The three ballrooms of Guy’s Party Center have played host to many of life’s milestones over the years, from wedding receptions to graduation parties to anniversaries.
But on two Sundays a month, the Akron party center has played host to Cupid.
The Akron Singles Dance was dreamed up by Bill Carpenter, then a single, 63-year-old semi-retired merchandiser in 1989, who had attended singles dances in Canton.
He paired up with the Canton dance’s promoter to bring the concept to Akron. The first Akron Singles Dance was held on Labor Day 1989.
“We had a line out the door and halfway down the parking lot, so we thought it was going to be a relatively good move, so we started it officially in the second week of January 1990,” said Carpenter, who now runs the dance by himself. “That’s a lot of dancing and a lot of being at the same place. A lot of people have tried to have them here and there ... but nobody has seemed to last as long as this one has, which is kind of fortunate.”
The South Ballroom features a dance floor in the center, and once the music starts at about 7:30 p.m., it is busy with dancers until the last song is played at 11 p.m.
Couples step onto the dance floor and groove to DJ Marke Mark’s mix of 1960s, ’70s and ’80s R&B and dance pop songs. A few new songs are mixed in like Uptown Funk and the Weeknd’s smash hit I Can’t Feel My Face. Some old dance standards like the Electric Slide are thrown in for good measure.
Throughout the evening, the DJ keeps a rhythm of a few fast songs; followed by a ballad or two as couples come and go, friends and acquaintances dance with each other, and some folks dance alone; and the occasional lady’s choice dance.
The drinks at the bar are reasonably priced. A few hours in, light snacks such as chips, veggies and cheese-and-meat plates are served while some folks bring their own snacks. Doughnuts and cookies seem to be favorite choices.
Over the years, Carpenter has built a following of regulars, some of whom have been coming to the dance for much of its two-plus decades.
This loyalty and familiarity has pushed the median age somewhere north of 45, and many of the dancers have formed long-lasting friendships and, of course, romantic couplings.
Carpenter says there have been plenty of dancers who have come to the dance, found a spouse, later lost said spouse and returned to the dance only to find another partner.
Ellet’s Terry Hilliard, better known as “Hollywood,” first began going to the Akron Singles Dance in 1996.
He met the woman who would later become his wife of 11 years at the dance after “prying her away from a trucker to win her heart.” They were together until she died three years ago.
“I haven’t been here in a long time,” said Hilliard, who is a drummer in the Black Sabbath tribute band Planet Caravan.
At the recent dance, he wore a shiny and stylish gray suit and matching fedora worthy of his nickname.
“I haven’t come down here in a long time, but when I come back, this place is always here,” Hilliard said. “People are here to dance; you can meet somebody but it’s tough.
“But the people here are nice and I’ve made a lot friends.”
Hilliard noted a few friends compare his moves on the dance floor to Fred Astaire’s.
“I’m looking for my Ginger Rogers,” he added later. “It’s all about taking a chance, dude.”
Though many have found love at the dances, some couples still come to dance and spend time with friends.
Carpenter said the Akron Singles Dance is a safe, fun place to dance with friends and perhaps find love.
“I’d say it’s a dance for singles, not necessarily a meat-market kind of place,” said Mary Minnillo of Independence, who works as a chef for a nonprofit group.
Minnillo isn’t really looking for a love connection as much as a good place to meet friends who share a love of dancing.
Pam Nicolard, a physical therapist from Canal Fulton, has been coming to the dance for about three years, usually with her friend Mary.
Nicolard admits she’s been hit on several times over the years, but like her friend, she is there to dance.
Despite the world of online matchmaking, Carpenter said, this old-fashioned way of meeting is still popular, attracting around 250 or so dancers twice a month, with some higher numbers around the major holidays.
The next Akron Singles Dance will take place Sunday evening, which is also Valentine’s Day, so there likely will be a bigger crowd.
Whether Cupid’s arrow hits anyone, Carpenter said, the secret to the dance’s success is simple — a nice place to dance.
“That’s why we’ve been so successful,” Carpenter said. “Everybody feels comfortable in the room and it’s a nice dance floor.”
Malcolm X Abram can be reached at mabram@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3758. Read his blog, Sound Check Online, at www.ohio.com/blogs/sound-check, like him on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1lNgxml and/or follow him on Twitter @malcolmabramABJ.