If you have not gathered by now I am hooked on West Coast Swing and can't get enough of it. I must admit I am starting to get a little frustrated with myself as I am not progressing at the speed I would like to. The only chance I get to dance are usually on Tuesday nights and now a few times on Friday and of course I cannot forget the great lessons I have with Julie. I did have a practice partner but I am not sure where that is going. I would love to find someone to practice with a few times a week who is as passionate about the dance as I am. I have all these things I want to try when I do get to dance practice but always forget them. I need to go over and over and over these things before I get to dance practice. Ok rant and feeling bad for myself is over, I feel much better now *L*.
Anyway, onto last night. Nick (Laura's Nick - I have mentioned them in other posts) is starting to put together these gatherings at a place called Chalker's on Friday nights (Hopefully Nick this is going to become kind of a regular thing). Chalker's is kind of a neat place. It is a bar with many pool tables, a dance floor and a live band. So last night there were 8 people who show up; Nick and Laura, Giselle, Wij, Linda, Dave and Shelley and myself. We basically have the dance floor to ourselves and it was fantastic. All 7 that were there are far superior dancers to me but I love this because I get to dance with 4, not only incredible dancers but wonderful people as well. I want to try all these new things I have in my mind but not tonight - I just want to enjoy the great dancing and fantastic company.
A little story (and I regress here a bit) When I first started West Coast Swing in February, there were 2 ladies I defintely put on a pedastal when it came to WCS and that was Julie and Shelley S (and come to think of it the pedastal is still there *L*). Anyway about 2 months into my dancing I was at my first dance at the Lithuanian House and Shelley and Dave were there and I believe Dave was the DJ. I had already danced with Julie a few times but had never danced with Shelley so I got up the nerve to ask her to dance - not good!!! I was not ready to dance with Shelley. She was so far above me in her dance I could not keep up with her. I kept losing the beat and forgetting the few steps I knew and did not enjoy the dance. From that point on until about a month or so ago I would not ask Shelley to dance because I was afraid it would be the same. But I got to know her a little better at the Toronto Swing Championships and afterwards finally got up the nerve to ask her again. This time I really enjoyed the dance. I guess that really showed me I had progressed a fair bit in the dance and was defintely heading in the right direction. I danced with her many times last night and I loved every minute of it. End of story -anyone still awake!!!! *L* Like someone is ever going to read this *LOL*.
Have a wonderful day
Larry
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
If anyone wakes me from this fantastic dream - I am going to smack em!!! The Saturday
Ok, Saturday morning has arrived, (well later Saturday morning since I didn’t roll into bed until 4 am). It is 7:30 and I am wide awake (you know that adrenaline thing). My mind is saying let’s get up and get going but my back and feet and the rest of my body is saying “Get a grip, shut up, close the eyes and get back to sleep”. After an epic struggle, the mind wins out and up I get and off to the shower. The eyes were definitely in protest mode and decided they did not want to help me find the shower. I think the toes were a little pissed at the eyes for their lack of co-operation. A nice warm shower seemed to calm everyone down and we all started getting psyched for the day ahead which included none other than more workshops, competitions and of course more dancing until you drop *L*.
More great workshops today!!! I took 2 from Larry and Heidi Mongeau (from the Boston area I believe). They were great as we did some Intermediate patterns and leads we could use in our social dancing. They made the class fun and easy to learn. I would definitely take classes from them again. Oh yeah and Heidi is pretty hot too (sorry Larry but she is *L*). Then there was another fantastic workshop with Kyle and Sarah. I am going to try my damndest to get a private lesson with Kyle this weekend; I am such a fan of his dance style. The best workshop all weekend was with Mario Robau Jr. From what I have gathered, Mario is very much old school and likes to keep the dance within the dance (not sure if that makes sense to anyone) which is what I would like to do. His workshop was on different ways to anchor and I found it fascinating and something I could practice on my own. Great morning for workshops, now onto the competitions *L*.
