Of the many activities disrupted by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, partner dancing might not have been the biggest loss, but it was among the most poignant. Because social dancing—yes, even in open position—ran the risk for spreading coronavirus, blues and jazz dance enthusiasts were confined to their homes, where they danced in their front rooms and waited for quarantine to end. Even the titles of popular standards, like “A Kiss to Build a Dream On,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and “Cheek to Cheek,” have a touch of melancholy in our pandemic era.
Boston ukulele queen Amy Kucharik has stepped in to fill this unexpected void with a song for our time of social distancing. Taking its cues from “Cheek to Cheek”, her new single “Dancing in My Dreams” is a thoughtful, but ultimately optimistic, song about waiting to dance again after a long pause. The video features some of the best lindy and balboa dancers from Boston and beyond, including some funny and touching surprises.
Kucharik has been a musician all her life, playing in her high school’s concert band and taking guitar lessons. A fateful party nudged her in a different direction. “A friend had brought a ukulele (to the party), and I had learned three chords in about five minutes. He taught me how to play ‘Ghost Riders in the Sky.’ [I thought] ‘this is the instrument for me’ because this so much
