A Concise History of Daniel and the Gang
By Morganne Nutt-Albert, “The Salty Storyteller”
Born from the small family joys shared at local barn dances, Daniel and the Gang grew to share this love with hundreds, if not thousands, of families across the Inland Northwest. It all started with Daniel and the original gang – his family. They went to barn and square dances together until Daniel and his siblings became “angel square dancers.” He struggled to find places during his teen years so he took matters into his own hands, purchasing a speaker and playing music from his iPod so he and his friends could dance in parking lots.
Fast forward a few years, the owner of the bagel shop Daniel managed at the time called the employees in for an urgent meeting. The New York Bagel Café & Deli needed a financial solution and Daniel had just the idea; an after-hours dance could keep the local shop afloat while also providing a place for young adults to dance together. The owner initially turned it down but later agreed when Daniel explained his idea in greater depth. He called the dances, New York Swing, Vintage Style. Kari Gilge, one of the mainstay moms in the group, helped him garner a greater Facebook following to increase attendance. It grew to become a great success, maxing out the space of the little shop until dancers spilled into the parking lot.
Despite the success of the dances, New York Bagel Café & Deli closed its doors forever in 2013. Daniel was going to college, working, and starting a family with his beloved, Hope Connelly. He was ready to accept this ending but others who grew to love the group were not. They secured a new venue, St. John the Baptist, and enticed Daniel to keep the swing dancing nights going. He renamed the group Daniel and the Gang, Tuesday Night Swing.
The Gang danced at this church from 2013 to 2020, changing nights multiple times and adding countless themed dances to their repertoire. They continued dancing once a week and dressed up for a costume swing once a month. A handful of the dancers who came during this period are now older, engaged, and reaching out to Daniel to let him know they met their spouse at one of these dances. Eli Lowman and Charlotte Williams, and Grayson Albert and Morganne Nutt are two such couples. As it turns out, the relationships and friendships formed here were more enduring than the Gang’s alliance with the venue. With the turn of 2020 and the health concerns that arose, St. John the Baptist closed its doors to everyone, including the Gang.
After nearly a year of no dancing, Daniel put a call for help on Facebook. He was convinced isolation is far more damaging to young adults than the risk of sickness. Many agreed. The owner of Archwood Hall, now called Lumen Hall, offered his building for the Gang to use. They danced here weekly for about a month until the City of Coeur d’Alene threatened to revoke the owner’s business license if he allowed the Gang to meet. Daniel cited “Swing Kids” in the Gang’s social media accounts as showing a similar situation.
The Gang was on the hunt again. Daniel reached out to Guy Holcrest, the owner of Jewel Lake Barn. Guy remembered the Connelly family from the barn dances held there years before and readily agreed to Daniel’s request. So with a shop vacuum in hand, Daniel cleaned up the dormant building, clearing away a solid layer of dust and flies. It was worth it though. The Gang remembers this as a magical time, driving up into the woods once a month, away from the hustle and bustle of city life to a glowing barn overlooking a glittering lake. There was no cell phone service and no excuse to sit on the sidelines. This lasted until one February snowstorm threatened to push Daniel off the road not once, not twice, but three times on his way up to the barn. He immediately pulled over and canceled the dance, warning the Gang of the hazardous conditions. To his knowledge, no one went up there that day.
The road conditions and a host of other issues eventually ended their special time at the Jewel Lake Barn, but this time Daniel was ready for it. He was communicating with other venues all along and already made arrangements with Skate Plaza Roller Rink. They held the dance just before the rink shut down temporarily for renovations. While it was closed, Real Life Ministries housed the following event but insurance concerns raised by the church prevented the Gang from coming back. They moved on to Lake City Center, a building far too small to sustain ongoing dances.
By now, Daniel knew the trend and preemptively made plans with the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. He took the Gang to one of the smaller buildings for a couple of dances before renting out the Jacklin Building for the Christmas Masquerade. The Gang needed the biggest building at the fairgrounds to keep up with their massive festivity. Even though it was far pricier than any of the other venues they had danced at, the turnout was so significant that it proved to be an excellent step up.
The next advancement came the very next month when Daniel secured Skate Plaza as the venue for all upcoming dances. It was a win-win relationship. The Gang acquired the use of a slick dance floor while the rink made extra income from concessions and the arcade. Daniel himself gives his own kids money to play games there.
When 849 dancers showed up one night, Daniel decided it was time to start a second monthly dance. He wanted to create something smaller that would offer the Gang a similar atmosphere to their days at St. John the Baptist. Soon, Off the Grid was born. The Country Barn Bed and Breakfast continues to accommodate these dances, offering a genuine nod back to the original days of Daniel and the Gang. Daniel purposely keeps these dances smaller not only because of the venue’s size but also because he wants to teach new group dances to this group (something unrealistic to do with the larger group at the rink).
With the size of Off the Grid growing anyway, he currently considers the possibility of a third dance in the future. Some parents wonder if it could be for them but Daniel says although it is not impossible, it is unlikely. In his experience, the turnout for adults always dwindles drastically at the last minute because of unexpected obligations that pop up. On the other hand, young adults have the freedom and desire to get together more frequently.
One of the hallmark features of Daniel and the Gang is its ongoing dedication to the next generation. It always existed to serve young adults and provide a place for them to have respectable fun. They grow into adults together, making new friends and becoming braver with every dance. Daniel insists on keeping the dances a safe place for this reason, screening everyone before allowing them to join the Facebook group and turning down multiple opportunities for free publicity in local newspapers. Word of mouth has always been the mode of operation for growing the Gang and continues to be the case today.
From a humble beginning rich in family memories to a bold journey fraught with challenges, Daniel and the Gang endures, triumphs, and grows no matter the circumstances.
Last updated February 12, 2025
About the Author
Morganne Nutt-Albert, “The Salty Storyteller”
Along with penning timeless legacies like this, “The Salty Storyteller” helps people like you transform uncomfortable situations into moments that feel like stepping onto a sandy beach. Through one-on-one “convos,” workshops, and free blog articles at the newly-published thesaltystoryteller.com, clients unwind their situations and find their voice. With graduate certificates in conflict management and leadership from Boise State University and a Bachelor of Communication from Lewis-Clark State University, she did the heavy lifting for you. When connecting feels tough or you’d like professional help with writing, message [email protected] to start the conversation.
Fast forward a few years, the owner of the bagel shop Daniel managed at the time called the employees in for an urgent meeting. The New York Bagel Café & Deli needed a financial solution and Daniel had just the idea; an after-hours dance could keep the local shop afloat while also providing a place for young adults to dance together. The owner initially turned it down but later agreed when Daniel explained his idea in greater depth. He called the dances, New York Swing, Vintage Style. Kari Gilge, one of the mainstay moms in the group, helped him garner a greater Facebook following to increase attendance. It grew to become a great success, maxing out the space of the little shop until dancers spilled into the parking lot.
Despite the success of the dances, New York Bagel Café & Deli closed its doors forever in 2013. Daniel was going to college, working, and starting a family with his beloved, Hope Connelly. He was ready to accept this ending but others who grew to love the group were not. They secured a new venue, St. John the Baptist, and enticed Daniel to keep the swing dancing nights going. He renamed the group Daniel and the Gang, Tuesday Night Swing.
The Gang danced at this church from 2013 to 2020, changing nights multiple times and adding countless themed dances to their repertoire. They continued dancing once a week and dressed up for a costume swing once a month. A handful of the dancers who came during this period are now older, engaged, and reaching out to Daniel to let him know they met their spouse at one of these dances. Eli Lowman and Charlotte Williams, and Grayson Albert and Morganne Nutt are two such couples. As it turns out, the relationships and friendships formed here were more enduring than the Gang’s alliance with the venue. With the turn of 2020 and the health concerns that arose, St. John the Baptist closed its doors to everyone, including the Gang.
After nearly a year of no dancing, Daniel put a call for help on Facebook. He was convinced isolation is far more damaging to young adults than the risk of sickness. Many agreed. The owner of Archwood Hall, now called Lumen Hall, offered his building for the Gang to use. They danced here weekly for about a month until the City of Coeur d’Alene threatened to revoke the owner’s business license if he allowed the Gang to meet. Daniel cited “Swing Kids” in the Gang’s social media accounts as showing a similar situation.
The Gang was on the hunt again. Daniel reached out to Guy Holcrest, the owner of Jewel Lake Barn. Guy remembered the Connelly family from the barn dances held there years before and readily agreed to Daniel’s request. So with a shop vacuum in hand, Daniel cleaned up the dormant building, clearing away a solid layer of dust and flies. It was worth it though. The Gang remembers this as a magical time, driving up into the woods once a month, away from the hustle and bustle of city life to a glowing barn overlooking a glittering lake. There was no cell phone service and no excuse to sit on the sidelines. This lasted until one February snowstorm threatened to push Daniel off the road not once, not twice, but three times on his way up to the barn. He immediately pulled over and canceled the dance, warning the Gang of the hazardous conditions. To his knowledge, no one went up there that day.
The road conditions and a host of other issues eventually ended their special time at the Jewel Lake Barn, but this time Daniel was ready for it. He was communicating with other venues all along and already made arrangements with Skate Plaza Roller Rink. They held the dance just before the rink shut down temporarily for renovations. While it was closed, Real Life Ministries housed the following event but insurance concerns raised by the church prevented the Gang from coming back. They moved on to Lake City Center, a building far too small to sustain ongoing dances.
By now, Daniel knew the trend and preemptively made plans with the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. He took the Gang to one of the smaller buildings for a couple of dances before renting out the Jacklin Building for the Christmas Masquerade. The Gang needed the biggest building at the fairgrounds to keep up with their massive festivity. Even though it was far pricier than any of the other venues they had danced at, the turnout was so significant that it proved to be an excellent step up.
The next advancement came the very next month when Daniel secured Skate Plaza as the venue for all upcoming dances. It was a win-win relationship. The Gang acquired the use of a slick dance floor while the rink made extra income from concessions and the arcade. Daniel himself gives his own kids money to play games there.
