Veterans, families swing dance at US Army Blues performance

For the second year in a row, The U.S. Army Blues entertained swing dancers of all levels during a Tribute to Veterans Concert that emphasized swing dance Nov. 15 at Brucker Hall, on the Fort Myer portion of JBM-HH.

Sounds of the Harlem Renaissance which spanned World War I and World War II echoed throughout the venue, while people young and old alike jumped on their feet to the 'Lindy Hop' and 'Jitterbug;' what some attendees call "true American dance."

Guest dance instructors Tom Koerner and Debra Sternberg, taught beginners for 30 minutes prior to the concert.

The instructors are no stranger to military events. They are active participants in the Honor Flight program and D.C.-area memorials.

"To those who served this country via draft or volunteer - it's a real service to those of us who didn't serve, and not a day goes by that we don't appreciate what they've done for the country," Koerner said.

Concert attendees were not only representative of the Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall community, but also avid D.C. metro swing dancers.

Retired Navy Lt. Cmdr. John Rodman and University of Maryland college professor Marit Knollmueller, PhD, are engaged to be married and actually met "2 � years ago" through swing dance in Glen Echo, Md.

"Dancing is actually an avocation, and it's a wonderful avocation, anyone can be part of it," Knollmueller said. "We have engineers, we have people in the military, people from all walks of life who dance and that's a wonderful thing, there's a great diversity on the dance floor."

Dancers weren't regimented and changed partners often during the concert. Both Rodman and Knollmueller called it a "conversation between two strangers."

During the concert, spontaneity ran rampant as dancers - beginners, intermediates and advanced- switched partners throughout all 13 of the U.S. Army Blues' musical numbers.

"We've seen vets get out of wheelchairs - 90-year-olds get out of wheelchairs and dance," said Sternberg. "This music can get pretty much anyone up and moving."

But the concert had a deeper meaning for other dancers. Rebecca Michaels, raised overseas in an Army family and an avid swing dancer, twirled on the dance floor wearing a bright red French beret in response to the terror attack in France Nov. 13.

"My father was stationed in Orléans, France in the 1960s and when I left there I considered myself more French than American," Michaels said. "I often wear a beret - but I wore the beret today in honor of what's happening in France."

A moment of silence was held in honor of the people impacted by the Paris attacks during the concert. Koerner and Sternberg said music has a way of healing wounds of the past and present.

"It's a ministry," Koener said.