Latest Event Feedback
|
Linedancer Awards 2012 :
|
New Teaches From The Awards ....
I'm In Love (Maggie Gallagher)
- Sanna Nielsen - 64/2 Intermediate - JLS - 64/2 Intermediate/Advanced - Kylie Minogue - 32/4 BeginnerThe Same Star (Robbie M. Hickie)
- Rusiana - 64/4 IntermediateMacArthur Park (Peter & Alison)
- Donna Summer - Phrased/2 Intermediate - Katherine Jenkins - 64/2 Intermediate - Caro Emerald - 64/4 Intermediate
|
UCWDC Worlds 2012 : My husband and I attended the pre-Worlds New Year's Eve Blast weekend, then I drove back by myself for two days the following week, and stayed for 2-3 hours of open dancing after dinner before driving home. The Blast was a lot of fun--dance workshops PLUS open dancing all day, PLUS a party Saturday night. What a great way to start the new year! By my best recollection, I attended 13 workshops from a fabulous lineup of choreographers/instructors. I did try to pace myself because I finally realized that piling too many new dances into my brain at one time means that nothing sticks. The great thing was that any time dancers wanted a break, the open dance floor was available just around the corner for a snack, a chat, and a rest--if we could resist the music being played all the time. The stand-out dances FOR ME (in no particular order) were: Without You (Craig) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXJ6ZxBYlgo&feature=related This phrased dance takes some work to remember where you are in Part A because of the repeated sections, but fits the music beautifully. I think Will is definitely on a roll lately with several great dances. Hurt Me So (Blevins)--32 counts, do-able intermediate very quick to a great track. I'm going to like it even more when I get it down well enough to do it smoothly. No tags/restarts. This Is A Man's World (Verdonk and Vane) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcZTkMmP3OE As soon as it was released I knew I wanted to do this dance, and was thrilled to have the opportunity. The choreographers got the timing right in the notation (1-and-a-2 instead of 1-2-3 "Viennese waltz"), and the choreography hits the fast AND slow breaks perfectly. It's officially 24 counts, no tags/restarts. Gotta Get That (Johns-Grose) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jo9BtRnRbw Intermediate 64/4 to a great track that makes you want to move. This is the first dance from Worlds that I taught when I got back. Pata Pata (Hadisubroto) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fjIXPiutj0 It was great to meet Roy (Crazy, Pon De Replay). I especially liked getting styling suggestions as well on this cool 8&1 cha. Beat Of Your Heart (Arvidson/Kawamoto/Sugarawa) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm2_VXe6nME I had already learned and taught this LI 64/2 dance, but went to the workshop just to see Toshiko dance and to get the benefit of her years of training and competition. All I can say is WOW! Watch her next to Sam in the video. The slow rumba tempo might not appeal to a lot of dancers who favor quicker pop tracks, but the lyrics are lovely, the dance has one easy tag and it ends smoothly at the front after only 4-1/2 rotations. I was very pleased to see several style/technique workshops on the schedule for line dancers and couples. I'd have taken them all if I'd had a chance. I hope this trend continues. Several of the instructors conducted a tribute to A.T. Kinson by teaching some of his well-known dances (some co-choreographed), including Blue Finger Lou, Chilly Cha Cha, Hold Your Horses, Lucky Cha, and Magic Carpet Ride. Sondra Crank also wrote a lovely remembrance that was included in the booklet. I took some great workshops and will teach many of the other dances I learned. But these are the ones at the top of MY list. My only suggestion for future events would be to schedule more beginner level dances to accommodate new dancers because I saw some struggling to keep up with the harder ones and know how frustrating that can be. It will be a 2-3 year wait, but I look forward to the return of Worlds to Orlando and plan to be there.
|
New Teaches From UCWDC Worlds ....
- Lily Frost - 64/4 Higher Intermediate
|
Bristol 2012 :
Thanks to everyone who came to dance with us
Saturday in Bristol on Saturday - A
full-house & we had a lovely day :-) Thanks
to our guest choreographers Maggie G & Karl
for their making it a great day - And to our
co-host Clare - Our 7th year & the best yet
:-)
Maggie's main dance was a road test teach of
her new 64/2 Intermediate pop cha dance I'm
In Love (Sanna Nielsen) being released at
the Awards weekend - And Karl taught us his
new one Without Fire - A great pop East
Coast beat - Both big hits ...........
Maggie also taught We Found Love (Rihanna) &
I taught Rachael's Had A Bad Day & Hi-A-Ma
Cha - In the evening Maggie also did a quick
teach of her neat country cha Don't Let Me
Down.
The most popular dances I guess were
especially those I felt compelled to play
twice !! :-) - Once during the afternoon &
once in the evening - As a DJ you try to
play as many different requests as you can -
And despite not having time to play some
requests at all, there are some dances that
you just have to play twice over a day
broken into two sessions - These are listed
below from Bristol ................
-Bittersweet Memory
-Caribbean Pearl
-Dance With Me Tonight (P&A)
-Gambling Man
-Jealousy
-Language Of The Heart
-Move A Like
-On The Edge
-Party Freak
-Rock Your Body
-Rolling In The Deep
-The Flute
-The Rush
-The Stomp
..............The 3 No.1 contenders to Move
A Like are The Rush, Caribbean Pearl & Rock
Your Body (Based on the floor in Bristol at
least) - I'll have a flutter on The Rush
making the top spot next !!?? :-)
With respect to up 'n coming dances the one
that caught my eye was P&A's FUP (First Up),
a really catchy Samba style dance - Had
looked at it before but a classic example of
sometimes you just need to see it on the
dance-floor !! :-) - We'll be doing that one
next week for sure - Just in time for P&A
coming to Scarborough in just 4 weeks time
:-) Other notable popular dances filling the
floor included ..........
-Devotion
-Domino
-Footloose
-If You Walk Away
-If You Were Mine
-Journey To The Stars
-La Luna
-Lady Luck
-Live This Life
-Love 2 Dance
-Melon Heart
-Mr. Saxobeat
-Mr. Wonderful
-One More Night
-Ready Steady Go
-The Wanderer
-Til Forever
-Tomorrow
-Wet
-Whiskey's Gone
-You & I
....... A small group had great fun dancing
Proud Mary Burnin' - They gave it everything
& it looked great fun - And "the crowd went
wild" giving them a huge cheer :-)
Some dances I did not get to play (Sorry
guys if you were there & waiting) over the
day that I stressed over included
...........
-All Fall Down
-Another Song
-Calypso Mexico
-Close To Paradise
-Faith & Desire
-Feel
-Get Up Dance
-I Belong To You
-Let It Me
-Love On Top
-Not Together Now
-On The Line
-Play For Keeps
-Show Me The Love
-Still Got The Blues
-This Big
-Won't Let Go
-Wrong Side Of The Road
..... Others too but you just can't do them
all when you have a great diverse crowd of
all levels from all over - Looking forward
to the same challenge at the Linedancer
Awards x10 !!! :-) Cya there in just 2 weeks
if you are going :-)
It was a largely Intermediate crowd but some
popular Beginner/Improver dances during the
day not already mentioned included :
-1234
-Alabama Slammin'
-Blue Night Cha
-Knee Deep
-My Pretty Belina
............. I've already mentioned the wow
dance of the moment - The Wanderer - Great
dance & almost a floor-filler :-)
|
|
Vegas 2011 :
Doug
& Jackie Miranda's Vegas Dance Explosion
continues to explode like no other, taking it's
own sweet time, leaving nobody behind, suits me
just fine. Starts late, long breaks, workshop
repeats, shows at night, open dancing by day and
in 3 ballrooms by night. That to me makes line
dancing what it should be - a very pleasurable,
relaxed, no-stress, no-pressure activity. It's
also situated without the isolating restrictions
of an airport location. You can step outside the
hotel and walk the strip that's lined with
shops, shows, sights, eats and what have you and
there's always something new to keep you from
saying beentheredonethatseenthat. It's why since
I started coming I'm back every year without
fail. Plus you can't beat the price, a
reasonably nice hotel room with a refrigerator
and a view for a fraction of the cost of similar
hotel rooms in other event venues, makes it for
me the bargainest linedance event away from home
giving me the biggest bang, or should I say,
boom (it's an explosion after all) for my buck.
One thing missing this year was the continues 24-hour demo of dances on the hotel room TV. CG had to drive back 8 hours from Vegas to be by the side of his stepson who had met a terrible accident so there was nobody to film the demos. Our heart goes to CG. There were also other personal tragedies and triumphs which I'll tell you as I go along. Somehow I didn't miss the TV demos and enjoyed seeing the instructors demo in person instead. And come to think of it, I really didn't watch much of the demos on TV before. The TV screen was so unflattering to the instructors, it's like a hand on top of the screen scrounged down the figures reducing their height and spreading their width. Only PHILLIP SOBRIELO looked right . And you can't move it forward or backward, you've got to sit there and wait for the one you want to see. Speaking of Philip, Doug, in his annual report on the state of Philip's thinness had some good news and some bad news: he gained a few grams of body fat but lost a few ounces because he cut his hair. I tell you, it's an enviably hopeless situation because for some of us, we breath air and gain pounds. Another thing that's missing (Thank God!) are the metal seams on some of the dance floors especially the all-request dance floor. All the floors are now seamless (Yay!) and in abundance. The floor heroes (Guyton Mundy, Will Craig, Louie St. George and Scott Herbert came to the rescue driving the additional floors from Tennessee to Las Vegas to accommodate the (according to Doug) 770 registrants (some came later and others left earlier). Also dropped this year was the 4th ballroom with the predetermined playlist where the music just plays according to the list without the aid of a DJ. And you know without a DJ it is dead and so it died and I think nobody shed a tear. Also missing were the awards. What happenned? From some 2,000 votes in the past to not enough participation? Don't look at me....well....ok :(:(:(. And now to what's new: some spectacular stuff. The Roy Verdonk Dancers, 3 tall skinny dutchmen, the tallest one with a tuft of white hair on his forehead, one was PIM VAN GROOTEL who at the Boston Showdown couldn't really dance because of a surgery in his back but is now back in top form. One of the 5 women dancers was Roy's new bride (whose name I would surely misspell so I won't try). Congratulations and best wishes to you both! These are award winning dancers dancing to Roy's choreography and it shows. They performed 3 nights. I missed the Friday one, went to see KA again and got mezmerized again. It was more than made up by Saturday where they danced like zombies, walked like zombies, dressed like zombies and how zombies can be so entertaining and riveting is a testament to their talent and skill. Also new was Lily Iguchi's son, TOMA. Lily won the choreography contest 2 years ago with her dance And I Love You So which I still love which she dedicated to her brand new husband Farly Iguchi (they were married by Doug right there in that main ballroom). Last year Farly was gone, felled by cancer and Lily of course could not come. This year she came back with her 27 year old son (I swear she looks like his sister) who is a contemporary dancer and gave us an unforgettable performance. Before he started Doug called on Lily to come on stage to introduce the number and explain what contemporary dance is. He cautioned that we may not understand it so well because of the language barrier, whereupon Lily launch into Japanese. While she was talking, Doug on the side was trying to interpret it with a sign language all his own, his arms and hands were all over the place, which of course nobody can understand including himself. But it was genius because when it's that funny everybody gets it. Finally when Lily was finished with her Japanese elocution, Doug stepped forward and said "What Lily said was "this is Tom". It brought the house down. Also new were two very talented singers from Doug & Jackie's theatre troupe in Pigeon Forge- MAGGIE GRIFFIN-SMITH and JAMES FRANCIS. They both sang at the Sunday service @9AM where Doug read passages from the bible and we danced to heartwarming and inspiring music. When James gave a rousing rendition of You Raise Me Up it brought tears to my eyes and the woman sitting next to me shed a bucketful. Also new to the teaching staff was LORRAINE KURTELA (by virtue of winning the choreography competition last year with HELLO DOLLY) who demoed her new dance SWEET GEORGIA BROWN flanked by daughter MICHELE BURTON and soninlaw MICHAEL BARR. This was the last demo that evening and Louie immediately played Hello Dolly which filled every inch of the floor (still going strong after all this time) followed by PROUD MARY BURNING by PHILIP SOBRIELO and the floor got crowdier. This was introduced by Joanne Brady at WOW and took off like wildfire. But let's back up a bit because something singularly significant happenned here and it passed by without the least bit of buzz. It's extraordinary because it looked nobigdeal ordinary. But how many 87 year olds do you know who's teaching her new dance in a major event like this? Or for that matter how many 87 year olds teach line dance? Or for that matter how many 87 year olds line dance? When Lorraine celebrated her 85th birthday with the Quicksteppers which filled the hall to overflowing I called her then the grand dame of linedancing, I'm calling her now the grandest dame of linedancing. It hit me like a thunderbolt because the night before leaving for Vegas, a friend of the family passed away, she was wheelchair bound for sometime, she was 86. Almost the same age, yet what a stark contrast. One an occassion for condolences, the other for congratulations. Oh yes, the dances. Someone asked me what's my favorite dance when of the event and I could name many. WITHOUT YOU by WILL CRAIG. Diana Ward taught this back home although we were having problem with the timing so I looked forward to taking it from Will himself. Even then I thought that this dance in my view catapulted Will Craig to the rarefied rank of first rate choreographers who have been seasoned by time. FREE FALLING and DOMINO by RACHAEL McENANEY; CHANGE by JACKIE MIRANDA to Michael Jackson song, Man in the Mirror (love it); THIS IS A MAN'S WORLD, DANCE,DANCE,DANCE and BRING ME SUNSHINE by ROY VERDONK (the last one was done at WOW, fake it badly then and still do); HURT ME SO, FREAK A LITTLE MORE and 5-10-15 by SCOTT BLEVINS (the last 2 have been around for awhile and it hurt me so that I'm faking it like it Hurt Me So); JAZZY GIRL & DIRTY DANCER by the KINSERS; SEXY AND I KNOW IT by RUBEN LUNA, the directional challenge made for some unknowingly unsexy moves; JUMP IN THE LINE by GUYTON MUNDY, an abc dance, the a with a conga line is okay, the b and c are pure Guyton and you know what that means. So at the open dancing at night, I purposely stayed at the back so I don't bump into anybody when all of a sudden oh..oh someone grab my waist and when the b came, ouch! she stepped on my toe, I made a wrong turn, thank God I didn't step on hers. WALKING THE BLUES by JILL BABINEC and DEBI PANCOAST taught by MICHELE BURTON and a fine job she did of it giving us the fine points and techniques of west coast swing. Michele also taught RAG TOP DOWN which I saw first at WOW; COMING ON STRONG by LARRY BASS. Condolences to Larry. His father passed away during the event, he was 79 and had been ill for sometime so the end wasn't so sudden, that's why Larry's family thought it best that he stays and finish the job. WHIPPED by MICHAEL DIVEN, Michael was the energizer bunny of the event and the most colourful, teaching high energy dances and dancing with abandon and dressing flamboyantly on theme nights. Disco night he had a long curly black wig and shiny shirt; pajama night, he wore a long john with christmas stripes,a santa hat with a long tail that he swung around while dancing like boa feathers and slippers as big as bathtubs; country night he had a tangerine country shirt. DRINKING WINE by MICHAEL BARR , FRANK TRACE and MICHAEL MURPHY taught by MICHAEL BARR. This has been filling the floor in the bay area but it was great to see Michael dance it because we just normally kick the right foot to start the dance and there was Michael raising his right hip and feet instead of just kicking. The difference between comsecomsa and cool. PHILLIP SOBRIELO's you know PROUD MARY and DANCE WITH ME. I just followed VIVIENNE SCOTT on the floor with her dances such as HANDS ON MY HEART, DR. FLAME, she is such a sweet calming presence on the dance floor. BEAUTIFUL TONIGHT by JOHN the GRROWLER. He, MICHAEL DIVEN and LARRY BASS did a beautiful job djing at the all-request dance floor and JOHN also at the beginners dancefloor. BTW CONGRATULATIONS to the choreography winners: JESSE GARCIA, GACI GECELTER and TAJALI HALL. Finally the big finale night. Used to be dresstoimpress night in the past, now it is country - frills, boots and cowboy hats. It's also the big finale show. Came down ahead of time to find a long line, went back up to finish a book and lost track of time, came back and the show was in full swing. In time catch Jackie singing a duet with Maggie. Jackie sings too? What can't she do? Rachael floated around the dance floor in a dreamy dance as Maggie sang. Jackie in black and white cowgirl outfit treated us to a medley of country dances later joined by Doug and ended it with Jackie on his shoulder. Before that he proudly announced that Jackie was born in 1959 and he in 1963. Since Doug never tells a lie nobody believed him. How can anyone, really. Jackie has the face and body of a teenager and Doug although graying at the temples looked younger and better and I can't tell you I never tell a lie:):):):):). Then Rachael and Guyton reprised their 1st place winning entry at the Boston Showdown. I enjoyed it just as much as the first time and I think they even danced it better this time. At the open dancing we danced some dances to live music by MAGGIE and JAMES. But what's with the lighting? In all the shows I've attended, the spotlight is on the stage and on the dance floor if the performance is there and it's dark around the audience. Here, there's light around the audience but the stage and the dance floors are dimmer, not much less dimmer as during Louie's open dancing. I tell you it doesn't make the performers any sexier or lovelier in the dimlight, just harder to see at least for me or maybe be just me, me who tends to gravitate to a bright dance floor.
|
|
Tampa 2011 :
I’m having a hard time writing a review
about the Tampa Bay Line Dance Classic,
because I won’t let myself accept that it’s
over. First off, I want to give a million
thank yous to the event directors, Jennifer
and Jason Cameron, and their very attentive
staff for doing a phenomenal job with every
aspect of the event weekend. When it comes
to events, the Camerons consistently seem to
have their finger on the dancer’s pulse, and
they aren’t afraid to evolve an event based
on feedback to help make it the very best
that it can be. On Sunday, a few of us
shared a ride on an airport shuttle with
Jennifer. She excitedly described some of
the changes they experimented with this year
at Tampa, and she is already buzzing with
ideas for their future events based on new
feedback - welcoming ours as well. As a
newer event goer, I simply asked to know in
their future advertising when their events
end. Since that is something of a mystery,
it’s helpful when making travel plans. Her
reply was “no problem”. All in all, her
honest excitement over the prospects of
making each and every event better was great
to experience firsthand.
Those thank yous also extend to the
absolutely stellar collection of instructors
that truly helped to make the event for me
and every other attendee. In addition to
teaching some amazing dances that covered a
wide range of styles, steps, and music (more
on that later), they were warm and welcoming
both on and off the dance floor. The event
schedule at Tampa didn’t feel rushed and
seemed to allow the instructors to stay
close at hand, which afforded a lot of
“getting to know you” time during the day
and in the evening. Sharing a laugh or
conversation between lessons or in the wings
during open dancing easily made for some of
my very best take-home memories.
On that note, I realize that some dancers
keep to themselves and take more of a
business approach to event weekends, which I
can respect, but sharing something as simple
as a hello or a thank you to an instructor
off of the dance grid can open the doors to
an event experience that is, in a way, much
more personal. The same goes for other
attendees too. We are one big, happy dance
family after all. I confess that I’m a bit
shy in my personal life, but meeting,
mixing, and mingling with other dancers is
always something special too. Our common
interest is the ice breaker, so my hat goes
off to the Camerons for inviting this
assortment of personalities and for creating
a little world for all of to share what we
love – to whatever extent - even if only for
the span of a long weekend.
The Tampa event DJs (Louis St. George,
Olivia Ray, and J.P. Potter) did a
remarkable job all weekend. Some folks might
laugh, but I finally managed to stay up late
– and nearly every night too – to witness
these pros in action. There was a great mix
of requested dances played in every room,
with requests often handled quickly in the
smaller open dance room. From 2pm until
dinner, open dancing in a smaller event room
was available every day – Friday, Saturday,
and Sunday – and seemed quite popular when I
peeked in. Thursday evening was the free,
kick-off open dance in the main room. In the
evening on Friday and Saturday, two open
dance rooms (the main room and a smaller
room) were available. The tradition of
projecting the dance queue in the main dance
room continued – yay!!! Dancers often
bounced between rooms and the DJs kept their
respective floors filled until around
midnight when a noticeable number of folks
would wander to bed. Afterwards, the open
dance diehards continued until the wee hours
and the DJs were there to keep them dancing.
Other event notables were the Pro-Am
Competition, Saturday show, and review
sessions. I hope someone else will post some
comments on the competition since I missed
it. The Saturday show was a great treat that
included two group numbers by area dancers,
a group linedance performance of Wild Wild
West by the Camerons and several
choreographers, two dance skits by event
instructors, and a clogging routine from
Junior Willis and his clogging class
participants. I’m excited to say that I
helped participate in the clogging routine,
but I’ll post more about that experience
below. I hope to post a few photos of the
Saturday show online, but I’m hoping even
more that others will have videos that they
can share. I was sitting behind the
performers so my collection of photos
includes mostly backside shots. Lol.
Finally, the review sessions were an
absolute blessing. On Friday night, during
evening open dancing, reviews were conducted
in several of the smaller rooms with a
schedule posted. The Saturday reviews were
held throughout the day on Sunday with a
similar format. The great thing about the
review schedule is that it was sufficient
enough to allow time for a great
walk-through, leaving time to practice once
or twice to music. In the shuttle ride with
Jennifer that I mentioned earlier, she did
say that some folks were not happy about the
timing of the Friday reviews since it ate
into the evening open dancing. In response,
they plan on moving them into an earlier
slot after the lessons but before the
previews and open dancing. I’m only
mentioning this here since I think it’s
another great example of an event director
taking comments and criticisms to heart.
The hotel (Hilton Double Tree, Tampa) was
O.K. as far as event hotels go. The
accommodations were sprawling and a little
worse-for-wear, but certainly clean. The
shuttle service, however, was fantastic
especially since it was free for any
pick-up/drop-off within a two mile radius,
which made grabbing a bite to eat or
shopping for incidentals very easy. The best
feature, however, was the layout of the
event space. The workshop and open dance
rooms were all close to one another, so it
was easy to go from one lesson to the next
without feeling rushed. Likewise, the rooms
were outfitted with loads of chairs and
great quality hardwood floors that
accommodated everyone from what I could
tell. The only time one of the floors felt
too crowded for me was on the main dance
floor the half hour after the show on
Saturday evening. However, that quickly
changed once folks finally dispersed into
the hallway and the smaller open dance room.
The room temperatures were comfortable for
the most part, but not cold at least to me,
so it was easy to get hot especially while
dancing. Finally, fresh water and a supply
of cups were available in every event room.
I’m a becoming a quick fan of the Camerons’
events, and I’m already looking forward to
their next one. Hopefully this event report
does some semblance of justice to their
Tampa event, especially in light of their
hard work. I’ll finish this event report
with some comments about the lessons I
attended, but don’t feel obligated to
continue. Geesh. I’ve already made some of
you suffer by reading this long. Although,
if you do, please keep in mind that I picked
my way through the dance grid using my
personal preferences as a guide, and I
enjoyed a lot about what I picked.
*** Friday, November 4 ***
9am - No Llores with Ria Vos – I had read
about this dance recently in the Line Dance
Newsletter, so I was excited to give this
lesson a go; doubly so since this was my
first time meeting Ria as well. Ria is a
superb instructor and she offered an
effortless teach of her cha rhythm dance.
The choreography hits the notes and timing
perfectly. The second and third 8-counts
required some extra attention due to a
series of direction changes followed by a
surprisingly different lock timing, but Ria
was divinely patient and worked out the
kinks. I love the track and the dance, and
it’s easily one of several favorites of mine
from the weekend.
10am – Free Fallin (Rachael McEnaney) with
Debbie McLaughlin – Although I took a teach
of this from Rachael at Windy City, I was
looking forward to a second teach due to the
complexities of the timing since it makes a
huge difference in finally feeling or not
feeling the music. Debbie did a fantastic
job, as usual, presenting the timing and
everyone seemed to be dancing to the
skin-tingling John Mayer track in no time.
From the buzz throughout the weekend, this
was a definite favorite of many of the
dancers and obvious floor filler during open
dancing.
11am – déjà vu (J.P. Potter) with Maurice
Row – I’m glad that Maurice selected this
popular dance of J.P.’s to teach. I’ve heard
it played at other event weekends, and
Maurice made it a joy to learn. Since déjà
vu was a rather quick teach, Maurice was
also able to include his own popular dance
After Party. Two great dances in under an
hour. Thanks Maurice!
12pm – Clogging Part I with Junior Willis –
After watching the clogging performance at
Windy City, I was nervous about trying
Junior’s lesson, but several friends nudged
me into giving it a go. I had a BLAST and
I’m so glad that I gave it a chance! Junior
did an incredible job breaking down the
steps and introducing us to 14 different
clogging patterns. The naming conventions
definitely made it easy to remember and we
sequenced them to music to get a feel for
the rhythm.
1pm – Prejudice with Debbie McLaughlin – I
originally learned this from Rona K. at
Windy City, but it’s well worth a second
teach so it was an easy choice to take it
from Debbie herself. Although its phrasing
can be off-putting, you can absolutely feel
each phrase in the music. I’ve been enjoying
dancing this since Windy City, and given its
popularity at Tampa I’m sure this will be
sticking around for quite some time. Plus,
absolutely any chance to learn anything from
Debbie is a treat. Her sense of humor
shines, plus she’s a dancer to admire on the
dance floor so any aspects of style she
offers make the effort worthwhile.
2pm – Walkin’ Blues (Jill Babinec and Debi
Pancoast) with Kathy G. - I first saw this
danced at Windy City, but I wasn’t able to
make a teach there, so it was an easy choice
to make for Tampa. I adore the track by
Melinda Doolittle and the west coast rhythm
dance Jill and Debi choreographed is
amazing. I admit that I struggled with the
some of the timing during the lesson from
Kathy G., but it all made sense once we
started dancing to the music. I would
definitely recommend going to music early
and often with this one since it certainly
helped me, as well as a few others that I
talked to. Kathy G. also taught A Drink In
My Hand (Sandy Goodman), but I missed that
portion of her teach.
3pm – Hot Stepper with Dan McInerney – Maybe
because the song was overplayed in the ‘90s,
I wasn’t in love with track selection when I
first heard it. I went to the lesson to
watch Dan’s teach and to give my feet a
break, but 8-counts into watching I jumped
out of my seat to join in. When all was said
and done I absolutely loved it. Dan has a
great ear for music and went out of his way
to choreograph steps to the song’s musical
highlights. For me, the fun was in hitting
those highlights along with Dan’s
interesting collection of steps. It’s both
quirky and fun and helped me to enjoy Here
Comes The Hotstepper.
4pm – Pay Your Dues with Maurice Row –
Maurice is a high energetic instructor, and
this dance is definitely an energetic match.
The timing is quick, but once I got it,
well, I got it. Lol. The key seems to be
letting yourself simply move from
step-to-step without stopping, especially
through the opening syncopation. Natural
inclination helped move me where his
choreography wanted me to go. A friend
taking the lesson also offered me some
remedial practice with the hip-and-dip move
¾ of the way through, and with their help
that clicked too. Lol. Oh… Maurice also
recommended a Glee Cast version to the
Destiny’s Child track, but I have to admit
that I prefer the original maybe for no
other reason than that Destiny’s Child
sounds amazing.
5pm - I skipped a workshop during this hour
to grab a bite with friends for dinner.
*** Saturday, November 5 ***
9am – You Better Stop (Stephen Rutter & Claire Butterworth) with Marilyn McNeal – This was an easy choice for me since I love the track, and the dance simply looked amazing. Although the timing looks intimidating (12&a34&a56&a78&a), which Marilyn compared it to Cry Me Out (Malene Jakobsen), the “12&a” repetition through the song was easy enough to hear and follow. I can’t offer enough praise for the flourish-and-flow of this dance to this track, and it’s easily another weekend favorite. 10am – Love’s Kiss with John Robinson – I’m a fan of the Lady Antebellum track Just A Kiss, so I was sold on John’s demo of this dance. Although it’s only 24-counts, John packed a lot into this NC2S, so it definitely doesn’t feel short or repetitive by any means. I love the flow, and especially the Sweep-Cross-Side sequence that opens the second 8-count. John also taught his No Love Allowed, but I needed to slip out to catch the tail end of Sandy Albano’s teach of Never Enough (Joey Warren) as a review for myself after learning it at Windy City.