When 849 dancers showed up one night, Daniel decided it was time to start a second monthly dance. He wanted to create something smaller that would offer the Gang a similar atmosphere to their days at St. John the Baptist. Soon, Off the Grid was born. The Country Barn Bed and Breakfast continues to accommodate these dances, offering a genuine nod back to the original days of Daniel and the Gang. Daniel purposely keeps these dances smaller not only because of the venue’s size but also because he wants to teach new group dances to this group (something unrealistic to do with the larger group at the rink).
With the size of Off the Grid growing anyway, he currently considers the possibility of a third dance in the future. Some parents wonder if it could be for them but Daniel says although it is not impossible, it is unlikely. In his experience, the turnout for adults always dwindles drastically at the last minute because of unexpected obligations that pop up. On the other hand, young adults have the freedom and desire to get together more frequently.
One of the hallmark features of Daniel and the Gang is its ongoing dedication to the next generation. It always existed to serve young adults and provide a place for them to have respectable fun. They grow into adults together, making new friends and becoming braver with every dance. Daniel insists on keeping the dances a safe place for this reason, screening everyone before allowing them to join the Facebook group and turning down multiple opportunities for free publicity in local newspapers. Word of mouth has always been the mode of operation for growing the Gang and continues to be the case today.
From a humble beginning rich in family memories to a bold journey fraught with challenges, Daniel and the Gang endures, triumphs, and grows no matter the circumstances.
Last updated February 12, 2025
About the Author
Morganne Nutt-Albert, “The Salty Storyteller”
Along with penning timeless legacies like this, “The Salty Storyteller” helps people like you transform uncomfortable situations into moments that feel like stepping onto a sandy beach. Through one-on-one “convos,” workshops, and free blog articles at the newly-published thesaltystoryteller.com, clients unwind their situations and find their voice. With graduate certificates in conflict management and leadership from Boise State University and a Bachelor of Communication from Lewis-Clark State University, she did the heavy lifting for you. When connecting feels tough or you’d like professional help with writing, message [email protected] to start the conversation.
The Detailed version...
The story of Daniel and the Gang is twofold. It is as much about Daniel, its originator, as it is about the Gang. It began as a beautifully insignificant seed formed from warm family memories that eventually blossomed out of mere necessity. From there, it grew through the sidewalk cracks of adversity and traversed frozen North Idaho forests to visit hidden lakes named after gemstones, continually eclipsing its former achievements in leap after leap after leap of faith. Now, with easily one thousand other people sharing in its legacy, this is the story of Daniel and the Gang.
Prologue
Pre-2012
Though Mrs. Connelly charioted around in a wheelchair and Mr. Connelly never fully learned to dance, the Connelly family treasured their regular outings to the local barn and square dances. No one knew it at the time, but the dances the Connelly family attended years ago would eventually brighten the lives of countless other families too.
They started taking Daniel with them to barn dances near Green Bluff, Washington when he was ten years old. The Connelly family would spill out of their family car to the sounds of a crackling bonfire and horses crunching on hay while giggling children petted them. Merriment resounded from the loft of the barn where the dance was taking place. This is where he learned the Virginia Reel to the banjo-picking tune of “Cotton-Eyed Joe.” It was the only song used at the time and it played on repeat for forty-five minutes until the entire group, formed into one line, completed their run two-by-two down the center of the clapping couples.
The square dances had a similar feel. Daniel began attending those with his family when he was about twelve. He recalled, “Me and my siblings were the only young people,” save for the occasional grandkid one of the dancers would bring. Since these were mainstream dances, everyone was expected to know how to join squares smoothly. So, “My parents got us into square dancing lessons,” he said, until they became “angel square dancers… which means you know like all two hundred moves.” At the time, they could take their pick of square dances since multiple clubs hosted them. One such group, the Hoodoo Valley Hoedowners, held some of their dances in the Jewel Lake Barn which would later become a special place for the Gang.
Eventually, Daniel’s older sisters also introduced him to the large country swing dances at the Spokane County fairs, where he learned moves like the Pretzel and the Window.
However, in his teen years, Daniel was no longer part of any dancing groups and he missed it. So at sixteen years old, he took matters into his own hands and purchased a speaker so he and his friends could dance in driveways to the music on his iPod.
Wanting more of a social factor, they ventured to small dances held in a Post Falls strip mall and others in Coeur d’Alene, only to discover a crowd of older folks. “We came there as young teenagers ready to dance fast and they’re just playing real slow music… still, the older folks were really excited to see us.” They would play a fast swing song for the teens and “everybody would be amazed,” but as soon as the lively notes faded into the background, the slow music started back up. The young group often left early, feeling “It wasn’t the energy we were wanting.” At that point, they “never found a good place to dance.”
Bagel Shop
2012-13
“Fast forward a few years, I’m working at a bagel shop.” Daniel was managing the New York Bagel Café & Deli when the owner gathered the employees together one night to share distressing news. As a startup in a less-than-ideal location, the business was failing. The owner asked for ideas – quick. Daniel tentatively suggested hosting a dance in the shop after it closed for the evening, thinking it would be a good way to add another income stream and make extra sales on concessions. The owner quickly tossed the idea and concluded the hopeless meeting.
Despite his embarrassment, Daniel sat down at his laptop that night and outlined the plan in an email to the owner in a second attempt. Daniel himself would run the dance, sell concessions, clean up, and lock up at the end of the night, leaving the money they made on the owner’s desk. The little bagel shop had nothing to lose. The owner agreed to give it a try and the Gang was born. Daniel called it “New York Swing.”
Armed with his laptop and speaker, he opened the doors for the first time. The night began with a short lesson that led to open dancing and the Virgina Reel, the only group dance Daniel knew at the time. “I taught what I knew and it was a very similar style to what it is today.” His swing dancing experience at the time consisted of a few dance classes at Christian Youth Theater and the routines his friends taught him when they enlisted him in their swing dance performance at Lake City High School.
The first dancers, about twenty-five people in total, danced to classic songs like the ones played for the Gang today, “Rocking Robin,” “Barbara Anne,” “Johhny B. Good,” Glenn Miller songs like “In the Mood,” and “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Benny Goodman. Admission was only $5.
The dances continued to average twenty-five people every Thursday night until the number took a dramatic drop one night. Only two people came, his brother, Paul, and his friend, Matt. A timid couple peeked inside the door but spun on their heels when they saw the nearly empty shop. Adjusting to the size and interest of his attendees, Daniel pulled up YouTube and they started learning breakdance moves like the Coffee Grinder and the Worm. At the end of the night, he posted “Another great dance!” on Facebook. “It kept people realizing that – hey, this is still happening…”
“I specifically remember that really low dip… I had an opportunity there to say this is not working out, I’m stopping this,” but he asserted, “I was committed to having it happen anyway.” Slowly the number of people rose and plateaued to around fifty each night, maxing out the little bagel shop until dancers spilled out the open front doors and onto the surrounding sidewalks. “We danced the Virgina Reel right in the parking lot.” Cars drove around the dancing couples, slowing down and even parking to watch.
It was 2012 at the time and word of mouth was the prominent way Daniel was making the dances known. He was just learning Facebook and fiddling around with posting dances until Kari Gilge stepped on the scene. Her kids were enrolled in a Christian Youth Theater (CYT) show Daniel was directing. Talk of the dances circulated enough that she took her kids to check it out. She remembers walking in that night, “I recognized the value in what it was already, even when it was small.” With Daniel’s permission, she created the Facebook page everyone sees today to legitimize the presence of the dances so others would take it more seriously. She called it Daniel and the Gang, New York Swing, explaining, “I wanted to make people feel like they belonged… [like] they were part of the Gang.” Daniel loved the name. Kari maintained the page for a while then later changed its administration over to Daniel. She understood Daniel and the Gang as having two parts: Daniel hosts the dances while the Gang makes it what it is.
Her son Kendric Gilge, one of the original members of the Gang, led a couple of dances for the Gang when Daniel was unable to make it. He was also captain of the unofficial photobombing squad later on. “I remember photobombing got out of hand at one point and we had to move to covert operations… I would wait until the last moment to pop out.” He added, “Whenever the camera came out you made a pose because you knew it was going up on Facebook.” His mom, Kari, agreed. “People really did enjoy being featured.” For the Gilges, “It was a bright spot” during a difficult time in their lives.
A year and a half later, the bagel shop was still failing despite the dance’s success. When the owner finally sold it in 2013, Daniel thought it was the end of the Gang. Besides, he was busy with college and they had no other venue.
Elaina and AJ Schaffer, a brother and sister duo who could not stand to see the dances end, had other plans. They talked to the pastor of their church and made Daniel an offer. If he was willing to host the dances as youth group events, he could use their church hall to dance in. The seven kids in the youth group set up the building for the dance every week and then helped Daniel clean up after it ended at 10:00 p.m. The church also allowed Daniel to use their sound system.
St. John the Baptist
2013-2020
This was the beginning of what original members of the Gang fondly refer to as “St. John the Baptist,” the church on Horsehaven Avenue. It kept a similar feel to the good times they had at the bagel shop but at this point, Daniel dropped “New York Swing” from the name and left it at “Daniel and the Gang.” He continued posting on Facebook and growing the dance through word of mouth.
They switched days multiple times based on when the church had events until it eventually moved from Thursday nights to Tuesday nights. “We had some flip flop of days during that time… which I remember being really frustrated about because I wanted to ingrain in people’s heads that it was ‘Thursday night swing,’ which is how I had been promoting it.” He wanted everybody to associate the same night each week with the dance so when that day of the week rolled around, they would think, “Oh there’s the dance, we could go to that tonight.”
To make matters more interesting, he began doing monthly themes. The months with a holiday were easy. The others, however, required creativity. “I tried to be as original as I could, and I’ve still all these years later kind of followed that model, and I’ve tried to come up with unique themes for months that are not around a holiday.”
