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Song by local musician Loni Gamble goes global

Imagine having your song inspire dancers in 16 countries around the world. That is exactly what Loni Gamble did. The Williamsport musician’s latest release “3 Steps” was the catalyst for a video featuring dancers from Jakarta, England, Singapore, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, South Korea, Italy, Australia, France, Norway, Canada, Japan, Malaysia and the United States.

“Some guy on the other side of the world took it upon himself to help launch the song globally,” said Gamble.

That guy is Jose Miguel Belloque Vane. He is a choreographer in the Netherlands who heard about Gamble’s song from a friend in Turkey.

“The song really spoke to me and I felt like it could really become one of those fun dances that sticks. As a choreographer, I just had to write a dance to this song,” said Vane, who partnered with Roy Verdonk on the line dance.

From there, dancers from around the world were invited to learn the steps and record them on video.

“The dance world for me is like one big family and I am blessed with many international friends because of that. I just reached out to them and asked if they wanted to join my video and everybody said yes,” said Vane.

Vane then edited all the performances together and uploaded the video to Vine Right.com. It is an international platform for dancers and choreographers.

The final piece created by Vane is sweet and energetic (https://vineright.com/youtube.php?x=N-Q2hpMBulg&ID=132261). You can’t help but smile when you see it. Women in South Korea bounce in traditional garb while a lone woman dances in front of the Eiffel Tower in France. And then, there is a group of Aussies three stepping in front of the Sydney Opera House.

Gamble was astounded when a friend sent him the link to the video.

“I was just overwhelmed with joy because it’s our song. Seeing people dance around the world to a song that was conceived in Williamsport amazes me,” said Gamble.

“3 Steps” was co-written by Gamble and Producer Tony Humphries and is now on ITunes, Amazon, Spotify and Google Play. Executive producers from the Williamsport area include Rick Mahonski, Maurice Gamble (Gamble’s son), Regis Bingham, Jim Armstrong, Jr., Tony Humphries, Bob Elion and Gamble himself.

Once the song was recorded, Gamble, Humphries and Gamble’s daughter, Tyrielle Ortiz-Gamble, came up with a line dance to accompany the song. Gamble said that the “Electric Slide” song served up some major inspiration. “We wanted ‘3 Steps’ to have the same appeal and make people want to dance to it,” said Gamble who added, “I don’t consider myself a dancer but I always wanted a song for every color and creed to dance to.”

A sleek video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJRPje6J4–0) was then produced with Gamble and Ortiz-Gamble performing ‘3 Steps.” In addition, dancers from Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York performed the song’s original choreography on a sound stage in Lancaster, PA.

Was Gamble offended that Vane didn’t use his choreography?

“They took the dance and turned it around. But that’s ok. It’s exciting to see,” said the musician.

It was just as exciting for Vane, who has been choreographing for close to a decade. “It feels amazing when you see dancers around the world dancing your dance with a happy smile and having fun. That’s the best reward to get back from dancers.”

Gamble is no stranger to global fame since he was part of the iconic R&B group The Stylistics. In January, he hit the high seas aboard the Soul Train Cruise performing on a bill that included Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson, George Clinton, Chi-Lites and Evelyn “Champagne King” to name a few.

“It felt exhilarating because there are so many emotions when you are with that caliber of musicians. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment,” said Gamble.

Though Gamble has had many successes as a musician, he has never had a song that inspired choreographed dance around the world. And he is eternally grateful to Vane for making that happen. Gamble said, “We sincerely thank him from the bottom of our hearts for choosing our song. Before him, we didn’t have that overseas opportunity and he created that opportunity.”

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