Catalina
-
NOV 18-20, 2011 Swing Dance Festival
IN ALL THE WORLD, NO EVENT LIKE THIS...
Catalina
-
NOV 18-20, 2011
Swing Dance Festival
IN
ALL THE WORLD, NO EVENT LIKE THIS...
* Casino Ballroom Info *
Brief Timeline of the
Casino Ballroom:
1920 – Sugarloaf Casino built on Sugarloaf Point – room for 250 couples
1926 –
Roller skating added…
1928 –
February – Sugarloaf Casino dismantled for new building
1929 –
May 29 –CASINO BALLROOM & AVALON THEATRE grand opening…
1929 to 1966 - public dancing events year round
1966 to 1974 - no regularly scheduled public dances,
but there were Rock & Roll "teen" dance parties
1975 to present - many festivals and events year round
1979 –
May 29 = 50th Anniversary
1994 –
PBDA starts Swing Camp Catalina
2004 –
PBDA ends Swing Camp Catalina
2009 –
May 29 = 80th Anniversary
2010 –
November 12-14 – First Annual Catalina Jazz Dance Festival
a
celebration of the heyday of the Swing Era (1935-1946)
while remembering where it all came from as well as where it went...
Many of the big bands from the Swing Era played at the
Casino Ballroom and we look forward
to recreating those historic dances where hundreds gathered to enjoy...
Click here for a must see virtual tour of the Ballroom / Theatre
The Casino Ballroom, situated on Sugar Loaf Point at the northern end of Avalon Harbor and completed in the Spring of 1929 by architects Walter Webber and Sumner A. Spaulding at a cost of $2 million dollars. This Art Deco building was an engineering masterpiece and stood taller than any building in Los Angeles at the time.
The Ballroom took its name from the Italian "place of entertainment," and does not actually have gambling of any kind. At the time of its construction, America was immersed in the Jazz Age and "swing fever" had taken hold, with large dance halls called "casinos" popping up throughout the country. The Avalon Casino, by far one of the most spectacular ballrooms in the United States (and the largest circular ballroom in the world), drew thousands of dancers who would come by steamship from the mainland… dancing to Big Band music during the journey, then walking from the docks to the Casino as band members played along the promenade all the way to the ballroom!
Twelve stories high and 180 feet in diameter, the Casino holds a large movie theater on the first floor with remarkable acoustic features, gold- and silver-hued ornamentation and an immense hand-painted mural depicting the geography and history of Catalina Island. Above the theatre lies the Ballroom. At 10,000 square feet it boasts an arched 50 foot domed ceiling that holds five Tiffany chandeliers, rose-colored walls made up of full-length panoramic windows; an expansive outdoor balcony, an elevated stage, and spacious seating surround the circular dance floor. Sophisticated mood lighting is also used to create a magical ambiance for different tempos and styles of music.
To
accommodate the 6,000 dancers that would normally attend a Casino dance in its
heyday, the architects decided to incorporate a ramp as a baseball stadium
would, as elevators would take too long to shuttle up and down, and stairs could
easily cause dancers to twist an ankle or wear out their calves. Yes, this
ballroom was built for dancers. The hardwood floor is constructed over layers of
foam, pine and cork, all of which is suspended over five feet of air. It makes
for a dancer's dream, and eliminates all noise that could otherwise disturb the
theatre below.
You will not find
a more beautiful setting for an evening dance or
weekend dance festival than the Casino Ballroom.
Some photos to inspire you:
View of Avalon, CA the town where
the festival will take place (Casino Ballroom located on the right)
View of the Casino Ballroom on the walkway
- imagine being on the balcony while the music plays...
View of the grand entrance of the Casino Ballroom
- you feel like a part of history as you walk up to this amazing facility...
View of the inside of the Casino Ballroom
- once inside, no ballroom will ever compare to this...