Daniel and the Gang was not all fun and games for Daniel though. He remembers, “There were times when I almost stopped… just because I got really burnt out. I was working hard, I was in college, I was having kids.” 2016 and 2017 were especially difficult for Daniel and his wife, Hope. While they were having their first two children, he worked fifty hours a week at his regular job and gave up a night every week to drive to the church and host a dance. It was exhausting. He thought, “I don’t know if I can continue this… I was hardly making anything. I was mostly just doing it because I had started this group and I was committed to the dancers.” This was the perseverance he needed, along with some encouragement from Hope. It would have been easy for her to say “no” because she needed his help with their growing family but instead, she encouraged him to go all in.
He was not the only one suffering burnout though. The dance moves and group dances he taught did the trick thus far, but they were wearing out. He tried adding some Waltz, Two-Step, and Lindy Hop he learned in a North Idaho College social dance course, saying, “I [still] sprinkle those into the beginning lessons here and there.”
The group dances, however, were another matter. “We were just kind of wearing out the Scottish Polka and Virginia Reel… Everybody loves these group dances, but they’re just getting a little old doing them week after week.” He searched YouTube for new group dances without any luck, but when he shared this predicament with some of the Gang, several members volunteered to create a new group dance. Daniel told them, “If you guys can create a new dance that’s fun for everybody, I’ll pay you guys for that.”
Eli Lowman and Charlotte Williams were quick to volunteer for the task and eventually created something far more beautiful than a new dance. Eli remembers of Charlotte, “…My favorite moment from my time at Daniel and the Gang would probably be the day I met my future wife. I found the prettiest girl in the room and I went up and asked her to dance. Fast-forward six years and we are married with our first boy being born earlier this year.” Even before the happy couple graced the world with their blossoming family, they were making history.
Along with some other dancers, they fashioned a dance full of intricate spins that consisted of only three couples. They called it, the “Bermuda Triangle.” Complex little creature that it was, Daniel reckoned although “…people were not really catching onto it,” it served a greater purpose by inspiring him with its originality. “Because they did that, I knew new dances were possible.”
This new little dance might not have stuck, but it inspired a legacy of other dances that might not exist without it. Soon after they introduced the Bermuda Triangle, Daniel choreographed the Shamrock and American Hop, choosing these names simply because “I like[d] them.” He explained the Grand Square, another group dance he choreographed, was “my own compilation of square dance moves,” designed to be easy enough for the Gang to master in their limited time together. He also added several popular line dances like Popcorn and Footloose. AJ and Elaina Schaffer, the two individuals who helped Daniel secure the Gang’s current venue, taught the Scottish Polka and Nine-Pins, two staples for the Gang today. Someone else contributed the Posties Jig, a Scottish country dance. “We would try [something new] on nights when it was kind of small,” and then “The ones I really liked I kept going.”
Daniel clarifies, “I knew I wasn’t an expert swing dancer. I wanted to be able to show people what I know.” He wanted to give people a taste of dancing in hopes they would take the moves, “Learn more, practice, then figure out how to put them all together in a fun way.”
He saw this start to happen. “Over time, and it was really at St. John the Baptist when this happened; people just started to learn more and more. People like [Morganne] and Grayson learned a lot of moves and… took it and ran with it, learned some new ones and practiced them, figured out how to put all those moves together, and became really good dancers. That was really just people taking it on themselves, which is something I always hoped would happen at the Gang.”
Soon, others began to do the same. “That’s what led to some of those fun, memorable nights where we’d have those swing-offs (dance competitions)… Those are things I’d seen in YouTube videos.” To picture a swing-off, envision everybody standing in a circle while they clap to the music, leaning in for a better view as they cheer enthusiastically for the couple dancing in the center who show off their very best moves while the clock is ticking. This was exactly what the last dance before summer looked like for Daniel and the Gang in 2019.
For all the excitement that it was, it was merely a build-up of what was to come. The annual Christmas masquerade was just around the corner, ready to tie up the year in a crisp red bow. The number of dancers in the room grew to 230 people, “…and that in my brain was the max. That was our peak number… We couldn’t get any more people into the building at that point.” And with that, the church hall of St. John the Baptist sighed a sleepy breath as the closure of the year enveloped it in silence that settled on its floors.
With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, the church hall closed in March, much to Daniel’s chagrin. The pastor felt it was unsafe to meet in the building and shut down every activity including the dances. Daniel acknowledged, “I wanted to keep dancing,” and continued messaging the Gang every week to give them hope. “I would reach out to the hall every other week” but the pastor remained steadfast in his decision.
Finally, Daniel concluded, “I decided enough was enough. I was really fed up with the shutdown and I was like, ‘We’ve got to get out and dance.’ At that point, I was getting really anxious to do it again…” With his school jobs on pause, he was no longer burning the candle at both ends and had renewed energy to resurrect Daniel and the Gang.
Archwood Hall
Sept. 2020
Daniel put out a call on Facebook for other venues. The owner of Archwood Hall, now called Lumen Hall, reached out and invited Daniel to come check out the venue on Wallace Avenue in Coeur d’Alene. When he went to look, “I remember thinking, this [is] kind of small… but we don’t have another place.” He assured Daniel that the Gang could keep dancing there no matter what in the name of “freedom of dance,” but the City of Coeur d’Alene had other plans. They threatened to revoke the owner’s business license if he continued holding dances in the building. This changed things for the owner. All along their time at this venue, Daniel struggled to balance the ongoing noise complaints with the integral nature of music to the dances. These unsurmountable obstacles forced Daniel and the Gang to pause and relocate.
He expressed, “We danced through the pandemic as much as we could,” and he never heard of friends or family getting sick from dancing with the Gang. After skipping seven months in 2020, the young adults and teens were suffering from the lockdown “much more than getting a sickness.” Daniel was committed to finding a way for them to stay around people, explaining it is “so crucial for our mental wellbeing and overall happiness.”
Jewel Lake Barn
2020-2021
Daniel started by calling his older sister who attended many of the barn dances with him as a child, “Hey Kariann, do you remember who owned that building up there, the Jewel Lake Barn?” She remembered, “Oh, that was Guy Holquest.” After acting as the Facebook detective and messaging another woman who knew Guy, Daniel finally got the man on the phone. Guy remembered Daniel’s family from the times they danced up at his barn and told him, “If you want to clean it up, come on up.” Daniel describes him as an “… old-fashioned cowboy.”
When Daniel went up there to prepare for the first dance, there was a half-inch of dust and dead flies covering the floor. Nobody had met in the barn since the Hoodoo Valley Howdowners Club kicked the metaphorical bucket years earlier. So with a shop vacuum in hand, he spent the whole day getting it ready for Daniel and the Gang’s return.
“It was kind of on a leap of faith. I really didn’t know if people were going to travel over an hour from Coeur d’Alene up into the middle of nowhere where there’s no cell phone service and who knows if you’re going to get lost, up sketchy roads and everything to this barn on a lake, Jewel Lake.” He and Guy agreed that a percentage of sales would go to Guy (rather than a flat rate each time) so even if no one showed up, it would be okay. “But people came,” about 100 of them to be exact.
In 2021, it was so far away that Daniel dropped it to monthly (at Hope’s suggestion) because he did not have the time to drive up every week. Even then, he reminisced, “It was just really, really fun. That was a special time in the Gang… going out into the middle of nowhere and having a magical, fun time and then coming back to reality.” Everybody danced since there was no cell service on the sidelines. “Everybody felt way more included and involved… and the Jewel Lake Barn was just gorgeous between the Christmas lights and the lake off in the distance out the window, it was peaceful.” At the same time, “It felt so adventurous and exciting…”
The Gang’s time at the Jewel Lake Barn ended when Daniel canceled a winter dance at the last minute. “It almost killed me. I really hate canceling events because something dies inside of me when I do that.” But it was November in North Idaho and a snowstorm was on the loose. Daniel received many messages asking if the dance was still on, to which he replied, “If we stop dancing every time there’s a little snow, we’ll never dance – so we’re going to do it!... The dance is still on… Nothing will stop the Gang!” But when Daniel started driving up to the barn two hours before the dance, he slid off Highway 95 three times, fishtailing out of control. He finally guided his vehicle to a stop on the side of the road and immediately posted a video on Facebook canceling the dance and asking for the Gang to help spread the word. “I was worried about people not knowing… and still going up there.”
Ultimately, the Gang stopped dancing at Jewel Lake Barn, not because of the cancellation but for a host of other reasons. There were issues with insurance, mud, and snow, the travel distance, sketchy parking, and the “late-night drive coming back at the end of the night.” Additionally, the biggest factor was the precariously bowing floor of the barn itself. It visibly sagged beneath the weight of 200 limber dancers (now a normal showing). Guy’s grandson, who gained ownership of the barn, was seriously concerned. He insisted that Daniel pay for event insurance, something typically covered by the venue, but Daniel had other plans.
The Venue Hop
Mid-2021
What the Gang did not know was Daniel had been communicating with other venues. As a teen, he went to a winter ball at Skate Plaza so he thought to himself, “There’s been a dance there before so it is possible.” The response he repeatedly received, however, was “We don’t do that type of thing.” He continued reasoning with them and they eventually gave him a quote that was far too high. The manager at the time was unwilling to negotiate.
When she eventually left, the new manager personally reached out to Daniel and they came up with a mutual agreement. “It ended up working really well for everybody. That manager and I struck up a great relationship,” Daniel noted. So in June, Daniel and 450 members of the Gang gathered at the roller rink to welcome in a warm North Idaho summer.
The roller rink closed for renovations the very next month, but the Post Falls campus of Real Life Ministries opened its doors for the Red, White, and Blue swing, garnering over 300 people. Afterward, the church voiced insurance concerns that prevented more dances from being held here.
With Skate Plaza still renovating, there was no other feasible option to cool a room for this many dancers in August so they resumed dancing in September at the Lake City Center.
