Continental Dance Club

To Paul Stefani
On the occasion of his 50th year in the dance business.

Some men are born into poverty and remain there their entire lives.
Yet others are born into poverty, face adversity, learn from experience,
and climb out of poverty to succeed in business.
Congratulations to one of the climbers who made it by dancing his way to success.

Paul Stefani was born in Northern Italy in 1938, and came to the United States in 1951. He was employed in the shipping and receiving department of a pharmaceutical company for two years, and then in the shipping and receiving department of the Ballantine Brewery for approximately six months. In the mid-1950’s Paul was going to ballroom dance clubs when Mambo and Cha Cha Cha were the popular dances of the day. At that time he also signed up for some dance lessons at a local dance studio. In 1958 he answered an ad for a position as a dance teacher at Dale Dance Studios in Newark. While working there it changed names to Savoy Continental Dance Club.

From 1961-1967 he served in the U.S. Army Reserve. He was honorably discharged as a Staff Sergeant in 1967.

In 1964 Paul bought the Savoy Continental Dance Club which was located on Raymond Boulevard, Newark and changed the name to Continental Dance Club because he wanted to be independent and not part of a franchise chain. In 1965 he relocated the studio to Halsey Street in Newark and remained there until 1969. In 1969 Paul moved to Bloomfield because the city seemed so vibrant and busy. From 1960 to 1975 “freestyle” or “club” dancing was popular where people danced without contact; couples dancing with contact was not in style at that time and those were the “lean” tough years that he endured and survived. From 1975 to the early 1980’s the studio thrived as Hustle emerged and became the rage.

From 1980 to the present, Salsa is thriving and very much in demand as is evidenced by the many requests for performances at elementary, high schools, colleges, universities and corporations such as: Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Sony, NJ Transit, Prudential, in addition to television programs such as Univision, News 12, and dance documentaries on New Jersey Network.

A man who has become an icon in the world of dance.
He has shared the magic of dance with students young and old spanning more than 5 decades.

With great admiration from your peers , staff, and students

Contact Us
by e-mail or fill out our comments page and Keep on Dancin'

Located at:
330 Glenwood Avenue, Bloomfield, New Jersey 07003, USA
On the corner of Bloomfield Avenue, directly across from PNC Bank.
Exit 148 (Bloomfield) only 2 blocks off the Garden State Parkway
Phone: (973) 743 - 5124
Fax: (973) 743 - 5125

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