SIR CHARLES WILSON
I interviewed Sir Charles Wilson on December 2009.  Charles and I have always admired one another. He is a Scorpio (born October 31).  Charles was born in New York City in the Bronx.  Although raised in Virginia, he has lived in Baltimore, Maryland  for 18 years.
The first question I asked him was how he got the name "Sir Charles".  He said he needed a catchy deejay handle and chose Sir Charlessalot which eventually was shortened to Sir Charles.  I asked Charles how he got into hand dancing.  He said, "I could always dance but I wanted to learn hand dancing.

He said that he took a class in 1996 taught by Silky Smooth for two years.  He was invited by his friend, Leslie Mallory, to take classes in DC given by Lawrence Bradford at the Solar Eclipse.  Then Brad in partnership with Shirley Duncan came to Baltimore to teach hand dancing.  He graduated from SD Charm City Dancers in 1998--the second class and was elected class president."  After graduation, Sir Charles took some advance classes taught by Smooth&Ez at the Silver Shadow.  Additionally, he attended a few Saturday advance classes at the Eclipse.  He then joined Kenny Webster and created Wilson and Webster Productions (WW Productions).  They had two successful events--one in Annapolis and the other in Baltimore.  His next venture was to join forces with Joy Hall, a long time teaching partner, to create Hand-2-Hand promoting hand dancing at the Holiday Inn (now Best western).  The two lead bartenders were Mary and Mira, they now own Sista's Place, a very popular hand dance spot on Saturdays in the Baltimore area.
Sir Charles' hand dance teaching career actually started at a Christmas party at work in Annapolis where he worked at the time in 1998.  His co-workers insisted on him teaching them to hand dance.  He teaches the 6-step count, using "and" between the count when appropriate. He has taught hand dance at Vulcan Blazers, Kappa House, Gardel's Supper Club, Liberty Recreation Center and now at Club Unite in Baltimore City.  He has also taught hand dance at Sista's Place, Best Western in Baltimore County, Raptures, Traffic Bar & Lounge, My Place in Odenton, Silver Shadows in Columbia, and Rio in Laurel.  
This is a picture of Tonya, Sir Charles' dance partner.  Sir Charles is a self taught deejay who purchased his own music and equipment.  He uses this talent to assist him in his teaching.
  Hand-2-Hand gave and still gives some very nice affairs.  Their affairs are economical, generous, and always creative.  One affair is his "Juneteenth" event.  The energy behind this event stems from the Emancipation Proclamation being signed, which freed the slaves.  Unfortunately, there were slaves that did not know they were freed on June 19, 1865.  When they were told, two years later, they decided to celebrate and this celebration continues on the closest weekend to June 19.  This celebration represents African American's Independence Day.
So Sir Charles being highly educated, along with his crew, continues to celebrate this special day.  At the Juneteenth event, the attire is African style.  There are plenty of vendors on location and plenty of food, music, and dancing.  A very special and joyous event.   Also, in the spirit of fun, Hand-2-Hand gives fun Halloween parties.  Here is a picture of Sir Charles as Rick James.  You should have seen the performance.  Big-time fun.  
Another unique characteristic about Sir Charles and Hand-2-Hand are their special "Graduations".  Every graduation has a theme, such as, the 1st class theme was Pomp and Circumstances with a funky twist; 2nd class was New Orleans Mardi Gras; 3rd was Tribute to the 70's; 4th was Roaring 20's and the Lindy Hoppers; 5th was West Side Story and the 5O's; 6th was a tribute to the Military; and 7th was Tribute to the 70s. 
Sir Charles graduated from high school in 1979 with the aspirations of becoming a lawyer.  He received his BA in Political Science in three and a half years while attending Virginia Commonwealth University.  While at VCU, he pledged the fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi.  He served 4 years in the U.S. Army, two of those years in Nuremberg, Germany.  He used his GI Bill to pay off his undergrad student loan and picked up two masters degrees--one in Sociology and one in Public Administration.  He is still trying to be all he can be!

As far as Sir Charles' future is concerned, he wants to finish his Doctorate and resume teaching at the college level.  He also wants to continue his involvement in keeping hand dance alive.  I see Charles as well-rounded.  He is curious about knowledge, the intellect, and education.  He adores fun, as well as, people.  He is creative and talented. He has a good positive hold on to life and he knows exactly where he is going and how to get there.

Take care and be yourself Sir Charles, you are a joy in my life.

Written by Marcia Diane Foster