The Competitions
Ok, today is a big day for competing. I have the Novice Jack and Jill, Novice Strictly Swing and Team competitions. The novice Jack n Jill is where you dance in prelims and if you are good enough you move into the semi finals and if you are in the top 10 you move into the finals. When you start you do not have a designated partner, you actually dance with 3 different partners in the prelims. You and your partner are marked as individuals for this level and for the semis. In the finals you get a single partner and you are judged as a team. You also have no idea what music is going to be played and there is an extremely good chance that you would never have danced with these partners ever before. Sound like fun *L*?? Well it is, scary but a lot of fun. My goal this weekend was to make it into the semi finals. I am very new to this dance and I am not ready for this level of competition, but what the hell *L*. Well, I had 3 great partners in the prelims and was so happy when I found out I made it into the semi finals. I had reached my goal and I was happy just to dance with 3 new partners in the semis. A few hours later they posted the results from the semi’s; I hadn’t had a chance to check the list when Julie came up and congratulated me for making the finals; thought I was being punked *LOL*. Wow, never dreamed at this size of a competition I would ever make the finals. Finals are tomorrow, so will let you know then what happened *L*. The second competition entered was Novice Strictly Swing. In this competition you chose your own partner but you have no idea of what music is being played. Well I have this incredible partner (I must have been a real good boy cause the swing gods have blessed me with an incredible partner). Her name is Shelley and this will be our second competition together (and I hope there are many many more to come). This girl is the prettiest, most wonderful, best partner anyone could ever ask for. She is a great dancer, an incredible person who is always smiling and having a great time. Do you get the feeling I love dancing with this young lady *LOL*??? Well, we did awesome!! There were a lot of couples and we placed 11th (first alternate into the finals). With a little more practice, we just might make the finals. Ok, afternoon competitions are over and it is time to practice for the team event that evening. They clear the ballroom and all the teams that are competing start running through their routines. We did ours about 3 so I think we are ready for tonight’s competition. The name of the team is Ripple Effect and there are 10 members (5 ladies and 5 guys). The routine was choreographed by Julie and it is really kind of neat. Do you remember at the beginning of this blog I mentioned the fight between the mind and the body and how the mind won with protest from the body?? Well right after our routine practice my body decided to go on strike and I started feeling very ill. I was so tired and hungry I had no clue how I was going to even perform tonight. I had decided as soon as the routine was over, I was going to sleep for a few hours. I went and got something to eat and went to my room to go over the routine (I had it on video). Once I ate, I started to feel a little better and figured I would make it though the evening. Competition hour arrived, we did the routine, everything went awesome and when the smoke cleared and the results were in WE WON!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!. That was so awesome. I was so happy for Julie and the rest of the team; they had put so much into this. Just a little side note here, as much as I love being on the team and really do love the people on the team, it would not bother me if they found someone to replace me. They are all much better dancers than me and I am just afraid I will bring them down a notch or two moving forward. I seem to have trouble picking up the choreography. I think I concentrate so hard on remembering the steps, I forget to have fun.
The Dance:
Alright!!! the fun part of the evening. Even though there was open dancing, there was still a show with all the pros getting up and doing a demo routine. It is always awesome to watch these guys and hope someday you will be able to dance half as well as they do. Ok, shows over, the main dancing starts, I get to dance with two ladies I met in Toronto, Kris and Lynda and met some other wonderful ladies especially Rachel from Rochester (beautiful big eyes and a great dancer) and yes I danced again with Jamie and as many times as I could with Livaline. Unfortunatley, Julie is a very popular lady when she hits the dance floor so my chances there were limited (no worries though, I get her all to myself for an hour during each private lesson *LOL*) And of course, a majority of dances were kept for my incredible dance partner Shelley. I just love dancing with this lady. I am so glad that Wij is not the jealous type. *L* Oh my god, look at the time 3am??? Wasn’t I supposed to go and take a nap after the team comp??? Oh well time flies when you are having fun. Ok legs, walk me up to the room and plunk me in bed, sleep time!!!
See you tomorrow
Larry
More great workshops today!!! I took 2 from Larry and Heidi Mongeau (from the Boston area I believe). They were great as we did some Intermediate patterns and leads we could use in our social dancing. They made the class fun and easy to learn. I would definitely take classes from them again. Oh yeah and Heidi is pretty hot too (sorry Larry but she is *L*). Then there was another fantastic workshop with Kyle and Sarah. I am going to try my damndest to get a private lesson with Kyle this weekend; I am such a fan of his dance style. The best workshop all weekend was with Mario Robau Jr. From what I have gathered, Mario is very much old school and likes to keep the dance within the dance (not sure if that makes sense to anyone) which is what I would like to do. His workshop was on different ways to anchor and I found it fascinating and something I could practice on my own. Great morning for workshops, now onto the competitions *L*.