11am – Hurt Me So with Scott Blevins – The
quick of what I have to offer is simple:
great track and great dance! Scott always
seems to find winners when it comes to music
and this is certainly no exception. Between
this and Freak A Little More, Scott really
hit two home runs. The choreography for Hurt
Me So includes a lot of playful elements and
you almost need to try it for that to make
sense. The playfulness comes while dancing
since moves hit some really strong notes in
the music. I really love the closing “walk”
type sequence of the dance. It’s a long
string of whole counts (I seem to recall
Scott mentioning that it might be the
longest in any of his dances) and it has you
covering some ground at just the perfect
places in the song. The track is fast, but I
can already tell from its popularity during
open dancing that the efforts made in
learning it will definitely pay off. This is
easily yet another favorite from the
weekend.
12pm – Rude Boy (co. w/Amy Spencer) with
Junior Willis – After Scott’s Hurt Me So
cardio session, I needed to relax a bit. I
already had a teach of this from Junior at
Windy City, so this was a fun-to-do
refresher. Everyone in the class was
smiling, and it’s just one of those dances
that has you feeling naughty in a good way.
2pm – Leave Your Mark with Debbie McLaughlin
– Debbie choreographed this waltz to the
Beyonce track, I Was Here, which is stunning
in its own right and definitely worth a
listen or twelve. Her waltz is easily just
as breathtaking, and absolutely
approachable. While asking her about it, she
said she simply choreographed what she felt
did justice to the music. It didn’t need to
be difficult. A lot of waltzes are chockfull
of recycled steps, but her chorography keeps
everything interesting. One thing I love
about it is the strength of the closing
counts that then fall away and become tender
like the music. Cheers again, Debbie, and
another favorite for me.
3pm – Clogging Part II with Junior Willis –
Junior had me hooked after taking Part I, so
I was definitely excited to learn the show
number that he put together for us to
practice. The song he chose was My Cowboy to
help fit the theme of the Saturday Show –
Wild Wild West – and we all had a great time
learning it. I can’t say I was
“accomplished” after two one-hour lessons,
but I was more than happy to help with
Junior’s clog show number as a diehard,
self-appointed representative of the
middle-back-row where no one except maybe
Louis could see me. Lol. If anyone ever
debated about giving one of Junior’s clog
workshops a go – as they say – “Just Do It”.
You won’t regret it.
4pm – Just For Me by Ria Vos – Here’s yet
another occasion where I was sold simply on
the song selection. It’s another swing
rhythm track by Renee Olstead called My Baby
Just Cares For Me. Any fans of Rob Glover’s
Midnight Swing, or any of its floor splits,
will love it as well since Olstead’s
Midnight Man is used for that. I love the
variety of steps in her choreography, and
it’s simply a joy to dance to the music. I’m
trying to pull out some highlight steps that
really sold me on the dance, but there are
just to many to choose. Give it a go and
you’ll see what I mean. This was yet another
easy favorite for me.
*** Sunday, November 6 ***
9am – Missouri Swings (Michele Perron) with
Barry & Dari Anne Amato – Barry opened his
teach of this by praising the musicality of
the steps in Michele’s choreography, and
they wanted to help give it the kind of
attention that it deserves. The Brenda Lee
track Kansas City is a classic, and I have
to admit that after we learned enough to go
to music the first time, the steps simply
pop and jazz from the track.
10am – Goodbye Kiss (co. with Joey Warren)
with Debbie McLaughlin – I first had a teach
of this from Debbie at JG, and it was a
favorite of mine from that event weekend.
Debbie started her lesson in Tampa by
admitting that neither she nor Joey has
taught it again since. She did promise they
would be more diligent in introducing this
at upcoming events, especially since the
song is fantastic in its own right and has
done incredibly well on both the pop and
country billboards – Don’t You Wanna Stay by
Jason Aldean ft Kelly Clarkson. I was a fan
of this when I first learned it at JG, and
I’m still a fan, BUT as Debbie also
admitted, this is easily a two or three
teach dance. There is a lot to the
choreography, but she apologized that it’s
required by the phrasing of the music. The
dance is every bit as difficult as Debbie
slowly revealed throughout the lesson. Just
when we’d work through one tricky spot,
Debbie confessed “it gets worse”. But to her
and Joey’s credit, the steps and flow fit
the music achingly perfectly. I’m looking
forward to keeping this practiced now that I
feel like I finally “Got It” – or at least I
think I do. Lol.
11am – That Kinda Lovin’ with Guyton Mundy –
This was another second teach for me since I
first learned it at JG. I guess I’m
discovering that I’m something of a
nightclub junkie, so I was glad for the
second lesson on this since I haven’t been
keeping it practiced for myself. Regardless,
Guyton had us rolling with laughter along
the way with each of his “okey-dokey”s and “maybe”s.
12pm – I skipped the lessons in this hour to
take Debbie’s and Marilyn’s scheduled
reviews of their Saturday workshops.
1pm – Love On Top (Kate Sala) with Dan
McInerney – One word – yay! I’m so glad to
finally learn this after reading so much
about it in the Line Dance Newsletter. I
love the movement, energy, and
controlled-bounce of this dance “You put my
love on top, top, top, top, top.” There is
something infectious about it and I can’t
quite put my finger on what it is.
Regardless, Dan did a ‘top’ job teaching.
Ok, that was bad. Lol.
2pm – I didn’t take any workshops in this
final hour since I slipped in for a final
round of open dancing before I had to pack
and catch my flight home.
|
New Teaches From Tampa ....
- Ini Kamoze - 48/4 Higher IntermediateLeave Your Mark (Debbie McLaughlin)
- Beyonce - 48/2 Intermediate - Gloria Estefan - 32/4 IntermediateLanguage Of The Heart (Ria Vos)
- Francesca Battistelli - 32/2 Higher Intermediate/Advanced - Renee Olstead - 64/4 Intermediate - Kristina Maria - 32/4 Beginner/Intermediate - Bouke - 32/4 Beginner - Bouke - 64/4 Intermediate
|
Chicago Windy City 2011 :
Throughout the year, dozens of dance friends
convinced my partner and me that Windy City was
a ‘must do’ dance event. Of course, you never
really know unless you try something yourself
and this particular dance event did not
disappoint. As first-timers, every expectation
that we had was met, if not exceeded, by an
energetic trio of organizers – Mark Cosenza, Eve
Yeaton, and Glen Pospieszny.
The collection of national and international
choreographers was superb as well as their
offerings of beginner to advanced level
choreography. After all the buzz from Worlds and
WOW, I watched the work-in-progress dance grid
on the Windy City website like a hawk to see
what would be taught and when. Of course there
were some changes along the way, but the grid
posted a week or so before the event was pretty
true to form with the grid I received in my
registration packet. Some early picks that did
not fail to impress include Rachael’s Free
Fallin’, Scott’s Freak A Little More, and
Debbie’s Prejudice (taught by Rona Kaye), but
more – much more – on that below. It was also a
pleasure to see that Sunday was a dedicated
reteach day, which – for me – meant that I could
strategize a little more to catch up for
timeslots where I would have needed to be in two
or three places at once – lol.
The Crowne Plaza hotel was spectacular. The
rooms, fitness center, and bathrooms were airy
and clean. One element of the hotel that I found
a little lackluster was the restaurant. The
space felt small and tight for the number of
attendees and service was a little slow
especially when time before and between
workshops was a commodity. However, I think the
event organizers must have anticipated this,
because pre-prepared boxed lunches were made
available on Friday and Saturday for quick and
convenient food service. The main lobby and
dining area offered easy access to the five
workshop rooms (four smaller rooms, one devoted
to beginners, plus the main ballroom). Each
workshop room was surrounded on three sides by
chairs as well as a table with a continuous
supply of ice cold water and cups. The fourth
side offered a stage for the instructors and
sound equipment. The dance floors seemed
adequately sized for each workshop, but kudos to
the organizers for being quick to act and swap a
smaller room for the main ballroom if a workshop
attracted an unexpected number of attendees.
Each workshop room was kept understandably cool,
if not cold.
At this point, it’s absolutely worth mentioning
that my heart sank a little during my first
Friday morning workshop in the main ballroom.
After the crowd cleared from the morning demos
just about every front row chair was claimed
with a chair condom, jacket, bag, etc. as folks
left the room. Like at other events, I just
assumed that that was just the status quo. The
Saturday demos were scheduled later that same
day so I figured that folks were just staking
their claim early, if not for the entire weekend
– shrug. BUT, to my glee, Eve started the
evening demos with an announcement to the effect
that she would personally claim any and all
items left on any chair between workshops and
that the chair claiming would not be tolerated.
And, if you’ve ever met Eve you know she meant
it! That announcement was met with huge applause
from around the room, and it certainly seemed to
fix the problem for the remainder of the weekend
from what I could tell. The only claimed chairs
I saw after that were for the videographers.
Yay!
Louis St. George (main room) and Jill Babinec
(beginner room) did amazing jobs DJing all of
the open dancing, and there was quite a bit to
be had. In addition to the standard late night
open dancing, there were breaks offered in the
dance grid for several hours each day (and all
day Sunday) for dancers to squeeze in some extra
open dancing. I was workshopping during those
sessions, but I could hear some great tracks
being played through the walls – lol. First off,
the Thursday night kickoff open dance was a
great success. The floor was full to overflowing
with nearly every song selection. Plus!!!
Dancers were treated to two bonus teach soul
dances by Ms. Georgia. Both selections were
beginner, if not ultra-beginner, but the songs
and soul attitude styling made them infectious.
I was also glad to see that projecting the
upcoming dances in the main ballroom is becoming
something of a tradition. It helps tons,
especially during times when the beginner room
is humming with music as well. I love having a
choice of jockeying between rooms. And, for the
main-room-only dancers out there you might be
pleasantly surprised with the music/dance
selections in the beginner room. Also, the
beginner room included a schedule of all of that
day’s beginner dance workshop dances so you
could recap a dance with the instructor calling
cues. And, if that didn’t hook me, the adjacent
room’s wall was opened to offer a second floor.
In addition to offering space for overflow
dancers, Jill would often call floor splits on
the second floor that included more advanced
options that paired with the beginner dances to
familiar songs – Rolling In The Deep, Papi,
etc.. On Saturday night, the same thing happened
in the main ballroom as well to give dancers
even more space to dance – not floor splits per
se, but extra space. This was a great idea and a
great use of otherwise empty dance floors during
those times.
I’m sad to say that I missed out on both the
amateur and professional choreography
competitions since I chose to take workshops in
all of those time slots, and the same goes for
Junior’s popular clogging sessions. However, I
did see the results of all of it during the
Saturday evening show and I definitely felt a
twinge of regret. Next time… next time… As for
the Saturday show, it had a variety show sort of
feel that included performances of the various
competition dances, as well as the final judging
(Congrats to Team USA/Canada and Sandy Goodman
on their well-deserved wins!). Afterwards we
were treated to solo and duo performances by
several of the event instructors as well as an
outstanding group performance by Junior Willis
and his clogging class attendees. I hope someone
will post videos of these dances since they were
all amazing.
I know I’m skipping loads of details including
hanging out and dining some really great people,
but I think I hit many highlights that event
goers would be interested in reading. I’ll wrap
up this event report with my thoughts about the
various workshops I attended. Please read on if
you care to:
*** Friday, October 7 ***
10am – Make An Appearance / Tangled In Time with Michele Perron – I’ve never taken a workshop from Michele, so this was an easy choice for me to make. She is an amazing instructor with a style and grace that definitely matches her dancing. Make An Appearance is a dance that perfectly captures the slow, sensual vibe of Laura Bell Bundy’s track Drop On By. Since the tempo is slow the syncopation feels sexy, not rushed, and even something like a full-and-a-half turning triple feels smooth instead of rushed. Tangled in Time is a transformative kind of dance. The track Mission Bells by Armistice sweeps you away to the colorful streets near a village church in Mexico. The track is worth a listen in its own right, and Michele’s Latin rhythm-inspired choreography with regular counts and consistent holds fits perfectly.
11am – Free Fallin’ with Rachael McEnaney – Two
words: Love It. At the start of the lesson
Rachael cautioned that folks will either love it
or hate it, but you know where I stand. It’s
danced to an acoustic track by John Mayer with a
west coast rhythm that will either inspire you
or frustrate you. The steps become almost
lyrical and require a dancer to have a more
sensitive ear for notes and tempo changes.
12pm – Freak A Little More with Scott Blevins –
This is a fun, feel good sort of dance that will
inspire any dancer to ‘freak a little’ with the
framework of his choreography. This dance packed
the floor at the Thursday open dance, so I
couldn’t wait for this teach. The 32-counts of
steps are absolutely approachable and with a
fun-to-do tag. Congrats on this one, Scott!
1pm – Zumba with Rachael McEnaney – I took this
slot as a break, and decided to enjoy my box
lunch while watching Rachael and her Zumba
dancers sweat. Her routines were amazing, and
her skill as a dance instructor shows. Everyone
watching and participating definitely enjoyed
this midday treat.
2pm – Lipstick with Malene Jakobsen – I’m a big
fan of Malene’s choreography so I was thrilled
for a chance to participate in her stateside
debut as an instructor. She is an eager and
patient instructor with charming quirks. I’m
glad the organizers were able to include her in
the instructor lineup. Lipstick is inspired by a
funky track by Jedward with loads of fun-to-do
steps. I love the opening heel pop, and the
rock-flick-bump later in the choreography. The
track feels speedy at first, but slows with
practice if you know what I mean.
3pm – Need Some Love with Jacob Ballard – I
discovered that Jacob was the winner of last
year’s amateur choreography competition (he won
for A Walk On The Wild Side) and his scheduled
teaches this year were part of his prize. Need
Some Love goes to a catchy track called You Need
Love Like I Do by Heather Small and Tom Jones.
The appeal for me was the 70’s style disco
movements that Jacob choreographed to hit the
vibe of the track. It’ll have you grooving from
start to finish. Congratulations, Jacob!
4pm – At This Moment (Choo Sue Chin) with John
Robinson – John Robinson is a bundle of energy,
and for me he really, really shines while
teaching a waltz. John explained that he saw and
fell in love with this dance a few weeks ago at
another event, and decided to share it with us
at Windy City. I’m soooo glad that he did. The
Michael Buble track is amazing in its own right,
but Choo Sue Chin’s choreography really nails
it. I confess that I’ll need to work on the
late-in-dance tag that occurs through a pause in
the music, but other than that the steps and
music flow along very smoothly.
*** Saturday, October 8 ***
9am – You And I with Peter and Alison – I confess that I’m a Lady Gaga fan, so this was a no brainer choice for me. Of course, popular songs can lead to ho-hum dances in the race to be first. In this case, I think Peter and Alison really choreographed something fun to this “different” kind of Lady Gaga track. I can easily see this being popular in the months ahead and the steps are certainly approachable. I particularly like the turn into a hitch followed by the switches midway through the choreography. There is some repetition that might lead to confusion including a bunch of ball-cross type syncopation, but it’s definitely manageable and makes the 64-counts of choreography more approachable to even lower intermediate dancers.
10am – Try Try Try with Michele Burton – I’ve
been looking forward to learning Try Try Try for
weeks, so I was glad to see it included in the
dance grid. And, if you’ve ever taken a lesson
with Michele Burton you’ll easily agree that,
like Michael Barr, she offers consistently well
rounded teaches. There is always a great mix of
technique and great choreography, and I’m always
a sucker for their music selections. I look
forward to seeing both her and Michael again at
Tim Gillis in a few weeks so I can catch up on
workshops of theirs that I didn’t have time to
enjoy at Windy City. As for Try Try Try, I
enjoyed this approachable cha rhythm dance of
hers a lot.
11am – Let It All Out with Johanna Barnes –
Johanna is a virtuoso with fun and funky steps
to likeminded tracks. Let It All Out is no
exception. I was a little intimidated by some of
the footwork and movements during her demo, but
after her fantastic teach I had no reason to be.
I’ll need to practice my boogie walks for sure,
but I’ll take her technique suggestions to heart
and practice, practice, practice. Oh, I also
loved the ‘feel cool’ timing of her hitch/pop
cross behind and the diagonal walks. Definitely
different.
12pm – Rude Boy (w/Amy Spencer) with Junior
Willis – Everything about this teach had me and
everyone in the room smiling from ear to ear.
Carol was asking what to do to motivate younger
folks to enjoy line dancing. Well, line dances
like Rude Boy are a great start. The Rihanna
track is a great choice with youthful appeal,
and the improver-type choreography matches it
perfectly. Hell, this dance will even make you
wish you could enjoy the tag more, lol. Seeing
is believing, so definitely give it a look-see
especially if the video includes Junior. You can
tell he’s having a great time dancing it.
1pm – Be A Little Selfish (w/Bennett) with Joey
Warren – Like many of Joey’s dances, this quick
cha (and by quick I do mean ‘kw-ik!) really hits
the playfulness and timing of the music. I won’t
lie, the steps – especially the second 8-count)
can be intimidating so I planned in advance to
make his review teach of this on Sunday (which
was well worth it, see the note below). I
especially enjoy his “twurn” sequence into the
walk-shuffle around into the fake-out direction
change. It definitely offers an interesting
collection of steps, and – of course – Joey
makes it look funky and effortless.
2pm – Melon Heart with Niels Poulsen – This is
another dance that I was looking forward to
learning for weeks, and since I already knew
Love 2 Dance and Lady Luck, I knew I had to have
at least one Niels’ teach over the event
weekend. When Eve announced the dance during the
demo she added, “Melon Heart – really?”, and
Niels laughingly explained the translation of
the song title and its idiomatic meaning of
“softie”. During the lesson he added that if he
called it the dance Softie, Eve would have said,
“Softie – really?” so it’s a lose-lose, lol. All
of that aside, the dance is a fantastic exercise
in learning some really cool and fun Latin type
foot/body work. I really enjoyed the technique
suggestions, but I definitely have my work cut
out for me in trying to dance with the kind of
joy that Niels does.
3pm – Never Enough/Throw The Dice with Joey
Warren – This was yet another no-brainer session
for me, since I’ve read so many positive things
about Joey’s Throw The Dice. Of course, after
learning that there was an A and B phrase and
then seeing what B entailed, I was definitely
nervous. Like Descarada for me, Joey has a way
of teaching a seemingly complicated set of steps
and having it make sense given the music.
Unfortunately this can be hard to translate into
words on a stepsheet, so I would definitely
recommend taking a workshop from the man
himself. I had a blast learning and dancing
Throw The Dice, and I definitely felt that I had
it by the end of the lesson. For as quick and
energetic as Throw The Dice is, you can consider
Never Enough as the opposite. Debbie McLaughlin
stepped in for our final reviews and described
it perfectly as “dreamy, and it makes [her] want
to cry.” Of course she is one of those
Yeats-type “How can we know the dancer from the
dance?” dancers, so her comment is all the more
appropriate since the music and choreography
feel like one and the same thing. Joey always
seems to do a great job all around, and I
consistently enjoy the challenges that he gives
us.
*** Sunday, October 9 ***
9am – Prejudice (McLaughlin) with Rona Kaye – I have a confession to make about this particular dance. I was a huge En Vogue fan back in the day, and probably enjoyed Free Your Mind too much back then to the point I got bored with it. Regardless, I gulped down the song choice since I love Debbie’s choreography and Rona’s style of teaching. Of course that confession is all the more ironic given the dance title Prejudice, since I drop-dead-loved dancing the choreography to the music. The musicality of the steps is phenomenal. And, even though it’s an A-B-C dance (where C caused many, many groans), it all really clicked together nicely during the teach and practice dances. There is a funny story to tell here about Rona vs. The Machine, since the sound system simply wasn’t cooperating. No lights. No music. Nothing! We made it through A… still nothing… B… nothing… and things were getting precarious since several folks stepped in and tried to fix it with no luck. Enter Louis St. George (notice the 9am teach slot – well, 9:30am by this point – and that it’s a Sunday morning on an event weekend). Nuff’ said about that. Well, literally a handful of seconds later everything was churning nicely. Punchline. The system wasn’t plugged in. Lol. All of that aside, Rona did her usual phenomenal job teaching full of deadpan delivered laughs along the way. Oh, and thanks to Debbie too for joining us on the early teach. The choreography really is perfect for the song and helped me to re-enjoy a song that I used to love, probably even more than I remember enjoying it the first go around!
10am – Be A Little Selfish with Joey Warren – I
needed a second teach on this one due to the
speed and syncopation, but I was thrilled when
Joey announced that Louis was working on a 4%
slower version of the track for open dancing and
further teaches. Of course, since he had to
suffer with a 10am Sunday morning teach, he
joked about making us suffer with full-tempo.
Lol. Ah well, even at 10am and at full speed it
finally clicked. Woohoo.
11am – Domino with Rachael McEnaney – Rachael
debuted this dance during the weekend, and it
generated quite the buzz. The track is bouncy
and infectious by Jessie J. and the dance steps
are probably on tier to I’m No Good in
difficulty, so I’m sure it’ll be popular. I
particularly liked the arm suggestions that give
it even more get-up-and-dance appeal.
12pm – I skipped a workshop during this hour to
pack my bags and grab a bite for lunch.
1pm – Meant 2 Be with Johanna Barnes – Johanna’s
Meant 2 Be is a different kind of waltz that
really travels and challenges you to enjoy the
feeling of rise and fall with more than just a
collection of balance steps and twinkles.
Likewise, the steps are paired with a different
kind of track, namely Misery by Pink (feat.
Steve Tyler). This will definitely expand any
line dancer’s appreciation of waltzes to a
moving song (literally and in this case
figuratively too).
2pm – Jump In Da Line with Guyton Mundy – This
dance weekend would not have been complete if I
wasn’t able to make Guyton’s teach of Jump In Da
Line. The dance is as much fun to do as to
watch, and I look forward to it filling event
floors in the months ahead. The challenge will
be in getting dancers into A and B lines quickly
that come together and apart without smacking
into one another, lol. Couple that with the
inevitable straggler and you can easily have
some confusion. Of course one round through the
A phrase should clarify things, but the tag and
C phrase are my absolute favorite parts.
3pm – Freak A Little More with Scott Blevins – I
took this as a reteach to absorb more of Scott’s
style pointers as well as to leave the weekend
on a dance high since it’s a really fun dance to
a great track.
|
New Teaches From Chicago ....
Choreography competition winner .........
A Drink In My Hand (Sandy Goodman)
- Eric Church - 32/4 Beginner/Intermediate
Pro-Choreography Teams .........
Drinkin' Wine (Frank Trace, Gerard Murphy & Michael Barr)
- Nappy Brown - 64/4 IntermediateDirty Dancer (Jo Kinser, Niels Poulsen & Daniel Trepat)
- Enrique Iglesias - 64/2 Intermediate
Walkin' Blues (Jill Babinec & Debi Pancoast)
- Melinda Doolittle - 48/2 Intermediate
|
Newline 2011 :
A big thank you to everyone who came to our
Newcastle Newline weekend - We really do appreciate
your support & friendship - We had a blast - And big
thanks to all the team who as well as teaching great
dances, also working hard throughout the weekend to
give everyone a great time - True professionals, but
true friends too ............
We had a great chill pre-event social/workshop night
on Thursday - Lots of social dancing plus a few
recap/teaches including Lonely Again, Show Me The
Love, Make It Hot, Under My Skin, Free Fallin' &
This City - A classic It's Goin' Round Round too :-)
A great workshop schedule by the team this year -
From the DJ Booth afterwards all were well received
- All requested many times again over the weekend -
And all floor-fillers for their recaps .............
Joey had 3 hit teaches - A great (fast) cha called
Be A Little Selfish (Britney), co-written with Craig
- And two nightclubs, Find It In (Jay Sean/Message
In A Bottle - Debbie taught this one on her Cruise I
hear) & Never Enough (Prince Royce/Addicted) -
Descarada, Throw The Dice & Talkin' To The Moon were
so popular in social dancing too - Sorry if I played
them too many times lol - Joey was an awesome guest
star & we had fun with the beer pong in 'Smokey
Joey's Sports Bar' on Friday evening & at Ringmaster
Joey's Circus on Saturday evening - Great job Joey &
we are looking forward to him being MC at 'The
Experience' in Orlando in March :-) ........... My
class at the event are really looking forward to the
sheets for Joey's 3 new ones - All really popular,
especially Be A Little Selfish - They will be out
for Chicago.
Guyton, a regular favourite was with us too - And
his awesome new dance This City was a big hit of
course - Some already familiar with it from
Rachael's bithday bash but well appreciative of the
chance of a re-teach - A classic funky Guyton dance
- He also helped us party with a great new fun dance
Jump In Da Line (Pitbull) - Check it out on Youtube
- And awesome funky fun party piece !!! :-) You'll
enjoy this one in Chicago too for sure :-)
Shaz had a big hit for us too - A funky fun phrased
Down With The Trumpets (Rizzle Kicks) - Catchy &
great fun - And also a lovely new nightclub It Gets
Better (Todrick Hall), co-written with our good
friend Jannie Tofte Anderson from Denmark - We are
looking forward to dancing with Jannie in Orlando in
March - Malene too :-)
Dee had a hit teach with her new nightclub Start
Over (Beyonce) - And well done to Dee for the
exceptional success with Don't You Remember, our
Advanced Dance of the Year - Her new funky/pop one
Make It Hot was also a big hit over the weekend too
which she had recapped on Thursday night for us,
something we learned from Dee at our Scarborough
weekend a little while back.
Craig's latest Wet (Nicole Scherzinger) was well
received - And he also had a really cool new West
Coast for us too Something In the Air (2nite - Janet
Jackson) - Great track.
Niels brought us Scott's new one from WOW Freak A
Little More - Thanks to Niels for that one which
proved a popular one all weekend - He also taught
Lady Luck for those that did not know that one -
Love 2 Dance, Still Got The Blues & Melon Heart were
floor fillers many times over the weekend as well as
many of his previous hits - For me that particularly
included Marz & Mummies & Only Girl :-) A big thanks
to Niels too for our early-bird re-teach on Saturday
- I Belong To You - And likewise to Craig on Sunday
for the classic Blue Finger Lou - A good crowd for
these even at just 10.30am !! :-)
It is great to note that so many of these dances
should hopefully be big hits on the modern
mainstream scene too - Only Guyton's This City is
way Advanced - The others Intermediate to Higher
Intermediate, so check them all out if you have
modern intermediate classes.
In our fun Newline Awards, congratulations to
Kirsten who was our Rising Star of the Year, Guyton
our Choreographer of the Year & Niels our Instructor
of the Year - To Joey for Intermediate Dance with
Talkin' To The Moon & Dee for Advanced with Don't
You Remember - The Track of the Year was for Will's
2 Nite, which is a floor-filler too.
Not too many surprises with our 2011 'All Time' Top
10 update ..............
-Poetry In Motion
-Have Fun Go Mad
-Cowgirls & Switches
-Scandalous
-SXE
-Poker Face
-Freaky Skillz
-Break Free Cha
-No Regrets
-Deeply Completely
.... No Feel, Razor Sharp, Angel, Together Forever,
Must Get Free, Let's Get Saved, Bring It, Let Me
Love You, Brucie, No Regrets or Smooth Criminal this
year though in particular which are still huge hits
but did not make the 10 this year - So many other
classics played too many to mention that also filled
the floor ...............
And a great 2011 Top 10 which filled the floor
non-stop when I played it :-) ...........
-Lady Luck
-Don't You Remember
-Descarada
-That Kinda Lovin'
-Not Drunk Enough
-My Motivation
-Papi
-Throw The Dice
-Still Got The Blues
-Raise Your Glass
In social dancing the most popular current dances
other than those in the above Top 10 included Talkin'
To The Moon, 2 Nite, Hurts Instead, California King,
Perfect, Party Rockin', Dirty Bit, Fangbangers Cha,
About That Walk, 5 10 15 Swing, Only Girl, Club
Can't Handle Me, Mmm Data, On The Edge, My Hero,
Hold On, Party Freak, Ooh I Like That, Rolling In
The Deep & These Castle Walls - And of the most
recent dances Move A Like, Monster In The Mirror,
Melon Heart, Love 2 Dance, Love Don't Run, Meant 2
Be & Love On Top were all particularly big hits.
Next year we have a Newline Brit Special with one
new dance each from Paul, Shaz, Craig, Dee, Jordan,
Debbie, Dan - Niels too an adopted Brit for this
purpose who has been with us right from the start of
our Newline weekends back in 2005 :-)
|
New Teaches From Newline 2011 ....
