At Stissing Center, Dancers Jump and Jive to Swing Band Eight to the Bar

On Saturday night, Aug, 3, the hot and humid center of Pine Plains welcomed a cool reprieve as the Stissing Center opened its doors to 100 eager dancers. The draw was the center’s free community dance party featuring Eight to the Bar, a band with a dedicated following. The crowd was eager to hop, kick and slide to the music.

Originally an eight-piece band playing Western Swing, Eight to the Bar took its name from the 1940 hit popularized by the Andrews Sisters, “Beat Me, Daddy, Eight to the Bar.” The phrase refers to the eight beats to a musical bar, characteristic of boogie-woogie. Cynthia Lyon, who formed the Connecticut-based group in 1975, plays keyboard, sings and writes songs. She noted that the band has always included the titular song in their shows, whether it’s playing a bar or a ballroom. “To get people dancing, that’s the idea,” Lyon said. 

On the open floor, serious dancing ensued. An Ancramdale couple, first-time visitors to the Stissing Center, had often danced to Eight to the Bar in Manhattan. Many attendees knew each other from Got2Lindy Dance Studio classes or gatherings in Kingston. “All the usual faces I see in Kingston are here,” said one attendee, who came from Valhalla in Westchester County. “We will travel far if there’s a good dance to be had.” The familiarity among the dancers made partnering easy. 

Susan Simon, from Red Hook, said she and several others had performed with the band at Bard College’s Spiegeltent last week as members of Chester’s Cool Cats and Kittens. Simon even hopped on stage at one point to dance next to Lyon’s keyboard.

Though Eight to the Bar started 49 years ago with Western Swing, the band has since replaced the pedal steel guitar with a saxophone. Sets varies by venue: At bars, the band often plays classic R&B hits like “Respect” and “Mustang Sally.” On Saturday night, it mixed “Beat Me Daddy” and originals from its latest CD, “The Light Fantastic,” with Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” and Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll,” all given the group’s unique musical twist.

Not everyone came to dance; some simply enjoyed the music. Pine Plains residents Wendy and Ward Duffield, who often visit the Stissing Center from their Farview Avenue home, enjoyed the evening. “We like organ concerts and some other jazz bands,” said Wendy, adding, “and silent movies too.”

In the lobby, the concession stand offered food and drinks, including sliders stuffed with pulled pork from Tower Pizza, and a selection of local craft brews.

Liz Raum, the director of programming at the Stissing Center, was pleased with the evening’s high spirits. When she thinks of the “community” of their venue, she envisions spreading it far and wide. An attendee from Tivoli, who had never heard of Pine Plains before, exemplified this outreach. Raum hopes visitors will “spread their business around [the town].”

Marie Stewart, the Center’s director of operations, emphasized the importance of the free community dance event series. “It’s an investment in the local community,” she said.

“This is one of the best venues they play at all year,” said Jim Zaccaria, a swing dance teacher from Woodbury, Conn. He attended with his wife, Liz, and a group of students and friends. “This is a beautiful venue. We appreciate it.”