Wednesday, 4/25:

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night Dress-to-Impress Contest

Wear your Sunglasses at Night (and matching outfits) for a chance to win hundreds worth of design eyewear from the Alain Mikli Shop in San Francisco!

Three $100 gift certificates will be awarded, which may be used toward purchases of:

• eyewear hand-crafted in France by designer Alain Mikli
• special edition designs by Philip Stark
• limited edition designs by Jean Paul Gaultier

Prizes are generously donated by dance student Ines Wilson, of www.mikli.com.

Special Discount for ALL Dance Party Guests:

10% off at the Alain Mikli Shop for purchases made on April 27, 28 & 29. Mention the Cat’s Corner Sunglasses at Night Event to receive the discount!

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Cat’s Corner is sad to inform our guests of the recent loss of Regina Maria Pontillo, a wonderful woman and jazz vocalist who frequented our stage on Wednesday nights.  Regina passed away the weekend of February 26th, 2012 from complications to a asthma attack. She was a vibrant woman, with many good years ahead of her, and her passing was sudden and leaves us deeply saddened.

Above all, Regina loved to sing, a passion that she pursued with vigor despite a lifelong battle with asthma.  Her desire to sing, dance and perform led her to leave her native Chicago to seek out jazz greats all over the world, including New York, London, New Orleans and finally San Francisco. Cat’s Corner first met Regina as a guest vocalist along with Johnny Bones & His Palace of Jazz, and soon after Regina offered to bring her own swinging combo – the Fantastic Swingtime Band led by Si Perkoff – out to play for us dancers. Trained as a dancer herself, Regina had a keen sense of what tempos, rhythms and music styles dancers could groove to, and her swinging song selections made her one of our favorites for dancing Charleston, Balboa and uptempo swing.

This Wednesday, March 14, Cat’s Corner will host a music and dance tribute to Regina Maria Pontillo. Si Perkoff and the Fantastic Swingtime Band will perform starting at 9:30pm and musicians and singers who knew Regina are invited to come jam with the band and celebrate her life and musical contributions. Donations will be collected to support Regina’s daughter and family. To make this a classy night, we encourage everyone to dress their best.

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Wednesday, February 15:

Lucky or Unlucky in Love?

A 2-minute Storytelling Contest

Cat’s Corner will help everyone kiss (or kick) Valentine’s Day goodbye for another year with music by Steve Lucky & the Rhumba Bums, plus our first ever 2-Minute Storytelling Contest!

Up to 6 finalists will have up to 2-minutes to dramatically relate their own stories of Romantic Bliss or Woe, reflecting our theme “Lucky or Unlucky in Love?”

One audience selected winner will receive 4 free admissions to Cat’s Corner for 2 people and 2 free drinks…to help keep up (or turn around) their lucky streak!

Two ways to enter:

1. Pre-submit your written story (you must be able to tell it in 2-minutes or less) to miriam@catscornersf.com. Up to 3 finalists will be selected from this pool.
2. Enter on the spot on Wednesday, February 15. You must be present before the band break at 10:30pm and submit your name. Up to 3 finalist will be randomly chosen from these entries – in keeping with our lucky/unlucky theme

Story Rules/Guidelines:

1. You must tell your story in 2-minutes or less.
2. Stories must be at least loosely related to reality.
3. Stories must be appropriate for a public audience.
4. Please use good judgment about using real persons’ name and/or anonymize your characters.

Other than that, unleash your creativity and imagination. Stories may be serious, dramatic, humorous, wistful…or however you interpret the theme!

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January’s end-of-the-month Dress-to-Impress theme is “A Blast From the Past!” Wear your favorite retro dance attire (anything pre-2000 qualifies) for a chance to win free drinks and a month of free Cat’s Corner Dance Party admission!

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We still have a few open spots (1 leader and 3 follower spots) in our 4-week Beginning Lindy Hop class (7-8pm) that starts tonight, January 4th. Arrive by 6:45pm to check-in if you would like to join our class!

Cost: $20 to drop-in just for tonight. $65 if you want the month of classes.

Both class costs also include our 9pm Drop-in Swing Lesson and Dance Party admission for the weeks you attend!

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Due to the holidays, we’ve extended the $10 early registration discount on Lindy Hop classes through Tuesday, 1/3. Sign up by midnight to get the best deal on our monthly classes:

• 7-8pm Beginning Lindy Hop ($55 early / $65 full price / 20 spots)
  Topics: 8-count swing outs, lindy circle, pecking promenade, tuck turns from closed 
• 8-9pm Intermediate Lindy Hop ($60 early / $75 full price / 18 spots)
  Topics: kick ball change footwork, outside turns, tandem charleston, curl & points, barrel rolls & quick stop 

Miriam and I are excited to see you in class soon!

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Cat’s Corner is holding it’s official winter holiday party this Wednesday, December 21. Here are the details!

Required:

• Dress-to-Impress in Red, White & Green
  (two best-dressed will win free Cat’s Corner admission for a month!)
• Enjoy yourself with good friends and great music by Macy Blackman & the Mighty Fines!

Optional, but Highly Recommended:

• 2nd Annual Holiday Cookie Bake-off : bake and decorate at least one dozen (12) cookies to share with the judges and party guests.
  Macy Blackman & the Mighty Fines will select a winner to receive One Full Year of Cat’s Corner Dance Party Admission (a $520 value!)
• Holiday Gift Exchange: bring a gift, get a gift!  Santa Clause will be stopping by to help distribute gifts, which should be wrapped and valued $5 or less.

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On Wednesday, December 7, please help us spread the holiday joy to children in need by bringing an unwrapped toy to donate to the SF Firefighter’s Toy Program. Those who donate will receive a raffle ticket and be automatically entered in a drawing for an iTunes gift card, contributed by Rebecca Shannon.

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Can’t make our Wednesday dance classes at Cat’s Corner? No problem!

Cat’s Corner instructors Nathan & Miriam are starting up new Monday night classes in the Mission District:

Beginning Lindy Hop with Nathan & Miriam
Mondays, November 7 – 28 (4-weeks)
7-8pm + 30-minute practice session after class

Cost: $50 early/$60 full price. $15 weekly drop-in.

Location:
SF Women’s Building
3543 18th Street near Valencia

• Classes will take place in the huge auditorium…so there’s plenty of room to stretch out and swing out!
• We’ll teach different beginning material on Mondays and Wednesdays, so you can double up and learn twice as fast!
• We currently have 7 followers and 5 leaders registered…and expect to need more leaders in class!

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Join us this Saturday night for spooktacular Halloween fun and dancing (Swing & Lindy Hop) in San Francisco!

Saturday, October 29, 7-10:30pm

• Free Lesson with Nathan and Emily at 7:30pm. No partner or experience needed.
• Music DJs NateDiggity & Teal Hammer spin the tunes
• Costume Contest
• Raffle drawing with awesome prizes
• Dance performances

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