All along, Daniel was reaching out to the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. They turned him away at first but his persistence won out. “Then I finally got the fairgrounds.” Between losing the Jewel Lake Barn and winning the fairgrounds, he figures, “…I think that God had his hand in how it all worked out…”
Fairgrounds
2021
The fairground was pricy, more than the Gang could support before. But Daniel felt, “I’m just going to go for it and maybe we’ll get enough people, and that’s when Daniel and the Gang really took a big bump.” They held two dances in late 2021 in a smaller building that maxed out at 400 people.
But Christmas was quickly approaching and Daniel knew the number of attendees for the Christmas Masquerade would far exceed the capacity of the building they were in. “That’s why I decided to go to the Jacklin building,” even though it was far more expensive than where the dances were currently held.
He spent the day of the Christmas dance decorating the building with countless trees, wreaths, lights, and other decorations he purchased from local thrift stores in the months leading up to this night. “When you rent that building you just have it for the day.” And what a day it was.
He maintains the magic is not just in the decorations but in the hydration. “I remember being at dances when I was young and just being so thirsty…” He reasons, when people are thirsty they dance less so having water available motivates people and leads to a greater quantity and quality of dancing. Over time, he invested in enough jugs and cups to sustain the army-sized Gang.
By the time the peaceful darkness of the winter night finally settled in, the walkway glowed with shimmering Christmas lights, leading around 700 dancers to the door. Towering Christmas trees lined the inside of the building where friendly snowmen and Santas scattered throughout like a reimagining of a Christmastime Where’s Waldo? Daniel remarked it was “another milestone for the Gang… It was amazing. One of my favorite memory nights of the Gang.” This was the only time they rented the Jacklin Building, and what a good decision it was. Daniel said, “We filled up the Jacklin building!”
One of the nights, Daniel’s DJ friend, Todd Ohse, came to watch. Todd surmised the sound was poor and Daniel should do something about it. Daniel agreed, trusting him as an expert. “He’s a real professional in his craft. He’s a sound engineer as well as a DJ.” Daniel’s two sound systems were only equipped for 300 people and to make matters worse, the fairground’s buildings had poor acoustics with concrete floors. Todd, however, used professional sound equipment for concert performances. “It was time to take another step in advancing the quality of the Gang,” Daniel reasoned. So, prior to the Christmas dance of 2021, he swallowed the significant expense and hired Todd for every single dance on yet another leap of faith. If the number of people kept coming then he could afford it. Better sound meant more fun anyway, right? As it turned out, the sound was much better, and it was a huge asset to Daniel who no longer needed to set up or take down any sound equipment. Now, he simply shows up at the dances with his laptop, microphone, and mixer board and Todd hands him a cord.
Skate Plaza Roller Rink
2021-Present
Hiring Todd was only one of the big moves Daniel made to advance the Gang. While everyone was dancing at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, Daniel was conversing with Skate Plaza about using their rink as an ongoing venue for dancing. The rink offered the perfect dance floor, seating, and concessions. In return, the dancers support the rink through purchases at the concessions booth and arcade, in addition to the rental fee. Daniel jokingly expressed that his kids alone support the rink’s business in the arcade. “I give them money to play the games.” It was a perfect match.
With the dances happening consistently once a month, they became the perfect place for up-and-coming cameraman, Trevor Lacock, to practice his trade. What started with a simple request, “Mind if I shoot pictures at your swing dances for practice?” has grown into a beneficial relationship that every attendee gets to enjoy. Daniel posts Trevor’s work on the Gang’s website and social media feeds. Trevor feels, “It’s helped a lot. I’ve gotten better with lighting and whatnot… It’s a great learning spot for myself.”
The dances continued and it was not long before they needed to upgrade their check-in system again. Back at the Jewel Lake Barn, Daniel hired his sister, Mary Magnus, to check dancers in and make sure they signed the liability waiver that allows Daniel to photograph and video for promoting the Gang. Now at Skate Plaza, the line of people wrapped down the side of the building, across Dalton Avenue, and into the parking lot of Franz Bakery. In a way, the Gang nodded its head back to its bagel shop heritage, where it all started in a bakery. It was too much for a single checker to tackle. At that point, Bre Dougall became the second person to head up the check-in station with Mary. The goal? To check in over 800 people in under half an hour. If one of the checkers is unable to make it, Daniel makes sure someone fills in for them.
The check-in team also doubles as an extra layer of security to “keep the dance a safe place,” helping a few unnamed others keep an eye on things. Throughout the years some parents questioned, “Do you have security for that size of group?” to which Daniel always replies, “[There’s] never really been an issue in all of these years of running the Gang.” He credits it to the culture the Gang created. “It’s a culture of clean music, clean dress, and clean speech.” Daniel portrays it and describes it as “Peer pressure in a good way,” adding, “We’ve built the culture where that’s the standard and that’s what’s expected.” Now the dancers are acclimated to this. The numerous parents gathered along the sidelines also work as another layer of safety.
Overall, the methods work. Daniel and the Gang’s Instagram account on November 17, 2023, reads, “Record night for Daniel and the Gang. 789 dancers at the Roundup Swing. What a great night it was!” The line stretching out the building and across the road builds culture, according to Daniel, because the dances are the hotspot “where everybody comes.” The Christmas masquerade reflected this sentiment the very next month. The Gang’s slogan is, “Daniel and the Gang where the cool cats hang,” and that night, 849 cool cats came to ring in the holiday.
Nowadays, this size of group is not unusual. Regular dances amass about 500 people while Valentine's Day, Halloween, and Christmas garner the “biggest crowd” with upwards of 700 dancers.
Off the Grid
2024
There was “chatter” from many people who missed the smaller dances of the Gang’s earlier years, which Daniel finds funny because when the group was smaller everyone wished it was bigger. However, with dances at a “pretty stable level” and on autopilot, Daniel turned his attention to creating a second dance option for the Gang. He created Off the Grid or “Daniel and the Gang 2.0” as he calls it. Originally, Off the Grid dances were going to be held at the Jewel Lake Barn. Daniel already made event flyers when he finally determined it was not going to work out due to the same reasons they left.
Soon, he was talking to Fred Scheffelmaier, the owner of the Country Barn Bed and Breakfast in Cataldo, Idaho. Daniel comments, “He’s just a really great guy,” another “old cowboy” like the good-natured owner of Jewel Lake Barn. “[He’s] old fashioned-minded, loves to see people just having a good time.” When Daniel asked him, “What do you think about having the dance up there?” He answered, “Absolutely.” They worked around the weddings scheduled at the venue and were left with a handful of scattered dates.
Daniel claims it is “Harkening back to the old days.” Anyone who makes the forty-minute drive from Coeur d’Alene will find an older crowd where the median age is eighteen to nineteen and the size of the group is smaller. To keep costs low, Todd does not work at these events. Instead, Daniel uses his own DJ sound system and dancers get to enjoy some of the unique tunes that used to play at the Bagel Shop and St. John the Baptist. Trevor, the cameraman, enjoys experiencing this firsthand, saying “It’s just a grand old time because the music is always fun. I think Daniel has a unique talent to make it fun because he’s very fun… he doesn’t just sit on the side… he actively involves himself in the dance,” noting this as Daniel’s skills as a DJ and in group settings.
Thomas Anderson has not missed a single Off the Grid dance. He verbalized, “Off the Grid reminds me of how it used to be before it exploded.” He originally started attending Daniel and the Gang because a group of his friends were going and “I didn’t want to be left out so I went with them.” He was reluctant at first, viewing dancing as too feminine, but overcame this when the girl he liked was interested in dancing. “Within two or three weeks I was one of the better dancers there.” He adds, “Before Off the Grid started, I haven’t missed a Daniel and the Gang [dance] for about a year and a half. For a long time, it was almost like a family reunion when I went.”
This was exactly what Daniel had in mind for Off the Grid. He wanted to keep it smaller and well-connected so he could teach advanced moves and bring back the dances they lost over time because they “didn’t keep up with them.” The Skate Plaza group grew too big to teach new dances since too few people “knew the core.” For example, if there are 800 people then 500 of them need to know it already. To make this possible, he limits the number of tickets for Off the Grid and notifies the Gang when it is sold out.
The first three dances averaged about seventy people in attendance but Daniel expects this to settle in around 100-120 after a few more months. When asked why the dances are not maxing out yet as they had at the Jewel Lake Barn, he explained that there are now multiple options for dancing with COVID being over and that the Gang is already “getting their dance fix monthly” at Skate Plaza. He expects it to build slowly and eventually reach full capacity like the other dances.
At one point, a journalist from the Kootenai Journal came to write an article about Off the Grid. After their interviews were done, they danced too. Daniel gathered they seemed to enjoy themselves and of the whole experience, “It was really good.” This was one of the few occasions Daniel agreed to have a piece written about the Gang.
When the Coeur d’Alene Press reached out to him earlier to write a piece about the main dance, he declined their request. “I turned it down because I don’t want to be publicized that much.” He did not want “creeps” showing up after reading about the dance in the newspaper. In his effort to keep the Gang safe, the Facebook group is also private and he screens each person briefly before allowing them to join. He said everybody at the dances and in the Facebook group needs to be there “for the same reason” which is to “dance and have a good time dancing.” Although publication in a local paper could produce a bigger turnout, Daniel recalls experiencing groups of weird dancers when he was younger. For the Gang, building slowly through word of mouth is safer and more reliable.
Since he leaves most of the advertising in the Gang’s hands, adding Off the Grid did not significantly increase Daniel’s workload. Reducing the dances from weekly to monthly means only twelve to fifteen hours are spent on running each of the dances per month. Most of the work he does is maintenance, such as promoting through Facebook so “parents tell their kids about it,” or updating Instagram so “kids see it directly.”
A Third Option?
With regular dances at Skate Plaza each month and Off the Grid dances underway at the Country Barn Bed and Breakfast, some wonder “Could there be a third?” To which Daniel replies, “I probably won’t get the itch to start something till I have Off the Grid more on autopilot.” After that, “Who knows? If that works out well enough, I might be able to start a third one somewhere.” This would give people three options a month, hitting different venues each week for a “change of scene…”
Some parents wonder if this third option could be for them, asking about adults-only dances, but Daniel comments, “I don’t want it to seem like the other one is the little kid dance,” which could create a divide and push the regular dances to become increasingly younger. Adults are busy with other obligations (many of which crop up at the last minute and prevent them from making it to the dance), leading to a smaller turnout every time. In contrast, many teens come because of their stage of life; they have energy, time, and friend groups. “The adults think that’s what they want,” but he adds, “I just don’t think that a lot of adults would come.” Despite all this, it is not entirely out of the question. He ends with “…we’ll see.”