The Competitions
Ok, today is a big day for competing. I have the Novice Jack and Jill, Novice Strictly Swing and Team competitions. The novice Jack n Jill is where you dance in prelims and if you are good enough you move into the semi finals and if you are in the top 10 you move into the finals. When you start you do not have a designated partner, you actually dance with 3 different partners in the prelims. You and your partner are marked as individuals for this level and for the semis. In the finals you get a single partner and you are judged as a team. You also have no idea what music is going to be played and there is an extremely good chance that you would never have danced with these partners ever before. Sound like fun *L*?? Well it is, scary but a lot of fun. My goal this weekend was to make it into the semi finals. I am very new to this dance and I am not ready for this level of competition, but what the hell *L*. Well, I had 3 great partners in the prelims and was so happy when I found out I made it into the semi finals. I had reached my goal and I was happy just to dance with 3 new partners in the semis. A few hours later they posted the results from the semi’s; I hadn’t had a chance to check the list when Julie came up and congratulated me for making the finals; thought I was being punked *LOL*. Wow, never dreamed at this size of a competition I would ever make the finals. Finals are tomorrow, so will let you know then what happened *L*. The second competition entered was Novice Strictly Swing. In this competition you chose your own partner but you have no idea of what music is being played. Well I have this incredible partner (I must have been a real good boy cause the swing gods have blessed me with an incredible partner). Her name is Shelley and this will be our second competition together (and I hope there are many many more to come). This girl is the prettiest, most wonderful, best partner anyone could ever ask for. She is a great dancer, an incredible person who is always smiling and having a great time. Do you get the feeling I love dancing with this young lady *LOL*??? Well, we did awesome!! There were a lot of couples and we placed 11th (first alternate into the finals). With a little more practice, we just might make the finals. Ok, afternoon competitions are over and it is time to practice for the team event that evening. They clear the ballroom and all the teams that are competing start running through their routines. We did ours about 3 so I think we are ready for tonight’s competition. The name of the team is Ripple Effect and there are 10 members (5 ladies and 5 guys). The routine was choreographed by Julie and it is really kind of neat. Do you remember at the beginning of this blog I mentioned the fight between the mind and the body and how the mind won with protest from the body?? Well right after our routine practice my body decided to go on strike and I started feeling very ill. I was so tired and hungry I had no clue how I was going to even perform tonight. I had decided as soon as the routine was over, I was going to sleep for a few hours. I went and got something to eat and went to my room to go over the routine (I had it on video). Once I ate, I started to feel a little better and figured I would make it though the evening. Competition hour arrived, we did the routine, everything went awesome and when the smoke cleared and the results were in WE WON!!!!!! Yeah!!!!!!!!. That was so awesome. I was so happy for Julie and the rest of the team; they had put so much into this. Just a little side note here, as much as I love being on the team and really do love the people on the team, it would not bother me if they found someone to replace me. They are all much better dancers than me and I am just afraid I will bring them down a notch or two moving forward. I seem to have trouble picking up the choreography. I think I concentrate so hard on remembering the steps, I forget to have fun.
The Dance:
Alright!!! the fun part of the evening. Even though there was open dancing, there was still a show with all the pros getting up and doing a demo routine. It is always awesome to watch these guys and hope someday you will be able to dance half as well as they do. Ok, shows over, the main dancing starts, I get to dance with two ladies I met in Toronto, Kris and Lynda and met some other wonderful ladies especially Rachel from Rochester (beautiful big eyes and a great dancer) and yes I danced again with Jamie and as many times as I could with Livaline. Unfortunatley, Julie is a very popular lady when she hits the dance floor so my chances there were limited (no worries though, I get her all to myself for an hour during each private lesson *LOL*) And of course, a majority of dances were kept for my incredible dance partner Shelley. I just love dancing with this lady. I am so glad that Wij is not the jealous type. *L* Oh my god, look at the time 3am??? Wasn’t I supposed to go and take a nap after the team comp??? Oh well time flies when you are having fun. Ok legs, walk me up to the room and plunk me in bed, sleep time!!!