- Beyonce - 32/2 Higher Intermediate
It Gets Better (Shaz Walton & Jannie Tofte Andersen)
- Todrick Hall - 32/4 Higher IntermediateDown With The Trumpets (Shaz Walton)
- Rizzle Kicks - 1/Phrased Higher IntermediateJump In Da Line (Guyton Mundy)
- Pitbull - Phrased/2 Fun Easy Intermediate - Britney Spears - 64/2 Higher Intermediate - Jay Sean - 32/4 Intermediate - Prince Royce - 32/2 IntermediateFreak A Little More (Scott Blevins)
- Sly & The Family Stone - 32/4 Intermediate
|
World Dance Masters :
What an awesome weekend with great dancing friends - It
was lovely to see everyone - And to work with some great
choreographer friends over the weekend - I was mostly in
the 'Social Dancing' room so will report on that, but I
know everyone was having a blast too in the Competition
Room, Swing Room & the late Night-Club Room - From me a
well done hi-5 to Irish Tommy who worked long & hard DJing
in the Competition Room & Louie from the States who did
likewise, with stints in the Competition & Swing Rooms,
but especially the late-bird slots in the Night-Club
Room until the sunrise hours !!! :-)
We had 3 great days of workshops in the Social Room -
Focusing here on the new releases - Something for
everyone I'm sure ................
-Joey Warren released Throw The Dice - A phrased
advanced funky dance that was a huge hit ..... Also his
recent hit Descarada
-Kate Sala did a lovely smooth 64/4 Intermediate smooth
one called Love On Top (Beyonce) - What an awesome cool
track ..... Also her recent release East LA
-Shaz taught her new 32/4 Higher Intermediate pop Cha
Not Drunk Enough which I reported on from our Harrogate
Newline weekend - Also her current hit Hold On, another
lovely smooth pop Cha
-Johanna had a hit teach with Let It All Out, a beaty
fun 64/2 Intermediate funky pop Mambo ..... Her 48/2
Higher Intermediate waltz release Meant 2 Be to Misery
by Pinky looked really nice & was an even bigger hit
-Robbie had two classic pop mainstream releases - Feel
Alright, a 64/ 4 Intermediate Cha - And The Stomp - Now
the name might give you an image, but this one is a
really cool & different pop Cha too !! :-)
-Rob had a neat 32/4 funky West Coast one call
Breakthrough - And a classic & catchy country Polka
called Whisky's Gone.
-Joyce Plackett, the 2010 Choreography Competition
winner taught a 64/3 Intermediate called Dance Like A
Freak to a great track by 'Mo' - Well done to Joyce for
a great teach :-)
-Rachael taught a wow Advanced West Coast called Fallin'
Free (John Mayer - Live version) - A Cyclone sort of
dance - No sheet for this one yet as it was a hot off
the press new one for the event only just finished in
time - A huge hit.
-Dee taught recent releases What About My Dreams (Pop
cha) & Falling In Love Tonight (Smooth) - And Craig
Under My Skin (Funky West Coast) & Love Don't Run
(Country Nightclub) - You'll have seen mention of these
in recent weeks, all really well received too.
It was also fun to DJ the choreography competition on
Saturday morning, with MC Rob & Head Judge Dee, with the
rest of the judging team Johanna, Joey, Shaz, Kate,
Craig & Robbie - A good crowd enjoyed close to 50
entries across the 3 categories - And the winning 3
dances were genuinely all incredibly popular & I'm sure
you'll here more about all these dances :
-Beginner/Improver - Midnight Mix (Sandra Speck) - 32/4
Improver - Paul Bailey - Beaty country cha
-Intermediate - Haba Haba (Helena Jeppsson) - Phrased/4
Easy Intermediate - Stella Mwangi - Catchy pop Cha/Samba
-Advanced - Monster In The Mirror (Kirsten Motthiessen)
- 64/4 Advanced - Usher - Funky pop West Coast
...........Monster In the Mirror was the 'Grand
Champion', so you'll see Kirsten on the staff at World
Masters 2012 & Boston Showdown 2012 which was part of a
great 1st prize :-)
Scott taught his current releases Fangbangers Cha & Hold
On Tight as an alternative to watching the choreography
competition - Also 5-10-15 Swing on the Friday.
As ever it was great to DJ for a diverse range of
dancers over 3 days/nights of social dancing until
late-late -Current/Classic &
Modern/Traditional .... Improver thru Advanced -
Funky/Pop/Country - Competitor/Social - With dancers
from all over the UK, Europe & the rest of the world -
Some of the most popular current social dances over the
weekend regularly filling the floor included :
The Flute/Rolling In the Deep/All Of Me/Gambling Man
1234/Lady Luck/Still Got The Blues/Only Girl
Perfect/My Motivation
On The Edge/Born This Way (& Don't Be A Drag)
Party Freak
Beyond Your Eyes/Wrong Side Of The Road
Dirty Bit/Party Rockin'
Telepathy
Talking To The Moon
Hurts Instead
California King
Midnight Swing
Soul Food (& Wobble of course !!)
Let It Be/I'm No Good/Raise Your Glass/Papi
Bittersweet Memory
..... So many more classic, old & new, but these were
the current hit floorfillers - Sorry if I played a few
of them too many times over the weekend, but the
requests demanded that I did !!!
Some of the more recent dances on the up being done too
included :
Mr. Saxobeat (Daniel)
Alabama Slammin'/Mr. Mysterious
Somewhere With You
That Kinda Lovin'
Move A Like
2 Nite
On The Line/Dr. Flame/No Scandal
How You Burlesque - JP was with us :-)
On a personal note well done to Joey & Johanna who had a
great first visit to the World Masters - Great dances &
great dancing all weekend in the social room - And
special thanks to our good friends Craig, Shaz & Dee,
who as well as their workshops & dancing too, also
helped myself & Pauline in many ways generally look
after the Social Room all weekend - And to Dee, Shaz, Steve,
Claire & Joyce who hung back to help us pack all the
gear up on Monday morning - That was a welcome bonus for
us after a busy weekend - Thanks guys :-)
It was cool to be in a hotel again - And in Manchester
City Centre too - But most know the home of World
Masters is the Blackpool Winter Gardens, so it's awesome
news to know we are going back there for the 10th
anniversary year 16th-20th August 2012 - Social dancers
Spanish Room here we come (back) - Olle !!! :-) ... The
mega Empress Ballroom too of course - I was at the
Winter Gardens a few weeks ago for the World Matchplay
Darts & the renovation of that spectacular
historic building is looking really impressive :-) so
roll on 2012 - Note that it's a couple of weeks later in
August than it normally has been.
|
New Teaches From World Masters ....
- Francisca Urio - 64/4 Intermediate
Feel Alright (Robbie M. Hickie)
- The Phonkers - 64/4 IntermediateNot Drunk Enough (Shaz Walton)
- Adele Erichsen - 32/4 Higher Intermediate - Beyonce - 64/4 Intermediate - Adam Hicks - 32/4 IntermediateDance Like A Freak (Joyce Plackett)
- Mo - 64/3 Intermediate - Danny Fernandes - Phrased/2 Advanced - Pink - 48/2 Higher IntermediateLet It All Out (Johanna Barnes)
- Hot Chelle Rae - 64/2 Intermediate
Choreography Competition Winners .............................
- Paul Bailey - 32/4 Improver - Stella Mwangi - Phrased/4 Easy IntermediateMonster In The Mirror (Kirsten Matthiessen)
- Usher - 64/4 Advanced
|
Orlando Fun In The Sun :
From:
Betsy -
egc123@aol.com
Fun In the Sun was an absolute dream of a dance
weekend, and a tee-shirt catchphrase that I see from time to
time captures the essence of this weekend perfectly: “Live…
Love… Laugh… Dance”. That’s certainly something that should be a
goal for any dance weekend. For this FITS first-timer, however,
the event directors, Jennifer and Jason Cameron, as well as the
rest of the event staff achieved that if not more. As far as
events go, the entire weekend was superbly organized from start
to finish. I never found myself wondering where I’m going or
what I’m doing. Somehow the effortless flow of things just got
me where I needed to be and each day was full without feeling
overwhelming, regardless of how much my tired feet were
complaining on the flight home. Hurts-so-good aches like those
are just an every step reminder of the fun.
The fun started for me when I arrived Thursday
afternoon. First off, the Airport Marriot is amazing! The
conference room layout was perfect for a dance weekend plus
there were loads of conveniences available just around the
corner: food, drink, bar, restrooms, etc. After checking in and
settling into my room, I met up with some friends poolside. As
far as hotel pools go, this was certainly the best I’ve ever
seen although it was a little odd walking through the
restaurant/bar to get there. Regardless, Joey Warren was there
as well along with Simon Ward – those two are certainly two peas
in a pod. This was my first time meeting Simon and within
seconds his easy-going personality had me feeling like I’ve
known him forever. Over the next hour or two, other
instructors/choreographers started arriving and hanging out
poolside like Scott Blevins, Niels Poulsen, Rob Glover, Guyton
Mundy, and Ryan Lindsey, which was exactly the kind of
socializing I was looking forward to from what I heard about the
FITS dance weekend. The entire weekend offered a great balance
of dancing and socializing with the names that all of us
Newsletter readers come to recognize throughout the year. I
won’t bore everyone with minute-by-minute details, but the
remainder of Thursday consisted of more of the same. Niels,
Simon, and Joey joined my friends and me for dinner, which made
for loads of laughs, and we got them all back in time for open
dancing and demos.
A fun tidbit is that Niels wasn’t on staff for the
weekend. He was actually vacationing in the area and included
FITS in his itinerary, which was an awesome weekend bonus for
all of us. If you ‘re up for more specifics and other tidbits,
then be my guest and keep reading, otherwise I think you got
that gist that I was a quick fan of Fun In The Sun and the
remainder of the weekend reaffirmed that time and time again.
After an overly fun Thursday night (read that as
too much drinking, ouch), I was off to an early start on Friday.
9am typically includes caffeine for me, but I was running a
little late and had to rely on the energy drink that is John
Robinson for my morning pick me up. Here’s how I navigated my
way through the Friday grid with some random thoughts thrown in:
9am Fall Apart (I – Dee Musk) with John Robinson – This
is a great dance to a great song. The movement really hits the
music from start to finish. I love the feel of the namesake
“fall back” steps and the funky out-out-triple steps. The
opening directional changes were a challenge, especially at 9am,
but John broke it down and we had it in no time.
10am About That Walk (A – R.M.) with Rachael McEnaney –
I’ll be the first to admit that I may have been the only
non-Prince fan on the planet, but I have to say that Rachael may
have converted me. The swagger of this dance helped me feel
something in the music that I could have easily missed. And,
Rachael gave a top-notch, easy to follow teach of her advanced
level dance while being stunning as always.
11am The Love You Save (B/I – R.G.) with Rob Glover –
First off, if you haven’t taken a lesson from Rob, do yourself a
favor and make a point of doing so. You’ll learn priceless
technique along with some great choreography. This dance of his
is no exception. For a B/I dance, it’s doubly so because it’s
Bouncy/Interesting. Try it, and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
12pm Under My Skin (B/I – S.W. and Søren Kristensen)
with Simon Ward – Some folks didn’t care for the quirky song for
this one, but I LOVED it – it was definitely up my alley, so
this was an easy sell for me. The dance is chock-full of
familiar steps with an emphasis on toe-heels and heel touches.
If you can keep them straight, you’re golden.
1pm A Perfect Day (I – S.W.) with Simon Ward – I’ve been
hearing about this dance for quite a while now, so I was excited
to finally have a chance to learn it from the man himself. The
song is absolutely infectious, and I look forward to getting
back to this one now that I’m home. Like Rachael’s About That
Walk, I could really feel the flow of the choreography with the
music, so the steps felt comfortable and almost familiar even
though it was new to me.
2pm Descarada (I – J.W.) with Joey Warren – This dance
was a HUGE floor filler through the weekend and much more
approachable than it might seem. Joey taught collections of
steps that fit the timing of the music really well, so a handful
of steps all felt like one thing instead of several pieces.
Diligence will definitely pay off even though the music is quite
fast.
3pm Lazy (B/I – G.M.) and Shake It For Me! (I – G.M. and
Khrystyna Cusimano) with Guyton Mundy – Lazy is a cute, easy,
bring-a-smile to your face kind of dance that is well worth the
handful of minutes to master. If you see it danced and don’t
know it, don’t be afraid to jump on in. As for Shake It For Me!,
I already know two other dances to this same song – Country Girl
(Shake It For Me) – but I feel that Guyton’s is definitely on
top. It’s interesting and fun.
4pm Say Grace (I – Malene Jakobsen) with Marilyn McNeal
– One word – POWERFUL! This was my first “chills” dance of the
weekend. Marilyn even choked up simply talking about the message
of the music, and what Malene choreographed proves that she
“gets” that message – if you know what I mean. This was easily
one of my weekend favorites.
5pm Party Freak (I – Kate Sala) with Zac Detweiler –
Like Joey’s Descarada, this was another HUGE floor filler during
open dancing. I was already familiar with the dance since I read
so much about it in the Newsletter, so I’m glad that Zac was
able to share this at the event. He confessed at the start of
the lesson to being left-right challenged, which added extra
laughs through the lesson but we all got to where we needed to
be and were getting our Party Freak on with no problems.
In between sessions, since some wrapped up faster
than others, I was glad that I could bounce over to an adjacent
room for additional practice. In some cases I had already
learned a dance at another workshop or event weekend, so I
really only needed a quick reminder and a chance to dance them
again to help refresh my memory or work out some kinks. I really
appreciated having this flexibility between event rooms. It
helped alleviate the perpetual grid challenge of only being able
to be in one place at a time, or needing to pick only one thing
in a given timeslot.
After the whirlwind of lessons, I was more than
happy to recharge with dinner before the Friday evening demos
and open dancing. At this point I need to give tremendous props
to Louis St. George since he kept us on our feet for hours and
hours and hours at a time. What floored me, however, is that he
really went out of his way to include the Friday teaches in the
dance mix. In addition to requests Louis had Friday’s dance grid
in hand, and I was thrilled to get the extra practice in for
dances I had just learned. I think that that is invaluable and
it’s one of those seemingly small things, like projecting the
playlist, that make a huge impact, or at least it did on me. The
event instructors were also close at hand to help us through, so
we weren’t left floundering on the dance floor. Thank you thank
you thank you thank you!
Saturday, like Friday, was another full day, so I
made sure I got a decent amount of sleep since 9am always seems
to come too fast when you’re physically exhausted (in a good
way). This time I give myself a few extra minutes to grab a
coffee and yogurt along my way so I was good and ready. Here is
my attack plan for day two:
9am Writing’s On the Wall (I – J.P. Potter and Rob
Glover) with Bracken Ellis Potter – Bracken could easily be one
of my favorite instructors. Her teaches are always clear and
concise with a great progression and flow that makes what she’s
teaching approachable to anyone. I was sold on her demo of this,
and loved the quirky footwork. As a bonus she also added a teach
of her own Moves Like Jagger. I was already a huge fan of the
Maroon 5 song, and she really put together a great, approachable
hip-bumpy dance. Although it’s labeled Intermediate, I’m sure
that high beginners could give this a go as well.
10am That Kinda Lovin’ (A – G.M.) with Guyton Mundy – I
was looking forward to learning this dance all weekend, Guyton
made it worth the wait. This is definitely a nightclub with a
bit of an edge to it, so its pairing with Aerosmith’s Crazy
makes perfect sense.
11am Show Me the Love (A – S.W.) with Simon Ward – After
the gritty bite of Guyton’s nightclub, Simon’s smoothed things
out again for me. This was definitely a challenge, but well,
well worth it since it flowed incredibly well to the music.
Simon even paid compliments to Joey in this one for his Talking
To The Moon (Joey was also in this teach) since he “borrowed”
the musicality of Joey’s tag for his tag. To that add three
restarts and a pile of turns (including a double) and you’ve got
yourself one juicy advanced nightclub linedance. Really though,
it is fantastic and easily one of my favorites of the weekend.
12pm Fangbanger’s Cha (I – S.B.) with Scott Blevins – I
was familiar with this from other workshops, so I sat out the
teach, but kept my ears perked for Scott’s invaluable technique
and style pointers. When it was time for music I hopped up to
join in. This is a great real-time cha, to a fun, funky Bob
Dylan track. I’m already a huge fan of this dance, as well as
Scott’s heart wrenching Hold on Tight and energetic 5-10-15
Swing, and look forward to dancing them all more and more in the
weeks and months ahead.
1am Mr. Mysterious (I – R.M.) with Rachael McEnaney –
Rachael is absolutely fearless when it comes to music selection.
Just compare her Mr. Mysterious to Cyclone to Raise Your Glass
to Don’t Drink The Water and you’ll easily see what I mean. I
love that she introduced me to this song and choreography with a
great mix of well-suited holds, syncopation, and turns. Like
About That Walk, I can definitely feel the inspiration for her
choreography in the music. Oh, and I have to mention that she
helped us through some rather sticky syncopation with some
sing-song queuing and phrases like “I’m on a di-et no more
cho-co-late”. Lol.
2am Suspicious Minds (I – S.W.) with Simon Ward – For
me, this was yet another favorite of the weekend. The dance is a
cha with a waltz tag, which definitely proves that there is
something interesting going on in the music. Some of the steps
were a challenge, especially for being labeled Intermediate, but
Simon has a way of making even the most difficult steps look
effortless so it all worked out.
3am Love Don’t Run (I – Craig Bennett and Shaz Walton)
with Scott Blevins – This was a second teach for me, and I have
to say that I’m now hooked. The song is fantastic, but I
struggled a bit with the some of the timing on my first
exposure. This go around Scott helped iron out those
difficulties for me and I really think I nailed it. Woohoo. If
you’re a fan of nightclubs, definitely add this one to your
“must try” list.
4am My Motivation (I – G.M.) with Guyton Mundy – I first
learned this dance during open dancing at the Boston Showdown
earlier this year, and I still love it. It’s fast, fun, and full
of coaster steps of all things, lol. Seriously though, it’s
another floor filler during open dancing and well worth the
speed challenge and quick foot work. Plus, Guyton always seems
to bring a smile to my face when he’s teaching with each “okey-dokey”,
“maybe”, and “yeah”.
I admit that I sat out the five o’clock session
since I was wiped and hungry. I did stay to watch my friends
take Amy’s teach of Like A Nightmare. I love her way of working
through hip-hop styling and arm sequences with the help of Adam
Berman who can make falling down or scratching his arm make you
think “I want to look like that” when I fall or scratch.
After a dinner of Chinese take-out with my friends,
we made our way down to the main ballroom for the final night of
open dancing, demos, and the instructor show. The show was
absolutely hilarious. They organized a spoof of So You Think You
Can Dance that included some great dances to watch mixed with
humor and their obvious talent. I hope someone will post a video
since all of you will spam me with hate email if I make this any
longer that it’s already turning out to be. As for the final
round of opening dancing, well, all I can say is that it was 4am
before I knew it and I loved every minute. I danced dozens of
songs – old and new – and had a chance to introduce myself to
and chat with the Newsletter’s very own Carol Craven (woohoo…
which was a personal goal of mine when I read that she would be
there). Needless to say there was more time well spent chatting
with Simon, Niels, Junior, Scott, and other instructors as well
as many of my dance friends.
Finally, Sunday was a short event day for me, since
I needed to be at the airport by noon, and I was exhausted from
all of the dancing and laughing on Saturday night. I only made
it to the 9am and 10am lessons before heading to the airport.
9am Take U Home (I – J.W.) and Jingle-Jangle (I – J.W.,
John Robinson, and A.J. Herbert) with Junior Willis – These are
two great dances to some fantastic country tracks, and like
anything Junior does he does with a southern charm. Take U Home
was choreographed by Junior for the band Gloriana’s music video
to the song. He was given two criteria when they commissioned
him for the dance – Sex and Boots – and I have to admit that his
choreography has both in spades. If you’re looking for something
to get your local country dancers up and dancing, you definitely
can’t go wrong with it or Jingle-Jangle. Plus, I would
definitely add his and John Robinson’s Somewhere With You to
that list.
10am Rollacoasta (I – Tajali Hall) with Zac Detweiler –
I was looking forward to learning this since I missed Tajali’s
teach of this at JG. The dance and music didn’t disappoint. I
love the west coast flow of the steps – now if I only knew how
to west coast. Lol. The tags were a bit of a challenge but only
because it was 10am on a Sunday after a full weekend. Once we
got our walls straightened out, we nailed it!
After some quick, goodbyes I grabbed my luggage and
made my way to the airport. The whole experience was awesome
and I don’t regret a thing. The only constructive criticisms
that I can think of have little or nothing to do with Fun In the
Sun itself. For starters, some of the dance flooring was a
little uneven in spots or even “slippery”, which posed
challenges depending on where you stood or danced. Hmmm… what
else comes to mind (can you tell I’m stretching), oh, it would
have been nice to have cool or chilled water in the event rooms.
The room temp water that was in the event rooms tasted of
sulfur, and wasn’t very refreshing. Lastly, it rained, errr
poured, both Friday and Saturday just as the lessons were
wrapping up, so my friends and I couldn’t squeeze in more pool
time (lol… I made myself commit to coming up with three things).
Seriously though, awesome weekend, and the Camerons can expect
to see this newbie again next year.
|
New Teaches From Just Dance ....
Wait & See (Dee Musk) - Barry Manilow - 32/4 Improver/Easy Intermediate
- Maroon 5 - 64/2 Intermediate - Sarah Conner - 48/4 Intermediate - Steve Holy - 32/4 Higher Intermediate - Bob Sinclair - 64/2 Intermediate - Lady Gaga - 64/2 Advanced - CrossFire - Phrased/4 Easy Intermediate - Mike & The Mechanics - 32/4 Intermediate
|
Just Dance Newcastle : We had a lovely weekend with great friends last weekend - Fun T-Shirts on Friday evening plus everyone wearing a touch of Tartan in memory of David, a Scottish Black Coffee & a lantern release at 'Quarter After One' playing his favourite dance of the same name - A wild night on Saturday to an Americana theme, with everyone invited to Arizona State Fair - A fun Beer Pong competition - And some great dances from an awesome team who worked so hard to make it a great dancing weekend for all our Newcastle Just Dance friends ..........................
Our guest choreographer Ria did an awesome job - 4 great
dances - On Friday evening a 'quick teach' one - One
Fire - Phrased A/B but easy Samba beat ........ In the
main workshops we started with Better Take Cover, her
latest hit perhaps that lots are already doing - Then
two new ones - Along The Line (Mike & The Mechanics) , a
lovely smooth nightclub - And my favourite, Move A Like
(Maroon 5) - A really cool pop cha just out "Move Like
Jagger" :-) Many thanks to Ria xx
This year my co-host was Shaz who taught her lovely new
country nightclub Love Don't Run (Co-written with Craig)
& a classic Shaz funky/pop one called Hold On - An
awesome track ........ Late on Friday night Shaz did a
quick teach of Will's funky 2 Nite, easy funky fun - Big
thanks to Shaz for sharing the hosting work all through
the weekend.
We missed Rep this year & he'll be back with next year -
But many thanks to Dee & Craig who were there to party
with us & stepped in to teach a dance each - Dee taught
us a neat Improver/Easy Intermediate one called Wait &
See (Classic/catchy Barry Manilow) - And Craig his
current hit On The Edge - Craig is my co-host next year
:-)
I taught Kim's lovely new nightclub Remember Me
(Jennifer Hudson) - Boy do I love this track - And at
some point I sneaked in a quick teach of Somewhere With
You - Easy awesome country from Kenny Chesney - Needless
to say Pauline made sure everyone could 'Wobble' too -
Including the Hotel staff on Saturday night lol !!! :-)
In social dancing our target at Just Dance is to do 300
over the weekend - And with the help of late-late
dancing we made 310 !! :-) ...........
The most popular dances in social dancing were :
-1234
-Hello Dolly
-Knee Deep
-I Run To You
-Same Old Something
-Gambling Man
-Wrong Side Of The Road
-Beyond Your Eyes
-I'm No Good
-Disappearing Bubbles
-The Flute
-Good Girl
-Bittersweet Memory
-On The Line
-Dr. Flame
-Box It Up
-All Of Me
-Party Freak
-Rolling In The Deep
-Only Girl
-Dirty Bit
-Born This Way/Don't Be A Drag
-Raise Your Glass
-Let It Be
-Talking To The Moon
-Don't You Remember
-Perfect
-My Motivation
-Midnight Swing
-Papi
-Party Rockin'
-Still Got The Blues
-Soul Food
Based on Top 10 forms submitted we played the following
'All-Time' Top 10 on Saturday night ........
-Have Fun Go Mad
-Poker Face
-Feet Don't Fail Me Now
-Pot Of Gold
-Into The Arena
-Poetry In Motion
-Lamptarra Rumba
-Jesse James
-Murder My Heart
-Islands In The Stream
............Quite a mixed bag !! :-) .... We danced
loads of other classics too !!!! :-)
Dances that caught my eye in social dancing were Ria's
Tinkabell & Not Without Us.
Big thanks to Glen & all our Arizona club dancers who
helped out with all sorts of things ever the weekend,
especially the set-up on Friday & a really quick pack-up
on Sunday afternoon - Thanks guys for all your help &
support :-)
In 2012 we have our Just Dance weekends in Mundesley in
March (Craig, Dee, Shaz & Andrew), Carlisle in April
(Kate & Shaz) & Newcastle in June (Craig, DanielT &
Rep).
|
New Teaches From Desert Dance....
- Bob Sinclair - 64/2 Intermediate - Lady Gaga - 64/2 AdvancedA Love Worth Waiting 4 (Norman Gifford)
- Bouke - 64/2 ImproverA Little Love Worth Waiting 4 (Norman Gifford)
- Bouke - 32/4 Beginner
|
Desert Dance :
It was a good crowd for Thursday afternoon when the event
started with instructors who teach dances other than their
own. The rest of the weekend, choreographers must teach
their own choreography, except in the classics room where
many instructors pulled out some great oldies to revive.
With five rooms to choose from, and some awesome
choreographers, it’s hard to pick and choose what to take. I
took Nigel’s workshop PARTY FREAK, choreographed by Kate
Sala. Nigel kept telling us the dance was Party Freak, not
Freakin’ Party. He has a great sense of humour and it was a
great way to start the event. This is a fun dance which fits
the music well. I followed up with Joey & Debbie’s teach of
SOUL FOOD which we all enjoyed because Debbie sings the woo
woo hoo bit everytime. I followed that up with Amy’s ARE YOU
READY taught by Tajali. Super choreography that hits the
music so well. Everyone loved it and it’s one of Amy’s
dances that I think will be a huge hit. I hadn’t had the
chance to learn Maggie’s GAMBLING MAN yet so I finished my
afternoon off with Mona Puente’s teach of that one. I wanted
to take Lou Ann’s workshop of Rob Glover’s MIDNIGHT SWING,
but by then it was already 6:00 and my stomach was begging
for food! Bryan McWherter taught his classic PHLOOR PHILLA
which “philled” the floor later that night. John Robinson
taught Ria Vos’ nightclub, BITTERSWEET MEMORY. Beautiful
dance and song. Lou Ann also taught Rachael’s PAPI and her
workshop was full of dancers who wanted to learn this new
one. Ruben taught a couple of easy fun dances, WOBBLE and
DR. WANNA DO. Wobble was another floor filler at night and
there was no HOLDIN’ IT DOWN as all levels of dancers jumped
up on the floor to dance when the music came on. On Thursday
afternoon alone, 29 dances were taught.
A combined room dedicated to beginners and classic dances
was welcomed by many people with an abundance of beginner
workshops for beginner/improvers. There was something for
everyone and no one could complain about a lack of dances!
The dance floor was full from the time dancing started on
Thursday night. I’m not a great judge of numbers but
estimated around 250 dancers filled the main hall on
Thursday night and both JP Potter and “Wildman” Louie kept
the dancers happy. They did a great job of mixing new and
older classics and ensuring that the dances taught during
the day were played at night. An additional room for
beginners, classics and requests was manned by Debi and Gale
and they did a super job of playing whatever dancers wanted
played. A room open for social dancing during the day was
available for those who wanted to just dance or practice
what they had learned.