Present Time
2025
Regardless of whether a third option becomes available, Daniel proposed, “I’m looking for new opportunities to provide ways for people to dance, which is building culture and community and teaching good clean dancing. It’s all things that I want to promote.”
From 2012 to the present, Daniel and the Gang grew from a small weeknight dance in a bagel shop to a twice-a-month well-known North Idaho event with concert-grade sound equipment that attracts dancers from greater distances. At one point, Whitworth University students from Spokane, Washington reached out to request a student discount for their group, which Daniel happily provided. Reaching from the east, a group from Montana consistently makes the drive to attend each dance.
Even with its growth, the Gang still retains many of its hallmark features. For one, it functions for the dancers, not the revenue. “It really wasn’t money that was motivating it through those many, many, many years,” Daniel reflects. “I never really lost money on Daniel and the Gang. I just didn’t make a lot of money…” Now it’s a significant part of his business. Years of “suffering through all that exhaustion has paid off in the end.” Now it is just part of his job instead of an added workload on top of the fifty-hour workweek he kept. “Now it’s a source of energy for me.” He was convinced, “I just had this gut feeling I had to keep trying.”
Part of this was because “Kids are looking for things to do.” They can watch YouTube, party, etc., “…or you can come to Daniel and the Gang and have a great time with friends. People go out to Denny’s afterward and make a night of it.” This camaraderie embraces a “social mindset” of clean fun, music, and moves as opposed to the “dirty dancing” people revert to at weddings, thinking “That’s what I’m supposed to do.” Daniel affirmed, “I’ve never liked that.” He prefers that people are “respectfully dancing with one another” and always improving.
One of his favorite parts is when kids are amazed to realize, “I can have fun.” For many young boys, this comes after their peers pressure them to “be brave enough to ask a girl to dance.” It is the normal thing to do here. For boys and girls alike, “When they finally let their guard down and they just have fun, they open up – and I see this happen to kids all the time – and you see them liberated.”
One dancer, Hannah Olson, shares that it is okay to mess up, ask for help, ask someone to dance, and make new friends. She says, “People in that area aren’t going to judge you for learning,” and “It encouraged me to try new things.” Daniel created Daniel and the Gang exactly for this reason. Hannah remembers going with her friend to ask Daniel for help with a dance move three weeks in a row. “He has a passion, you can tell. And it means a lot to him to share his passion by teaching others.” With Daniel and the Gang, Hannah found “a group of people I feel safe with.”
Now, instead of a group of young people going to dances full of seniors, the opposite is happening. It is the older couple that shows up, dances for a bit, and then leaves shortly after the night begins. The adults who do come regularly are mostly parents. With a median age of seventeen, the Gang started as a group of young people that continued attracting more young people. Daniel explains, “That’s who was coming, and those were the people they were inviting – their friends.” Technically, the Gang invites those of all ages, but the usual range is ten to twenty-five years old.
Since this was the age group it attracted all along, many of the original Daniel and the Gang dancers are now older. This led to a “positive thing” Daniel never expected when multiple couples (about eight so far) reached out to tell him they were getting married and they met their spouse-to-be at a Daniel and the Gang dance. Some of them wanted him to DJ and MC their receptions Daniel-and-the-Gang-style, which he gladly did with all the enthusiasm of a night at the typical dance. While the originals of Daniel and the Gang are in the getting-married stage now, he expects to see even more engagements among the Gang in the future because the Skate Plaza turnout is so sizeable.
When it comes to DJing the weddings, graduation, and sweet sixteen parties for his dancers, he admits, “I wish I could be affordable for everybody,” but explains “I have a growing family.” So far, he and Hope have six darling children. Daniel and the Gang’s success has earned its place as part of the family’s regular income through Daniel’s DJing business. Now he DJs more than he teaches (teaching was previously one of his main jobs). According to Daniel, “It’s on its way” to be his main business.
It is also a source of referrals for other local businesses. The Gang was never meant to be a school in the art of dance but in the joy of it. By engaging with this joy and connecting with others through it, people fall in love with dancing. Some are inspired to go learn more and attend classes at different studios, supporting local North Idaho and Spokane dance instructors; while some dancers prefer to stay “Where the cool cats hang.” Either way, when the clock strikes ten and the dance quiets to an end, Daniel and the Gang is good for local businesses as well.
Daniel and the Gang’s mission is not only bringing classic dancing back to a modern era (Hannah believes he’s “bringing back the old school vibes”) but also about reminding people how to have a great time in a healthy way – just like Daniel did. It is about empowering the up-and-coming generations to be their best selves and treat others that way too.
And who empowers Daniel, the man orchestrating this social movement? Hope – and not just what you feel when you think good things will happen. His wife, Hope Connelly, knows Daniel thrives on acknowledgment and recognition and makes sure he has all the encouragement he needs to power onwards. He admits, “The standard person would have thrown me out a long time ago because I am way too high energy. I do too much,” but “Hope understands that’s just part of who I am.” She encourages his entrepreneurial spirit by acting as a springboard where he “vets” his ideas since he thinks aloud. “Hope is my number one cheerleader.”
Recording their legacy is another milestone for Daniel and the Gang, and a sign of more to come. Daniel confirms, “It’s a story that I love and I’m glad it’s going to be written up.”
Last updated February 12, 2025
About the Author
Morganne Nutt-Albert, “The Salty Storyteller”
Along with penning timeless legacies like this, “The Salty Storyteller” helps people like you transform uncomfortable situations into moments that feel like stepping onto a sandy beach. Through one-on-one “convos,” workshops, and free blog articles at the newly-published thesaltystoryteller.com, clients unwind their situations and find their voice. With graduate certificates in conflict management and leadership from Boise State University and a Bachelor of Communication from Lewis-Clark State University, she did the heavy lifting for you. When connecting feels tough or you’d like professional help with writing, message [email protected] to start the conversation.
Prologue
Pre-2012
Though Mrs. Connelly charioted around in a wheelchair and Mr. Connelly never fully learned to dance, the Connelly family treasured their regular outings to the local barn and square dances. No one knew it at the time, but the dances the Connelly family attended years ago would eventually brighten the lives of countless other families too.
They started taking Daniel with them to barn dances near Green Bluff, Washington when he was ten years old. The Connelly family would spill out of their family car to the sounds of a crackling bonfire and horses crunching on hay while giggling children petted them. Merriment resounded from the loft of the barn where the dance was taking place. This is where he learned the Virginia Reel to the banjo-picking tune of “Cotton-Eyed Joe.” It was the only song used at the time and it played on repeat for forty-five minutes until the entire group, formed into one line, completed their run two-by-two down the center of the clapping couples.
The square dances had a similar feel. Daniel began attending those with his family when he was about twelve. He recalled, “Me and my siblings were the only young people,” save for the occasional grandkid one of the dancers would bring. Since these were mainstream dances, everyone was expected to know how to join squares smoothly. So, “My parents got us into square dancing lessons,” he said, until they became “angel square dancers… which means you know like all two hundred moves.” At the time, they could take their pick of square dances since multiple clubs hosted them. One such group, the Hoodoo Valley Hoedowners, held some of their dances in the Jewel Lake Barn which would later become a special place for the Gang.
Eventually, Daniel’s older sisters also introduced him to the large country swing dances at the Spokane County fairs, where he learned moves like the Pretzel and the Window.
However, in his teen years, Daniel was no longer part of any dancing groups and he missed it. So at sixteen years old, he took matters into his own hands and purchased a speaker so he and his friends could dance in driveways to the music on his iPod.
Wanting more of a social factor, they ventured to small dances held in a Post Falls strip mall and others in Coeur d’Alene, only to discover a crowd of older folks. “We came there as young teenagers ready to dance fast and they’re just playing real slow music… still, the older folks were really excited to see us.” They would play a fast swing song for the teens and “everybody would be amazed,” but as soon as the lively notes faded into the background, the slow music started back up. The young group often left early, feeling “It wasn’t the energy we were wanting.” At that point, they “never found a good place to dance.”
Bagel Shop
2012-13
“Fast forward a few years, I’m working at a bagel shop.” Daniel was managing the New York Bagel Café & Deli when the owner gathered the employees together one night to share distressing news. As a startup in a less-than-ideal location, the business was failing. The owner asked for ideas – quick. Daniel tentatively suggested hosting a dance in the shop after it closed for the evening, thinking it would be a good way to add another income stream and make extra sales on concessions. The owner quickly tossed the idea and concluded the hopeless meeting.
Despite his embarrassment, Daniel sat down at his laptop that night and outlined the plan in an email to the owner in a second attempt. Daniel himself would run the dance, sell concessions, clean up, and lock up at the end of the night, leaving the money they made on the owner’s desk. The little bagel shop had nothing to lose. The owner agreed to give it a try and the Gang was born. Daniel called it “New York Swing.”
Armed with his laptop and speaker, he opened the doors for the first time. The night began with a short lesson that led to open dancing and the Virgina Reel, the only group dance Daniel knew at the time. “I taught what I knew and it was a very similar style to what it is today.” His swing dancing experience at the time consisted of a few dance classes at Christian Youth Theater and the routines his friends taught him when they enlisted him in their swing dance performance at Lake City High School.
The first dancers, about twenty-five people in total, danced to classic songs like the ones played for the Gang today, “Rocking Robin,” “Barbara Anne,” “Johhny B. Good,” Glenn Miller songs like “In the Mood,” and “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Benny Goodman. Admission was only $5.