See you tomorrow
Larry
Thursday, September 18, 2008
If anyone wakes me from this fantastic dream - I am going to smack em!!! The Friday
OK, Friday morning around 9, second day Swing Niagara, very little sleep (adrenalin you know) and pumped for what is to come. I meet Julie for a quick breakfast before she is off to meetings and I am off to be introduced to a floor (more on that later). Have you ever seen Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Coockoo’s Nest where he tries to order a Chicken Salad Sandwich (I believe that was what it is) – well meet Julie Nicholson wanting a Bacon and Tomato Sandwich. The restaurant in the hotel does not have B&T’s so Julie N and the waitress concoct a scheme where Julie goes to the buffet gets her bacon and toast, the waitress goes back to the kitchen and slices up a tomato and voila – Julie concocts here B&T right there at the table – just like magic (Wij – you would have been proud *LOL*) . Now that is the way to start a morning *L* - Ok, Julie is off to meetings and I am going to lay a floor. It seems that the floors used for dancing are brought in from Boston by Bill Cameron (another elite WCS dancer) and they must be laid and screwed down. There were not enough people to help do this so I volunteered. I know this sounds stupid, but I really want to know all I can about this West Coast swing phenomenon I have dove into and why not start from the ground up or in this case the floor up. Well with an almost complete Canadian crew (yep Canadians to the rescue again!!!) we took about 4 hours to lay and screw down the floor. About 3 hours in I discovered (in the words of Danny Glover – Lethal Weapon) I am getting to old for this shit and was starting to wonder what kind of shape I would be in for the rest of the weekend. Well I persevered and with back aching, shirt soaked and running out of time I bid adieu to my colleagues and up for a shower I go, just in time for 6 hours of workshops!!!!
The workshops:
This is my second event and you would have thought I would have learned from the first event that doing 6 workshops in a row was not one of the smartest thing in the world to do, well whoever said I was smart does not know me very well *LOL* (definitely not my feet or my back – I think they were pretty pissed with me). This might not mean a lot to you but how often do you get to take instruction from some of the best in the world?? I had a chance to learn from Kyle Redd and Sarah Vann Drake, Arjay Centano and Melissa Rutz, Mario Robau Jr, Parker Dearborn and Jessica Cox and many more. Granted, I do not remember everything we were taught but there were a lot of great tips and technique that came out of all the workshops and just as important, I got to meet some really neat new people who were taking the workshops with me. (One especially, her name was Erin who I only got to dance with once the rest of the weekend; she did some competitions with her boyfriend (her significant) other and did fantastic – I hope I get a chance to meet her and dance with her again). The workshops ended up being fantastic and I will put myself through the same regiment at all the events I go to.
The Competition
Workshops are over just in time for the dancing and competition. After my first event, I kind of got hooked on competing. Like everyone I would like to win, but that is not the main reason I do it. I just want to try and get better and dance with as many different people as possible and you get this by competing. This event, I had decided to compete in 4 different categories, Novice Jack n Jill, Novice Strictly Swing, Pro Am Leader and the Team Division. Well tonight was the Pro-Am Leader Division and I am really looking forward to it cuz I get to dance with Julie and that my friends is the best. Now, you get called up to the floor with your partner and there is only 8 couples dancing and there is like a thousand people watching (Ok I exaggerate a little, maybe 500 but it felt like 10,000 *L*). I was pretty nervous and don’t remember too much about it other than I had a great time, don’t think we made too many mistakes and I would do it all over again. We ended up placing 7th, but that is alright being I am just starting out and I did get up and try – So thank you Julie – it was so worth it!!!!!
