You'll have to forgive Paul Hennessey if he seems flustered: He's about to have 1,300 jitterbuggers from 26 states shag-step their way into town.

        Mr. Hennessey is president and one of the founders of the 8-year-old Cincinnati Bop Club, a group of 450 Tristaters dedicated to preserving the art of jitterbug, shag and bop dancing.

Paul Hennessey holds some of the records used by his Bop Club. (Joseph Fuqua II photo) | ZOOM |

        Early in November, he and fellow club members will crank up the sound, dim the lights, spin the mirrored ball and take over Fort Mitchell's Drawbridge as hosts of the American Bop Association's national convention.

        They'll dance all day, every day, for three days. Then Mr. Hennessey, 53, will drive home to Loveland, replay it all with fellow dancer and fiancee Susan Ward and, he guesses, sleep well.

        The next day, it's business as usual as a clerk in Judge Herman J. Weber's court.

        But first, the party he waits all year for: the convention. It's been sold out since August. “That thrills me, even though there are a million details that go with hosting 1,300 dancers,” he says. This is the sixth time Cincinnati has hosted the event. “I guess we're doing something right.”

        A centerpiece of the convention will be Mr. Hennessey's induction into the Association's Hall of Fame, a group of 17 men and women (he'll be No. 18) who have major contributions to this be-bopping corner of the dance world.

        “You're not inducted because you're a good dancer,” he says. “You're inducted because of what you've done. In my case, I guess it has to do with starting the club.”

        When Mr. Hennessey and friends started in '92, there were 75 people showing up Tuesday nights at Jenny's in Sharonville. Now, 450 jam the dance floor at Jim & Jack's, a West Side sports bar, restaurant and, every Tusday, dance hall.

        The Cincinnati group is such a success that Mr. Hennessey has been invited to Cleveland, Columbus and Pittsburgh to help new clubs get on their feet.

        The club started simply, he says. “The four founders, we've been friends for years, decided to go to Myrtle Beach for a shag contest. We walked in and thought we had died and gone to heaven. All that music, all those dancers.

        “Back in Cincinnati, bars were catering to a much younger crowd and different type of dance. So we decided to start a club.

        “I did the bylaws and started buying records, then we went to club owners and asked if we could have their slowest night. They weren't too receptive, because they thought we'd dance all night but not spend any money.

        “We proved them wrong.”

        And continue to prove them wrong every Tuesday when the club shows up at Jim & Jack's with a stack of records and take over the lighting, soundboard, dance floor and DJ booth. Mr. Hennessey usually does the honors.

        Oh, and teaches, too. “We give free lessons for members and charge non-members $3, usually before we dance.”

        Right. So what, exactly, are they teaching?

        • “Shag ... It's a smoother version of the jitterbug — some people call it the jitterbug on Quaaludes — with little upper-body movement. Most of the movement is from the waist down, with intricate foot patterns that don't take a lot of floor space.

        • “Bop ... In a way, it's just another word for jitterbug, but it involves some of the footwork from swing.

        • “Jitterbug ... Everyone knows what that is. Ours is a little more of a classic version but still distinctively Cincinnati — a lot of hand movements, dancing hard, using your hands and arms like a pump.”

        Anything else you want to tell us? Like a little of this and that?

        What Cincinnati's dance scene needs ...

        More bar owners like the guys at Jim & Jack's, willing to welcome dancers. All these years, we'd go to owners and they'd say, “We're here to sell cocktails, and dancers don't drink enough.” Excuse me?

        Here's what dancing does for me ...

        It has enabled me to meet and become friends with a lot of people all over the country that I never would have met. I now have more friends out of town than in. And it helps us help others. In eight years, we've given about $20,000 to charity.

        The three best ever dance songs ...

        Oh lord, there are so many. I guess I'd have to go with “Gonna Move Across the River” by Bill Pickney and the Original Drifters; “60 Minute Man” by the Clovers, and “That's Enough” by Clyde McPhatter.

        I'll never forget ...

        How I proposed to Susan two years ago in front of 1,200 at the convention.

        I wish I could forget ...

        Politics behind the scenes. I know it's like that everywhere, but there's so much that people don't know. It's usually about ego and money. That's why our bylaws state that no matter how much money the club makes, the directors don't make a dime.

        Me? Hall of Fame? I think ...

        There are several halls in the dance community, but this one is voted by peers. The only voters are people already in the hall, 17 of them, so you know it's a knowledgeable group. It feels good, really good.
       
       The Cincinnati Bop Club meets 7-11 p.m. every Tuesday at Jim & Jack's, 3456 River Road; 251-7977. Open to the public.

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