The dances continued to average twenty-five people every Thursday night until the number took a dramatic drop one night. Only two people came, his brother, Paul, and his friend, Matt. A timid couple peeked inside the door but spun on their heels when they saw the nearly empty shop. Adjusting to the size and interest of his attendees, Daniel pulled up YouTube and they started learning breakdance moves like the Coffee Grinder and the Worm. At the end of the night, he posted “Another great dance!” on Facebook. “It kept people realizing that – hey, this is still happening…”
“I specifically remember that really low dip… I had an opportunity there to say this is not working out, I’m stopping this,” but he asserted, “I was committed to having it happen anyway.” Slowly the number of people rose and plateaued to around fifty each night, maxing out the little bagel shop until dancers spilled out the open front doors and onto the surrounding sidewalks. “We danced the Virgina Reel right in the parking lot.” Cars drove around the dancing couples, slowing down and even parking to watch.
It was 2012 at the time and word of mouth was the prominent way Daniel was making the dances known. He was just learning Facebook and fiddling around with posting dances until Kari Gilge stepped on the scene. Her kids were enrolled in a Christian Youth Theater (CYT) show Daniel was directing. Talk of the dances circulated enough that she took her kids to check it out. She remembers walking in that night, “I recognized the value in what it was already, even when it was small.” With Daniel’s permission, she created the Facebook page everyone sees today to legitimize the presence of the dances so others would take it more seriously. She called it Daniel and the Gang, New York Swing, explaining, “I wanted to make people feel like they belonged… [like] they were part of the Gang.” Daniel loved the name. Kari maintained the page for a while then later changed its administration over to Daniel. She understood Daniel and the Gang as having two parts: Daniel hosts the dances while the Gang makes it what it is.
Her son Kendric Gilge, one of the original members of the Gang, led a couple of dances for the Gang when Daniel was unable to make it. He was also captain of the unofficial photobombing squad later on. “I remember photobombing got out of hand at one point and we had to move to covert operations… I would wait until the last moment to pop out.” He added, “Whenever the camera came out you made a pose because you knew it was going up on Facebook.” His mom, Kari, agreed. “People really did enjoy being featured.” For the Gilges, “It was a bright spot” during a difficult time in their lives.
A year and a half later, the bagel shop was still failing despite the dance’s success. When the owner finally sold it in 2013, Daniel thought it was the end of the Gang. Besides, he was busy with college and they had no other venue.
Elaina and AJ Schaffer, a brother and sister duo who could not stand to see the dances end, had other plans. They talked to the pastor of their church and made Daniel an offer. If he was willing to host the dances as youth group events, he could use their church hall to dance in. The seven kids in the youth group set up the building for the dance every week and then helped Daniel clean up after it ended at 10:00 p.m. The church also allowed Daniel to use their sound system.
St. John the Baptist
2013-2020
This was the beginning of what original members of the Gang fondly refer to as “St. John the Baptist,” the church on Horsehaven Avenue. It kept a similar feel to the good times they had at the bagel shop but at this point, Daniel dropped “New York Swing” from the name and left it at “Daniel and the Gang.” He continued posting on Facebook and growing the dance through word of mouth.
They switched days multiple times based on when the church had events until it eventually moved from Thursday nights to Tuesday nights. “We had some flip flop of days during that time… which I remember being really frustrated about because I wanted to ingrain in people’s heads that it was ‘Thursday night swing,’ which is how I had been promoting it.” He wanted everybody to associate the same night each week with the dance so when that day of the week rolled around, they would think, “Oh there’s the dance, we could go to that tonight.”
To make matters more interesting, he began doing monthly themes. The months with a holiday were easy. The others, however, required creativity. “I tried to be as original as I could, and I’ve still all these years later kind of followed that model, and I’ve tried to come up with unique themes for months that are not around a holiday.”
Daniel and the Gang was not all fun and games for Daniel though. He remembers, “There were times when I almost stopped… just because I got really burnt out. I was working hard, I was in college, I was having kids.” 2016 and 2017 were especially difficult for Daniel and his wife, Hope. While they were having their first two children, he worked fifty hours a week at his regular job and gave up a night every week to drive to the church and host a dance. It was exhausting. He thought, “I don’t know if I can continue this… I was hardly making anything. I was mostly just doing it because I had started this group and I was committed to the dancers.” This was the perseverance he needed, along with some encouragement from Hope. It would have been easy for her to say “no” because she needed his help with their growing family but instead, she encouraged him to go all in.
He was not the only one suffering burnout though. The dance moves and group dances he taught did the trick thus far, but they were wearing out. He tried adding some Waltz, Two-Step, and Lindy Hop he learned in a North Idaho College social dance course, saying, “I [still] sprinkle those into the beginning lessons here and there.”
The group dances, however, were another matter. “We were just kind of wearing out the Scottish Polka and Virginia Reel… Everybody loves these group dances, but they’re just getting a little old doing them week after week.” He searched YouTube for new group dances without any luck, but when he shared this predicament with some of the Gang, several members volunteered to create a new group dance. Daniel told them, “If you guys can create a new dance that’s fun for everybody, I’ll pay you guys for that.”
Eli Lowman and Charlotte Williams were quick to volunteer for the task and eventually created something far more beautiful than a new dance. Eli remembers of Charlotte, “…My favorite moment from my time at Daniel and the Gang would probably be the day I met my future wife. I found the prettiest girl in the room and I went up and asked her to dance. Fast-forward six years and we are married with our first boy being born earlier this year.” Even before the happy couple graced the world with their blossoming family, they were making history.
Along with some other dancers, they fashioned a dance full of intricate spins that consisted of only three couples. They called it, the “Bermuda Triangle.” Complex little creature that it was, Daniel reckoned although “…people were not really catching onto it,” it served a greater purpose by inspiring him with its originality. “Because they did that, I knew new dances were possible.”
This new little dance might not have stuck, but it inspired a legacy of other dances that might not exist without it. Soon after they introduced the Bermuda Triangle, Daniel choreographed the Shamrock and American Hop, choosing these names simply because “I like[d] them.” He explained the Grand Square, another group dance he choreographed, was “my own compilation of square dance moves,” designed to be easy enough for the Gang to master in their limited time together. He also added several popular line dances like Popcorn and Footloose. AJ and Elaina Schaffer, the two individuals who helped Daniel secure the Gang’s current venue, taught the Scottish Polka and Nine-Pins, two staples for the Gang today. Someone else contributed the Posties Jig, a Scottish country dance. “We would try [something new] on nights when it was kind of small,” and then “The ones I really liked I kept going.”
Daniel clarifies, “I knew I wasn’t an expert swing dancer. I wanted to be able to show people what I know.” He wanted to give people a taste of dancing in hopes they would take the moves, “Learn more, practice, then figure out how to put them all together in a fun way.”
He saw this start to happen. “Over time, and it was really at St. John the Baptist when this happened; people just started to learn more and more. People like [Morganne] and Grayson learned a lot of moves and… took it and ran with it, learned some new ones and practiced them, figured out how to put all those moves together, and became really good dancers. That was really just people taking it on themselves, which is something I always hoped would happen at the Gang.”
Soon, others began to do the same. “That’s what led to some of those fun, memorable nights where we’d have those swing-offs (dance competitions)… Those are things I’d seen in YouTube videos.” To picture a swing-off, envision everybody standing in a circle while they clap to the music, leaning in for a better view as they cheer enthusiastically for the couple dancing in the center who show off their very best moves while the clock is ticking. This was exactly what the last dance before summer looked like for Daniel and the Gang in 2019.
For all the excitement that it was, it was merely a build-up of what was to come. The annual Christmas masquerade was just around the corner, ready to tie up the year in a crisp red bow. The number of dancers in the room grew to 230 people, “…and that in my brain was the max. That was our peak number… We couldn’t get any more people into the building at that point.” And with that, the church hall of St. John the Baptist sighed a sleepy breath as the closure of the year enveloped it in silence that settled on its floors.
With the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, the church hall closed in March, much to Daniel’s chagrin. The pastor felt it was unsafe to meet in the building and shut down every activity including the dances. Daniel acknowledged, “I wanted to keep dancing,” and continued messaging the Gang every week to give them hope. “I would reach out to the hall every other week” but the pastor remained steadfast in his decision.
Finally, Daniel concluded, “I decided enough was enough. I was really fed up with the shutdown and I was like, ‘We’ve got to get out and dance.’ At that point, I was getting really anxious to do it again…” With his school jobs on pause, he was no longer burning the candle at both ends and had renewed energy to resurrect Daniel and the Gang.
Archwood Hall
Sept. 2020
Daniel put out a call on Facebook for other venues. The owner of Archwood Hall, now called Lumen Hall, reached out and invited Daniel to come check out the venue on Wallace Avenue in Coeur d’Alene. When he went to look, “I remember thinking, this [is] kind of small… but we don’t have another place.” He assured Daniel that the Gang could keep dancing there no matter what in the name of “freedom of dance,” but the City of Coeur d’Alene had other plans. They threatened to revoke the owner’s business license if he continued holding dances in the building. This changed things for the owner. All along their time at this venue, Daniel struggled to balance the ongoing noise complaints with the integral nature of music to the dances. These unsurmountable obstacles forced Daniel and the Gang to pause and relocate.
He expressed, “We danced through the pandemic as much as we could,” and he never heard of friends or family getting sick from dancing with the Gang. After skipping seven months in 2020, the young adults and teens were suffering from the lockdown “much more than getting a sickness.” Daniel was committed to finding a way for them to stay around people, explaining it is “so crucial for our mental wellbeing and overall happiness.”
Jewel Lake Barn
2020-2021
Daniel started by calling his older sister who attended many of the barn dances with him as a child, “Hey Kariann, do you remember who owned that building up there, the Jewel Lake Barn?” She remembered, “Oh, that was Guy Holquest.” After acting as the Facebook detective and messaging another woman who knew Guy, Daniel finally got the man on the phone. Guy remembered Daniel’s family from the times they danced up at his barn and told him, “If you want to clean it up, come on up.” Daniel describes him as an “… old-fashioned cowboy.”
