(Long Island, NY) Gents, flappers and Chanteuse 1920s Gatsby headband wearers attended the 6th Annual Winter Ball on Saturday, December 13th at the beautiful Irondale Center. Guests enjoyed a glamorous evening filled with the finest dance, drink and dazzling entertainment.
Over 300 guests attended including an eclectic mix of New York notables including artist Andres Serrano and wife Irina Movmyga, comedian Victor Varnado, lovable nightlife promoter Lee Chappell, as well as Kris Kringle himself!
Michael Arenella and His Dreamland Orchestra kept the crowd swinging while The Dreamland Follies along with Gregory Moore filled the floor with Ziegfield-esque grandeur. The Minsky Sisters ruffled their feathers with true holiday pizazz and Roddy Caravella and his wife Gretchen Fenston danced the night away.
I was happy to sit down with Gretchen and find out how Roddy and her met and created their dancing routine.
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
TV Host Cognac Wellelane Interviews Roddy and Gretchen Caravella and the Minsky Sisters at Michael Arenella’s Dreamland Orchestra Winter Ball at the Irondale Center in Brooklyn New York
Tell my my audience how long you have been dancing?
Gretchen: I have been dancing around twelve years, not very long but with my husband probably eight or nine years.
How did you guys get into this whole jazz age, Gatsby…, it’s fabulous?
Gretchen: We both have been dressing vintage since we were, probably before high school but it is the music that got is into it. It’s the music that we love
I love it too.
Gretchen: Yea, we just feel it inside. It’s almost like a passed life thing.
Do you tour all over the country, all over the city? Tell my audience about that.
Gretchen: He has gone more places than I have. We work at a lot of different events. All kinds of things, weddings, parties, corporate events.
So you guys really have made a living becoming professional ballroom dancers. What do they call it? Is it ballroom dancing?
Gretchen: Social Jazz Dancer
Social Jazz Dance. How fabulous is that. Is this your first time dancing at this event?
Gretchen: We never danced at this venue but this event we have been dancing for years.
It’s wonderful isn’t it.
Gretchen: Where is your next gig? What is after this? I am sure its New Years Eve.
I love your outfit. Tell my audience what you are wearing. This is just beautiful. It’s just gorgeous! All vintage?
Gretchen: It’s a vintage Donna Karan dress. I made this jacket and top. I am a milliner and made my headpiece.
It’s just beautiful.
If we want to find out more information about you and your husband. What ‘s your website? Is there a place where we can go to find out about you dancing professionally?
Gretchen: For me it’s GretchenFenston.com and for Roddy it’s CharlestonCharlie.com
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
Milliner and Condé Nast Archive Registrar Gretchen Fenston was born and raised in San Francisco. After receiving her undergraduate degree in textiles from the University of California at Davis, she moved to New York to study Fashion Design at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Although Gretchen began her career as a lingerie designer, she had always been intrigued by the allure of hats worn by 30s and 40s movie stars. Gretchen has become a be-hatted fixture at both the Annual Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor’s Island and the New York’s Fifth Avenue Easter Parade, which she attends yearly with a group of models sporting her latest headwear. with her dapper husband, Professional Social Jazz Dancer and Instructor Roddy Caravella.
Roddy and I talked after his dance performance with his wife Gretchen.
I am here with the second half of Gretchen who does all those dance moves and I myself feel like a jazz baby. I am here with Roddy, introduce yourself to the camera.
Roddy: Hello, I am Roddy Caravella and you are right Gretchen Fenston is my wife and we met dancing!
How romantic! How long ago was that?
Roddy: We met about nine years ago. We have been married… It will be five years this February.
You instruct people how to dance.
Roddy: I am a professional jazz dancer. I have been for twenty-five years and I teach and entertain people. I teach historical social jazz dance. Anything from the turn of the century through the 1950’s.
Where did this love of dance come from?
Roddy: For me it’s always been about the music and the jazz. I have been a jazz buff since I guess since my college days, during the 1970’s, I have always loved jazz. The music and the dance go together. Without one you don’t have the other.
