DanceAway coming to Bayview; two young South Enders organize an all-ages dance

Since the late 1920s, Bayview Hall has been the hottest dance floor on the South End. Generations of islanders have memories of dancing the night away on the old maple floor, but in recent years dances have become fewer and far between. That’s about to change.

By Michaela Marx Wheatley • September 19, 2008 8:31 pm
Violet Weishaar and Ahren Bader-Jarvis created DanceAway and want to provide a fun event on the South End for teens and tweens and all who want to dance and have fun.
Violet Weishaar and Ahren Bader-Jarvis created DanceAway and want to provide a fun event on the South End for teens and tweens and all who want to dance and have fun.

Since the late 1920s, Bayview Hall has been the hottest dance floor on the South End. Generations of islanders have memories of dancing the night away on the old maple floor, but in recent years dances have become fewer and far between.

That’s about to change.

The idea of a community dance is not an antiquated notion for two young South Enders, but an alternative for their generation to watching TV, hanging out in somebody’s garage or getting in trouble, said the organizers of DanceAway, a new community dance to hit Bayview Hall in October.

“I’m a really social person. I want to go out and dance, but the only thing you can do under 21 is in Oak Harbor, and it’s just one day a week, or you can sit around and do illegal stuff,” said Violet Weishaar, a recent Bayview School graduate.

“That’s not my idea of fun.”

Weishaar and fellow former Bayview student Ahren Bader-Jarvis hatched the idea for the dance as they were contemplating what they could do for fun. They wanted something where she could follow her passion for dance, and he could enjoy music, and maybe DJ a little.

There wasn’t anything like that available to them without major traveling involved, so they decided to just go for it and organize an event. At age 19 and 20, they are old enough to rent Bayview Hall, and they started planning.

Their vision is a community dance that is open to all ages — individuals, families who want to have a good time. They dubbed it DanceAway.

The first DanceAway event will be held from 7 to 11 p.m. Oct. 1 at Bayview Hall.

Bader-Jarvis will be the DJ for the dance. But in the future he hopes that other DJs, bands and artists will want to be part of DanceAway.

“Anybody who is really rocking the party,” he said.

From 7 to 9 p.m., Bader-Jarvis will focus on swing, salsa, pop/rock, world, funk and more. From 9 to 11 p.m., Bader-Jarvis will play current top 40, techno, hip hop and world influences.

The affair is supposed to be fun and relaxed, and in no way stuffy.

“What we want is a positive atmosphere to dance, laugh, play and move in a safe and supportive environment,” Bader-Jarvis said. “To create this, we require that this event be drug- and alcohol-free.”

“We really want to involve the generation above us,” Weishaar added. “If there is nothing to do for us, there is nothing to do for them.”

Any community support is welcome.

“I hope this is something that grows,” Bader-Jarvis said.

“We hope to see what we nurture, grow,” Weishaar added.

Tickets cost $5. Children younger than 12 must have adult supervision.

To find out more about DanceAway, visit their Web site at Click here For questions, contact the organizers at danceaway@whidbey.com.