When Daniel went up there to prepare for the first dance, there was a half-inch of dust and dead flies covering the floor. Nobody had met in the barn since the Hoodoo Valley Howdowners Club kicked the metaphorical bucket years earlier. So with a shop vacuum in hand, he spent the whole day getting it ready for Daniel and the Gang’s return.
“It was kind of on a leap of faith. I really didn’t know if people were going to travel over an hour from Coeur d’Alene up into the middle of nowhere where there’s no cell phone service and who knows if you’re going to get lost, up sketchy roads and everything to this barn on a lake, Jewel Lake.” He and Guy agreed that a percentage of sales would go to Guy (rather than a flat rate each time) so even if no one showed up, it would be okay. “But people came,” about 100 of them to be exact.
In 2021, it was so far away that Daniel dropped it to monthly (at Hope’s suggestion) because he did not have the time to drive up every week. Even then, he reminisced, “It was just really, really fun. That was a special time in the Gang… going out into the middle of nowhere and having a magical, fun time and then coming back to reality.” Everybody danced since there was no cell service on the sidelines. “Everybody felt way more included and involved… and the Jewel Lake Barn was just gorgeous between the Christmas lights and the lake off in the distance out the window, it was peaceful.” At the same time, “It felt so adventurous and exciting…”
The Gang’s time at the Jewel Lake Barn ended when Daniel canceled a winter dance at the last minute. “It almost killed me. I really hate canceling events because something dies inside of me when I do that.” But it was November in North Idaho and a snowstorm was on the loose. Daniel received many messages asking if the dance was still on, to which he replied, “If we stop dancing every time there’s a little snow, we’ll never dance – so we’re going to do it!... The dance is still on… Nothing will stop the Gang!” But when Daniel started driving up to the barn two hours before the dance, he slid off Highway 95 three times, fishtailing out of control. He finally guided his vehicle to a stop on the side of the road and immediately posted a video on Facebook canceling the dance and asking for the Gang to help spread the word. “I was worried about people not knowing… and still going up there.”
Ultimately, the Gang stopped dancing at Jewel Lake Barn, not because of the cancellation but for a host of other reasons. There were issues with insurance, mud, and snow, the travel distance, sketchy parking, and the “late-night drive coming back at the end of the night.” Additionally, the biggest factor was the precariously bowing floor of the barn itself. It visibly sagged beneath the weight of 200 limber dancers (now a normal showing). Guy’s grandson, who gained ownership of the barn, was seriously concerned. He insisted that Daniel pay for event insurance, something typically covered by the venue, but Daniel had other plans.
The Venue Hop
Mid-2021
What the Gang did not know was Daniel had been communicating with other venues. As a teen, he went to a winter ball at Skate Plaza so he thought to himself, “There’s been a dance there before so it is possible.” The response he repeatedly received, however, was “We don’t do that type of thing.” He continued reasoning with them and they eventually gave him a quote that was far too high. The manager at the time was unwilling to negotiate.
When she eventually left, the new manager personally reached out to Daniel and they came up with a mutual agreement. “It ended up working really well for everybody. That manager and I struck up a great relationship,” Daniel noted. So in June, Daniel and 450 members of the Gang gathered at the roller rink to welcome in a warm North Idaho summer.
The roller rink closed for renovations the very next month, but the Post Falls campus of Real Life Ministries opened its doors for the Red, White, and Blue swing, garnering over 300 people. Afterward, the church voiced insurance concerns that prevented more dances from being held here.
With Skate Plaza still renovating, there was no other feasible option to cool a room for this many dancers in August so they resumed dancing in September at the Lake City Center.
All along, Daniel was reaching out to the Kootenai County Fairgrounds. They turned him away at first but his persistence won out. “Then I finally got the fairgrounds.” Between losing the Jewel Lake Barn and winning the fairgrounds, he figures, “…I think that God had his hand in how it all worked out…”
Fairgrounds
2021
The fairground was pricy, more than the Gang could support before. But Daniel felt, “I’m just going to go for it and maybe we’ll get enough people, and that’s when Daniel and the Gang really took a big bump.” They held two dances in late 2021 in a smaller building that maxed out at 400 people.
But Christmas was quickly approaching and Daniel knew the number of attendees for the Christmas Masquerade would far exceed the capacity of the building they were in. “That’s why I decided to go to the Jacklin building,” even though it was far more expensive than where the dances were currently held.
He spent the day of the Christmas dance decorating the building with countless trees, wreaths, lights, and other decorations he purchased from local thrift stores in the months leading up to this night. “When you rent that building you just have it for the day.” And what a day it was.
He maintains the magic is not just in the decorations but in the hydration. “I remember being at dances when I was young and just being so thirsty…” He reasons, when people are thirsty they dance less so having water available motivates people and leads to a greater quantity and quality of dancing. Over time, he invested in enough jugs and cups to sustain the army-sized Gang.
By the time the peaceful darkness of the winter night finally settled in, the walkway glowed with shimmering Christmas lights, leading around 700 dancers to the door. Towering Christmas trees lined the inside of the building where friendly snowmen and Santas scattered throughout like a reimagining of a Christmastime Where’s Waldo? Daniel remarked it was “another milestone for the Gang… It was amazing. One of my favorite memory nights of the Gang.” This was the only time they rented the Jacklin Building, and what a good decision it was. Daniel said, “We filled up the Jacklin building!”
One of the nights, Daniel’s DJ friend, Todd Ohse, came to watch. Todd surmised the sound was poor and Daniel should do something about it. Daniel agreed, trusting him as an expert. “He’s a real professional in his craft. He’s a sound engineer as well as a DJ.” Daniel’s two sound systems were only equipped for 300 people and to make matters worse, the fairground’s buildings had poor acoustics with concrete floors. Todd, however, used professional sound equipment for concert performances. “It was time to take another step in advancing the quality of the Gang,” Daniel reasoned. So, prior to the Christmas dance of 2021, he swallowed the significant expense and hired Todd for every single dance on yet another leap of faith. If the number of people kept coming then he could afford it. Better sound meant more fun anyway, right? As it turned out, the sound was much better, and it was a huge asset to Daniel who no longer needed to set up or take down any sound equipment. Now, he simply shows up at the dances with his laptop, microphone, and mixer board and Todd hands him a cord.
Skate Plaza Roller Rink
2021-Present
Hiring Todd was only one of the big moves Daniel made to advance the Gang. While everyone was dancing at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, Daniel was conversing with Skate Plaza about using their rink as an ongoing venue for dancing. The rink offered the perfect dance floor, seating, and concessions. In return, the dancers support the rink through purchases at the concessions booth and arcade, in addition to the rental fee. Daniel jokingly expressed that his kids alone support the rink’s business in the arcade. “I give them money to play the games.” It was a perfect match.
With the dances happening consistently once a month, they became the perfect place for up-and-coming cameraman, Trevor Lacock, to practice his trade. What started with a simple request, “Mind if I shoot pictures at your swing dances for practice?” has grown into a beneficial relationship that every attendee gets to enjoy. Daniel posts Trevor’s work on the Gang’s website and social media feeds. Trevor feels, “It’s helped a lot. I’ve gotten better with lighting and whatnot… It’s a great learning spot for myself.”
The dances continued and it was not long before they needed to upgrade their check-in system again. Back at the Jewel Lake Barn, Daniel hired his sister, Mary Magnus, to check dancers in and make sure they signed the liability waiver that allows Daniel to photograph and video for promoting the Gang. Now at Skate Plaza, the line of people wrapped down the side of the building, across Dalton Avenue, and into the parking lot of Franz Bakery. In a way, the Gang nodded its head back to its bagel shop heritage, where it all started in a bakery. It was too much for a single checker to tackle. At that point, Bre Dougall became the second person to head up the check-in station with Mary. The goal? To check in over 800 people in under half an hour. If one of the checkers is unable to make it, Daniel makes sure someone fills in for them.
The check-in team also doubles as an extra layer of security to “keep the dance a safe place,” helping a few unnamed others keep an eye on things. Throughout the years some parents questioned, “Do you have security for that size of group?” to which Daniel always replies, “[There’s] never really been an issue in all of these years of running the Gang.” He credits it to the culture the Gang created. “It’s a culture of clean music, clean dress, and clean speech.” Daniel portrays it and describes it as “Peer pressure in a good way,” adding, “We’ve built the culture where that’s the standard and that’s what’s expected.” Now the dancers are acclimated to this. The numerous parents gathered along the sidelines also work as another layer of safety.
Overall, the methods work. Daniel and the Gang’s Instagram account on November 17, 2023, reads, “Record night for Daniel and the Gang. 789 dancers at the Roundup Swing. What a great night it was!” The line stretching out the building and across the road builds culture, according to Daniel, because the dances are the hotspot “where everybody comes.” The Christmas masquerade reflected this sentiment the very next month. The Gang’s slogan is, “Daniel and the Gang where the cool cats hang,” and that night, 849 cool cats came to ring in the holiday.
Nowadays, this size of group is not unusual. Regular dances amass about 500 people while Valentine's Day, Halloween, and Christmas garner the “biggest crowd” with upwards of 700 dancers.
Off the Grid
2024
There was “chatter” from many people who missed the smaller dances of the Gang’s earlier years, which Daniel finds funny because when the group was smaller everyone wished it was bigger. However, with dances at a “pretty stable level” and on autopilot, Daniel turned his attention to creating a second dance option for the Gang. He created Off the Grid or “Daniel and the Gang 2.0” as he calls it. Originally, Off the Grid dances were going to be held at the Jewel Lake Barn. Daniel already made event flyers when he finally determined it was not going to work out due to the same reasons they left.
Soon, he was talking to Fred Scheffelmaier, the owner of the Country Barn Bed and Breakfast in Cataldo, Idaho. Daniel comments, “He’s just a really great guy,” another “old cowboy” like the good-natured owner of Jewel Lake Barn. “[He’s] old fashioned-minded, loves to see people just having a good time.” When Daniel asked him, “What do you think about having the dance up there?” He answered, “Absolutely.” They worked around the weddings scheduled at the venue and were left with a handful of scattered dates.