Workshop demos started at 9:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday
and everyone was eager to see what new dances were going to
be introduced at Marathon. With six rooms going from
10:00-7:00, it was a matter of having to pace yourself to
avoid being brain dead by the end of the day and be able to
enjoy open dancing that night. To give you an idea of just
how many dances were taught, on Friday, 64 dances were
taught in 51 workshops!
With so many classes, I’ll mention the ones that I did and
the ones that really stood out for me during demos, along
with the ones that people mentioned that they liked. So many
people have sent in their reports and everyone has a mix of
favourite dances. One thing many people commented on was the
high caliber of dances being taught this year and there were
many times I wanted to be in three rooms at the same time.
There are a lot of “keepers” from this year’s event. One
thing I’d like to see are some repeat workshops so that you
can nail down a dance or take it if you missed it first time
around.
THAT KINDA LOVIN’
- Guyton Mundy. This is a gorgeous advanced smooth, 2 wall
dance that captivated many in the room. With a few turns and
3 restarts, it was a good thing it was at the start of the
day rather than at the end! Did you know that none of
Guyton’s dances at JG this year had arms?!? When he
mentioned that in his workshop of My Motivation, the class
erupted in applause. He then told us that he’d make up for
that next year. Guyton, YOU’RE AMAZING and you’ve so changed
the world of line dance!
NOTHIN’ BUT THE MUSIC
- Debbie McLaughlin. Another dance I have to nail down with
another teach. This is an awesome dance. I love watching
Debbie dance. She’s subtle but sharp and she makes all
dances look so easy!
SOMEWHERE WITH YOU
- Junior Willis and Scott Schrank. Love the dance and the
song. This is a dance that I think should get a lot more
attention. It just feels good to dance and you can get lost
in the music.
THESE CASTLE WALLS
- Joey Warren. I didn’t take this class but those I spoke
with who did said they loved the music and how well the
dance fit. It’s on my “to learn” list.
MY HERO
- Niels Poulsen. Gorgeous nightclub that flows so well to a
great song. Niels had some great dances to release at this
event.
TALKING TO THE MOON
- Joey Warren. Still my favourite dance. Great track and
great choreography with that wonderful turn that hits the
music beautifully. Lots of turns and a couple of restarts
that are easy since they occur in the same spot.
HURTS INSTEAD
- Dan McInerney. I was in another workshop at the same time
this was on so missed it but this filled the floor at night
and is beautiful to watch. The dancers really get into the
song. I love the music Dan choreographs to and I could watch
him dance all night. I haven’t been able to get the song out
of my head and it’s the next dance I HAVE to learn.
BIG BANG
- Will Craig. I really like Will’s choreography. One of my
favourite dances of his is Swim Away and it’s one that isn’t
done often enough. Big Bang is a nice intermediate dance
with no tags/restarts and it’s a great song.
5-10-15 SWING
- Scott Blevins. I knew my brain wouldn’t function with
taking a 96 count phrased dance after doing 5 workshops so
didn’t take it but loved watching Scott demo this one. I
need to learn this over summer so I can dance it at WOW.
HOLD ON TIGHT
- Scott Blevins. The room was packed for this workshop. I
have to admit that I don’t associate Scott with country
music but I’m so glad he did a dance to this beautiful song,
I Won’t Let Go, by Rascal Flatts.
STREET SOUL
- MIL. I never got around to learning this dance when it
came out so was happy to see Marilyn teaching it this year.
The room was packed for this teach.
FANGBANGER’S CHA
- Scott Blevins. I didn’t learn this as it was on at the
same time I was learning Street Soul. I heard many people
say it was their favourite dance over the weekend.
MY MOTIVATION
- Guyton Mundy. This was a 5:00 teach and my energy was
quickly disappearing because Janet and I had gone for a
glass of wine before the class. We both went back to take
Guyton’s workshop and our energy quickly came back. This was
my second teach on this one and it solidified the dance for
me. I love this one and I love Guyton’s teaching style.
ARE YOU READY
- Amy Christian-Sohn. This was a hit over the weekend and
anytime it was played, people applauded afterwards. This is
such a cool dance to watch with all the arm movements,
rolling knees and chest pops. Several times over the weekend
people were practicing it in rooms or hallways and they were
dancing it wherever and whenever they could.
LADY LUCK
- Niels Poulsen . Really cool dance with some great footwork
to a great song. A favourite for many over the weekend.
LOVE IS YOUR COLOR
- Junior Willis. Another very nice dance from Junior. I like
the music that Junior picks for his choreography and his
dances have a nice feel to them.
SARA SMILE
- Michael Barr. I’ve just loved Michael and Michele for
years. Even though this is Michael’s dance, when I think of
one, I think of the other. I love Michael’s style of
teaching. I’ve always liked this song and the dance fit it
well with it’s 8 count “you and me” tag in the middle.
RAG TOP DOWN
- Michele Burton. This was a fun lindy hop with some good
footwork. Catchy song and the dance was fun to do.
LOVE LETTER WALTZ
- Frank Trace. I heard some really good comments about this
dance from people who took it. I liked the demo and it’s a
nice dance to “Love Letters” (Bonnie Raitt and Elton John)
Those who took it commented on how much they enjoyed this
dance.
SWEET DELIGHTS/SEA SHELLS
- Dan Albro. I wasn’t sure who to watch during demos…..Dan
and his wife Kelly or John and Junior! Great partnering and
those who took Dan’s classes loved his instruction and his
dances. Dan and Kelly are two of the nicest people around
too!
I haven’t been able to get any official results from the
choreography competition but there were several entries in
all levels. I can say that Malene Jakobsen’s waltz, Say
Grace, won 1st prize in the country intermediate category.
Sue Ann Ehmann’s dances Too Many Girlfriends and Too Much
Booty Shaking came in first in beginner and intermediate
non-country. I haven’t been able to get any clarification
from anyone on this so I hope this is correct. Will Craig’s
dance 2 Nite won 1st place in the pro choreography.
|
New Teaches From JG Marathon....
- Pitbull - 32/4 IntermediateDon't Need This (Dan McInerney)
- Brandy - 64/2 AdvancedNothin' But The Music (Debbie McLaughlin)
- Leela James - 64/2 Higher IntermediateGoodbye Kiss (Joey Warren & Debbie McLaughlin)
- Jason Aldean - 56/4 Advanced - Rascal Flatts - 32/4 IntermediateFangbanger's Cha (Scott Blevins)
- Bob Dylan - 48/4 Intermediate - Blue Harlem - Phrased/4 Intermediate - Jamie Woon - 32/4 Beginner/Intermediate - Jamie Woon - 64/2 Intermediate/Advanced - Enrique Iglesias - 32/4 IntermediateThat Kinda Lovin' (Guyton Mundy)
- Aerosmith - 32/4 AdvancedNowhere To Slide (Guyton Mundy & Mario Robau)
- Fluke - 48/4 Intermediate/AdvancedLove In America (Michael Diven, Amy & Ruben)
- JTX - 32/4 Easy Intermediate - Thompson Square - 48/4 Easy Intermediate - Sade - 32/2 IntermediateSweet Georgia Brown (Michele Burton & Lorraine Kurtela)
- Trini Lopez - 64/4 Beginner - Nikki Yanofsky - 32/2 Intermediate - D.K. Davis & The Sharks - 64/4 IntermediateFundamental Things (Michele Burton)
- Melinda Doolittle - 64/2 Intermediate/Advanced - Marcia Ball - 64/2 Improver/Easy IntermediateLove Letter Waltz (Frank Trace)
- Bonnie Raitt - 48/4 Easy Intermediate - Charles Aznavour - 32/4 Beginner - Tag Team - 32/4 Improver - Christina Aguilera - 32/2 IntermediateDance This Cumbia (Ruben Luna)
- Selena - 64/2 Easy Intermediate
New Teaches From Stoke Funk 'n Cheap ....
- LMFAO - 64/2 Higher Intermediate
Down To The Wire (Shaz Walton & Jannie Tofte Anderen)
- Miguel - 32/4 Higher IntermediateAbout That Walk (Rachael McEnaney)
- Prince - 64/2 Higher Intermediate/Advanced - Jennifer Lopez - 64/2 Higher Intermediate/AdvancedThese Castle Walls (Joey Warren)
- T.I. - 32/4 Intermediate - V.I.C. - 32/4 Beginner/Intermediate
New Teaches From Boston Showdown ....
Still Got The Blues (Niels Poulsen)
- Gary Moore - 96/2 Intermediate - Fantasia - 72/1 Higher IntermediateMidnight Swing (Robert Glover)
- Renee Olstead - 64/2 Advanced - Enrique Iglesias - 64/2 Intermediate
Workshop Teaches From Diane & Sandy's 1st "The Experience" event in Orlando - Maggie G 2011 ....
Wednesday Pre-Party Teaches at Cowboys Club ....
What's My Name (Dan McInerney)
- Rihanna - 32/4 Higher IntermediateCalifornia King (Debbie McLaughlin)
- Rihanna - Phrased/4 Higher IntermediateDon't Cha (Rob Fowler) - Billy Currington - 32/4 Improver - Taught by Suzanne
Weekend teaches ....
Talkin' To The Moon (Joey Warren)
- Bruno Mars - Intermediate - Club des Belugas - 32/4 Intermediate - Fergie - 32/4 Higher IntermediateMatter Of Time (Maggie Gallagher)
- Gare Du Nord - 64/2 Higher Intermediate - Spirit Of The Dance - 64/4 Easy Intermediate - Alan Connor - 64/2 IntermediateRolling In The Deep (Maggie Gallagher)
- Adele - 64/2 IntermediateDr. Wanna Do (Maggie Gallagher)
- Caro Emerald - 32/4 ImproverGet Up Dance (Maggie Gallagher)
- Alex Dante - IntermediateMmm Dada (Guyton Mundy & Will Craig)
- Flo Rida - Phrased/2 Advanced - Pink - 32/4 Intermediate
Classic re-teaches too : Guardian Angel, Shiv-a-ree, The Reel Thing, Right To Be Wrong, Two Time Trick & Angel
Back the first weekend in March 2012 with Paul, Craig, Shaz, Dan & Debbie - The Brit Brats !!! :-) .... Joey too
|
The Experience 2011 :
Last weekend, The Maggie G Experience was held in
Orlando, FL hosted by “Diane and Sandy” along with Big Dave and
Pauline (Pauline...Pauline...Pauline). Unlike other large-scale line dance events I
attended previously, this one was more intimate with extra
activities planned nightly, along with pre- and post-parties, and
only one workshop room – only one lesson per hour so everyone
participated together. All had a great time (re)learning dances (new
and classic dances taught by each instructor, some of which voted
for by attendees) and participating in theme nights. Big Dave did a
superb job DJ'ing; each night he announced the dances (or that is
what I think he was saying?!) and the table that requested the
dance, which helped folks who submitted requests. Wednesday night nearly 100+ dancers (local and
non-local) gathered at a country bar (Cowboys Orlando). Even with 2
pillars on the dance floor, there was still sufficient room, and,
for a bar, the dance floor was great. Big Dave hooked into the
system and was in heaven DJ'ing at a country bar; especially the bar
Guyton Mundy got his start! Plenty of open dancing and three lessons
covering a variety of styles, music genres, and dance levels: DON'T CHA (fowler): taught by local choreographer
and instructor Suzanne Wilson. Great teach! Good selection of music
(country song) and the dance is great for beginners. Those who can
only use country music, I highly recommend teaching and learning
this dance. WHAT'S MY NAME (McInerney): taught by Dan
himself. Solid intermediate dance to a track by Rihanna. Some tricky
bits that were overcome with repetition, another well-choreographed
dance by Dan. CALIFORNIA KING (McLaughlin): taught by Debbie
herself. Advanced dance for the 2 tags and 1 restart. The steps flow
great with the music, another track by Rihanna – this turned out to
be one of the most requested dances all weekend. After relaxing by the pool and chatting with the
new arrivals on Thursday afternoon, it was 8pm and the Maggie G
Experience opened its doors! Based on submissions by attendees, Big
Dave played our Top 10 Favorite dances followed by the first teach
of the weekend by the wild Maggie herself, JIG ABOUT. This reminded
me of her dance taught at the Tampa Linedance Classic called JIG IT
UP – it was the same, but different. While in the Irish mood, we
played Bingo, although there were no letters on the cards.
Translating Big Dave's call of numbers, Maggie voiced them aloud
with a twist, especially for “two fat ladies...number 88.” After the
three winners, everyone stood on the dance floor to play Irish Bingo
- those with numbers on the card (called by Maggie), had to leave
the floor and the last person standing won! It was a quite a duo,
but only one was left standing. After the games, Guyton's Top Five
dances were played, followed by the pajama party (thanks to Tonya
from PA) with “adult milk” and cookies. Those Biscoff crisps are
goooooood! Friday new and classic (old) dances were taught: GUARDIAN ANGEL (gallagher): one of my favorite
all-time dances to a wonderful song by Gareth Gates. The trickiest
part of the dance are the first 8 counts and hearing the restart.
Just make sure the good angel is on your shoulder and you'll do
fine. ALWAYS GOLD (blevins): solid intermediate dance
that is predominately instrumental. At first I was not a fan of the
song, but I enjoyed it more when dancing. This will take some work
to master, especially because of the speed. ROLLING IN THE DEEP (gallagher): superb song,
okay dance. Straight 64-ct dance; I wanted more out of it because I
just love the song. I just felt this dance could go to many songs
rather than written specifically for this song. This was played
quite a bit throughout the weekend. PERFECT (mundy): brand new dance to the Pink
song, F***in Perfect (there is a clean version available). And guess
what, no hands! Reminded me of his and Craig's Bennett's dance
DREAMS. RIGHT TO BE WRONG (blevins): classic advanced
dance that is being retaught at many events. Watching a select few
dance this over the year, this has always been on my list to learn
and was glad for the teach by Scott. The dance flows with the music
perfectly. Definitely a 2nd and 3rd teach is required so I am sure
to be right, not wrong. Open dancing on Friday night consisted of
everyone flashing one another....er....wearing accessories that
flashed – pins, necklaces, bracelets, tiaras, buttons, glasses,
cups, anything! Big Dave played the ALL TIME TOP 10 and SCOTT'S
TOP 5 dances as voted by attendees, plus we got a bonus teach by
Joey Warren of his dance TALKIN TO THE MOON, dedicated to Jersey Gal
Linda. At first I was not a fan of the song, but as I danced it more
and more, it grew on me (now I really like it). The dance has a tag
and restart, and are pronounced in the song. The game on Friday
night was Choreographer Bingo – name that dance after hearing the
first 20 seconds of a song.....although I did not win, I certainly
had a lot of spaces filled in! Saturday new and classic (old) dances were
taught: SHIV-A-REE (gallagher): great dance, great song.
Thanks to Derrick who assisted Maggie getting through the teach.
Highly recommend learning. ANGEL (mundy): superb dance, great song. Glad
this was brought back as Guyton's classic teach, as voted by the
attendees. I remember learning this at Eastern's several years ago
and could barely get through it – now the steps came back as well as
the two restarts. An angel remained on my shoulder! GET UP DANCE (gallagher): brand new dance
released at this event. Music is to a peppy pop track (sounded like
the Danish group Infernal but it was not). Played quite a bit after
the teach. CHA CHA WHEN (blevins): new dance to a remixed
version of Cuando, Cuando, Cuando. Another fast dance, but certainly
fun. I liked this one more than ALWAYS GOLD. MMM DADA (mundy): great dance, great track. Do
this 2-3 times and you can skip zumba class for a week! An A-B
dance, with hands, that may even be faster than Guyton and Carey's
dance, THROW IT ON ME. Guyton taught this in 45 minutes, allowing
time for music at full speed twice! Those who started with the
lesson, remained on the floor at full speed. Just a couple of parts
I got mixed up on, but I kept kickin' and wigglin' through the
sections so I picked it back up on part B.
Saturday night was all about green - table
decorations and attire. Those of us from PA/DC Area had our “care
package” shipped to the hotel so we were ready to deck-o-rate. Each
group of people and their tables were unique. It was amazing to see
how far folks went with their themes. After the tables were judged
MAGGIE G's TOP 5 DANCES were played, as voted by attendees. “Finigan”
also stopped by and went home with the auction winner......looks
like I am headed to Desert Dance (in Arizona) this June with my win!
John
|
New Dances From Danish Newline ....
- Justin Nozuka - Phrased Intermediate/Advanced - Sugababes - Phrased/2 Advanced - Adele - 32/2 AdvancedWhat's My Name (Dan McInerney)
- Rihanna - 32/4 Higher IntermediateTalkin' To The Moon (Joey Warren)
- Bruno Mars - Intermediate
New Dances From Linedancer Awards ....
- Rihanna - 64/2 Intermediate - Fergie - 32/4 Intermediate - Natalia - 64/2 IntermediateDirt Road Dancing (Rob Fowler)
- Matt Stillwell - 48/4 Easy Intermediate - Alan Connor - 64/2 Intermediate - Katie Stevens - 32/2 Advanced - Pauline Hogberg - 32/4 IntermediateWhat Happens On The Dance Floor (Craig Bennett)
- Alexandra Burke - 32/4 Intermediate - Jessica Andrews - 64/4 IntermediateYour Heart In Your Mind (Wil Bos & Roy Verdonk)
- David Tavare - 64/4 IntermediateAll Over Now (Daniel Trepat & Pim van Grootel)
- Eric Hutchinson - 64/2 Intermediate - The Derailers - 64/2 BeginnerHard To Be A Girl (Michelle Risley)
- Kelcy Lee - 64/1 BeginnerReady To Rock (Kate Sala & Robbie M. Hickie)
- Jool Holland - 64/4 Intermediate
|
Event Report -Linedancer Awards
Dave
Event Report - Bristol New Year Bash
Thanks to everyone who came to dance with us Saturday in Bristol
on Saturday - A full-house & we had a lovely day :-) Thanks to
our guest choreographers Maggie G & Karl for their making it a
great day - And to our co-host Clare - Our 7th year & the best
yet :-)
Maggie's main dance was a road test teach of her new 64/2
Intermediate pop cha dance I'm In Love (Sanna Nielsen) being
released at the Awards weekend - And Karl taught us his new one
Without Fire - A great pop East Coast beat - Both big hits
........... Maggie also taught We Found Love (Rihanna) & I
taught Rachael's Had A Bad Day & Hi-A-Ma Cha - In the evening
Maggie also did a quick teach of her neat country cha Don't Let
Me Down.
The most popular dances I guess were especially those I felt
compelled to play twice !! :-) - Once during the afternoon &
once in the evening - As a DJ you try to play as many different
requests as you can - And despite not having time to play some
requests at all, there are some dances that you just have to
play twice over a day broken into two sessions - These are
listed below from Bristol ................
-Bittersweet Memory
-Caribbean Pearl
-Dance With Me Tonight (P&A)
-Gambling Man
-Jealousy
-Language Of The Heart
-Move A Like
-On The Edge
-Party Freak
-Rock Your Body
-Rolling In The Deep
-The Flute
-The Rush
-The Stomp
..............The 3 No.1 contenders to Move A Like are The Rush,
Caribbean Pearl & Rock Your Body (Based on the floor in Bristol
at least) - I'll have a flutter on The Rush making the top spot
next !!?? :-)
With respect to up 'n coming dances the one that caught my eye
was P&A's FUP (First Up), a really catchy Samba style dance -
Had looked at it before but a classic example of sometimes you
just need to see it on the dance-floor !! :-) - We'll be doing
that one next week for sure - Just in time for P&A coming to
Scarborough in just 4 weeks time :-) Other notable popular
dances filling the floor included ..........
-Devotion
-Domino
-Footloose
-If You Walk Away
-If You Were Mine
-Journey To The Stars
-La Luna
-Lady Luck
-Live This Life
-Love 2 Dance
-Melon Heart
-Mr. Saxobeat
-Mr. Wonderful
-One More Night
-Ready Steady Go
-The Wanderer
-Til Forever
-Tomorrow
-Wet
-Whiskey's Gone
-You & I
....... A small group had great fun dancing Proud Mary Burnin' -
They gave it everything & it looked great fun - And "the crowd
went wild" giving them a huge cheer :-)
Some dances I did not get to play (Sorry guys if you were there
& waiting) over the day that I stressed over included
...........
-All Fall Down
-Another Song
-Calypso Mexico
-Close To Paradise
-Faith & Desire
-Feel
-Get Up Dance
-I Belong To You
-Let It Me
-Love On Top
-Not Together Now
-On The Line
-Play For Keeps
-Show Me The Love
-Still Got The Blues
-This Big
-Won't Let Go
-Wrong Side Of The Road
..... Others too but you just can't do them all when you have a
great diverse crowd of all levels from all over - Looking
forward to the same challenge at the Linedancer Awards x10 !!!
:-) Cya there in just 2 weeks if you are going :-)
It was a largely Intermediate crowd but some popular
Beginner/Improver dances during the day not already
mentioned included :
-1234
-Alabama Slammin'
-Blue Night Cha
-Knee Deep
-My Pretty Belina
............. I've already mentioned the wow dance of the moment
- The Wanderer - Great dance & almost a floor-filler :-)
Dave
Workshop Report - Harrogate Sunday-Out Thanks to everyone who came to our Harrogate Sunday-Out this Sunday - Shaz & myself with guest choreographer Dan - We had a blast & we appreciate your support :-) Special thanks to Dan who travelled so far to be with us :-)
Dan taught us his new one Hotstepper - A classic track & a cool
dance that was a popular release at Tampa - A funky 8&1 cha cha come
West Coast - And from Tampa he also brought us Scott's new one Hurt
Me So, which was another of the highlights from that event - A
classic Scott dance - Fast & tricky with the syncopation - A really
cool West Coast beat & the dance hits the beat so well.
Shaz taught us her neat new funky nightclub Read All About
It released & enjoyed at Stoke Funky Halloween - And It Gets Better,
a dance co-written with Jannie that was a hit release back at
Newcastle Newline - Another popular funky nightclub - I've said it
before nightclubs seem to rule just now !! - Country, Pop or Funky
:-)
As ever I was the warm-up act :-) - And everyone enjoyed Will's
Without You - And then late on I did a quick impromptu teach of
Ria's No Llores, a great funky cha - And Craig's latest Mr.
Wonderful, a really catchy pop cha - That's a neat mainstream one -
We did it with Keith who was just off to teach it at his class :-)
You can see the play list via the following link
....................
Thanks Shaz x
Normally 2 or 3 months between these, but we've a Xmas one on Sunday
11th December with special guest Debbie - As well as the normal
workshops come along prepared to party a while longer than normal
into the Sunday evening :-) ..... Come party with us - We'll be just
back from Tucson, so not wishing the time away just yet !! :-)
Dave
Event Report - Swedish Masters Great weekend at the Swedish Dance Masters - Over 300 social dancers of all levels - 3 line rooms coving all levels - And a Swing Room too - Thanks to Goran & his team for inviting me back to DJ - And thanks to everyone for the awesome hospitality & friendship - Great to catch up with dancing friends new & old from Sweden & Europe - I enjoyed DJing the social dancing - But also the competition too on the Sunday morning - A great crowd cheering on the competitors, while the social dancers finished off a great weekend of dancing doing recaps in the workshop room.
The choreographer team did a great job ................
Rachael - Footsteps, a brang new catchy Swing/Charleston dance -
Also Domino & Free Fallin' - And Mr. Mysterious (Quite a crowd
already doing that one but lots wanted to learn it too)
Niels - Love 2 Dance (Out of York) & Dirty Dancer (Out of Chicago)
Guyton - This City - Also Jump In Da Line - And blasts from the past
Shake & Playa
Will - Without You - Also 2 Nite - And Soul Food by request
Rachael taught Purr Kitty in the Beginner room too - And Nicola Life
Could Be A Dream, Looking Good & All Or Nothing - They did others
too but I did not catch theme all - I can at least recommend to you
Purr Kitty & Life Could Be A Dream - Great Improver dances that
Intermediaties enjoy too.
.............And good job Will for helping out with the DJing in the
workshop room (Jamie too) - And Goran's wife A who looked after the
Beginners all day Saturday too :-)
The social dancing was much like it was in Holland with Francien
last weekend overall, although a bigger crowd brought a wider mix -
Lots of dancers all levels Beginner through Advanced - The most
popular dances were something like as follows :
Easy :
-Something In The Water
-Make This Day
-Danza Kuduro
-My Pretty Belinda
-I'm No Goodll
-1234
-Knee Deep
-Don't Drink The Water
-Wonderland Waltz
-Hello Dolly
.............Notably Toes, Crazy Foot Mambo, Tennessee Waltz
Surprise, Bosa Nova, Go Mama Go, Gambling Man, Rhyme Or Reason,
Little Red Book, Walkaway Joe, Blue Night Cha & Rub It In a still
floor-fillers - Many more too ............. I expect there were many
more in the Beginner Room on Saturday but these were the ones I did
in the main ballroom during mixed social dancing in the evenings.
Others on the up included Lazy & Crazy Girl - I expect more were in
the Beginner Room - Check out a fun catchy dance called A Minute
Away From You - Been around a year or more apparently but first time
for me - Awesome track :-)
Intermediate Mainstream :
-Move A Like
-Alabama Slammin'
-Rolling In The Deep
-Party Freak
-The Flute
-Chicken Walk Jive
-No No No No No Not So
-La Luna
-Haba Haba
-Bumpy Ride
.........Notably Bittersweet Memory, Everything I Do, Burlesque,
Playing With Fire, Jesse James, Broken Heels, Amame, Drip
Droppin', Irish Spirit, Knocking On Heavans Door & Mojo Rhythm
still floor-fillers - Many more too ............. Craig's waltz
Know Me By Now very popular, more so than I've seen in the UK
Others on the up included Devotion, Rock Your Body, Mr.
Mysterious, Melon Heart, Lonely Again, Wet, The Stomp,
Fundamental Things, Bright Lights, Wet & Remember Me.
Newline :
-Perfect/My Motivation
-Lady Luck
-That Kinda Lovin'
-2 Nite
-Talkin' To The Moon
-Raise Your Glass/Papi
-Don't You Remember
-Won't Let Go (Malene & Jannick's)
-Throw The Dice
-Still Got The Blues/Blue Sky
Others on the up included Meant 2 Be, Start Over, Be A
Little Selfish, Down With The Trumpets, Descarada,
Prejudice, Never Enough, Show Me The Love, Soul Food, Not
Drunk Enough & Freak A Little More
.........Notably Let It Be, You're Amazing & SOB still
floor-fillers - Many more too - A Walk On The Wildside
is really popular too more so than the UK - A great
dance :-) - Check out a cool looking catchy/funky dance
called Stealing Apples - Looks great :-)
As ever loads of classics too :-) Favourites included Somebody Like
You, Chill Factor, Have Fun Go Mad, Doctor Doctor, Live Laugh Love,
Break Free Cha & Stitch It Up - On Saturday night in keeping with
the theme we did an 80's style Islands In The Stream & Black Coffee
too !!! :-)
Dave
Event Report - Dutch Newline We had an awesome weekend in Holland - Thanks to Francien & Nico & their great team of helpers for a lovely dancing weekend - We had a blast - And great to meet dancing friends new & old from around Holland, Sweden, Denmark & Germany - There was 100+ and as well as great dancing we have a fun Mexican theme evening - "Tequila" !!! :-) The room was dressed up just great :-) ........................
All the dances taught were popular - Not just saying that
!!! :-) - You'll have already read about Shaz's Down With The
Trumpets (Love it - Catchy funky fun) & Love Don't Run (Country
Nightclub) - Jo/John's Jazzy Girl (Catchy mainstream) - And
Francien's Rock Your Body (Funky mainstream) - I taught Scott's
Freak A Little More in the lunch break too ................ Maybe
also a new one for us - But you might also have heard about Dirty
Dancer, the hit Team Euro dance from Chicago - Quite a buzz about
this one taught by Jo ........ Also a brand new pop one from
Francien called Paralysed.
Social dancing was great wide mix - And the Top 10 current
dances looked something like this .....