The Dance
Now that all the floor laying, workshops and competitions are out of the way for the evening, it is time for the social dancing, the real fun part of the night when you get to dance with all those fantastic people that have come for the weekend. One of the really neat things about West Coast Swing people is that they all love to dance and are willing to dance with you whether you are an advanced dancer or a beginner. So it is pretty easy to go up and ask anyone to dance (even the pro’s – I got to dance with Sophy Kdep – it was great) and it is not unusual for the ladies to come and ask you to dance. If you want you could dance all night without sitting down *L*. So tonight I danced with as many ladies as I possibly could right up until I ran out of gas which was about 3:30 am. All in all the day could not have gotten any better, on top of all the great dancing; I met 2 really special people tonight. When the evening first started, there was this very pretty young lady by the name of Jamie (a professor from Texas I found out later) who asked me to dance. Now Jamie is no beginner and to dance with her was fantastic. She had this great smile and was extremely friendly and came down to my level of dance which made even more enjoyable. Man I could have danced with her all night (don’t think her significant other would have approved *L*). Anyways, I did ask her again and it was another great dance, unfortunately I stepped on her foot – oops (Jamie, I know you will probably never read this, but I am still sorry I did that). I was hoping I had not blown my opportunity to dance with her again (luckily I hadn’t – I did dance with her on Saturday and Sunday). Now the other person I met was this absolutely gorgeous young lady with beautiful red hair and big beautiful eyes. Her name was Livaline and I didn’t know but she is also living in Toronto. What a beautiful dancer she is and a wonderful person, I found out from talking with her. I probably should not admit this but I tried to catch her every time she wasn’t dancing and get her up. I had the pleasure of dancing with her a lot and I hope I get to again tomorrow and Sunday.
Well all in all, you could not have asked for a better day, I got to dance with my favourite people and met some wonderful new ones as well.
Have a great day
Larry
The workshops:
This is my second event and you would have thought I would have learned from the first event that doing 6 workshops in a row was not one of the smartest thing in the world to do, well whoever said I was smart does not know me very well *LOL* (definitely not my feet or my back – I think they were pretty pissed with me). This might not mean a lot to you but how often do you get to take instruction from some of the best in the world?? I had a chance to learn from Kyle Redd and Sarah Vann Drake, Arjay Centano and Melissa Rutz, Mario Robau Jr, Parker Dearborn and Jessica Cox and many more. Granted, I do not remember everything we were taught but there were a lot of great tips and technique that came out of all the workshops and just as important, I got to meet some really neat new people who were taking the workshops with me. (One especially, her name was Erin who I only got to dance with once the rest of the weekend; she did some competitions with her boyfriend (her significant) other and did fantastic – I hope I get a chance to meet her and dance with her again). The workshops ended up being fantastic and I will put myself through the same regiment at all the events I go to.
The Competition
Workshops are over just in time for the dancing and competition. After my first event, I kind of got hooked on competing. Like everyone I would like to win, but that is not the main reason I do it. I just want to try and get better and dance with as many different people as possible and you get this by competing. This event, I had decided to compete in 4 different categories, Novice Jack n Jill, Novice Strictly Swing, Pro Am Leader and the Team Division. Well tonight was the Pro-Am Leader Division and I am really looking forward to it cuz I get to dance with Julie and that my friends is the best. Now, you get called up to the floor with your partner and there is only 8 couples dancing and there is like a thousand people watching (Ok I exaggerate a little, maybe 500 but it felt like 10,000 *L*). I was pretty nervous and don’t remember too much about it other than I had a great time, don’t think we made too many mistakes and I would do it all over again. We ended up placing 7th, but that is alright being I am just starting out and I did get up and try – So thank you Julie – it was so worth it!!!!!
The Dance
Now that all the floor laying, workshops and competitions are out of the way for the evening, it is time for the social dancing, the real fun part of the night when you get to dance with all those fantastic people that have come for the weekend. One of the really neat things about West Coast Swing people is that they all love to dance and are willing to dance with you whether you are an advanced dancer or a beginner. So it is pretty easy to go up and ask anyone to dance (even the pro’s – I got to dance with Sophy Kdep – it was great) and it is not unusual for the ladies to come and ask you to dance. If you want you could dance all night without sitting down *L*. So tonight I danced with as many ladies as I possibly could right up until I ran out of gas which was about 3:30 am. All in all the day could not have gotten any better, on top of all the great dancing; I met 2 really special people tonight. When the evening first started, there was this very pretty young lady by the name of Jamie (a professor from Texas I found out later) who asked me to dance. Now Jamie is no beginner and to dance with her was fantastic. She had this great smile and was extremely friendly and came down to my level of dance which made even more enjoyable. Man I could have danced with her all night (don’t think her significant other would have approved *L*). Anyways, I did ask her again and it was another great dance, unfortunately I stepped on her foot – oops (Jamie, I know you will probably never read this, but I am still sorry I did that). I was hoping I had not blown my opportunity to dance with her again (luckily I hadn’t – I did dance with her on Saturday and Sunday). Now the other person I met was this absolutely gorgeous young lady with beautiful red hair and big beautiful eyes. Her name was Livaline and I didn’t know but she is also living in Toronto. What a beautiful dancer she is and a wonderful person, I found out from talking with her. I probably should not admit this but I tried to catch her every time she wasn’t dancing and get her up. I had the pleasure of dancing with her a lot and I hope I get to again tomorrow and Sunday.
