Couples seen swinging on the dance floor at Reston Town Center. Photos by Camille Kidwell/The Connection
After 25 years, the people of Reston are still dancing about summer. Such a scene was evident at the first Reston Concerts on the Town, hosted this past Saturday. Featuring “Big Joe and the Dynaflows” in a tribute to legendary BB King, the Town Center was brought to life by swing music and the abundant sound of laughter.
As soon as the band struck their first notes, couples immediately took to the floor. Dancers young and old, friends or strangers, found a partner and began to swing dance. Some of the more seasoned dancers were even spotted putting duct tape on the soles of their shoes for optimal sliding across the dance floor.
These hoppin’ audience members were accompanied by the group “Gottaswing,” America’s largest swing dance instruction and dance event promotion company. The scene was spectacular; from those experienced in styles like the jitterbug, to those who just liked to “jitter,” the echoes of feet tapping and people laughing brought smiles to hundreds of faces.
Founder and executive producer of the series, Dena Verrill, had nothing but grins when reflecting on the past 25 years of summer concerts. “We have grown from an audience of 300, to a few thousand! It’s amazing.”
Sponsored by the Reston Town Center Association and Boston Properties, the event has flourished over the years, even gaining national recognition. “The idea is to present a diversified group of musicians, with all different kinds of music: from bluegrass, jazz, even reggae,” she said. “Each act is carefully selected, and many are recording and touring internationally.” Smiling, she noted: “Music is the universal language. We can bring all these people together of such diverse backgrounds to celebrate our differences. There is so much harmony”.
Harmony and loyalty are the greatest themes found at this concert event. Most spectators said they had been attending this event since they first moved to Reston, and for many that spanned 25 years.
A concertgoer Don said that that when he moved to the area in 1987, “Reston Town Center was nothing but fields of grass. When I started coming to these concerts in 1990, the town center ended right down there at the end of the street, just past the movie theatre. Over the past 25 years, this place has continued to grow but one thing has remained the same, the summer concert series. It is so wonderful and we are so lucky that we can come over to the town center, have dinner at any number of fabulous restaurants and then set up our chairs and enjoy this wonderful music each and every week.”
A front row audience member Stuart Gibson said this was the favorite event of his summer. Coming for the past 25 years, he noted that he will most definitely be back next week for the Beatles and laughing added, “And I will be dancing!”