-A Kiss Goodnight
-Move A Like
-Party Freak
-La Luna
-The Flute
-Caballero
-Rolling In the Deep
-Alabama Slammin'
-Love 2 Dance
-Papi
Other dances on the up included O-Ye-Me (I taught it this
week - Love it), The Stomp, Melon Heart, Love On Top, Make An
Appearance, Journey To The Stars, Devotion, Dr. Flame, On The Line,
Mr. Mysterious & Remember Me - Funky favourites included Perfect,
Lady Luck, Not Drunk Enough,Throw The Dice, Soul Food, California
King & 2 Nite .............. And we danced loads of Francien & Ria
dances new & old of course :-) ... And established hits such as
Bittersweet Memory, I'm No Good, Something In The Water, Talkin' To
The Moon, Let It Be, Raise Your Glass, Burlesque, Dirty Bit, Drip
Droppin' & Everything I Do - All the classics too :-)
Danza Kurduro is a huge hit in Europe - And Ria danced one
of new ones for Tampa called No Llores a great cha - Watch out for
that one - It's being released this week.
Dave
Event Report - Newline 2011 A big thank you to everyone who came to our Newcastle Newline weekend - We really do appreciate your support & friendship - We had a blast - And big thanks to all the team who as well as teaching great dances, also working hard throughout the weekend to give everyone a great time - True professionals, but true friends too ............
We had a great chill pre-event social/workshop night on Thursday -
Lots of social dancing plus a few recap/teaches including Lonely
Again, Show Me The Love, Make It Hot, Under My Skin, Free Fallin' &
This City - A classic It's Goin' Round Round too :-)
A great workshop schedule by the team this year - From the DJ Booth
afterwards all were well received - All requested many times again
over the weekend - And all floor-fillers for their recaps
.............
Joey had 3 hit teaches - A great (fast) cha called Be A Little
Selfish (Britney), co-written with Craig - And two nightclubs, Find
It In (Jay Sean/Message In A Bottle - Debbie taught this one on her
Cruise I hear) & Never Enough (Prince Royce/Addicted) - Descarada,
Throw The Dice & Talkin' To The Moon were so popular in social
dancing too - Sorry if I played them too many times lol - Joey was
an awesome guest star & we had fun with the beer pong in 'Smokey
Joey's Sports Bar' on Friday evening & at Ringmaster Joey's Circus
on Saturday evening - Great job Joey & we are looking forward to him
being MC at 'The Experience' in Orlando in March :-) ........... My
class at the event are really looking forward to the sheets for
Joey's 3 new ones - All really popular, especially Be A Little
Selfish - They will be out for Chicago.
Guyton, a regular favourite was with us too - And his awesome new
dance This City was a big hit of course - Some already familiar with
it from Rachael's bithday bash but well appreciative of the chance
of a re-teach - A classic funky Guyton dance - He also helped us
party with a great new fun dance Jump In Da Line (Pitbull) - Check
it out on Youtube - And awesome funky fun party piece !!! :-) You'll
enjoy this one in Chicago too for sure :-)
Shaz had a big hit for us too - A funky fun phrased Down With The
Trumpets (Rizzle Kicks) - Catchy & great fun - And also a lovely new
nightclub It Gets Better (Todrick Hall), co-written with our good
friend Jannie Tofte Anderson from Denmark - We are looking forward
to dancing with Jannie in Orlando in March - Malene too :-)
Dee had a hit teach with her new nightclub Start Over (Beyonce) -
And well done to Dee for the exceptional success with Don't You
Remember, our Advanced Dance of the Year - Her new funky/pop one
Make It Hot was also a big hit over the weekend too which she had
recapped on Thursday night for us, something we learned from Dee at
our Scarborough weekend a little while back.
Craig's latest Wet (Nicole Scherzinger) was well received - And he
also had a really cool new West Coast for us too Something In the
Air (2nite - Janet Jackson) - Great track.
Niels brought us Scott's new one from WOW Freak A Little More -
Thanks to Niels for that one which proved a popular one all weekend
- He also taught Lady Luck for those that did not know that one -
Love 2 Dance, Still Got The Blues & Melon Heart were floor fillers
many times over the weekend as well as many of his previous hits -
For me that particularly included Marz & Mummies & Only Girl :-) A
big thanks to Niels too for our early-bird re-teach on Saturday - I
Belong To You - And likewise to Craig on Sunday for the classic Blue
Finger Lou - A good crowd for these even at just 10.30am !! :-)
It is great to note that so many of these dances should hopefully be
big hits on the modern mainstream scene too - Only Guyton's This
City is way Advanced - The others Intermediate to Higher
Intermediate, so check them all out if you have modern intermediate
classes.
In our fun Newline Awards, congratulations to Kirsten who was our
Rising Star of the Year, Guyton our Choreographer of the Year &
Niels our Instructor of the Year - To Joey for Intermediate Dance
with Talkin' To The Moon & Dee for Advanced with Don't You Remember
- The Track of the Year was for Will's 2 Nite, which is a
floor-filler too.
Not too many surprises with our 2011 'All Time' Top 10 update
..............
-Poetry In Motion
-Have Fun Go Mad
-Cowgirls & Switches
-Scandalous
-SXE
-Poker Face
-Freaky Skillz
-Break Free Cha
-No Regrets
-Deeply Completely
.... No Feel, Razor Sharp, Angel, Together Forever, Must Get Free,
Let's Get Saved, Bring It, Let Me Love You, Brucie, No Regrets or
Smooth Criminal this year though in particular which are still huge
hits but did not make the 10 this year - So many other classics
played too many to mention that also filled the floor
...............
And a great 2011 Top 10 which filled the floor non-stop when I
played it :-) ...........
-Lady Luck
-Don't You Remember
-Descarada
-That Kinda Lovin'
-Not Drunk Enough
-My Motivation
-Papi
-Throw The Dice
-Still Got The Blues
-Raise Your Glass
In social dancing the most popular current dances other than those
in the above Top 10 included Talkin' To The Moon, 2 Nite, Hurts
Instead, California King, Perfect, Party Rockin', Dirty Bit,
Fangbangers Cha, About That Walk, 5 10 15 Swing, Only Girl, Club
Can't Handle Me, Mmm Data, On The Edge, My Hero, Hold On, Party
Freak, Ooh I Like That, Rolling In The Deep & These Castle Walls -
And of the most recent dances Move A Like, Monster In The Mirror,
Melon Heart, Love 2 Dance, Love Don't Run, Meant 2 Be & Love On Top
were all particularly big hits.
Next year we have a Newline Brit Special with one new dance each
from Paul, Shaz, Craig, Dee, Jordan, Debbie, Dan - Niels too an
adopted Brit for this purpose who has been with us right from the
start of our Newline weekends back in 2005 :-)
Dave
Event Report - World Masters
What an awesome weekend with great dancing friends - It was lovely
to see everyone - And to work with some great choreographer friends
over the weekend - I was mostly in the 'Social Dancing' room so will
report on that, but I know everyone was having a blast too in the
Competition Room, Swing Room & the late Night-Club Room - From me a
well done hi-5 to Irish Tommy who worked long & hard DJing in the
Competition Room & Louie from the States who did likewise, with
stints in the Competition & Swing Rooms, but especially the
late-bird slots in the Night-Club Room until the sunrise hours !!!
:-)
We had 3 great days of workshops in the Social Room - Focusing here
on the new releases - Something for everyone I'm
sure ................
-Joey Warren released Throw The Dice - A phrased advanced funky
dance that was a huge hit ..... Also his recent hit Descarada
-Kate Sala did a lovely smooth 64/4 Intermediate smooth one called
Love On Top (Beyonce) - What an awesome cool track ..... Also her
recent release East LA
-Shaz taught her new 32/4 Higher Intermediate pop Cha Not Drunk
Enough which I reported on from our Harrogate Newline weekend - Also
her current hit Hold On, another lovely smooth pop Cha
-Johanna had a hit teach with Let It All Out, a beaty fun 64/2
Intermediate funky pop Mambo ..... Her 48/2 Higher
Intermediate waltz release Meant 2 Be to Misery by Pinky looked
really nice & was an even bigger hit
-Robbie had two classic pop mainstream releases - Feel Alright, a
64/ 4 Intermediate Cha - And The Stomp - Now the name might give you
an image, but this one is a really cool & different pop Cha too !!
:-)
-Rob had a neat 32/4 funky West Coast one call Breakthrough - And a
classic & catchy country Polka called Whisky's Gone.
-Joyce Plackett, the 2010 Choreography Competition winner taught a
64/3 Intermediate called Dance Like A Freak to a great track by 'Mo'
- Well done to Joyce for a great teach :-)
-Rachael taught a wow Advanced West Coast called Fallin' Free (John
Mayer - Live version) - A Cyclone sort of dance - No sheet for this
one yet as it was a hot off the press new one for the event only
just finished in time - A huge hit.
-Dee taught recent releases What About My Dreams (Pop cha) & Falling
In Love Tonight (Smooth) - And Craig Under My Skin (Funky West
Coast) & Love Don't Run (Country Nightclub) - You'll have seen
mention of these in recent weeks, all really well received too.
It was also fun to DJ the choreography competition on Saturday
morning, with MC Rob & Head Judge Dee, with the rest of the judging
team Johanna, Joey, Shaz, Kate, Craig & Robbie - A good crowd
enjoyed close to 50 entries across the 3 categories - And the
winning 3 dances were genuinely all incredibly popular & I'm sure
you'll here more about all these dances :
-Beginner/Improver - Midnight Mix (Sandra Speck) - 32/4 Improver -
Paul Bailey - Beaty country cha
-Intermediate - Haba Haba (Helena Jeppsson) - Phrased/4 Easy
Intermediate - Stella Mwangi - Catchy pop Cha/Samba
-Advanced - Monster In The Mirror (Kirsten Motthiessen) - 64/4
Advanced - Usher - Funky pop West Coast
...........Monster In the Mirror was the 'Grand Champion', so you'll
see Kirsten on the staff at World Masters 2012 & Boston Showdown
2012 which was part of a great 1st prize :-)
Scott taught his current releases Fangbangers Cha & Hold On Tight as
an alternative to watching the choreography competition - Also
5-10-15 Swing on the Friday.
As ever it was great to DJ for a diverse range of dancers over 3
days/nights of social dancing until late-late -Current/Classic &
Modern/Traditional .... Improver thru Advanced - Funky/Pop/Country -
Competitor/Social - With dancers from all over the UK, Europe & the
rest of the world - Some of the most popular current social dances
over the weekend regularly filling the floor included :
The Flute/Rolling In the Deep/All Of Me/Gambling Man
1234/Lady Luck/Still Got The Blues/Only Girl
Perfect/My Motivation
On The Edge/Born This Way (& Don't Be A Drag)
Party Freak
Beyond Your Eyes/Wrong Side Of The Road
Dirty Bit/Party Rockin'
Telepathy
Talking To The Moon
Hurts Instead
California King
Midnight Swing
Soul Food (& Wobble of course !!)
Let It Be/I'm No Good/Raise Your Glass/Papi
Bittersweet Memory
..... So many more classic, old & new, but these were the current
hit floorfillers - Sorry if I played a few of them too many times
over the weekend, but the requests demanded that I did !!!
Some of the more recent dances on the up being done too included :
Mr. Saxobeat (Daniel)
Alabama Slammin'/Mr. Mysterious
Somewhere With You
That Kinda Lovin'
Move A Like
2 Nite
On The Line/Dr. Flame/No Scandal
How You Burlesque - JP was with us :-)
On a personal note well done to Joey & Johanna who had a great first
visit to the World Masters - Great dances & great dancing all
weekend in the social room - And special thanks to our good
friends Craig, Shaz & Dee, who as well as their workshops & dancing
too, also helped myself & Pauline in many ways generally look after
the Social Room all weekend - And to Dee, Shaz, Steve, Claire &
Joyce who hung back to help us pack all the gear up on Monday
morning - That was a welcome bonus for us after a busy weekend -
Thanks guys :-)
It was cool to be in a hotel again - And in Manchester City Centre
too - But most know the home of World Masters is the Blackpool
Winter Gardens, so it's awesome news to know we are going back there
for the 10th anniversary year 16th-20th August 2012 - Social dancers
Spanish Room here we come (back) - Olle !!! :-) ... The mega Empress
Ballroom too of course - I was at the Winter Gardens a few weeks ago
for the World Matchplay Darts & the renovation of that spectacular
historic building is looking really impressive :-) so roll on 2012 -
Note that it's a couple of weeks later in August than it normally
has been.
Dave
Workshop Report - Harrogate Newline
A big thanks to everyone who came to our Harrogate Sunday-Out
afternoon workshop this weekend - A lovely atmosphere with good
dancing friends at our new venue/event.
Shaz road tested her new 32/4 Higher Intermediate pop cha Not Drunk
Enough (Adele Erichsen) - This was another lovely new one from Shaz
which everyone enjoyed - A 'Faith & Desire' sort of dance - It will
be released at World Masters & will also be one of Shaz's teaches at
WOW in the States - Thanks to Shaz too for recap/teaches of Hold On
& Love Don't Run, both going really well :-)
I searched long & hard for a good new teach for me !! - So a big
thanks to Simon Ward !!! :-) - Went for his lovely new nightclub
Show Me The Love - Someone likened it to 'Purple Rain', maybe
that decribes it well - Hard & turny !! :-) - A great version of
a classic track by Wynnona - We struggled a little because it
did not go down as my best first teach ever (Sorry guys !!), but
everyone hung in there with me & together we finally cracked it
!!! :-) A big hit eventually lol :-) ............... By request
my 2nd teach was Niels's Lady Luck, one of my own current
favourites.
We also did a quick early-bird recap/teach of Craig's
latest Under My Skin - As well as 2 Nite & Somewhere With You
too by request - It was great to see Craig & Carol who travelled
home overnight from a gig down south to be with us - A lovely
surprise & so it was a bonus to dance Under My Skin again & One
The Edge with Craig.
A Top 10 for the afternoon probably looked something like this :
1-Papi
2-Talking To The Moon
3-Party Rockin'
4-My Motivation
5-Midnight Swing
6-Still Got The Blues
7-Perfect
8-Let It Be
9-Soul Food
10-Only Girl
Recent dances on the up included Descarada, That Kinda Lovin',
Fangbanger's Cha, California King & Hurts Instead - Hannah showed us
her lovely new nightclub There's A Place For Us - Diddy Dave has
done this one with his gang & Hannah led the way with them - It
really did look nice - One of the Masters Choreography Competition
entries, so good luck to Hannah with that :-) Great to see the AZ
gang & others dancing How You Burleque & Marz & Mummies still two of
own Newline favourites :-) Looking forward to seeing Jean at Masters
& Niels at Rachael's Birthday Bash :-)
Dave
Event Report - Alamo Torquay
A great time down on the English Riviera, Torquay
......... Thanks to Maggie G & Andrew/Sheila for working
so hard to give us a fun weekend - We always enjoy our
annual Alamo Torquay weekend with many dancing friends
who have been coming for many years now - An awesome
crowd - Thanks for coming everyone :-)
Two really good dance releases ..............
From Maggie - Devotion - A 56/2 pop cha with a strong
beat - A great dance & straight to the top of my teach
list for this week - It's down as Advanced but a solid
intermediate class will get it easy enough -
Maggie also released an easy/catchy fun one on the
Friday evening called Party People (Captain Jack) - And
also taught her recent releases All Of Me & Wildflower.
From Andrew & Sheila - Big City - Really smooth 32/4 Cee-Lo
Green pop cha track which I'll be giving a try too -
Cool track :-) - Andrew also taught Ria's great new
dance Move A Like (Maroon 5's Moves Like Jagger - Great
track) - This was a big hit for Ria in Newcastle the
weekend before & my Wednesday gang have already asked to
do this one :-)
I taught Robbie's No Scandal & Kim's Remember Me - Love
these & I think they went well :-) - Sneaked in
Somewhere With You too - Awesome country :-)
In social dancing the one that caught my eye was
Daniel's Mr. Saxobeat - Other popular dances on the up
included Chicken Walk Jive, Telepathy, Beyond Your Eyes,
Same Old Something, Soul Food, My Motivation, Mr.
Mysterious, Lady Luck, Hold On, Party Rockin', On The
Line, Dr. Flame, On The Edge, Still Got The Blues, Raise
Your Glass, Perfect, Journey To The Stars, Alabama
Slammin', Wrong Side Of The Road, 1234, Good Girl,
Dancing In Circles, Let It Be, Hit The Lites & Don't Be
A Drag/Born This Way - The event Top 10 was as follows :
1-Rolling In The Deep
2-Party Freak
3-Bittersweet Memory
4-I'm No Good
5-The Flute
6-Burlesque
7-Papi
8-Knee Deep (Split Floor)
9-Gambling Man
10-Only Girl
Many a classic too - And based on dancer Top 10 sheets
submitted the 'All-Time' Top 10 for the weekend which we
planned on Saturday evening was as follows :
1-7 Nights To Rock
2-Hot Tomales
3-Human Dancer
4-Shakatak
5-T-Bone Shuffle
6-Can't Stop Loving You
7-Feet Don't Fail Me Now
8-Razor Sharp
9-I Just Want To Dance With You
10-Chill Factor
Many others filled the floor, not least Pot Of Gold,
Islands In The Stream, Somebody Like You, Into The
Arena, Patient Heart, Just For Grins, Caught In The Act,
Have Fun Go Mad, Poetry In Motion & many more
equally obvious ones :-)
Next year our guest choreographer is Rob Fowler & as
usual Andrew & Sheila co-host with us :-)
Dave
Event Report - Newcastle Just Dance
We had a lovely weekend with great friends last weekend -
Fun T-Shirts on Friday evening plus everyone wearing a touch
of Tartan in memory of David, a Scottish Black Coffee & a
lantern release at 'Quarter After One' playing his favourite
dance of the same name - A wild night on Saturday to an
Americana theme, with everyone invited to Arizona State Fair
- A fun Beer Pong competition - And some great dances from
an awesome team who worked so hard to make it a great
dancing weekend for all our Newcastle Just Dance
friends ..........................
Our guest choreographer Ria did an awesome job - 4 great
dances - On Friday evening a 'quick teach' one - One Fire -
Phrased A/B but easy Samba beat ........ In the main
workshops we started with Better Take Cover, her latest hit
perhaps that lots are already doing - Then two new ones -
Along The Line (Mike & The Mechanics) , a lovely smooth
nightclub - And my favourite, Move A Like (Maroon 5) - A
really cool pop cha just out "Move Like Jagger" :-) Many
thanks to Ria xx
This year my co-host was Shaz who taught her lovely new
country nightclub Love Don't Run (Co-written with Craig) & a
classic Shaz funky/pop one called Hold On - An awesome track
........ Late on Friday night Shaz did a quick teach of
Will's funky 2 Nite, easy funky fun - Big thanks to Shaz for
sharing the hosting work all through the weekend.
We missed Rep this year & he'll be back with next year -
But many thanks to Dee & Craig who were there to party with
us & stepped in to teach a dance each - Dee taught us a neat
Improver/Easy Intermediate one called Wait & See
(Classic/catchy Barry Manilow) - And Craig his current hit
On The Edge - Craig is my co-host next year :-)
I taught Kim's lovely new nightclub Remember Me (Jennifer
Hudson) - Boy do I love this track - And at some point I
sneaked in a quick teach of Somewhere With You - Easy
awesome country from Kenny Chesney - Needless to
say Pauline made sure everyone could 'Wobble' too -
Including the Hotel staff on Saturday night lol !!! :-)
In social dancing our target at Just Dance is to do 300 over
the weekend - And with the help of late-late dancing we made
310 !! :-) ...........
The most popular dances in social dancing were :
-1234
-Hello Dolly
-Knee Deep
-I Run To You
-Same Old Something
-Gambling Man
-Wrong Side Of The Road
-Beyond Your Eyes
-I'm No Good
-Disappearing Bubbles
-The Flute
-Good Girl
-Bittersweet Memory
-On The Line
-Dr. Flame
-Box It Up
-All Of Me
-Party Freak
-Rolling In The Deep
-Only Girl
-Dirty Bit
-Born This Way/Don't Be A Drag
-Raise Your Glass
-Let It Be
-Talking To The Moon
-Don't You Remember
-Perfect
-My Motivation
-Midnight Swing
-Papi
-Party Rockin'
-Still Got The Blues
-Soul Food
Based on Top 10 forms submitted we played the following
'All-Time' Top 10 on Saturday night ........
-Have Fun Go Mad
-Poker Face
-Feet Don't Fail Me Now
-Pot Of Gold
-Into The Arena
-Poetry In Motion
-Lamptarra Rumba
-Jesse James
-Murder My Heart
-Islands In The Stream
............Quite a mixed bag !! :-) .... We danced loads of
other classics too !!!! :-)
Dances that caught my eye in social dancing were Ria's
Tinkabell & Not Without Us.
Big thanks to Glen & all our Arizona club dancers who helped
out with all sorts of things ever the weekend, especially
the set-up on Friday & a really quick pack-up on Sunday
afternoon - Thanks guys for all your help & support :-)
In 2012 we have our Just Dance weekends in Mundesley in
March (Craig, Dee, Shaz & Andrew), Carlisle in April (Kate &
Shaz) & Newcastle in June (Craig, DanielT & Rep).
Dave
|
|
USA & World Event Reports
Event Report - UCWDC Worlds My husband and I attended the pre-Worlds New Year's Eve Blast weekend, then I drove back by myself for two days the following week, and stayed for 2-3 hours of open dancing after dinner before driving home. The Blast was a lot of fun--dance workshops PLUS open dancing all day, PLUS a party Saturday night. What a great way to start the new year! By my best recollection, I attended 13 workshops from a fabulous lineup of choreographers/instructors. I did try to pace myself because I finally realized that piling too many new dances into my brain at one time means that nothing sticks. The great thing was that any time dancers wanted a break, the open dance floor was available just around the corner for a snack, a chat, and a rest--if we could resist the music being played all the time. The stand-out dances FOR ME (in no particular order) were: Without You (Craig) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXJ6ZxBYlgo&feature=related This phrased dance takes some work to remember where you are in Part A because of the repeated sections, but fits the music beautifully. I think Will is definitely on a roll lately with several great dances. Hurt Me So (Blevins)--32 counts, do-able intermediate very quick to a great track. I'm going to like it even more when I get it down well enough to do it smoothly. No tags/restarts. This Is A Man's World (Verdonk and Vane) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcZTkMmP3OE As soon as it was released I knew I wanted to do this dance, and was thrilled to have the opportunity. The choreographers got the timing right in the notation (1-and-a-2 instead of 1-2-3 "Viennese waltz"), and the choreography hits the fast AND slow breaks perfectly. It's officially 24 counts, no tags/restarts. Gotta Get That (Johns-Grose) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jo9BtRnRbw Intermediate 64/4 to a great track that makes you want to move. This is the first dance from Worlds that I taught when I got back. Pata Pata (Hadisubroto) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fjIXPiutj0 It was great to meet Roy (Crazy, Pon De Replay). I especially liked getting styling suggestions as well on this cool 8&1 cha. Beat Of Your Heart (Arvidson/Kawamoto/Sugarawa) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm2_VXe6nME I had already learned and taught this LI 64/2 dance, but went to the workshop just to see Toshiko dance and to get the benefit of her years of training and competition. All I can say is WOW! Watch her next to Sam in the video. The slow rumba tempo might not appeal to a lot of dancers who favor quicker pop tracks, but the lyrics are lovely, the dance has one easy tag and it ends smoothly at the front after only 4-1/2 rotations. I was very pleased to see several style/technique workshops on the schedule for line dancers and couples. I'd have taken them all if I'd had a chance. I hope this trend continues. Several of the instructors conducted a tribute to A.T. Kinson by teaching some of his well-known dances (some co-choreographed), including Blue Finger Lou, Chilly Cha Cha, Hold Your Horses, Lucky Cha, and Magic Carpet Ride. Sondra Crank also wrote a lovely remembrance that was included in the booklet. I took some great workshops and will teach many of the other dances I learned. But these are the ones at the top of MY list. My only suggestion for future events would be to schedule more beginner level dances to accommodate new dancers because I saw some struggling to keep up with the harder ones and know how frustrating that can be. It will be a 2-3 year wait, but I look forward to the return of Worlds to Orlando and plan to be there. Anon
Event Report - Vegas
Doug
& Jackie Miranda's Vegas Dance Explosion continues to explode like no other,
taking it's own sweet time, leaving nobody behind, suits me just fine. Starts
late, long breaks, workshop repeats, shows at night, open dancing by day and in
3 ballrooms by night. That to me makes line dancing what it should be - a very
pleasurable, relaxed, no-stress, no-pressure activity. It's also situated
without the isolating restrictions of an airport location. You can step outside
the hotel and walk the strip that's lined with shops, shows, sights, eats and
what have you and there's always something new to keep you from saying
beentheredonethatseenthat. It's why since I started coming I'm back every year
without fail. Plus you can't beat the price, a reasonably nice hotel room with a
refrigerator and a view for a fraction of the cost of similar hotel rooms in
other event venues, makes it for me the bargainest linedance event away from
home giving me the biggest bang, or should I say, boom (it's an explosion after
all) for my buck. Judy
Event Report - Tampa What's better than
warm chocolate chip cookies when you sign in at an event? THE EVENT
ITSELF!! How can a weekend do anything but be fun when you are
greeted with a warm, chewy, yummy chocolate chip cookie to start off
your weekend journey? The hotel staff at the Doubletree is always
warm and welcoming and I was even dancing with one of the staff in
the hallway who knew how to do Cupid Shuffle. Many people who work
in the hotel told me how they look forward to having us every year
and we enjoy this hotel, especially the ballroom area in the hotel,
because everything is centrally located and easy to get from class
to class. There are also two large malls and many restaurants in the
area and the shuttle is happy to take anyone to places within a
couple of miles radius of the hotel. In the International Plaza
there is an middle-to-upscale restaurant section with places like
The Cheesecake Factory and some very nice restaurants serving every
imaginable type of food. This mall has stores like Neiman Marcus and
Saks, etc. There is another mall that has more mainstream stores and
lots of them. I think there was some heavy-duty retail therapy going
on this weekend from the people I ran into at the malls. There is a
sports-type bar/restaurant and a more formal restaurant in the hotel
and I have to say the prices were reasonable and the food was very
good. There's also a little gift shop if you needed aspirin or a
souvenir or magazines. The pool is always a hit at this event and
this weekend was no exception. I really hope that some year you will
plan to stay over after the event and enjoy the After Party we
always have on Monday night and also to visit some of the wonderful
things to do in the Tampa Bay Area, especially the beautiful
white-sand beaches and anything else you might want to do for a few
days. I promise you won't want to leave!! This was the first year that Jen and Jason
Cameron took over the reins from Arline Winerman and they really
tried to not make any drastic changes but will follow the lead of
the attendees and what they like and don't like to continue to build
this event into the premier event that Arline gave birth to, just as
they have done with FUN IN THE SUN in Orlando and THE LINE DANCE
SHOWDOWN in Boston. The lineup of instructors this year was,
as always, topnotch: Sandy Albano, Barry & Dari Anne Amato,
Michael Barr, Scott Blevins, Michele Burton, Zachery Detweiller,
Bracken Ellis-Potter, Kathy "G", Lisa Johns-Grose, Dan McInerney,
Debbie McLaughlin, Marilyn McNeal, Rosie Multari, Guyton Mundy, John
Robinson, Maurice Rowe, Vivienne Scott, Frank Trace, Ria Vos, Junior
Willis, Arline Winerman. It was the first US appearance of Ria Vos
and what a wonderful addition she was. I hope you get to meet her
and dance with her at some future event. It was great having all the
instructors and they all were out dancing with everyone and enjoying
the event all weekend. Jen and Jason own their floors and they
are really wonderful to dance on. No trips and slips and wondering
what your foot is going to encounter on the next turn. LOL. I also
liked that they didn't open up the second room at night because it
kept the energy up for the entire weekend. I know that some people
wondered why they didn't but they wanted to see if it would keep the
party atmosphere going and I think it worked because I noticed that
all levels stayed up and danced into the wee hours. Sometimes too
much space can seem more like a cavern than a dance floor. That's
just my opinion. I know they will listen to your suggestions. Not
every suggestion can be implemented but I've noticed that the best
events welcome the suggestions and take them under serious
consideration and insert things or delete things as time goes by.