Well all in all, you could not have asked for a better day, I got to dance with my favourite people and met some wonderful new ones as well.
Have a great day
Larry
If anyone wakes me from this fantastic dream - I am going to smack em!!! The Thursday
Ok, it is Thursday – mid September and I have been looking forward to this weekend for about 2 months now and it has finally arrived. Oops – sorry - Of course I am talking about Swing Niagara in Buffalo. Since I started West Coast swing dancing in February I have been completely hooked – you know – “You had me from the first step” *L*. The weekend was supposed to start on Friday but with a stroke of luck and blessings from the “Gods of the Swing” I am driving down with Julie E today (I know acting 6 years old in a candy store – what can I say – GUILTY!!!!*L*). I get a chance to pick her brain on all things West Coast Swing and just to spend some time with somebody I admire very much. And man did I find out what a fantastic adventurous life she has lived (if we all could be so lucky we may have a different outlook on the world out there).
The drive down was very relaxing - for me anyways. I do not think I stopped asking questions about Swing Events, the different pros, about Julie E. and whatever else I could think of. I am pretty sure there was a lot of eyes rolling and “Doesn’t this guy ever shut-up” going on when she turned her head away but bless her heart for putting up with me. A couple of neat things happened that evening, first, after all was settled and all meetings were taken care of, we went out to dinner at a place called Olivers. We drove by this place and it was not too impressive from the outside, but once you walked inside it was gorgeous and the staff was fantastic. We had a great meal and conversation and I would recommend this place to anyone (though it is a little on the pricey side). After dinner we went back to the hotel, off to our separate rooms for a quiet relaxing evening before the big event started tomorrow. Around 10:30, just getting settled, the Fire Alarm went off – Makes sense right – Buffalo = Fires = Fire Alarms = All Leave the Hotel = Meet Arjay Centano and Melissa Rutz. Are you following the progression here??? You mean this does not happen every time you go to Buffalo for a Swing Dance?? Standing outside, Julie spots Arjay and Melissa and knowing them, I get introduced – Now that is what I call right place, right time, right connections *L*. Well, we are let back into our rooms, into bed I go and I am fast awake the rest of the night – adrenalin you know
Have a great day and talk to you soon
Larry
The drive down was very relaxing - for me anyways. I do not think I stopped asking questions about Swing Events, the different pros, about Julie E. and whatever else I could think of. I am pretty sure there was a lot of eyes rolling and “Doesn’t this guy ever shut-up” going on when she turned her head away but bless her heart for putting up with me. A couple of neat things happened that evening, first, after all was settled and all meetings were taken care of, we went out to dinner at a place called Olivers. We drove by this place and it was not too impressive from the outside, but once you walked inside it was gorgeous and the staff was fantastic. We had a great meal and conversation and I would recommend this place to anyone (though it is a little on the pricey side). After dinner we went back to the hotel, off to our separate rooms for a quiet relaxing evening before the big event started tomorrow. Around 10:30, just getting settled, the Fire Alarm went off – Makes sense right – Buffalo = Fires = Fire Alarms = All Leave the Hotel = Meet Arjay Centano and Melissa Rutz. Are you following the progression here??? You mean this does not happen every time you go to Buffalo for a Swing Dance?? Standing outside, Julie spots Arjay and Melissa and knowing them, I get introduced – Now that is what I call right place, right time, right connections *L*. Well, we are let back into our rooms, into bed I go and I am fast awake the rest of the night – adrenalin you know
Have a great day and talk to you soon
Larry
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