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Miami Valley Dance Council
DIGITAL ARCHIVE
MVDC History
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History of the Miami Valley Dance Council (MVDC)
(Dayton, Ohio)
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Who the heck was Michael Solomon and why is there a
pavilion named after him?
(Much of the following information was compiled by Jo Bonnell
in the 1980s with inputs from Michael Solomon, Grace Wolff, Roland Mock, Rose Graziano, Joe Hodson, Floyd Butterbaugh, Irene Miller, Edna Miller, and Russ Shafor. Additional
information has been gathered and compiled by Leslie Hyll. It is expected that this page will expand as
more information is gleaned from the archives.)
The Miami Valley
Dance Council (in Dayton, Ohio) was formed in 1955. But to truly appreciate its history we have
to go back to the 1940s.
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v The Square Dance activity in
Dayton, Ohio mirrored what was happening in the rest of the country. o See 2011-05 51st Ohio Dance Convention - History
Display Photos 1 of 4 and o 2011-05 51st Ohio Dance Convention - History
Display Photos 2 of 4 for more information on early Square Dance history. v In the 1940s, local square dances
were put on by organizations such as the YMCA. There were also local dance halls that held
regular “50-50” dances – half squares, half ballroom. The style of square dancing in the 1940s
was what is known as Eastern Style and visiting couple dances. v In 1946, Michael Solomon, Assistant
Superintendent of the City of Dayton Recreation Department, was introduced to
“folk1
dancing” by neighbors William and Miriam Robinson. The Robinsons had learned some dancing when
they were stationed in Vallejo, CA with the Navy, and were not finding a
place to dance in Dayton. (1Don’t let the term “folk” scare you away – “folk” dancing
in the 1940s and 1950s was heavily made up of American dances, especially
square dances, in addition to European dances.) v In February 1947, the Robinsons,
the Solomons, and three other couples started
dancing under the auspices of the Recreation Department. The Dayton Folk Dance Club was formed, the
first dance club in Dayton to be sponsored by the City of Dayton. o See 1947-12-14
DDN Article on DFDC - cut up format for a wonderful Dayton Daily News
spread titled “Swing Your Partner.” v In 1947, on a vacation to the west,
Michael Solomon was exposed to Lloyd Shaw and the beginning of the
“western-style” evolution of square dancing and brought that back to
Dayton. o See 2011-05 51st Ohio Dance Convention - History
Display Photos 2 of 4 for more information on Lloyd Shaw and the
“western-style” evolution of square dancing. v Now Director of Special Activities
for the Recreation Department, Michael Solomon taught dancing in various
recreation centers throughout the city. v In 1949, Michael Solomon taught
Recreational Leadership Movement at the YWCA.
During the party at the end of the course, there was enough interest
in the new Western Style Square Dancing that he offered to teach them the new
style if they would come back and bring partners. v After 16 lessons, the Dayton Square
Dance Club was formed in February 1950.
They danced in recreation centers and schools, and in the summer they
danced in the Community Club Pavilion (now known as the Michael Solomon
Pavilion). v The membership of the new club was
limited to 100 couples – they didn’t have room for any more than 25 squares
in a building! v Soon there was a waiting list to
join, so a second club was formed, the Dayton Associate Square Dance
Club. The two clubs danced on
alternate Fridays. The Dayton
Associate Square Dance Club eventually became the Dayton Whirlaways. v Michael Solomon’s main interest was
teaching leadership. New clubs needed
new leaders. So Michael Solomon
started teaching and helping local callers and leaders, including Dave McDevitt, Grace Wolff, Bud Fraley, Spence Widenheft, and Lou Hyll. v Michael Solomon kept starting new
city-sponsored classes, in folk dancing, square dancing, round dancing, and
new city-sponsored clubs kept being formed. o 1947 - Dayton Folk Dance Club o 1950 - Dayton Square Dance Club o 1950 - Dayton Associate Square
Dance Club (became Dayton Whirlaways in late 1950s) o 1951 - Dayton Round Dance Club o 1952 - Miami Valley Round Dance
Club o 1952 - Miami Valley Folk Dance Club v Mr. Solomon believed that the
proper leadership for a club was a 5 member council with one of the five to
be the Chairperson. Many clubs are
still organized this way. |
Other written history of the Miami Valley Dance
Council:
More about Michael Solomon: Michael
Solomon (more familiarly known as "Mike") was born in Beirut,
Lebanon on October 20, 1902, while his mother was on a visit from the United
States. He began his service with the City of Dayton on March 14, 1929. He
served in various capacities during his tenure with the City, but gained an
outstanding reputation in folk, round, and square dancing in the city and
nationally. Mr. Solomon organized the Miami Valley Dance Council which was
sponsored by the Bureau of Recreation
of the City of Dayton. He also played an important part in the organization
of many of the clubs which made up the council. Mr. and Mrs. Solomon were
active members of several clubs and spent many hours dancing and teaching
dancing each week. In
1963, Mr. Solomon was awarded a plaque by the Ohio Parks and Recreation
Association for his outstanding service to the park and recreation field.