The three DJ's, Louie, JP, and Olivia kept
the floors packed all weekend and the two main rooms were across the
hall from each other so people were going back and forth to enjoy
them both. I was happy to see the upcoming dances projected on the
wall and I liked that there were two rooms this year because it
keeps people in the generally-same area and just keeps the energy up
for the weekend. The reviews were scheduled in ten-minute increments
and everyone stayed on schedule. It made them real reviews instead
of mini-lessons which tend to drag on forever. Everyone knew when to
be there and then you could stay or leave so you didn't have to miss
a lot of dancing. I really liked having the open dance in
the lobby area. I've always thought that was the perfect place to
have lots of open dancing and it was so much fun to be able to go in
there and review a dance and many times the choreographers jumped on
the floor to lead the dances. It's a perfect meeting place and just
a place to relax and have a bite to eat or a cup of coffee and dance
to your heart's content. There was also a mini cafe set up next to
this room for breakfast and lunch fare so you could grab a bite to
eat or coffee or a drink and sit at one of the tables and eat with
your friends. The beautiful weather this year also was fully visible
from this room and it was easy to run outside and just sit at one of
the outside tables for a few minutes and come back in. There were
some GREAT vendors there this weekend, also. If you wanted jewelry,
shoes, clothing, gadgets, whatever, it was there on display. I love
having lots of vendors at events and I like that you are always
passing them on the way to the dance rooms or your room so you can
browse a number of times during the weekend. The reviews of the next day's dances were
held at night for the Friday and Saturday classes and were done
earlier in the day for the Sunday classes. I like having the reviews
at night because then the instructors tend to stay up and dance with
everyone instead of having the pressure of getting up first thing to
do reviews. There were four rooms running all day and all of the
easy dances were in the Timberwoods so that the people who were new
to the event or wanted to only do the easier dances, knew where they
were going to be taught. I heard lots of good comments about this.
One thing that Jen and Jason do is that they try to have most of the
instructors do at least one beginner dance and they also try to have
instructors they know the beginners will love. Some of the ones that
are especially talented at picking good beginner dances,
choreographing, and teaching beginners (although they all could
teach any level) are Frank Trace, Vivienne Scott, John Robinson,
Rosie Multari, Lisa Johns-Gross, Michele Burton, Bracken
Ellis-Potter, Junior Willis, Ria Vos, Arline Winerman, Barry and
Dari Anne Amato, and Michael Barr, among others. I think the
beginner room is soooooooooo important for events because it is THE
introduction to a weekend event and I think these people represent
the best ambassadors for introducing what fun a weekend event can
be. People love all of them and they know what dances to choose to
make every hour spent in lessons special. I want to thank each of
you for taking the time to really encourage people to try, not only
this event, but other events because the new dancers to events are
what keeps this special hobby going and growing and you are an
important part of that. I know you don't hear it from people but I
hear all the time from people who were so impressed that some
instructor took a moment to stop and introduce themselves or thank
them for coming to your class or just say hi. It may seem like a
small thing but I remember when I first started going to events that
it was really special to actually talk to someone I had admired from
afar. The theme for Saturday night was WILD WILD
WEST, so appropriate since Jason was co-choreographer of that dance
many years ago. Everyone was dressed in country garb and it made me
feel like a long time ago when we all wore boots and twirly skirts,
and big belt buckles, and all kinds of stuff that made a night feel
really special and "WILD WILD WEST country." In the time leading up
to the show, Louie played many of the songs that we danced back then
and kept the feeling of country going. I really enjoyed that. I
thought the show was just the right length and variety and it was
just fun. It started off with the team, Sweet and Sassy, directed by
Christine Bass (and Junior was there for some reason for a short
time. LOL.). Next, Guyton Mundy did a little skit called "What Is
Line Dancing" and his "class" was hysterical. Junior had taught a
clogging class during the day and his entire class performed the
routine he taught. It amazes me how much they learn in his clogging
classes in such a short amount of time. Jean and Jason and their
group performed a Wild Wild West routine. Mary Melson (sp.) led
Michele Burton and Rosie in a routine. I loved Rosie as "The Judge."
Michael Barr, John Robinson and Guyton, Chris, Zac performed (and
there were more people but I couldn't write fast enough). Barry and
Dari Anne did a medley of dances with some clogging added in the
routine. The Glitter Sisters, led by Trish St. Denis, ended the
show. It was a fun and festive show which led to a raffle with a
50/50 drawing and lots of great passes being won by raffle winners.
And then the evening dancing began. I'm putting as the very last thing, the
favorite dances that people have been sending me. There is no way
any longer that I can tell you every dance that is good at an event.
My personal favorites were pretty much what everyone else liked --
some I already knew and some were brand new. I don't know what the
theme will be next year yet but I do know the dates, November 1-4,
2012, www.tampalinedanceclassic.com. I hope you will put it on your
calendar and plan to come next year for the event, stay over a few
days, join us for the After Party, and enjoy the Tampa Bay Area that
we are so proud to show you. Jen and Jason will be updating the web
site and sending out information soon. Come again and bring a friend
so we can do it all over again!! Remember, you can contact Jen and
Jason if you would like to order the videos of all the dances taught
during the weekend and the show.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FAVORITE DANCE PICKS: Be sure and look at the REPORTS FROM
OTHERS for their picks because it's impossible to review every dance
taught unless you see everyone's picks. The dances keep getting
better and better and it makes it even more difficult to know which
ones to take!! Here's some from previous reports and Facebook posts: ***************** "My favs were No Llores, Caribbean Pearl,
Just for me & Sara Smile in that order." (from Marjory Cacioppo) *************** Rose Williams: "My favourites were: "Free
Falling" that Debbie taught, "No Llores" and "Language of the Heart"
by Ria, "Sara's Smile" by Michel, "Show me the Love" that Marilyn
taught and "Hold on Tight by Scott". I liked a lot more but the list
would be too long." ************** Jodi Ermlich wrote: "My faves were FREAK A
LITTLE MORE and DEJA VU. JP did an amazing job Djing the main
ballroom before Louie got there. It would be nice to see him do
more!! **************** (From Marilyn McNeal) NO LLORES (int). First dance by Ria this
weekend and got much applause. Latin (cha rhythm) music by Gloria
Stefan (love her music) and great steps. We had fun with this dance
and it filled the floor at night. LANGUAGE OF THE HEART (Int/Adv) NC2.
Absolutely love this dance and the song is one that grabs you, like
many nightclubs. A “must do” for me! JUST FOR ME(int). Though I love NC2 and
Waltz most, this easy Swing is one of my favorites this weekend.
Great steps and the song sold me! MARINA(Int) - missed this one due to my
schedules reviews, but she had a full room for this Sunday teach. .
MEANT 2 BE(Johanna Barnes), advanced
waltz, taught by Zac. Music is Misery by Pink - loved it. LEAVE YOUR MARK, Debbie McLaughlin.
Powerful music by Beyonce called I Was Here. Fast Waltz, great steps
and I do believe this will be another hit for Debbie along with
PREJUDICE - very cool dance and both of these filled the floor at
night. Debbie is certainly a rising star in our dance world.
FREE FALLIN’(Rachael’s dance), also taught
by Debbie. GREAT dance and a challenge, but worth it. Already knew these taught by Kathy G.
JAZZY GIRL (Jo Kinser). Great dance to
catchy music. I hope this one catches on - we love it here in Ocala
WALKIN’ THE BLUES(Jill Babinec& Deb
Pancoast) - cool WC Swing. A DRINK IN MY HAND(Sandy Goodman) -
Improver level choreography winner from Chicago, and being danced
everywhere. HURT ME SO(Scott Blevins). Wow, this is
another “Scott” dance that will be one of those keepers. FREAK A LITTLE MORE by Scott filled the
floor - easy one and fun to dance to “dance to the music!” Guyton’s JUMP IN THE LINE was hilarious,
and as much fun to watch as to dance! Way to go Connie from Ocala!
I want to mention some beginner dances,
also: Nightclub Fillestar(Bracken Ellis-Potter) great introduction
to NC2 for beginners. Boondocks (Amatos) was cute and a crowd
pleaser. Danced just about all of Ira's dances, and Michael and
Michele's too. Danced all of Frank Trace's too, which are
always popular. Sweet Georgia Brown (Burton& Kurtela),
French Toast & Love Letter Waltz(Trace) are already favorites in my
classes. My own classes for this weekend were SHOW
ME THE LOVE(Simon Ward) Love, love, love this dance, and got to
teach it again to a full floor. You will enjoy dancing this to
Wynonna’s I Wanna Know What Love Is. Also, YOU BETTER STOP(Steve
Rutter & Claire Butterworth). I personally love this dance. The
choreography is great and the song Stop, by Jamelia is too! *************** GREG IN PA: 9am - No Llores with Ria Vos – I had read
about this dance recently in the Line Dance Newsletter, so I was
excited to give this lesson a go; doubly so since this was my first
time meeting Ria as well. Ria is a superb instructor and she offered
an effortless teach of her cha rhythm dance. The choreography hits
the notes and timing perfectly. The second and third 8-counts
required some extra attention due to a series of direction changes
followed by a surprisingly different lock timing, but Ria was
divinely patient and worked out the kinks. I love the track and the
dance, and it’s easily one of several favorites of mine from the
weekend. 10am – Free Fallin (Rachael McEnaney) with
Debbie McLaughlin – Although I took a teach of this from Rachael at
Windy City, I was looking forward to a second teach due to the
complexities of the timing since it makes a huge difference in
finally feeling or not feeling the music. Debbie did a fantastic
job, as usual, presenting the timing and everyone seemed to be
dancing to the skin-tingling John Mayer track in no time. From the
buzz throughout the weekend, this was a definite favorite of many of
the dancers and obvious floor filler during open dancing. 11am – déjà vu (J.P. Potter) with Maurice
Row – I’m glad that Maurice selected this popular dance of J.P.’s to
teach. I’ve heard it played at other event weekends, and Maurice
made it a joy to learn. Since déjà vu was a rather quick teach,
Maurice was also able to include his own popular dance After Party.
Two great dances in under an hour. Thanks Maurice! 12pm – Clogging Part I with Junior Willis
– After watching the clogging performance at Windy City, I was
nervous about trying Junior’s lesson, but several friends nudged me
into giving it a go. I had a BLAST and I’m so glad that I gave it a
chance! Junior did an incredible job breaking down the steps and
introducing us to 14 different clogging patterns. The naming
conventions definitely made it easy to remember and we sequenced
them to music to get a feel for the rhythm. 1pm – Prejudice with Debbie McLaughlin – I
originally learned this from Rona K. at Windy City, but it’s well
worth a second teach so it was an easy choice to take it from Debbie
herself. Although its phrasing can be off-putting, you can
absolutely feel each phrase in the music. I’ve been enjoying dancing
this since Windy City, and given its popularity at Tampa I’m sure
this will be sticking around for quite some time. Plus, absolutely
any chance to learn anything from Debbie is a treat. Her sense of
humor shines, plus she’s a dancer to admire on the dance floor so
any aspects of style she offers make the effort worthwhile. 2pm – Walkin’ Blues (Jill Babinec and Debi
Pancoast) with Kathy G. - I first saw this danced at Windy City, but
I wasn’t able to make a teach there, so it was an easy choice to
make for Tampa. I adore the track by Melinda Doolittle and the west
coast rhythm dance Jill and Debi choreographed is amazing. I admit
that I struggled with the some of the timing during the lesson from
Kathy G., but it all made sense once we started dancing to the
music. I would definitely recommend going to music early and often
with this one since it certainly helped me, as well as a few others
that I talked to. Kathy G. also taught A Drink In My Hand (Sandy
Goodman), but I missed that portion of her teach. 3pm – Hot Stepper with Dan McInerney –
Maybe because the song was overplayed in the ‘90s, I wasn’t in love
with track selection when I first heard it. I went to the lesson to
watch Dan’s teach and to give my feet a break, but 8-counts into
watching I jumped out of my seat to join in. When all was said and
done I absolutely loved it. Dan has a great ear for music and went
out of his way to choreograph steps to the song’s musical
highlights. For me, the fun was in hitting those highlights along
with Dan’s interesting collection of steps. It’s both quirky and fun
and helped me to enjoy Here Comes The Hotstepper. 4pm – Pay Your Dues with Maurice Row –
Maurice is a high energetic instructor, and this dance is definitely
an energetic match. The timing is quick, but once I got it, well, I
got it. Lol. The key seems to be letting yourself simply move from
step-to-step without stopping, especially through the opening
syncopation. Natural inclination helped move me where his
choreography wanted me to go. A friend taking the lesson also
offered me some remedial practice with the hip-and-dip move ¾ of the
way through, and with their help that clicked too. Lol. Oh… Maurice
also recommended a Glee Cast version to the Destiny’s Child track,
but I have to admit that I prefer the original maybe for no other
reason than that Destiny’s Child sounds amazing. *** Saturday, November 5 *** 9am – You Better Stop (Stephen Rutter &
Claire Butterworth) with Marilyn McNeal – This was an easy choice
for me since I love the track, and the dance simply looked amazing.
Although the timing looks intimidating (12&a34&a56&a78&a), which
Marilyn compared it to Cry Me Out (Malene Jakobsen), the “12&a”
repetition through the song was easy enough to hear and follow. I
can’t offer enough praise for the flourish-and-flow of this dance to
this track, and it’s easily another weekend favorite. 10am – Love’s Kiss with John Robinson –
I’m a fan of the Lady Antebellum track Just A Kiss, so I was sold on
John’s demo of this dance. Although it’s only 24-counts, John packed
a lot into this NC2S, so it definitely doesn’t feel short or
repetitive by any means. I love the flow, and especially the
Sweep-Cross-Side sequence that opens the second 8-count. John also
taught his No Love Allowed, but I needed to slip out to catch the
tail end of Sandy Albano’s teach of Never Enough (Joey Warren) as a
review for myself after learning it at Windy City. 11am – Hurt Me So with Scott Blevins – The
quick of what I have to offer is simple: great track and great
dance! Scott always seems to find winners when it comes to music and
this is certainly no exception. Between this and Freak A Little
More, Scott really hit two home runs. The choreography for Hurt Me
So includes a lot of playful elements and you almost need to try it
for that to make sense. The playfulness comes while dancing since
moves hit some really strong notes in the music. I really love the
closing “walk” type sequence of the dance. It’s a long string of
whole counts (I seem to recall Scott mentioning that it might be the
longest in any of his dances) and it has you covering some ground at
just the perfect places in the song. The track is fast, but I can
already tell from its popularity during open dancing that the
efforts made in learning it will definitely pay off. This is easily
yet another favorite from the weekend. 12pm – Rude Boy (co. w/Amy Spencer) with
Junior Willis – After Scott’s Hurt Me So cardio session, I needed to
relax a bit. I already had a teach of this from Junior at Windy
City, so this was a fun-to-do refresher. Everyone in the class was
smiling, and it’s just one of those dances that has you feeling
naughty in a good way. 2pm – Leave Your Mark with Debbie
McLaughlin – Debbie choreographed this waltz to the Beyonce track, I
Was Here, which is stunning in its own right and definitely worth a
listen or twelve. Her waltz is easily just as breathtaking, and
absolutely approachable. While asking her about it, she said she
simply choreographed what she felt did justice to the music. It
didn’t need to be difficult. A lot of waltzes are chockfull of
recycled steps, but her chorography keeps everything interesting.
One thing I love about it is the strength of the closing counts that
then fall away and become tender like the music. Cheers again,
Debbie, and another favorite for me. 3pm – Clogging Part II with Junior Willis
– Junior had me hooked after taking Part I, so I was definitely
excited to learn the show number that he put together for us to
practice. The song he chose was My Cowboy to help fit the theme of
the Saturday Show – Wild Wild West – and we all had a great time
learning it. I can’t say I was “accomplished” after two one-hour
lessons, but I was more than happy to help with Junior’s clog show
number as a diehard, self-appointed representative of the
middle-back-row where no one except maybe Louis could see me. Lol.
If anyone ever debated about giving one of Junior’s clog workshops a
go – as they say – “Just Do It”. You won’t regret it. 4pm – Just For Me by Ria Vos – Here’s yet
another occasion where I was sold simply on the song selection. It’s
another swing rhythm track by Renee Olstead called My Baby Just
Cares For Me. Any fans of Rob Glover’s Midnight Swing, or any of its
floor splits, will love it as well since Olstead’s Midnight Man is
used for that. I love the variety of steps in her choreography, and
it’s simply a joy to dance to the music. I’m trying to pull out some
highlight steps that really sold me on the dance, but there are just
to many to choose. Give it a go and you’ll see what I mean. This was
yet another easy favorite for me. *** Sunday, November 6 *** 9am – Missouri Swings (Michele Perron)
with Barry & Dari Anne Amato – Barry opened his teach of this by
praising the musicality of the steps in Michele’s choreography, and
they wanted to help give it the kind of attention that it deserves.
The Brenda Lee track Kansas City is a classic, and I have to admit
that after we learned enough to go to music the first time, the
steps simply pop and jazz from the track. 10am – Goodbye Kiss (co. with Joey Warren)
with Debbie McLaughlin – I first had a teach of this from Debbie at
JG, and it was a favorite of mine from that event weekend. Debbie
started her lesson in Tampa by admitting that neither she nor Joey
has taught it again since. She did promise they would be more
diligent in introducing this at upcoming events, especially since
the song is fantastic in its own right and has done incredibly well
on both the pop and country billboards – Don’t You Wanna Stay by
Jason Aldean ft Kelly Clarkson. I was a fan of this when I first
learned it at JG, and I’m still a fan, BUT as Debbie also admitted,
this is easily a two or three teach dance. There is a lot to the
choreography, but she apologized that it’s required by the phrasing
of the music. The dance is every bit as difficult as Debbie slowly
revealed throughout the lesson. Just when we’d work through one
tricky spot, Debbie confessed “it gets worse”. But to her and Joey’s
credit, the steps and flow fit the music achingly perfectly. I’m
looking forward to keeping this practiced now that I feel like I
finally “Got It” – or at least I think I do. Lol. 11am – That Kinda Lovin’ with Guyton Mundy
– This was another second teach for me since I first learned it at
JG. I guess I’m discovering that I’m something of a nightclub
junkie, so I was glad for the second lesson on this since I haven’t
been keeping it practiced for myself. Regardless, Guyton had us
rolling with laughter along the way with each of his “okey-dokey”s
and “maybe”s. 1pm – Love On Top (Kate Sala) with Dan
McInerney – One word – yay! I’m so glad to finally learn this after
reading so much about it in the Line Dance Newsletter. I love the
movement, energy, and controlled-bounce of this dance “You put my
love on top, top, top, top, top.” There is something infectious
about it and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Regardless,
Dan did a ‘top’ job teaching. Ok, that was bad. Lol.
Carol
Event Report - Chicago Throughout the year, dozens of dance friends convinced my partner and me that Windy City was a ‘must do’ dance event. Of course, you never really know unless you try something yourself and this particular dance event did not disappoint. As first-timers, every expectation that we had was met, if not exceeded, by an energetic trio of organizers – Mark Cosenza, Eve Yeaton, and Glen Pospieszny.
The collection of national and international
choreographers was superb as well as their
offerings of beginner to advanced level
choreography. After all the buzz from Worlds and
WOW, I watched the work-in-progress dance grid
on the Windy City website like a hawk to see
what would be taught and when. Of course there
were some changes along the way, but the grid
posted a week or so before the event was pretty
true to form with the grid I received in my
registration packet. Some early picks that did
not fail to impress include Rachael’s Free
Fallin’, Scott’s Freak A Little More, and
Debbie’s Prejudice (taught by Rona Kaye), but
more – much more – on that below. It was also a
pleasure to see that Sunday was a dedicated
reteach day, which – for me – meant that I could
strategize a little more to catch up for
timeslots where I would have needed to be in two
or three places at once – lol.
The Crowne Plaza hotel was spectacular. The
rooms, fitness center, and bathrooms were airy
and clean. One element of the hotel that I found
a little lackluster was the restaurant. The
space felt small and tight for the number of
attendees and service was a little slow
especially when time before and between
workshops was a commodity. However, I think the
event organizers must have anticipated this,
because pre-prepared boxed lunches were made
available on Friday and Saturday for quick and
convenient food service. The main lobby and
dining area offered easy access to the five
workshop rooms (four smaller rooms, one devoted
to beginners, plus the main ballroom). Each
workshop room was surrounded on three sides by
chairs as well as a table with a continuous
supply of ice cold water and cups. The fourth
side offered a stage for the instructors and
sound equipment. The dance floors seemed
adequately sized for each workshop, but kudos to
the organizers for being quick to act and swap a
smaller room for the main ballroom if a workshop
attracted an unexpected number of attendees.
Each workshop room was kept understandably cool,
if not cold.
At this point, it’s absolutely worth mentioning
that my heart sank a little during my first
Friday morning workshop in the main ballroom.
After the crowd cleared from the morning demos
just about every front row chair was claimed
with a chair condom, jacket, bag, etc. as folks
left the room. Like at other events, I just
assumed that that was just the status quo. The
Saturday demos were scheduled later that same
day so I figured that folks were just staking
their claim early, if not for the entire weekend
– shrug. BUT, to my glee, Eve started the
evening demos with an announcement to the effect
that she would personally claim any and all
items left on any chair between workshops and
that the chair claiming would not be tolerated.
And, if you’ve ever met Eve you know she meant
it! That announcement was met with huge applause
from around the room, and it certainly seemed to
fix the problem for the remainder of the weekend
from what I could tell. The only claimed chairs
I saw after that were for the videographers.
Yay!
Louis St. George (main room) and Jill Babinec
(beginner room) did amazing jobs DJing all of
the open dancing, and there was quite a bit to
be had. In addition to the standard late night
open dancing, there were breaks offered in the
dance grid for several hours each day (and all
day Sunday) for dancers to squeeze in some extra
open dancing. I was workshopping during those
sessions, but I could hear some great tracks
being played through the walls – lol. First off,
the Thursday night kickoff open dance was a
great success. The floor was full to overflowing
with nearly every song selection. Plus!!!
Dancers were treated to two bonus teach soul
dances by Ms. Georgia. Both selections were
beginner, if not ultra-beginner, but the songs
and soul attitude styling made them infectious.
I was also glad to see that projecting the
upcoming dances in the main ballroom is becoming
something of a tradition. It helps tons,
especially during times when the beginner room
is humming with music as well. I love having a
choice of jockeying between rooms. And, for the
main-room-only dancers out there you might be
pleasantly surprised with the music/dance
selections in the beginner room. Also, the
beginner room included a schedule of all of that
day’s beginner dance workshop dances so you
could recap a dance with the instructor calling
cues. And, if that didn’t hook me, the adjacent
room’s wall was opened to offer a second floor.
In addition to offering space for overflow
dancers, Jill would often call floor splits on
the second floor that included more advanced
options that paired with the beginner dances to
familiar songs – Rolling In The Deep, Papi,
etc.. On Saturday night, the same thing happened
in the main ballroom as well to give dancers
even more space to dance – not floor splits per
se, but extra space. This was a great idea and a
great use of otherwise empty dance floors during
those times.
I’m sad to say that I missed out on both the
amateur and professional choreography
competitions since I chose to take workshops in
all of those time slots, and the same goes for
Junior’s popular clogging sessions. However, I
did see the results of all of it during the
Saturday evening show and I definitely felt a
twinge of regret. Next time… next time… As for
the Saturday show, it had a variety show sort of
feel that included performances of the various
competition dances, as well as the final judging
(Congrats to Team USA/Canada and Sandy Goodman
on their well-deserved wins!). Afterwards we
were treated to solo and duo performances by
several of the event instructors as well as an
outstanding group performance by Junior Willis
and his clogging class attendees. I hope someone
will post videos of these dances since they were
all amazing.
I know I’m skipping loads of details including
hanging out and dining some really great people,
but I think I hit many highlights that event
goers would be interested in reading. I’ll wrap
up this event report with my thoughts about the
various workshops I attended. Please read on if
you care to:
*** Friday, October 7 ***
10am – Make An Appearance / Tangled In Time with Michele Perron – I’ve never taken a workshop from Michele, so this was an easy choice for me to make. She is an amazing instructor with a style and grace that definitely matches her dancing. Make An Appearance is a dance that perfectly captures the slow, sensual vibe of Laura Bell Bundy’s track Drop On By. Since the tempo is slow the syncopation feels sexy, not rushed, and even something like a full-and-a-half turning triple feels smooth instead of rushed. Tangled in Time is a transformative kind of dance. The track Mission Bells by Armistice sweeps you away to the colorful streets near a village church in Mexico. The track is worth a listen in its own right, and Michele’s Latin rhythm-inspired choreography with regular counts and consistent holds fits perfectly.
11am – Free Fallin’ with Rachael McEnaney – Two
words: Love It. At the start of the lesson
Rachael cautioned that folks will either love it
or hate it, but you know where I stand. It’s
danced to an acoustic track by John Mayer with a
west coast rhythm that will either inspire you
or frustrate you. The steps become almost
lyrical and require a dancer to have a more
sensitive ear for notes and tempo changes.
12pm – Freak A Little More with Scott Blevins –
This is a fun, feel good sort of dance that will
inspire any dancer to ‘freak a little’ with the
framework of his choreography. This dance packed
the floor at the Thursday open dance, so I
couldn’t wait for this teach. The 32-counts of
steps are absolutely approachable and with a
fun-to-do tag. Congrats on this one, Scott!
1pm – Zumba with Rachael McEnaney – I took this
slot as a break, and decided to enjoy my box
lunch while watching Rachael and her Zumba
dancers sweat. Her routines were amazing, and
her skill as a dance instructor shows. Everyone
watching and participating definitely enjoyed
this midday treat.
2pm – Lipstick with Malene Jakobsen – I’m a big
fan of Malene’s choreography so I was thrilled
for a chance to participate in her stateside
debut as an instructor. She is an eager and
patient instructor with charming quirks. I’m
glad the organizers were able to include her in
the instructor lineup. Lipstick is inspired by a
funky track by Jedward with loads of fun-to-do
steps. I love the opening heel pop, and the
rock-flick-bump later in the choreography. The
track feels speedy at first, but slows with
practice if you know what I mean.
3pm – Need Some Love with Jacob Ballard – I
discovered that Jacob was the winner of last
year’s amateur choreography competition (he won
for A Walk On The Wild Side) and his scheduled
teaches this year were part of his prize. Need
Some Love goes to a catchy track called You Need
Love Like I Do by Heather Small and Tom Jones.
The appeal for me was the 70’s style disco
movements that Jacob choreographed to hit the
vibe of the track. It’ll have you grooving from
start to finish. Congratulations, Jacob!
4pm – At This Moment (Choo Sue Chin) with John
Robinson – John Robinson is a bundle of energy,
and for me he really, really shines while
teaching a waltz. John explained that he saw and
fell in love with this dance a few weeks ago at
another event, and decided to share it with us
at Windy City. I’m soooo glad that he did. The
Michael Buble track is amazing in its own right,
but Choo Sue Chin’s choreography really nails
it. I confess that I’ll need to work on the
late-in-dance tag that occurs through a pause in
the music, but other than that the steps and
music flow along very smoothly.
*** Saturday, October 8 ***
9am – You And I with Peter and Alison – I confess that I’m a Lady Gaga fan, so this was a no brainer choice for me. Of course, popular songs can lead to ho-hum dances in the race to be first. In this case, I think Peter and Alison really choreographed something fun to this “different” kind of Lady Gaga track. I can easily see this being popular in the months ahead and the steps are certainly approachable. I particularly like the turn into a hitch followed by the switches midway through the choreography. There is some repetition that might lead to confusion including a bunch of ball-cross type syncopation, but it’s definitely manageable and makes the 64-counts of choreography more approachable to even lower intermediate dancers.
10am – Try Try Try with Michele Burton – I’ve
been looking forward to learning Try Try Try for
weeks, so I was glad to see it included in the
dance grid. And, if you’ve ever taken a lesson
with Michele Burton you’ll easily agree that,
like Michael Barr, she offers consistently well
rounded teaches. There is always a great mix of
technique and great choreography, and I’m always
a sucker for their music selections. I look
forward to seeing both her and Michael again at
Tim Gillis in a few weeks so I can catch up on
workshops of theirs that I didn’t have time to
enjoy at Windy City. As for Try Try Try, I
enjoyed this approachable cha rhythm dance of
hers a lot.
11am – Let It All Out with Johanna Barnes –
Johanna is a virtuoso with fun and funky steps
to likeminded tracks. Let It All Out is no
exception. I was a little intimidated by some of
the footwork and movements during her demo, but
after her fantastic teach I had no reason to be.
