Gene
started dancing at the age of 15 in Chicago
at Lane Technical High School. Friday
Night Dances for the students (8,500 all
boys.) Girls from all over the city attended
the Lane Tech dances. In school Gene was
asked by many fellow students to teach
them how to dance and this is what started
his career. In 1943 Gene won the All City
Chicago High School Dance Championship.
In 1945 Gene took up dancing seriously
and went to the world's most beautiful
ballroom called the "Aragon".
In November 1950 Gene & Milli DeWald
and in front of 22,500 people won the
"Professional Division" of the
Chicago Sun-Times Harvest Moon Ball. An
agent for the United States Army Special
Services Division was in the audience
and asked if we would consider entertaining
our soldiers who were stationed in far
away countries such as The Azores, Morocco,
Tunisia, Libya, Arabia, Eritria and Bermuda.
We traveled 21,000 miles in 18 days and
returned to Westover field Massachusetts
where Gene listened to a group play and
was so impressed by the talent that he
predicted they would become a famous group.
The prediction was correct. It was "Bill
Haley & the Comets" who made
"Rock around the clock"
In February, 1952 Gene & Milli moved
from Chicago to Pasadena, California where
they opened a dance studio. While attending
a class for adults a PTA lady was so impressed
by Gene's ability to teach anyone to dance,
she contacted the school board in Pasadena
and in 2 weeks time, 5 Junior High's were
having I hour lessons after school. In
a matter of a few weeks, schools from
all over San Gabriel Valley were waiting
for Gene & Milli to teach their children.
In January of 1953 the Pasadena Department
of Recreation asked Gene & Milli to
teach ballroom dancing at the Pasadena
Civic Convention Hall. The classes kept
increasing in numbers that as many as
550 couples were enrolled in one class.
When a continuation class was offered
to these students, 487 enrolled in the
new series. At the time Gene & Milli
were at the Pasadena Civic, an official
from the Glendale Department of Recreation
came and observed the success of these
classes and the very next day asked if
we would conduct classes at the Glendale
Civic Auditorium? Twice a year, in the
Spring and in the Fall we conducted large
classes there. In 1956 in the city of
San Gabriel, Gene & Milli opened a
ballroom and for 26 years conducted classes
there until August 1982.
In 1962 Gene & Milli were asked to
conduct dances for high school teenagers
on Saturday Night at the Pasadena Civic.
Many famous stars of the musical world
were hired by Gene. Sonny and Cher, The
Righteous Brothers, Chicago, Steppin Wolf,
Three Dog Night, Jose Feliciano, Dick
& Dee Dee and many other famous groups
and artists of that era. Up to 2000 teenagers
attended any given Saturday Night. This
went on until October of 1968.
Gene & Milli did exhibition ballroom
dancing all over Southern California for
a great variety of charities such as The
City of Hope, The Verdugo Club of Glendale,
The Red Cross, and many others. In 1982
The DeWald's gave up their Ballroom Dance
Studio and retired.
For 16 years the DeWald did not dance.
Many students that Gene met Socially kept
pleading for him to go back to teaching
because they wanted to look elegant and
graceful. In the Fall of 1998 Gene returned
to teaching at the Glendale Civic and
136 were enrolled in the first series
of ballroom classes. In 1999 Gene's interest
and passion for the Argentine Tango music
and dance led him to study the dance so
that all the flaws encountered by others
were eliminated.
Gene has danced in 2 movies and appeared
in a commercial for Prodigy and a TV commercial
for American Express Business Card.
In the Fall of 2003 Gene is being considered
for 2 films.
Gene teaches that simplicity is the art
of perfection and thus you gain elegance.
The very basic elements of maintaining
constant balance, keeping an even level,
shoulders of partners aligned, bodies
centered, long leg extension without bending
the knees forward but reaching out from
the hips and landing smoothly on the ball
of the foot first and then let the rest
of the body transfer onto the entire foot.
Gene has just finished conducting large
classes in the cities of Monrovia and
Pasadena. Gene DeWald is hosting Social
Ballroom Dancing and Argentine Tango every
Friday Night at the Burbank Realtors Hall,
2006 W. Magnolia Blvd. in Burbank, CA
It is called...