That Solomon personality, untiring zeal, vision and wise counseling will long
be remembered by those who knew him.
He
retired from the City of Dayton on May 29, 1964. Following his retirement, he was honored by
the City of Dayton and the Miami Valley Dance Council with the dedication of
the Michael Solomon Pavilion. Mr.
Solomon passed away in May of 1985. You can explore all the digital files connected to
Michael Solomon in the MVDC Digital Archive directory:
Here are some specific artifacts you may find of
interest:
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v As more clubs were formed, Mr.
Solomon would invite the officers to his office to discuss mutual
affairs. Finally, with 15 clubs, the
Miami Valley Dance Council was formed in February, 1955. A constitution was written and regular
meetings were scheduled. Michael
Solomon remained the leader of the Miami Valley Dance Council until he
retired from the City on May 29, 1964. o 1955-02-09
MVDC Minutes of Inaugural Meeting.pdf o MVDC Charter member clubs: § Associate Dayton Square Dance Club § Boots and Ruffles Square Dance Club § Bow and Swing Square Dance Club § Clayton Square Dancers § Dayton Folk Dance Club § Dayton Round Dance Club § Dayton Square Dance club § East Dayton Activities, Inc. § Fairborn YMCA Square Dancers § Knights of Columbus Square Dancers § Knollwood Square Dance Club § Merryantics (Square Dancers) § Miami Valley Folk Dancers § Miami Valley Round Dancers § Wright Field Square Dance Club v The first business of the new
council was to organize a City-wide dance festival that included square
dancing, round dancing, and folk dancing. o 1955-10-28
1st MVDC Dance Festival - DDN Article.pdf o 1955-10-29
1st MVDC Dance Festival Announcement.pdf o 1955-10-29 1st
MVDC Dance Festival Flyer.pdf o 1955-10-29
1st MVDC Dance Festival Program.pdf v In 1959, the Miami Valley Dance
Council started its newsletter, the Miami Valley Dance News. o 1959-09-01 MVDN Vol I No 1.pdf – the first edition of the Miami
Valley Dance News o Other issues of
the Miami Valley Dance News v In 1962, the Miami Valley Dance Council
hosted the Ohio State Dance Convention for the first time, “Swing and Sway
Dayton Way”, the 4th Ohio dance convention. o
1962-05-04
4th Buckeye Dance Convention - Dayton - Program.pdf o
1962-05-04
4th Buckeye Dance Convention - Dayton - Registration Form.pdf o
1962-05-04
4th Buckeye Dance Convention - Dayton - Round Dance Syllabus .pdf o
1962-05-06
4th Buckeye Dance Convention - Dayton - DDN Article.pdf v In 1961, the Community Club
Pavilion was winterized v In May 1964, remodeling of the
Community Club Pavilion was completed and became the permanent home for
several MVDC dance clubs. v In Nov 1964, the Community Club
Pavilion was dedicated as the Michael Solomon Pavilion, in honor of the
person who worked so hard for recreational dance in Dayton. o 1964-05-31
Michael Solomon Retirement Articles.pdf o 1964-11-29
Michael Solomon Pavilion Dedication Program.pdf o 1964-11-29
Dayton and MVDC Dedication of MSP Plaque.pdf v When Michael Solomon retired in
1964, Clarence Thomas became the Director of Special Activities and led the
Council. v In 1970, the Miami Valley Dance
Council was reorganized, with dancers taking direct control of the
organization and the City Recreation Department as advisor. v In 1972, the Miami Valley Dance
Council sponsored its first square dance class (instead of being offered by
the City). v In 1974, the Honor Roll Dancers
award program was introduced. o
1974-05-28 Letter from MVDC to
Clubs re Honor Roll Dancers.pdf v In 1979, “To establish a planning
and management organization for this and future Pavilion support actions and
provide the financing necessary to assure their accomplishment, a MICHAEL
SOLOMON SUPPORT COMMITTEE is activated as an “ad hoc” committee under the
Constitution of the Miami Valley Dance Council.” The “this” in “this and future” was
installation of exhaust fans in the attic of the Pavilion. o 1979-07-26
MVDC Letter re MSP Ventilation and MSSC Establishment.pdf v In 1982, the Honor Raider badge for
100 raids was introduced. v In 1982, the Council hosted the 23rd
State Convention. v In 1984, the Council hosted the 25th
State Convention. v In 1985, the club longevity award was
introduced for clubs dancing at least 25 years. v In 1986, the MVDC Friendship Badge
was introduced, which could be earned by visiting Council clubs that you were
not a member of. v In 1986, the Council Hot-Line was
started. v In 1987, the Council started
carrying a liability insurance policy for all member clubs. v In 1988, the Council hosted the 29th
State Convention. v In 1991, the Council hosted the 32nd
State Convention. v In 1995, the Council hosted the 35th
State Convention. v In 2001, the Council hosted the 41nd
State Convention. v In 2006, the Council hosted the 46th
State Convention. v In 2011, the Council hosted the 51st
State Convention. |
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Credits
Copyright © Miami Valley Dance Council 2013
Page last updated 06/15/2013. This page maintained by the MVDC Historian, Leslie
Hyll.