I’ll need to practice my boogie walks for sure,
but I’ll take her technique suggestions to heart
and practice, practice, practice. Oh, I also
loved the ‘feel cool’ timing of her hitch/pop
cross behind and the diagonal walks. Definitely
different.
12pm – Rude Boy (w/Amy Spencer) with Junior
Willis – Everything about this teach had me and
everyone in the room smiling from ear to ear.
Carol was asking what to do to motivate younger
folks to enjoy line dancing. Well, line dances
like Rude Boy are a great start. The Rihanna
track is a great choice with youthful appeal,
and the improver-type choreography matches it
perfectly. Hell, this dance will even make you
wish you could enjoy the tag more, lol. Seeing
is believing, so definitely give it a look-see
especially if the video includes Junior. You can
tell he’s having a great time dancing it.
1pm – Be A Little Selfish (w/Bennett) with Joey
Warren – Like many of Joey’s dances, this quick
cha (and by quick I do mean ‘kw-ik!) really hits
the playfulness and timing of the music. I won’t
lie, the steps – especially the second 8-count)
can be intimidating so I planned in advance to
make his review teach of this on Sunday (which
was well worth it, see the note below). I
especially enjoy his “twurn” sequence into the
walk-shuffle around into the fake-out direction
change. It definitely offers an interesting
collection of steps, and – of course – Joey
makes it look funky and effortless.
2pm – Melon Heart with Niels Poulsen – This is
another dance that I was looking forward to
learning for weeks, and since I already knew
Love 2 Dance and Lady Luck, I knew I had to have
at least one Niels’ teach over the event
weekend. When Eve announced the dance during the
demo she added, “Melon Heart – really?”, and
Niels laughingly explained the translation of
the song title and its idiomatic meaning of
“softie”. During the lesson he added that if he
called it the dance Softie, Eve would have said,
“Softie – really?” so it’s a lose-lose, lol. All
of that aside, the dance is a fantastic exercise
in learning some really cool and fun Latin type
foot/body work. I really enjoyed the technique
suggestions, but I definitely have my work cut
out for me in trying to dance with the kind of
joy that Niels does.
3pm – Never Enough/Throw The Dice with Joey
Warren – This was yet another no-brainer session
for me, since I’ve read so many positive things
about Joey’s Throw The Dice. Of course, after
learning that there was an A and B phrase and
then seeing what B entailed, I was definitely
nervous. Like Descarada for me, Joey has a way
of teaching a seemingly complicated set of steps
and having it make sense given the music.
Unfortunately this can be hard to translate into
words on a stepsheet, so I would definitely
recommend taking a workshop from the man
himself. I had a blast learning and dancing
Throw The Dice, and I definitely felt that I had
it by the end of the lesson. For as quick and
energetic as Throw The Dice is, you can consider
Never Enough as the opposite. Debbie McLaughlin
stepped in for our final reviews and described
it perfectly as “dreamy, and it makes [her] want
to cry.” Of course she is one of those
Yeats-type “How can we know the dancer from the
dance?” dancers, so her comment is all the more
appropriate since the music and choreography
feel like one and the same thing. Joey always
seems to do a great job all around, and I
consistently enjoy the challenges that he gives
us.
*** Sunday, October 9 ***
9am – Prejudice (McLaughlin) with Rona Kaye – I have a confession to make about this particular dance. I was a huge En Vogue fan back in the day, and probably enjoyed Free Your Mind too much back then to the point I got bored with it. Regardless, I gulped down the song choice since I love Debbie’s choreography and Rona’s style of teaching. Of course that confession is all the more ironic given the dance title Prejudice, since I drop-dead-loved dancing the choreography to the music. The musicality of the steps is phenomenal. And, even though it’s an A-B-C dance (where C caused many, many groans), it all really clicked together nicely during the teach and practice dances. There is a funny story to tell here about Rona vs. The Machine, since the sound system simply wasn’t cooperating. No lights. No music. Nothing! We made it through A… still nothing… B… nothing… and things were getting precarious since several folks stepped in and tried to fix it with no luck. Enter Louis St. George (notice the 9am teach slot – well, 9:30am by this point – and that it’s a Sunday morning on an event weekend). Nuff’ said about that. Well, literally a handful of seconds later everything was churning nicely. Punchline. The system wasn’t plugged in. Lol. All of that aside, Rona did her usual phenomenal job teaching full of deadpan delivered laughs along the way. Oh, and thanks to Debbie too for joining us on the early teach. The choreography really is perfect for the song and helped me to re-enjoy a song that I used to love, probably even more than I remember enjoying it the first go around!
10am – Be A Little Selfish with Joey Warren – I
needed a second teach on this one due to the
speed and syncopation, but I was thrilled when
Joey announced that Louis was working on a 4%
slower version of the track for open dancing and
further teaches. Of course, since he had to
suffer with a 10am Sunday morning teach, he
joked about making us suffer with full-tempo.
Lol. Ah well, even at 10am and at full speed it
finally clicked. Woohoo.
11am – Domino with Rachael McEnaney – Rachael
debuted this dance during the weekend, and it
generated quite the buzz. The track is bouncy
and infectious by Jessie J. and the dance steps
are probably on tier to I’m No Good in
difficulty, so I’m sure it’ll be popular. I
particularly liked the arm suggestions that give
it even more get-up-and-dance appeal.
12pm – I skipped a workshop during this hour to
pack my bags and grab a bite for lunch.
1pm – Meant 2 Be with Johanna Barnes – Johanna’s
Meant 2 Be is a different kind of waltz that
really travels and challenges you to enjoy the
feeling of rise and fall with more than just a
collection of balance steps and twinkles.
Likewise, the steps are paired with a different
kind of track, namely Misery by Pink (feat.
Steve Tyler). This will definitely expand any
line dancer’s appreciation of waltzes to a
moving song (literally and in this case
figuratively too).
2pm – Jump In Da Line with Guyton Mundy – This
dance weekend would not have been complete if I
wasn’t able to make Guyton’s teach of Jump In Da
Line. The dance is as much fun to do as to
watch, and I look forward to it filling event
floors in the months ahead. The challenge will
be in getting dancers into A and B lines quickly
that come together and apart without smacking
into one another, lol. Couple that with the
inevitable straggler and you can easily have
some confusion. Of course one round through the
A phrase should clarify things, but the tag and
C phrase are my absolute favorite parts.
3pm – Freak A Little More with Scott Blevins – I
took this as a reteach to absorb more of Scott’s
style pointers as well as to leave the weekend
on a dance high since it’s a really fun dance to
a great track.
Greg
Event Report - WOW
I always try to think of one word that
describes an event I attend and the word for the WOW Event
is "CLASSY." Judy, along with Sue and Kathy and all of her
wonderful staff, really did a wonderful job of making
everyone felt welcome, relaxed, and taken care of. They were
always around, making sure everyone was having a good time
and seeing if anyone needed anything. I got there on Wednesday so we could do
the tour with Victor (no, this isn't Judy's husband but her
husband was at WOW as well as her daughter, son-in-law, and
adored grandbaby) on Thursday. We did a quick overview of
City Hall, Twin Peaks, Castro Street (where we saw, and I'm
not kidding, two totally naked men walking down the street
at rush hour), Golden Gate Park, St. Mary's Cathedral, Union
Square, Chinatown, North Beach, Russian Hill, Fisherman's
Wharf and the seals on the docks, Palace of Fine Arts, and
Golden Gate Bridge. Diane and I went back to San Francisco
on Friday for an extended tour of Chinatown and the Wharf
area. You could easily spend many days in the San Francisco
Bay area and never run out of things to do. One thing I have
always loved about the area is that, area wise, it is a
relatively small area so you can get everywhere on BART (Bay
Area Rapid Transit), cable cars, trolly, or bus and they run
often. There was also a four-day tour happening after the
event that many people were staying for. If you are
interested in the history of the area or thinking about
visiting this glorious city, here is all you need to know. I
can't imagine a better place to visit if you haven't been
there before. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco The Airport Marriott is truly one of the
most beautiful hotels I have stayed in for a dance event.
The lobby and many of the rooms overlook San Francisco Bay
through towering paned windows. There are comfortable
couches and tables both inside and outside for people to sit
and outside they even have tabletop firepits to enjoy as you
watch the planes take off and land across the Bay or just to
enjoy the scenery and birds along the water. There is a
restaurant next to the lobby and also you can order food in
the bar/lobby area from 2 p.m. until around 11:30 p.m. There
is a long walkway that leads up and down the bay so you can
walk to nearby restaurants. We ate at one called the
Elephant Bar. The food and ambience were wonderful. If you
have one in your area or on your travels, I would highly
recommend it. http://www.elephantbar.com/ You can take the shuttle to the Bart
Station at the airport and go directly into San Francisco
and hop on the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf. The cable
cars were not running when we got there in the morning but
we took the bus instead, so I was a bad girl and didn't take
any lessons on Friday but I did watch the demos and I will
be sending you reports from other people who took lessons on
Friday. Registration was very quick and there was
a reception on Thursday night that was amazing. We had
pizza, prime rib sandwiches, sushi, cheese and crackers, and
lots of other things to enjoy in the upstairs lobby area
while people greeted old-and-new friends. The wrist bands in
the packet are so cool!! They are wide bands with sparkling
stones and you snap them on and off. I wanted one in every
color!! The tee-shirts were also very nice and I loved the
design on them. I met so many people I had talked with
online but who had never come to events on the East Coast
before. Thanks to everyone who took a second to come up and
introduce yourselves and make me feel so welcome on the West
Coast. After the welcome party, dance reviews were done in
the main ballroom for the Friday lessons. Here is the full
schedule for the weekend:
http://www.wowlinedance.com/WOW_Line_Dance_2011_Schedule.pdf There was an amazing staff teaching at
this event, including: Michael Barr Craig Bennett Scott Blevins Joanne Brady Michele Burton Neville Fitzgerald Jo & John Kinser Ruben Luna
Rachael
McEnaney Marilyn McNeal Michele Perron Niels Poulsen Kate Sala Roy Verdonk Shaz Walton Junior Willis There were a LOT of good dances taught,
all levels. I'm going to take the ones mentioned the most
from the reports from others and the postings I see on
Facebook and I HOPE some of you will send me your list of
favorites from the event so I can give a fair recap of the
best dances. It is impossible for me to pick and choose
dances because many of them I just see in the demos and
don't get a chance to take the lesson and it's not fair to
the choreographers to only single out the dances I have time
to take. I would say that there were two that people gave me
a lots of feedback about and that was Scott's new one called
FREAK A LITTLE MORE. I predict this is going to be a HUGE
dance for Scott. It is the easiest one he has done in years,
the music is really good, and everyone can do this dance.
The floor was packed when it was played. Another dance that
was mentioned a lot was LADY LUCK by Neils Poulsen (who was
there with his mum on her birthday weekend and she is just
as nice as he is!!) This isn't a brand new dance but it
takes a couple of teaches to really get it. Everyone who
took his class loved the dance and so do I. We have started
doing it in our little class and will have it perfected by
Tampa!! There were some easier dances, too, and one that was
done in the show on Saturday was called PROUD MARY BURNIN'.
What a darling dance!! I think this one, too, will be a
floor filler in classes and events all over. It's easy, it's
cute, and it's just one of those novelty dances that are
going to make it big. Some of the other big hits were dances
that have been out a little while but not everyone has had a
chance to learn them yet. The show on Saturday night was fun and
included so many people who were at the event. Scott Blevins
and Joann Brady started it off with a west coast swing as
only they can do it. LOL. Junior then came on the floor with
his entire group from his clogging class and got roaring
applause at the end. I was IMPRESSED with how much they
learned in his class and how well they did it. Good job!!
Joann then led a huge class of people doing the dance I
mentioned above called Proud Mary Burnin' and they did a
great job. The show ended with the entire staff performing a
medley of dances as only a staff with that much personality
can do. Judy ended the show with the announcement about
Taiwan for next year and a big thank you to everyone and
then she announced the birthday celebrations of the people
there for the month of September. I think there are a lot of
September babies. There were at least three huge cakes to be
shared by everyone and then we got back to dancing the night
away. I left Sunday morning for the long trip home but I'm
so happy I came and got to dance with everyone and just
enjoy a fabulous weekend. I hope many of you get to do it
all over with Judy in Taiwan. I promise you will have a
fabulous time and be able to see the world at the same time.
Here's the information for that trip:
http://www.wowlinedance.com/preview_2012.html
Thank you SO MUCH, Judy, and everyone
who helped produce this weekend. I had a wonderful time and
so did everyone else I talked with. It truly was a classy
event and I loved that everyone looked so dressed up on
Saturday night with sparkles everywhere. I took lots of
pictures so please take a moment to share the weekend
through photos and I'm sure there will be even more photos
posted on Facebook.
Carol
Event Report - Fun In The Sun
Betsy Fun In the Sun was an absolute dream of a dance weekend, and a tee-shirt catchphrase that I see from time to time captures the essence of this weekend perfectly: “Live… Love… Laugh… Dance”. That’s certainly something that should be a goal for any dance weekend. For this FITS first-timer, however, the event directors, Jennifer and Jason Cameron, as well as the rest of the event staff achieved that if not more. As far as events go, the entire weekend was superbly organized from start to finish. I never found myself wondering where I’m going or what I’m doing. Somehow the effortless flow of things just got me where I needed to be and each day was full without feeling overwhelming, regardless of how much my tired feet were complaining on the flight home. Hurts-so-good aches like those are just an every step reminder of the fun.
The fun started for me when I arrived Thursday
afternoon. First off, the Airport Marriot is amazing! The
conference room layout was perfect for a dance weekend plus
there were loads of conveniences available just around the
corner: food, drink, bar, restrooms, etc. After checking in and
settling into my room, I met up with some friends poolside. As
far as hotel pools go, this was certainly the best I’ve ever
seen although it was a little odd walking through the
restaurant/bar to get there. Regardless, Joey Warren was there
as well along with Simon Ward – those two are certainly two peas
in a pod. This was my first time meeting Simon and within
seconds his easy-going personality had me feeling like I’ve
known him forever. Over the next hour or two, other
instructors/choreographers started arriving and hanging out
poolside like Scott Blevins, Niels Poulsen, Rob Glover, Guyton
Mundy, and Ryan Lindsey, which was exactly the kind of
socializing I was looking forward to from what I heard about the
FITS dance weekend. The entire weekend offered a great balance
of dancing and socializing with the names that all of us
Newsletter readers come to recognize throughout the year. I
won’t bore everyone with minute-by-minute details, but the
remainder of Thursday consisted of more of the same. Niels,
Simon, and Joey joined my friends and me for dinner, which made
for loads of laughs, and we got them all back in time for open
dancing and demos.
A fun tidbit is that Niels wasn’t on staff for the
weekend. He was actually vacationing in the area and included
FITS in his itinerary, which was an awesome weekend bonus for
all of us. If you ‘re up for more specifics and other tidbits,
then be my guest and keep reading, otherwise I think you got
that gist that I was a quick fan of Fun In The Sun and the
remainder of the weekend reaffirmed that time and time again.
After an overly fun Thursday night (read that as
too much drinking, ouch), I was off to an early start on Friday.
9am typically includes caffeine for me, but I was running a
little late and had to rely on the energy drink that is John
Robinson for my morning pick me up. Here’s how I navigated my
way through the Friday grid with some random thoughts thrown in:
9am Fall Apart (I – Dee Musk) with John Robinson – This
is a great dance to a great song. The movement really hits the
music from start to finish. I love the feel of the namesake
“fall back” steps and the funky out-out-triple steps. The
opening directional changes were a challenge, especially at 9am,
but John broke it down and we had it in no time.
10am About That Walk (A – R.M.) with Rachael McEnaney –
I’ll be the first to admit that I may have been the only
non-Prince fan on the planet, but I have to say that Rachael may
have converted me. The swagger of this dance helped me feel
something in the music that I could have easily missed. And,
Rachael gave a top-notch, easy to follow teach of her advanced
level dance while being stunning as always.
11am The Love You Save (B/I – R.G.) with Rob Glover –
First off, if you haven’t taken a lesson from Rob, do yourself a
favor and make a point of doing so. You’ll learn priceless
technique along with some great choreography. This dance of his
is no exception. For a B/I dance, it’s doubly so because it’s
Bouncy/Interesting. Try it, and you’ll know exactly what I mean.
12pm Under My Skin (B/I – S.W. and Søren Kristensen)
with Simon Ward – Some folks didn’t care for the quirky song for
this one, but I LOVED it – it was definitely up my alley, so
this was an easy sell for me. The dance is chock-full of
familiar steps with an emphasis on toe-heels and heel touches.
If you can keep them straight, you’re golden.
1pm A Perfect Day (I – S.W.) with Simon Ward – I’ve been
hearing about this dance for quite a while now, so I was excited
to finally have a chance to learn it from the man himself. The
song is absolutely infectious, and I look forward to getting
back to this one now that I’m home. Like Rachael’s About That
Walk, I could really feel the flow of the choreography with the
music, so the steps felt comfortable and almost familiar even
though it was new to me.
2pm Descarada (I – J.W.) with Joey Warren – This dance
was a HUGE floor filler through the weekend and much more
approachable than it might seem. Joey taught collections of
steps that fit the timing of the music really well, so a handful
of steps all felt like one thing instead of several pieces.
Diligence will definitely pay off even though the music is quite
fast.
3pm Lazy (B/I – G.M.) and Shake It For Me! (I – G.M. and
Khrystyna Cusimano) with Guyton Mundy – Lazy is a cute, easy,
bring-a-smile to your face kind of dance that is well worth the
handful of minutes to master. If you see it danced and don’t
know it, don’t be afraid to jump on in. As for Shake It For Me!,
I already know two other dances to this same song – Country Girl
(Shake It For Me) – but I feel that Guyton’s is definitely on
top. It’s interesting and fun.
4pm Say Grace (I – Malene Jakobsen) with Marilyn McNeal
– One word – POWERFUL! This was my first “chills” dance of the
weekend. Marilyn even choked up simply talking about the message
of the music, and what Malene choreographed proves that she
“gets” that message – if you know what I mean. This was easily
one of my weekend favorites.
5pm Party Freak (I – Kate Sala) with Zac Detweiler –
Like Joey’s Descarada, this was another HUGE floor filler during
open dancing. I was already familiar with the dance since I read
so much about it in the Newsletter, so I’m glad that Zac was
able to share this at the event. He confessed at the start of
the lesson to being left-right challenged, which added extra
laughs through the lesson but we all got to where we needed to
be and were getting our Party Freak on with no problems.
In between sessions, since some wrapped up faster
than others, I was glad that I could bounce over to an adjacent
room for additional practice. In some cases I had already
learned a dance at another workshop or event weekend, so I
really only needed a quick reminder and a chance to dance them
again to help refresh my memory or work out some kinks. I really
appreciated having this flexibility between event rooms. It
helped alleviate the perpetual grid challenge of only being able
to be in one place at a time, or needing to pick only one thing
in a given timeslot.
After the whirlwind of lessons, I was more than
happy to recharge with dinner before the Friday evening demos
and open dancing. At this point I need to give tremendous props
to Louis St. George since he kept us on our feet for hours and
hours and hours at a time. What floored me, however, is that he
really went out of his way to include the Friday teaches in the
dance mix. In addition to requests Louis had Friday’s dance grid
in hand, and I was thrilled to get the extra practice in for
dances I had just learned. I think that that is invaluable and
it’s one of those seemingly small things, like projecting the
playlist, that make a huge impact, or at least it did on me. The
event instructors were also close at hand to help us through, so
we weren’t left floundering on the dance floor. Thank you thank
you thank you thank you!
Saturday, like Friday, was another full day, so I
made sure I got a decent amount of sleep since 9am always seems
to come too fast when you’re physically exhausted (in a good
way). This time I give myself a few extra minutes to grab a
coffee and yogurt along my way so I was good and ready. Here is
my attack plan for day two:
9am Writing’s On the Wall (I – J.P. Potter and Rob
Glover) with Bracken Ellis Potter – Bracken could easily be one
of my favorite instructors. Her teaches are always clear and
concise with a great progression and flow that makes what she’s
teaching approachable to anyone. I was sold on her demo of this,
and loved the quirky footwork. As a bonus she also added a teach
of her own Moves Like Jagger. I was already a huge fan of the
Maroon 5 song, and she really put together a great, approachable
hip-bumpy dance. Although it’s labeled Intermediate, I’m sure
that high beginners could give this a go as well.
10am That Kinda Lovin’ (A – G.M.) with Guyton Mundy – I
was looking forward to learning this dance all weekend, Guyton
made it worth the wait. This is definitely a nightclub with a
bit of an edge to it, so its pairing with Aerosmith’s Crazy
makes perfect sense.
11am Show Me the Love (A – S.W.) with Simon Ward – After
the gritty bite of Guyton’s nightclub, Simon’s smoothed things
out again for me. This was definitely a challenge, but well,
well worth it since it flowed incredibly well to the music.
Simon even paid compliments to Joey in this one for his Talking
To The Moon (Joey was also in this teach) since he “borrowed”
the musicality of Joey’s tag for his tag. To that add three
restarts and a pile of turns (including a double) and you’ve got
yourself one juicy advanced nightclub linedance. Really though,
it is fantastic and easily one of my favorites of the weekend.
12pm Fangbanger’s Cha (I – S.B.) with Scott Blevins – I
was familiar with this from other workshops, so I sat out the
teach, but kept my ears perked for Scott’s invaluable technique
and style pointers. When it was time for music I hopped up to
join in. This is a great real-time cha, to a fun, funky Bob
Dylan track. I’m already a huge fan of this dance, as well as
Scott’s heart wrenching Hold on Tight and energetic 5-10-15
Swing, and look forward to dancing them all more and more in the
weeks and months ahead.
1am Mr. Mysterious (I – R.M.) with Rachael McEnaney –
Rachael is absolutely fearless when it comes to music selection.
Just compare her Mr. Mysterious to Cyclone to Raise Your Glass
to Don’t Drink The Water and you’ll easily see what I mean. I
love that she introduced me to this song and choreography with a
great mix of well-suited holds, syncopation, and turns. Like
About That Walk, I can definitely feel the inspiration for her
choreography in the music. Oh, and I have to mention that she
helped us through some rather sticky syncopation with some
sing-song queuing and phrases like “I’m on a di-et no more
cho-co-late”. Lol.
2am Suspicious Minds (I – S.W.) with Simon Ward – For
me, this was yet another favorite of the weekend. The dance is a
cha with a waltz tag, which definitely proves that there is
something interesting going on in the music. Some of the steps
were a challenge, especially for being labeled Intermediate, but
Simon has a way of making even the most difficult steps look
effortless so it all worked out.
3am Love Don’t Run (I – Craig Bennett and Shaz Walton)
with Scott Blevins – This was a second teach for me, and I have
to say that I’m now hooked. The song is fantastic, but I
struggled a bit with the some of the timing on my first
exposure. This go around Scott helped iron out those
difficulties for me and I really think I nailed it. Woohoo. If
you’re a fan of nightclubs, definitely add this one to your
“must try” list.
4am My Motivation (I – G.M.) with Guyton Mundy – I first
learned this dance during open dancing at the Boston Showdown
earlier this year, and I still love it. It’s fast, fun, and full
of coaster steps of all things, lol. Seriously though, it’s
another floor filler during open dancing and well worth the
speed challenge and quick foot work. Plus, Guyton always seems
to bring a smile to my face when he’s teaching with each “okey-dokey”,
“maybe”, and “yeah”.
I admit that I sat out the five o’clock session
since I was wiped and hungry. I did stay to watch my friends
take Amy’s teach of Like A Nightmare. I love her way of working
through hip-hop styling and arm sequences with the help of Adam
Berman who can make falling down or scratching his arm make you
think “I want to look like that” when I fall or scratch.
After a dinner of Chinese take-out with my friends,
we made our way down to the main ballroom for the final night of
open dancing, demos, and the instructor show. The show was
absolutely hilarious. They organized a spoof of So You Think You
Can Dance that included some great dances to watch mixed with
humor and their obvious talent. I hope someone will post a video
since all of you will spam me with hate email if I make this any
longer that it’s already turning out to be. As for the final
round of opening dancing, well, all I can say is that it was 4am
before I knew it and I loved every minute. I danced dozens of
songs – old and new – and had a chance to introduce myself to
and chat with the Newsletter’s very own Carol Craven (woohoo…
which was a personal goal of mine when I read that she would be
there). Needless to say there was more time well spent chatting
with Simon, Niels, Junior, Scott, and other instructors as well
as many of my dance friends.
Finally, Sunday was a short event day for me, since
I needed to be at the airport by noon, and I was exhausted from
all of the dancing and laughing on Saturday night. I only made
it to the 9am and 10am lessons before heading to the airport.
9am Take U Home (I – J.W.) and Jingle-Jangle (I – J.W.,
John Robinson, and A.J. Herbert) with Junior Willis – These are
two great dances to some fantastic country tracks, and like
anything Junior does he does with a southern charm. Take U Home
was choreographed by Junior for the band Gloriana’s music video
to the song. He was given two criteria when they commissioned
him for the dance – Sex and Boots – and I have to admit that his
choreography has both in spades. If you’re looking for something
to get your local country dancers up and dancing, you definitely
can’t go wrong with it or Jingle-Jangle. Plus, I would
definitely add his and John Robinson’s Somewhere With You to
that list.
10am Rollacoasta (I – Tajali Hall) with Zac Detweiler –
I was looking forward to learning this since I missed Tajali’s
teach of this at JG. The dance and music didn’t disappoint. I
love the west coast flow of the steps – now if I only knew how
to west coast. Lol. The tags were a bit of a challenge but only
because it was 10am on a Sunday after a full weekend. Once we
got our walls straightened out, we nailed it!
After some quick, goodbyes I grabbed my luggage and
made my way to the airport. The whole experience was awesome
and I don’t regret a thing. The only constructive criticisms
that I can think of have little or nothing to do with Fun In the
Sun itself. For starters, some of the dance flooring was a
little uneven in spots or even “slippery”, which posed
challenges depending on where you stood or danced. Hmmm… what
else comes to mind (can you tell I’m stretching), oh, it would
have been nice to have cool or chilled water in the event rooms.
The room temp water that was in the event rooms tasted of
sulfur, and wasn’t very refreshing. Lastly, it rained, errr
poured, both Friday and Saturday just as the lessons were
wrapping up, so my friends and I couldn’t squeeze in more pool
time (lol… I made myself commit to coming up with three things).
Seriously though, awesome weekend, and the Camerons can expect
to see this newbie again next year.
Greg
Event Report - Desert Dance We just started a two week chill down after a great week in Tucson with Craig, Shaz & Joey & our dancing friends from back home Tina & Odile - And then a fun time at Janet & Carolyn's Desert Dance in Phoenix, where we were joined by Ruben, Steve & Norm & a great crowd of regular US dancing friends :-) ...... Big appreciation & thanks to all the event helpers behind the scene who made this possible, especially to Dave & Linda for all the sound equipment & printing - And Sue-Ellen & Pam who were designated drivers on the evenings so we could all have a beer amongst many other things :-) - And to the Tucson gang Marty, Deanna & Diana for all their work over the weekend & before getting everything ready - Thank you all so much.
We started off with a great pre-event party night out at
Graham's Central Station Club - I really enjoyed DJing there,
just as I did at Cowboys in Orlando back in March, a real thrill
for me once again - A fun social night plus a teach of Will's
hit new funky dance 2 Nite by Joey Warren which we danced many
times over the weekend thereafter :-) Good job Will - And to
Joey for helping us with the funky styling too - And the arms
lol !! :-)
Workshop at the event as follows (Teaches
Friday/Saturday & recaps Sunday) .................
Shaz taught Hold On (Bob Sinclair), a really cool pop
cha - Looking forward to that teach at Just Dance Newcastle
in just three weeks time ........... Also Down To The Wire &
Party Rockin' .......... Shaz also taught Beyond Your Eyes
& Life Could Be A Dream for us.
Craig taught On The Edge (Lady Gaga), this one a great
beaty pop cha - Will teach this one to both my classes when I
get back so we are ready to dance it at Just Dance Newcastle
with Craig ........ Also Good Girl "Ooooooooo Craigy baby" :-)
Joey taught Descarada (Pitbull), a hit funky teach of
his from JG which was a big hit with the Phoenix gang
too ......... Also These Castle Walls (I've got a much better
version of this track which Joey prefers - Email me if you would
like a copy) ............ Joey also taught My Pretty Belinda &
Born 2B Gaga for us.