Daniel claims it is “Harkening back to the old days.” Anyone who makes the forty-minute drive from Coeur d’Alene will find an older crowd where the median age is eighteen to nineteen and the size of the group is smaller. To keep costs low, Todd does not work at these events. Instead, Daniel uses his own DJ sound system and dancers get to enjoy some of the unique tunes that used to play at the Bagel Shop and St. John the Baptist. Trevor, the cameraman, enjoys experiencing this firsthand, saying “It’s just a grand old time because the music is always fun. I think Daniel has a unique talent to make it fun because he’s very fun… he doesn’t just sit on the side… he actively involves himself in the dance,” noting this as Daniel’s skills as a DJ and in group settings.
Thomas Anderson has not missed a single Off the Grid dance. He verbalized, “Off the Grid reminds me of how it used to be before it exploded.” He originally started attending Daniel and the Gang because a group of his friends were going and “I didn’t want to be left out so I went with them.” He was reluctant at first, viewing dancing as too feminine, but overcame this when the girl he liked was interested in dancing. “Within two or three weeks I was one of the better dancers there.” He adds, “Before Off the Grid started, I haven’t missed a Daniel and the Gang [dance] for about a year and a half. For a long time, it was almost like a family reunion when I went.”
This was exactly what Daniel had in mind for Off the Grid. He wanted to keep it smaller and well-connected so he could teach advanced moves and bring back the dances they lost over time because they “didn’t keep up with them.” The Skate Plaza group grew too big to teach new dances since too few people “knew the core.” For example, if there are 800 people then 500 of them need to know it already. To make this possible, he limits the number of tickets for Off the Grid and notifies the Gang when it is sold out.
The first three dances averaged about seventy people in attendance but Daniel expects this to settle in around 100-120 after a few more months. When asked why the dances are not maxing out yet as they had at the Jewel Lake Barn, he explained that there are now multiple options for dancing with COVID being over and that the Gang is already “getting their dance fix monthly” at Skate Plaza. He expects it to build slowly and eventually reach full capacity like the other dances.
At one point, a journalist from the Kootenai Journal came to write an article about Off the Grid. After their interviews were done, they danced too. Daniel gathered they seemed to enjoy themselves and of the whole experience, “It was really good.” This was one of the few occasions Daniel agreed to have a piece written about the Gang.
When the Coeur d’Alene Press reached out to him earlier to write a piece about the main dance, he declined their request. “I turned it down because I don’t want to be publicized that much.” He did not want “creeps” showing up after reading about the dance in the newspaper. In his effort to keep the Gang safe, the Facebook group is also private and he screens each person briefly before allowing them to join. He said everybody at the dances and in the Facebook group needs to be there “for the same reason” which is to “dance and have a good time dancing.” Although publication in a local paper could produce a bigger turnout, Daniel recalls experiencing groups of weird dancers when he was younger. For the Gang, building slowly through word of mouth is safer and more reliable.
Since he leaves most of the advertising in the Gang’s hands, adding Off the Grid did not significantly increase Daniel’s workload. Reducing the dances from weekly to monthly means only twelve to fifteen hours are spent on running each of the dances per month. Most of the work he does is maintenance, such as promoting through Facebook so “parents tell their kids about it,” or updating Instagram so “kids see it directly.”
A Third Option?
With regular dances at Skate Plaza each month and Off the Grid dances underway at the Country Barn Bed and Breakfast, some wonder “Could there be a third?” To which Daniel replies, “I probably won’t get the itch to start something till I have Off the Grid more on autopilot.” After that, “Who knows? If that works out well enough, I might be able to start a third one somewhere.” This would give people three options a month, hitting different venues each week for a “change of scene…”
Some parents wonder if this third option could be for them, asking about adults-only dances, but Daniel comments, “I don’t want it to seem like the other one is the little kid dance,” which could create a divide and push the regular dances to become increasingly younger. Adults are busy with other obligations (many of which crop up at the last minute and prevent them from making it to the dance), leading to a smaller turnout every time. In contrast, many teens come because of their stage of life; they have energy, time, and friend groups. “The adults think that’s what they want,” but he adds, “I just don’t think that a lot of adults would come.” Despite all this, it is not entirely out of the question. He ends with “…we’ll see.”
Present Time
2025
Regardless of whether a third option becomes available, Daniel proposed, “I’m looking for new opportunities to provide ways for people to dance, which is building culture and community and teaching good clean dancing. It’s all things that I want to promote.”
From 2012 to the present, Daniel and the Gang grew from a small weeknight dance in a bagel shop to a twice-a-month well-known North Idaho event with concert-grade sound equipment that attracts dancers from greater distances. At one point, Whitworth University students from Spokane, Washington reached out to request a student discount for their group, which Daniel happily provided. Reaching from the east, a group from Montana consistently makes the drive to attend each dance.
Even with its growth, the Gang still retains many of its hallmark features. For one, it functions for the dancers, not the revenue. “It really wasn’t money that was motivating it through those many, many, many years,” Daniel reflects. “I never really lost money on Daniel and the Gang. I just didn’t make a lot of money…” Now it’s a significant part of his business. Years of “suffering through all that exhaustion has paid off in the end.” Now it is just part of his job instead of an added workload on top of the fifty-hour workweek he kept. “Now it’s a source of energy for me.” He was convinced, “I just had this gut feeling I had to keep trying.”
Part of this was because “Kids are looking for things to do.” They can watch YouTube, party, etc., “…or you can come to Daniel and the Gang and have a great time with friends. People go out to Denny’s afterward and make a night of it.” This camaraderie embraces a “social mindset” of clean fun, music, and moves as opposed to the “dirty dancing” people revert to at weddings, thinking “That’s what I’m supposed to do.” Daniel affirmed, “I’ve never liked that.” He prefers that people are “respectfully dancing with one another” and always improving.
One of his favorite parts is when kids are amazed to realize, “I can have fun.” For many young boys, this comes after their peers pressure them to “be brave enough to ask a girl to dance.” It is the normal thing to do here. For boys and girls alike, “When they finally let their guard down and they just have fun, they open up – and I see this happen to kids all the time – and you see them liberated.”
One dancer, Hannah Olson, shares that it is okay to mess up, ask for help, ask someone to dance, and make new friends. She says, “People in that area aren’t going to judge you for learning,” and “It encouraged me to try new things.” Daniel created Daniel and the Gang exactly for this reason. Hannah remembers going with her friend to ask Daniel for help with a dance move three weeks in a row. “He has a passion, you can tell. And it means a lot to him to share his passion by teaching others.” With Daniel and the Gang, Hannah found “a group of people I feel safe with.”
Now, instead of a group of young people going to dances full of seniors, the opposite is happening. It is the older couple that shows up, dances for a bit, and then leaves shortly after the night begins. The adults who do come regularly are mostly parents. With a median age of seventeen, the Gang started as a group of young people that continued attracting more young people. Daniel explains, “That’s who was coming, and those were the people they were inviting – their friends.” Technically, the Gang invites those of all ages, but the usual range is ten to twenty-five years old.
Since this was the age group it attracted all along, many of the original Daniel and the Gang dancers are now older. This led to a “positive thing” Daniel never expected when multiple couples (about eight so far) reached out to tell him they were getting married and they met their spouse-to-be at a Daniel and the Gang dance. Some of them wanted him to DJ and MC their receptions Daniel-and-the-Gang-style, which he gladly did with all the enthusiasm of a night at the typical dance. While the originals of Daniel and the Gang are in the getting-married stage now, he expects to see even more engagements among the Gang in the future because the Skate Plaza turnout is so sizeable.
When it comes to DJing the weddings, graduation, and sweet sixteen parties for his dancers, he admits, “I wish I could be affordable for everybody,” but explains “I have a growing family.” So far, he and Hope have six darling children. Daniel and the Gang’s success has earned its place as part of the family’s regular income through Daniel’s DJing business. Now he DJs more than he teaches (teaching was previously one of his main jobs). According to Daniel, “It’s on its way” to be his main business.
It is also a source of referrals for other local businesses. The Gang was never meant to be a school in the art of dance but in the joy of it. By engaging with this joy and connecting with others through it, people fall in love with dancing. Some are inspired to go learn more and attend classes at different studios, supporting local North Idaho and Spokane dance instructors; while some dancers prefer to stay “Where the cool cats hang.” Either way, when the clock strikes ten and the dance quiets to an end, Daniel and the Gang is good for local businesses as well.
Daniel and the Gang’s mission is not only bringing classic dancing back to a modern era (Hannah believes he’s “bringing back the old school vibes”) but also about reminding people how to have a great time in a healthy way – just like Daniel did. It is about empowering the up-and-coming generations to be their best selves and treat others that way too.
And who empowers Daniel, the man orchestrating this social movement? Hope – and not just what you feel when you think good things will happen. His wife, Hope Connelly, knows Daniel thrives on acknowledgment and recognition and makes sure he has all the encouragement he needs to power onwards. He admits, “The standard person would have thrown me out a long time ago because I am way too high energy. I do too much,” but “Hope understands that’s just part of who I am.” She encourages his entrepreneurial spirit by acting as a springboard where he “vets” his ideas since he thinks aloud. “Hope is my number one cheerleader.”
Recording their legacy is another milestone for Daniel and the Gang, and a sign of more to come. Daniel confirms, “It’s a story that I love and I’m glad it’s going to be written up.”
Last updated February 12, 2025
About the Author
Morganne Nutt-Albert, “The Salty Storyteller”
Along with penning timeless legacies like this, “The Salty Storyteller” helps people like you transform uncomfortable situations into moments that feel like stepping onto a sandy beach. Through one-on-one “convos,” workshops, and free blog articles at the newly-published thesaltystoryteller.com, clients unwind their situations and find their voice. With graduate certificates in conflict management and leadership from Boise State University and a Bachelor of Communication from Lewis-Clark State University, she did the heavy lifting for you. When connecting feels tough or you’d like professional help with writing, message [email protected] to start the conversation.
