Gene Dewald

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. By popular demand Gene DeWald is now conducting his own classes at his dance studio in Pasadena 1154 N. Lake Ave. 1 mile north of the 210 free way.