Ruben taught I'm Into You (Jennifer Lopez), a tricky
Samba which was a big hit too - Great to have Ruben with us &
he'll be back on the bill next year too.
Norm Gifford was with us too - It was nice to meet him &
his wife Phyllis - And dance Burlesque with them too of course
:-) - Thanks to Norm too who taught a couple of nice dances to
the Beginners/Improvers for us - Hey Hey JJ (Jessica Jay) &
Devil's Got Your Boyfriend (Tracy Bonham) :-)
I taught one of Kate Sala's latest Louder (Parade), a
lovely smooth pop dance - And from JG, Niels's hit dance Lady
Luck (Jamie Woon) - Me & everyone loved this one - An awesome
West Coast - Great job Niels :-) ........... I also did Open
Book & Something In the Water.
During the evening social dancing we also had a teach of
Dance This Cumbia by Ruben on Friday & Always by Steve
Lescarbeau (A dance co-written with Amy) on Saturday - Both
quick teaches & easy/cool dances well received.
Before the evening sessions some early-birds joined me
for an informal teach/practice of Rachael's Papi on Friday
tea-time & Scott' s Fangbanger's Cha on Saturday --- The
California gang also practiced Guyton's That Kinda Lovin' - I'm
still practicing that one :-) ...........
Planning to teach Fangbanger & That Kinda Lovin' at Deanna's
class in Tucson next Wednesday :-)
In social dancing we had a wide mix of dancers through
all levels which was great - The most popular dances included
the following :
-Talkin' To The Moon
-I'm No Good
-Still Got The Blues/Hallelujah
-Marz & Mummies/Only Girl
-Midnight Swing
-Let It Be/Everything I Do
-Party Freak
-Dirty Bit/Written In The Stars/S&M
-Papi/Raise Your Glass
-My Motivation/Perfect/You're Amazing
-Innocent
-Soul Food/Wobble
-Box It Up/Born This Way-Don't Be A Drag
-Rolling In The Deep
-CanAm Tango
-Burlesque
-Blue Night Cha
................... Many more & lots of classics too,
especially all the obvious ones from the choreographer team -
Shoop's a really popular one !! :-) ....... And Bob's dance
Shadow looked really nice too, a popular one with the California
gang
Country favourites included Somewhere Like You,
Bittersweet Memory, Hey Soul Sister, Knee Deep, I Run To You,
Quarter After One & 1234 ..................
As ever so many nightclubs are popular - As well as the
ones already mentioned popular ones also included Hurts Instead,
California King, Blue Sky, I Belong To You, Addicted, Angel,
Feel, Isolated, Messy Little Raindrops, Haunted & more
.....................
Keynote dance for me to take back home was ScottS/Junior's
Somewhere Like You - A lovely cool mainstream West Coast country
dance - Many already knew this one & Joey did us an impromtu
teach for the ones that didn't :-) .......
Looking forward to catching up with Joey again at Rachael's 30th
Birthday Weekend & World Masters - And again as our special
guest choreographer at Newcastle Newline in September, where he
will be our ring-master ''Smokey' Joey !! :-) Joey's also guest
choreographer & MC at the Orlando 'Experience' in March next
year too :-) ........ Another really nice
looking one was Sara Smile, a lovely new smooth dance from
Michael Barr.
We had two wild nights out party dancing - On Friday at
Fillies Roadhouse (Pauline taught everyone Wobble !!! lol) & on
Saturday at Cactus Moon Sports Bar ........... What happened in
Phoenix stays in Phoenix remember everyone !!! :-) ...........
We also had a fun group meal out on Sunday night - Nice to just
chill & chat with everyone to finish off a great weekend in a
neat bar across from the hotel.
Looking forward to 2012 - Same time same place - Dee is
coming over with me & Shaz next year - And Ruben back with
us too - We'll have a blast :-)
Dave
Event Report - JG Marathon
It was a good crowd for Thursday afternoon when the event
started with instructors who teach dances other than their
own. The rest of the weekend, choreographers must teach
their own choreography, except in the classics room where
many instructors pulled out some great oldies to revive.
With five rooms to choose from, and some awesome
choreographers, it’s hard to pick and choose what to take. I
took Nigel’s workshop PARTY FREAK, choreographed by Kate
Sala. Nigel kept telling us the dance was Party Freak, not
Freakin’ Party. He has a great sense of humour and it was a
great way to start the event. This is a fun dance which fits
the music well. I followed up with Joey & Debbie’s teach of
SOUL FOOD which we all enjoyed because Debbie sings the woo
woo hoo bit everytime. I followed that up with Amy’s ARE YOU
READY taught by Tajali. Super choreography that hits the
music so well. Everyone loved it and it’s one of Amy’s
dances that I think will be a huge hit. I hadn’t had the
chance to learn Maggie’s GAMBLING MAN yet so I finished my
afternoon off with Mona Puente’s teach of that one. I wanted
to take Lou Ann’s workshop of Rob Glover’s MIDNIGHT SWING,
but by then it was already 6:00 and my stomach was begging
for food! Bryan McWherter taught his classic PHLOOR PHILLA
which “philled” the floor later that night. John Robinson
taught Ria Vos’ nightclub, BITTERSWEET MEMORY. Beautiful
dance and song. Lou Ann also taught Rachael’s PAPI and her
workshop was full of dancers who wanted to learn this new
one. Ruben taught a couple of easy fun dances, WOBBLE and
DR. WANNA DO. Wobble was another floor filler at night and
there was no HOLDIN’ IT DOWN as all levels of dancers jumped
up on the floor to dance when the music came on. On Thursday
afternoon alone, 29 dances were taught.
A combined room dedicated to beginners and classic dances
was welcomed by many people with an abundance of beginner
workshops for beginner/improvers. There was something for
everyone and no one could complain about a lack of dances!
The dance floor was full from the time dancing started on
Thursday night. I’m not a great judge of numbers but
estimated around 250 dancers filled the main hall on
Thursday night and both JP Potter and “Wildman” Louie kept
the dancers happy. They did a great job of mixing new and
older classics and ensuring that the dances taught during
the day were played at night. An additional room for
beginners, classics and requests was manned by Debi and Gale
and they did a super job of playing whatever dancers wanted
played. A room open for social dancing during the day was
available for those who wanted to just dance or practice
what they had learned.
Workshop demos started at 9:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday
and everyone was eager to see what new dances were going to
be introduced at Marathon. With six rooms going from
10:00-7:00, it was a matter of having to pace yourself to
avoid being brain dead by the end of the day and be able to
enjoy open dancing that night. To give you an idea of just
how many dances were taught, on Friday, 64 dances were
taught in 51 workshops!
With so many classes, I’ll mention the ones that I did and
the ones that really stood out for me during demos, along
with the ones that people mentioned that they liked. So many
people have sent in their reports and everyone has a mix of
favourite dances. One thing many people commented on was the
high caliber of dances being taught this year and there were
many times I wanted to be in three rooms at the same time.
There are a lot of “keepers” from this year’s event. One
thing I’d like to see are some repeat workshops so that you
can nail down a dance or take it if you missed it first time
around.
THAT KINDA LOVIN’
- Guyton Mundy. This is a gorgeous advanced smooth, 2 wall
dance that captivated many in the room. With a few turns and
3 restarts, it was a good thing it was at the start of the
day rather than at the end! Did you know that none of
Guyton’s dances at JG this year had arms?!? When he
mentioned that in his workshop of My Motivation, the class
erupted in applause. He then told us that he’d make up for
that next year. Guyton, YOU’RE AMAZING and you’ve so changed
the world of line dance!
NOTHIN’ BUT THE MUSIC
- Debbie McLaughlin. Another dance I have to nail down with
another teach. This is an awesome dance. I love watching
Debbie dance. She’s subtle but sharp and she makes all
dances look so easy!
SOMEWHERE WITH YOU
- Junior Willis and Scott Schrank. Love the dance and the
song. This is a dance that I think should get a lot more
attention. It just feels good to dance and you can get lost
in the music.
THESE CASTLE WALLS
- Joey Warren. I didn’t take this class but those I spoke
with who did said they loved the music and how well the
dance fit. It’s on my “to learn” list.
MY HERO
- Niels Poulsen. Gorgeous nightclub that flows so well to a
great song. Niels had some great dances to release at this
event.
TALKING TO THE MOON
- Joey Warren. Still my favourite dance. Great track and
great choreography with that wonderful turn that hits the
music beautifully. Lots of turns and a couple of restarts
that are easy since they occur in the same spot.
HURTS INSTEAD
- Dan McInerney. I was in another workshop at the same time
this was on so missed it but this filled the floor at night
and is beautiful to watch. The dancers really get into the
song. I love the music Dan choreographs to and I could watch
him dance all night. I haven’t been able to get the song out
of my head and it’s the next dance I HAVE to learn.
BIG BANG
- Will Craig. I really like Will’s choreography. One of my
favourite dances of his is Swim Away and it’s one that isn’t
done often enough. Big Bang is a nice intermediate dance
with no tags/restarts and it’s a great song.
5-10-15 SWING
- Scott Blevins. I knew my brain wouldn’t function with
taking a 96 count phrased dance after doing 5 workshops so
didn’t take it but loved watching Scott demo this one. I
need to learn this over summer so I can dance it at WOW.
HOLD ON TIGHT
- Scott Blevins. The room was packed for this workshop. I
have to admit that I don’t associate Scott with country
music but I’m so glad he did a dance to this beautiful song,
I Won’t Let Go, by Rascal Flatts.
STREET SOUL
- MIL. I never got around to learning this dance when it
came out so was happy to see Marilyn teaching it this year.
The room was packed for this teach.
FANGBANGER’S CHA
- Scott Blevins. I didn’t learn this as it was on at the
same time I was learning Street Soul. I heard many people
say it was their favourite dance over the weekend.
MY MOTIVATION
- Guyton Mundy. This was a 5:00 teach and my energy was
quickly disappearing because Janet and I had gone for a
glass of wine before the class. We both went back to take
Guyton’s workshop and our energy quickly came back. This was
my second teach on this one and it solidified the dance for
me. I love this one and I love Guyton’s teaching style.
ARE YOU READY
- Amy Christian-Sohn. This was a hit over the weekend and
anytime it was played, people applauded afterwards. This is
such a cool dance to watch with all the arm movements,
rolling knees and chest pops. Several times over the weekend
people were practicing it in rooms or hallways and they were
dancing it wherever and whenever they could.
LADY LUCK
- Niels Poulsen . Really cool dance with some great footwork
to a great song. A favourite for many over the weekend.
LOVE IS YOUR COLOR
- Junior Willis. Another very nice dance from Junior. I like
the music that Junior picks for his choreography and his
dances have a nice feel to them.
SARA SMILE
- Michael Barr. I’ve just loved Michael and Michele for
years. Even though this is Michael’s dance, when I think of
one, I think of the other. I love Michael’s style of
teaching. I’ve always liked this song and the dance fit it
well with it’s 8 count “you and me” tag in the middle.
RAG TOP DOWN
- Michele Burton. This was a fun lindy hop with some good
footwork. Catchy song and the dance was fun to do.
LOVE LETTER WALTZ
- Frank Trace. I heard some really good comments about this
dance from people who took it. I liked the demo and it’s a
nice dance to “Love Letters” (Bonnie Raitt and Elton John)
Those who took it commented on how much they enjoyed this
dance.
SWEET DELIGHTS/SEA SHELLS
- Dan Albro. I wasn’t sure who to watch during demos…..Dan
and his wife Kelly or John and Junior! Great partnering and
those who took Dan’s classes loved his instruction and his
dances. Dan and Kelly are two of the nicest people around
too!
I haven’t been able to get any official results from the
choreography competition but there were several entries in
all levels. I can say that Malene Jakobsen’s waltz, Say
Grace, won 1st prize in the country intermediate category.
Sue Ann Ehmann’s dances Too Many Girlfriends and Too Much
Booty Shaking came in first in beginner and intermediate
non-country. I haven’t been able to get any clarification
from anyone on this so I hope this is correct. Will Craig’s
dance 2 Nite won 1st place in the pro choreography.
Event Report - Boston Showdown We had a great time and wished we would have taken more workshops, stayed for more open dancing, given more energy and sleep. It is an exciting time when the Showdown comes to Boston. It’s spring and fun dancing with friends from near and afar, learning from the amazing choreographers, and seeing the Showdown.
Here are some impressions.
HOTEL – Boston Marriott Quincy, Quincy, MA is a nicely
appointed hotel with comfortable guest rooms. The new hotel is
well situated just south of Boston with public transportation to
and from Boston and near the Logan Airport shuttle. The hotel
staff is very friendly and helpful. Restaurants and shopping
are nearby via hotel shuttle. My limited dining experience at
the hotel was the Saturday evening showdown dinner which was
sadly mediocre.
Ballroom and conference room hard wood dance floors were
just wonderful – smooth, even, plenty of room and no
obstructions like columns. The conference rooms were large,
ample to handle the many classes and on the same level.
OPEN DANCING – interspersed during the day in a small
ballroom with big party in the main ballroom in the evening to
late night or whenever the last dancer left. DJ Wildman Louie
offered up many great selections old and new and workshop
teaches. Thursday night opened with a large crowd to start off
the weekend and felt like a big party and homecoming for dancers
from nearby and afar. Greatly appreciated seeing a projection
screen of Louie’s upcoming 15 or so dances so dancers could plan
ahead.
DANCE WORKSHOP DEMOS – well timed showing a couple of
walls and offered the evening prior to classes. Saw lots of
variety in dance choices. Having the step booklet was a great
help in choosing new workshops and remembering the workshops
taken.
INSTRUCTORS – great line-up, personable, talented and
dancer friendly. Some new faces and dance styles to match.
WORKSHOPS – ran smoothly and on time. These are some of
the classes I attended. I missed taking a surprise teach by
Joey Warren SOUL FOOD (which we have since learned) – and
enjoyed seeing it in open dance. Although a technique class was
not scheduled per se, seems many instructors brought technique
(jive kicks, night club floor coverage, musicality, spins, mood
and attitude etc.) into their teaching of the dances. The
experience is a little taste of ‘Dancing With the Stars’.
I liked most of what I took especially PRIVATE DANCER.
And other friends who took TWIST WITH THE FAT BOYS, HIGH OFF UR
VIBE, ONLY GIRL, HYNOTIZED, FALL APART, HOLD MY HAND, PLAYA, DJ
FALLING IN LOVE were really happy with their choices. So, there
are going to many dances to swap and learn after.
Thursday:
MY MOTIVATION (64ct/2w I) – taught by Guyton Mundy.
Taught during the Thursday night free dance. This is an upbeat
samba Latin number with Brian B hips and quick backward turning
moves. We have been learning this prior to the Showdown.
Friday:
BORN THIS WAY (32ct/4w I) taught by Craig Bennett (Gaga
tune), nice dance and music, quick lively steps remind a little
of TURN ME LOOSE.
PERFECT (32ct/4w I), taught by Guyton Mundy (pop, nice
song) no arms, tight head spinning turning steps, already knew
this.
MIDNIGHT SWING (64ct/2w I/A), taught by Rob Glover, sat
out resting my legs and watched the lesson including ‘how to
dance jive instruction’. Rob’s dance is really well liked by
the class. Will plan on taking this next time.
TALKIN TO THE MOON (32w/4w I) taught by Scott Blevins,
liked this one. With Joey Warren helping at the back the class,
we enjoyed this one. The beautiful music helps with the
sequence. Expect a lot of interest back in our local classes
too.
ON THE FLOOR (64ct/4w I) taught by Roy Verdonk, like the
music which reminded me of ROCK THIS PARTY, upbeat music with
many restarts always happening on the original front wall, also
sat out resting but got up to join the dancing.
STILL GOT THE BLUES (96ct/2w I) taught by Niels Poulsen.
Nice dance, nice music. Niels taught the lesson rather in a
hurry so I didn’t really get it till I noticed that some folks
around me knew the dance already so I followed them and then
enjoyed the dance.
Saturday:
LET IT BE (32ct/2w A) – taught by Rachael McEnenay.
Nice music and dance. Another nice night club 2 from Rachael
complete with holding cash in your outstretched hand to direct
your turning feet and a Gucci bag on the floor to dance around
in a half arc.
DANCING IN CIRCLES (372ct/2w I) – taught by Rachael
McEnenay. A very fast waltz, already learned this but got a few
pointers on key steps to improve getting around the circle
CHA CHA WHEN (32ct/2w I) - taught by Scott Blevins (I).
Already learned this. Scott smoothed out the awkward parts for
me as in the first 8ct torquing upper body does not mean dipping
the knee (which bother a lot of knee sufferers). Also, Scott
taught the final 8 ct without the huge spin that was confusing
some dancers. Dancing this with less effort after taking the
lesson.
THE LOVE YOU SAVE (32ct/4w I), taught by Rob Glover.
Rob taught about a different rythym (similar to HO YAU YING) and
also striking the back of the ball of the foot when dancing
this. Music and style is Michael Jackson and a lot of fun.
QUIT TEASIN’ ME (32ct/4w B/I), taught by Rob Glover.
For country music lovers - a risqué Toby Keith tune, there is
another version I’m told. Anyway this is a cha with diagonals
and turns, shimmies and shakes.
POISON (32ct/4w I) taught by Craig Bennett (nice tune
from Nicole), nice dance and music, quick lively steps has you
thinking.
Sunday:
MESSY LITTLE RAINDROPS (32ct/4w I) taught by Craig
Bennett, nice dance and music.
GOOD GIRLS (64ct/2w I) taught by Craig Bennett, nice
dance and music. New dance with some strait forward steps till
the end.
PRIVATE DANCER (64ct/4w I) taught by Scott Blevins,
great dance and music! Had been looking forward to taking this
class since last fall when it was introduced. Scott suggested
on the big turn in Part B turning on bended knee lowering the
center of gravity. Haven’t tried it yet successfully but will
work on it.
SO SAID JOE (32ct/4w I) - taught by Bracken Ellis
Potter. Bracken taught the first 8ct by singing the rythym
which was so much easier to understand than any other way to
describe it. When the music came on it became quite
recognizable.
THE SHOWDOWN – nice entertainment for an evening. My
favorites were by Roy, Pim and Daniel in crazy African costumes
singing Dee Ooh, Rob Glover and partner west coast dancing and
Rachel and Guyton in a Willy Wonka themed show. Looking forward
to next year’s event. Thank you Jen and Jason for a great time
and for continuing to have the Showdown in MA.
Rhoda
Event Report - The Experience - Orlando
At the Maggie G. Experience the dances were great, the decorations were beautiful, the food was included in the registration fee and we were fed like royalty, and a good time was had by all. I have to get the survey finished and open the gazillion e-mails I had when I got home. There will be lots and lots of pictures and videos posted on Facebook so if you are on Facebook, you can see the ones that are there now and the ones to come. Lou Ann and Bryan McWherter went all out with their pictures and videos so be sure and check them out. I'll let you know who else has posted pictures there so you can see them, too. I'll try to post all the reports coming in about the weekend and I'm sure everyone will be talking about the dances. There were some good ones. Bryan McWherter did a great job, as he always does, as the Emcee. Someone asked him what his Irish name was going to be and her said, "Hum, how about BRYAN MCWHERTER?" LOL. Maggie, Guyton and Scott taught some great old and new dances requested ahead of time. Joey Warren, Debbie McLaughlin, and Dan McInerney did a great job with some dances that will be biggies that they on Wednesday night and then reviewed during the weekend. Sandy Albano and Diane Petoskey, Big Dave (who single handedly DJ'd all weekend from morning until morning), and Pauline and all the great helpers outdid themselves planning the weekend. Everything was held in one room and everyone had designated tables so you didn't have to wonder what you were missing if you were out of the room. There were games and requests and top favorite dances by all the choreographers who taught and new dances and old dances and it was just a well-planned and fun weekend. There was a pajama party on Friday, a wear everything you can find that flashes, which was so beautiful on the floor, on Saturday, and, of course, the table decorating contest on Saturday right after the banquet. The show on Saturday night was started with a wonderful company of young Irish dancers from Orlando and followed by a great performance by Joey Warren and another by Guyton Mundy (he started off with Irish Step Dancing, if you can believe that and I thought he was pretty good -- especially since he had to keep his hands at his sides). There was also an Irish dance by the famous long-ringleted beauties from the UK. I don't think you will see Irish dancing like this in the near future as Maggie put the icing on the lasses' cake. The highlight of the show was Maggie G. dancing with those great Irish dancers, Joey Warren and Dan McInirney. They didn't have wigs so they went outside and cut some moss off the trees and used that for their grey hair. Did anyone ever tell them the moss has bugs in it? I wish you could have seen them doing their entire Irish routine, leaping and posing and stomping around the floor. You will probably be able to spot Dan because he did a very substantial toe pounding and I think his toe will remember that for awhile. I really, really, hope someone has a video of that because I want to see it again!! This event will happen again next year and the guests will be Shaz Walton, Paul McAdam, and Craig Bennett. The theme this year was St. Patrick's Day and there was more green than in the Bank of America. LOL. The table decorating contest was so much fun and the creativity was amazing. I loved them all. We didn't win but just planning it and doing it was the grand prize. I just wanted to let the girls from the UK know that we noticed them jumping up and down in their low bodices when the judges were SUPPOSED to be judging the tables. We had so much fun and it was great seeing everyone working together to create their masterpieces. I took lots of pictures and hopefully Stacy will post them on the site. The prizes and raffles were wonderful with passes to some great events and Dallas and Stacy won the puppet this year (I'm jealous!!!) It was adorable!! There was so much of that great English chocolate and candies on all the tables all the time. I LOVE that chocolate. Anyway, that's a little overview but thanks Sandy, Diane, Dave, and Pauline, the great instructors and everyone who helped make this a memorable weekend. I loved the LIGHTED balloons and all the festive decorations everywhere and thanks to Jen and Jason for providing the wonderful dance floor that is such a pleasure to dance on. I left today but there was more dancing after I left and then a bowling/dance party starting around five so they are STILL GOING!!! I'm sure I missed a lot of things but I am TIRED. Carol
Last weekend, The Maggie G Experience was held in
Orlando, FL hosted by “Diane and Sandy” along with Big Dave and
Pauline (Pauline...Pauline...Pauline). Unlike other large-scale line dance events I
attended previously, this one was more intimate with extra
activities planned nightly, along with pre- and post-parties, and
only one workshop room – only one lesson per hour so everyone
participated together. All had a great time (re)learning dances (new
and classic dances taught by each instructor, some of which voted
for by attendees) and participating in theme nights. Big Dave did a
superb job DJ'ing; each night he announced the dances (or that is
what I think he was saying?!) and the table that requested the
dance, which helped folks who submitted requests. Wednesday night nearly 100+ dancers (local and
non-local) gathered at a country bar (Cowboys Orlando). Even with 2
pillars on the dance floor, there was still sufficient room, and,
for a bar, the dance floor was great. Big Dave hooked into the
system and was in heaven DJ'ing at a country bar; especially the bar
Guyton Mundy got his start! Plenty of open dancing and three lessons
covering a variety of styles, music genres, and dance levels: DON'T CHA (fowler): taught by local choreographer
and instructor Suzanne Wilson. Great teach! Good selection of music
(country song) and the dance is great for beginners. Those who can
only use country music, I highly recommend teaching and learning
this dance. WHAT'S MY NAME (McInerney): taught by Dan
himself. Solid intermediate dance to a track by Rihanna. Some tricky
bits that were overcome with repetition, another well-choreographed
dance by Dan. CALIFORNIA KING (McLaughlin): taught by Debbie
herself. Advanced dance for the 2 tags and 1 restart. The steps flow
great with the music, another track by Rihanna – this turned out to
be one of the most requested dances all weekend. After relaxing by the pool and chatting with the
new arrivals on Thursday afternoon, it was 8pm and the Maggie G
Experience opened its doors! Based on submissions by attendees, Big
Dave played our Top 10 Favorite dances followed by the first teach
of the weekend by the wild Maggie herself, JIG ABOUT. This reminded
me of her dance taught at the Tampa Linedance Classic called JIG IT
UP – it was the same, but different. While in the Irish mood, we
played Bingo, although there were no letters on the cards.
Translating Big Dave's call of numbers, Maggie voiced them aloud
with a twist, especially for “two fat ladies...number 88.” After the
three winners, everyone stood on the dance floor to play Irish Bingo
- those with numbers on the card (called by Maggie), had to leave
the floor and the last person standing won! It was a quite a duo,
but only one was left standing. After the games, Guyton's Top Five
dances were played, followed by the pajama party (thanks to Tonya
from PA) with “adult milk” and cookies. Those Biscoff crisps are
goooooood! Friday new and classic (old) dances were taught: GUARDIAN ANGEL (gallagher): one of my favorite
all-time dances to a wonderful song by Gareth Gates. The trickiest
part of the dance are the first 8 counts and hearing the restart.
Just make sure the good angel is on your shoulder and you'll do
fine. ALWAYS GOLD (blevins): solid intermediate dance
that is predominately instrumental. At first I was not a fan of the
song, but I enjoyed it more when dancing. This will take some work
to master, especially because of the speed. ROLLING IN THE DEEP (gallagher): superb song,
okay dance. Straight 64-ct dance; I wanted more out of it because I
just love the song. I just felt this dance could go to many songs
rather than written specifically for this song. This was played
quite a bit throughout the weekend. PERFECT (mundy): brand new dance to the Pink
song, F***in Perfect (there is a clean version available). And guess
what, no hands! Reminded me of his and Craig's Bennett's dance
DREAMS. RIGHT TO BE WRONG (blevins): classic advanced
dance that is being retaught at many events. Watching a select few
dance this over the year, this has always been on my list to learn
and was glad for the teach by Scott. The dance flows with the music
perfectly. Definitely a 2nd and 3rd teach is required so I am sure
to be right, not wrong. Open dancing on Friday night consisted of
everyone flashing one another....er....wearing accessories that
flashed – pins, necklaces, bracelets, tiaras, buttons, glasses,
cups, anything! Big Dave played the ALL TIME TOP 10 and SCOTT'S
TOP 5 dances as voted by attendees, plus we got a bonus teach by
Joey Warren of his dance TALKIN TO THE MOON, dedicated to Jersey Gal
Linda. At first I was not a fan of the song, but as I danced it more
and more, it grew on me (now I really like it). The dance has a tag
and restart, and are pronounced in the song. The game on Friday
night was Choreographer Bingo – name that dance after hearing the
first 20 seconds of a song.....although I did not win, I certainly
had a lot of spaces filled in! Saturday new and classic (old) dances were
taught: SHIV-A-REE (gallagher): great dance, great song.
Thanks to Derrick who assisted Maggie getting through the teach.
Highly recommend learning. ANGEL (mundy): superb dance, great song. Glad
this was brought back as Guyton's classic teach, as voted by the
attendees. I remember learning this at Eastern's several years ago
and could barely get through it – now the steps came back as well as
the two restarts. An angel remained on my shoulder! GET UP DANCE (gallagher): brand new dance
released at this event. Music is to a peppy pop track (sounded like
the Danish group Infernal but it was not). Played quite a bit after
the teach. CHA CHA WHEN (blevins): new dance to a remixed
version of Cuando, Cuando, Cuando. Another fast dance, but certainly
fun. I liked this one more than ALWAYS GOLD. MMM DADA (mundy): great dance, great track. Do
this 2-3 times and you can skip zumba class for a week! An A-B
dance, with hands, that may even be faster than Guyton and Carey's
dance, THROW IT ON ME. Guyton taught this in 45 minutes, allowing
time for music at full speed twice! Those who started with the
lesson, remained on the floor at full speed. Just a couple of parts
I got mixed up on, but I kept kickin' and wigglin' through the
sections so I picked it back up on part B.
Saturday night was all about green - table
decorations and attire. Those of us from PA/DC Area had our “care
package” shipped to the hotel so we were ready to deck-o-rate. Each
group of people and their tables were unique. It was amazing to see
how far folks went with their themes. After the tables were judged
MAGGIE G's TOP 5 DANCES were played, as voted by attendees. “Finigan”
also stopped by and went home with the auction winner......looks
like I am headed to Desert Dance (in Arizona) this June with my win!
John
http://www.worldlinedancenewsletter.com/eventreports.html
|