Absolutely. I am sure you must have some favorites. In the motion picture industry it was Fred Astaire. He wasn’t really a jazz dancer though.
Roddy: He was a little bit of both actually.
Was he really?
Roddy: He crossed over. I am a Gene Kelly guy myself.
I love Gene Kelly!
Roddy: Gene had a different style. he was very, very athletic. He used a lot of modern dance technique which I like. Less of a ballroom dancer, Fred had the ballroom elegance, but they both had incredible talent when it came to tap dancing. They both were very agile dancers.
Later on in life I think they both teamed up together.
Roddy: Yes they definitely worked together.
Is there any specific movie that is your favorite with dancing it it?
Roddy: I love it all! You know for me depending on the music I will dance differently to each piece of music. If it’s a hot tempo, it could be a Peabody, it could be a Lindy Hop. If it’s sultry or bluesy it could be a much smoother style of sing. So the music and the era dictates the type of dancing you do. You just don’t dance the same to everything.
Do you have a favorite era?
Roddy: I really love what was happening in the late 1920’s through the mid 1930’s. It was a really incredible time. The late 1920’s the music was changing to the early parts of the swing era. The swing era really goes up until World War II. The dancing was evolving and developing. The Charleston era was the 1920’s and the dancing was developing. The Lindy Hop came out of that era. It was a fabulous time of innovation and many different dancers experimenting and creating and borrowing from other dancers to create a new dance.
Tell my audience how did you meet Michael?
Roddy: Michael and I met, it could be as long as twelve years. I went to one of his events where he was playing at a place called La Belle Epoch.
Oh yes, I remember that place.
Roddy: Beautiful turn of the century decor. We became fast friends because of the music and the dance. We also share a great passion for antique automobiles. We travel around the country and to a lot of events together. This coming summer it is the 10th year for the Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governer’s Island and I am his dance director at that event.
Tell my audience where we can go for more information about you and how we can learn how to dance. What is your website?
Roddy: http://charlestoncharlie.com
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
Brooklyn born Roddy Caravella is Charleston Charlie. He has been teaching and performing social jazz dances for the past 20 years. Trained under world-renowned dance greats, such as Frankie Manning and Sandra Cameron, Roddy is a choreographer who specializes in many early jazz dances. Known not just for the historical authenticity of his dancing, Roddy has a reputation for meticulous attention to accurate period attire. Mr. Caravella and his ensemble, The Canarsie Wobblers, regularly perform dances of the 1920’s with Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra. In fact, the group was born at the inception of the Jazz Age Lawn Party on Governor’s Island. Roddy is also a member of the Lindy Hopper All-Stars.
I also chatted with the Minsky Sisters who did their tap dance and fan rendition.
Introduce yourselves ladies.
Gin: I am Gin Minsky
Kristen: And I am Kristen Minsky.
That was some show you both did. What a spectacular show. How many numbers did you do?
Gin: I have three.
Kristen: I did two.
How many years have been doing this?
Gin: We have been performing at the Winter Ball from the very beginning, so six years.
Why do you both love it so much?
Krisent: You know honestly the jazz music is very uplifting. It’s positive, it’s happy.
I love doing the interview in front of a stage door. It’s so retro. Is there a special routine you like to do the most?
Gin: I think our most requested routine is our tapping fan dance.
Tell my audience where we can go to get more information about the Minsky Sisters.
Gin: You can find us at http://minskysisters.com
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
The Sixth Annual Winter Ball, Saturday, December 13th at the Irondale Center; All photos by Jane Kratochvil and Walter Wlodarczyk
The Minsky Sisters have been moving their way into the hearts of audiences since they were barely able to walk. Having been raised backstage on the Vaudeville circuit by Eloise and William, widely known as Ellie and Billy Minsky, stage mom and pop of New York’s best burlesque house, the pair learned to dance as a way to give their parents a break between acts.
For more about info about Michael Arenella and his Dreamland Orchestra please visit http://www.dreamlandorchestra.com
