people from all around the greater Hartford area. I see it as a chance for Wesleyan to break the bubble a little and see how an activity can continue to thrive outside of the campus environment.”
In addition to regular classes, Vinnie’s offers monthly b-boy/b-girl breakdancing and swing events, and hopes to continue expanding its activity beyond the studio walls. Farnsworth frequently contacts elementary schools, libraries, and community groups to bring Vinnie’s teachers and programs to new venues and reach out to individuals who do not walk through the studio door.
Farnsworth started dancing in college as a way to break up college life and “get grounded,” and she hopes Vinnie’s provides the chance for Wesleyan students to do the same.
“No matter how wonderful a residential college is, at times it can feel claustrophobic,” Farnsworth said. “Just a short walk onto Main Street, Vinnie’s can be a breath of fresh air.”
Vinnie’s Jump & Jive is located at 424 Main St. A full schedule of classes and events is available at www.vinniesjumpandjive.com.
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