DANCE EVENT REPORTS FROM OTHERS
FLORIDA MASTERS 2006 |
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FLORIDA MASTERS VIDEOS ORDER INFORMATION FROM: ContactCJtheDJ@AOL.COM Carol, Just to let you know the event video for the FLORIDA MASTERS with Masters In Line plus an outstanding list of instructors is now available. Ordering information and list of dances is now on my page on your web site. http://www.worldlinedancenewsletter.com/CJsVideos.html Running over 4 hours, there is lots of exciting action with Masters In Line, their great new act performed on Saturday Night, and of course the Hilarious Friday Night "Baby Shower" Skit for Jen and Jason. CJ ******************** NOTE FROM CAROL CRAVEN: I was shocked when Jennifer told me how much money you all contributed to the basket raffle. It made me cry. I can't thank all of you enough. I will be sending a personal note to all the people who did the baskets that I heard were really amazing. Jen said that she had put little buckets in front of the baskets so that people could put their tickets in the one they wanted which was so thoughtful of her so that they contents would actually be used by the people who won them. You are an amazing group of people. Thank you to every one of you who donated one of the baskets and thanks to all of you who bought tickets and thanks to so many of you who keep me going with your thoughtfulness and words of wisdom and sharing your own experiences and just the many things you continue to do that never ceases to amaze me. I could never survive this experience without you and I promise you I will always be a much more caring friend in! the future because now I KNOW what it means to be there. Love, Carol *********************** FROM: Jen & Jason Cameron First let me start by saying THANK YOU to all that attended that 2nd Annual Florida Masters. It was another fun-filled successful weekend. OK - it was a little warm on Thursday night but we finally got the A/C working correctly by Friday. Thank goodness. The baby shower that was given for us on Friday was AMAZING!!! Thank you sooooooo much for everything. We cannot even being to express our appreciation for your generosity. That was the best surprise and we love you all for doing it :) We really can't wait for our son to meet the wonderful dance family that we have. The basket raffle that held for Carol and Bucky Craven raised $1,625. The baskets that were donated were incredible!!! Last but not least, I'd like to thank the volunteers. You guys were fabulous! See you all again next year at the Line Dance Showdown and the Florida Masters!!! Jen & Jason Cameron www.floridamasters.com www.linedanceshowdown.com *************** FROM: ARLINE WINERMAN What a fabulous time we had at the Marriott Hotel in Orlando,. FL this past weekend! The weather was great - no rain - and everyone had an extraordinary, fun-filled couple of days. There was such a nice, warm feeling - everybody was so happy to see each other. The instructors out did themselves with all the latest and greatest dances. I will let others write about their favorites ----- I liked them all! DJ Louie was in usual outstanding form. Jen and Jason were really really surprised with the baby shower and the baskets for the raffle for Carol and Bucky were exquisite. A million thanks to Jen, Jason as well as Rob, Paul and Rachel for a brilliant event. They worked very hard for all us. I taught Hips, 7 Heaven and All The Way. They were well received. Looking forward to being there again next year. ****************** FROM: Marilyn McNeal, BoarsNestFarm@aol.com There was something for EVERY dancer at Florida Masters in Line this weekend! Jen and Jason run a most smooth, efficient, relaxed event and keep it all right on schedule! I left the ballroom after 1AM 3 nights in a row, with the dance floor full and everyone having a great time! Saturday night dinner was delicious and plentiful, a nice touch, and the raffle baskets were a very big hit. Louie played a terrific mix of music, old, new and everything that was taught during the weekend. All the instructors danced at night, and Jamie was the ultimate hostess and kept us laughing continuously. How DOES she do it! There was a wide variety of choreography to many different types of music and each of us will have our favorites. I liked every dance I learned! My own favorites were Mr. Pinstripe and Wonder Woman (Simon Ward-love HIM too!), Jamie Marshall’s new one just written up, but not out yet, On My Mind (Bill McGee), All the Way, taught by Arline Winnerman, Syncopated Kiss tau! ght by Dancin’ Dean, John Robinson’s Get It While It’s Hot, Don’t Cry for Louie, Cha-cha Heels, and fun ones Batter Up and Krazy Kowboy, Guyton’s Hey! People, and ALL those taught by Masters in Line, especially Twisted and Inside Your Heaven. It’s a special treat to dance with Rachael, Paul and Rob and their performance Saturday night was fantastic, as it always is. All the instructors had full classes with happy dancers. I taught Walk on Ice(Oli Geir), Loved Up( Geri Morrison), Before the Devil(Alan Birchall), and One Drop of Love(Kathy Brown). Thanks to all who came to my classes, especially the full house from 5-6PM Saturday night! My personal thanks go to Jen and Jason for inviting me to teach at this event. You are a beautiful couple and loved by many! Everyone missed Carol and Bucky. We hope this void within our hearts is soon filled with good news. The entire dance community is praying for you both. ******************** FROM: Mona Puente The 2nd ever Florida Masters In Line Event was FANTASTIC. Although I only got to catch half of it due to previous commitments to my classes, the half I experienced was soooo well worth it!!! Next year I'm planning on the whole event. Open dancing was so much fun, I think, because of the dancers this event attracts--very progressive dancers--for the dances I didn't know, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the styling of the great dancers on the floor. I forced myself to quit by 3 a.m. so I wouldn't be totally yawning during the next day's workshops. Thanks to Louie & the event instructors, open dancing was going strong when I pulled myself away. I was impressed with the amount of time the instructors spent on the floor during open dancing...Rachael McEnaney, Johanna Barnes, Simon Ward, Rob Fowler, Scott Blevins, Bryan McWherter, Maurice Rowe, Jamie Marshall, Guyton Mundy, Paul McAdam, John Robinson, Arline Winerman, Junior Willis, Bill McGee, Dancin' Dean, & Marilyn McNeal. This was my first time to take classes from Australia's Simon Ward (after dancing Larger Than Life for years, it was very fun to see him dance this one) and Masters In Line's Paul McAdam--excellent teaches by both these guys. Rachael McEnaney has long been one of my favorite dancers/instructors/choreographers...I always feel I get volumes out of her classes, and she was certainly true to form this weekend. "The" Jamie Marshall was hilarious, as always...you never know what she's going to say next (I'm sure she doesn't know either!). It was heartwarming to see the outpouring of donations & concern for Bucky & Carol Craven, as well as all the best wishes for Jason & Jen. It was nice to meet both Jill Babinec and Bill McGee in person, after email correspondence with each of them. It was great seeing Arline Winerman again, and so sweet of her to introduce me to her class...always so thoughtful...thanks, Arline. Dances now at the top of my list from this event are: Inside Your Heaven, First To Let Go, Together We Are One, and Loved Up, to name a few. Mona Puente Fort Worth, TX ************************ FROM: Jim Harvey(Tennessee) On Thursday night the 14th of July, an energetic happy crowd of line dancers from various locations in Florida and many traveling dancers from as far away as Canada, California and Australia were greeted at the open dance ("till ??') ballroom door by the Masters In Line(MIL) team of Rob, Paul & Rachel before they joined none other than the "music magician himself", DJ Louie St. George, to "kick off" Jen and Jason Cameron's directed 2nd Florida Masters four day line dance event at the convenient ("traveling to") Marriott Orlando Airport location. Other than the MIL instructor's, the weekend also included instructor's Simon Ward, Scott Blevins, Marilyn McNeal, Maurice Rowe, Junior Willis, Guyton Mundy, John Robinson, Arline Winerman, Dancin' Dean, Johanna Barnes, Bryan McWherter, Bill McGee and Jamie Marshall who was also the Master of Ceremonies for the event. The combination of Jamie creating audience laughter with with her ad-lib comments, which make us know her as "THE JAMIE MARSHALL", the workshops that included many popular or "soon to be popular" line dances, the instructors who joined us for many hours of open dancing, and Jen and Jason's perfectly orchestrated event timing which allowed for open dancing to start on time made this event extra special for me. One moment that I will never forget is the cell phone call that was make to Carol Craven just after the variety show ended on Saturday night so that we could all say Hi to Carol simultaneously, and wish with our hearts and prayers the best for BUCKY in the future. Watching Jamie shed some tears as she mentioned that it is so important to enjoy the company of you're "loved one's" today as you never know what tomorrow will bring caused my eyes to water also. Then, Louie, being on target with the moment, immediately played the dance BE STRONG, which as Carol mentioned in a previous newsletter writing that this dance IS not only one of BUCKY's favorite dances, but that he would always make her laugh when he followed the music lyrics and turn in rhythm during the dance and say "I Wuv You" to the person behind him in a manner that only BUCKY could do. Love, prayers, tears, laughter and strength are definitely present within our line dance family as we remember the good times in the past with BUCKY and hope for his speedy recovery. Being an "open dance forever" type of person I really enjoyed the schedule that allowed me to accumulate about nine(9) hours of open during the afternoon dance times for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This combined with the "Let The Party Begin" open dancing at night "until ??" which started at 8:30PM on Friday and 9:30PM on Saturday following variety show and dance prevue activities. Saturday had short break for the (50,50), and Carol and Bucky raffle fund raiser, and then it was right back into dancing again. During the break time Louie and Guyton tried to run off with the big prize, but they were up against a savvy contestant winner who stopped them in their tracks after a wild chase skit. WORKSHOP DANCES: Jan and Jason were kind enough to post the workshop dances on the www.floridamasters.com web site. Thus, you can just go there for all of the workshop information. There was an extra dance that will be on the event DVD or VCR Florida Masters workshop collection, but not at the above site. It is a new dance choreographed by Jamie Marshall which doesn't have a permanent name yet. It looked great on the dance floor. Thus, you may want give it a go, or a look in the future if it's name or step sheet appears in the newsletter. APPROXIMATE PLAY LIST: FROM Carol's July 17 Survey(Top to Bottom) Bosa Nova, Hey! People, Keep On Dancing, Heartbreaker, It's Up To You, Simplimente, Geek In The Pink, All The Way, Go Greased Lightning, BE STRONG, Cute, Cute, Cute, Red Dress, Come Tommorrow, Break Free Cha, Kill The Spiders, Syncopated Kiss, Walk Back To Me, Hips, Fantaboulous, Come Into My World, Bop the B, I'm Moving On, Mandolin Dreams, Keep It Burnin', Jailhouse Creole, Inside Your Heaven, After Party, With These Eyes, Trippin', Syncopated Love, Pump It, Kowboy Krazy, Bicycle Waltz, Batter Up!, Shake Yourself Loose, Shake, Racey Lacey, Push The Button, Promiscuous, No Regrets, Juicy, Get It WHile It's Hot, East to West, Crabbuckit, Cold Hard Cash, Carless Whispher, The World, Talk About It, Sweet Addiction, Soluna, Secret, Playa, Meltdown, Loved Up, I Scream, Fool No More, Drop the Heat, Drivin' Me Crazy, Caught in the Act, Black Horse, Bombshell Stomp, Before the Devil, Amazing, Chill Factor, Cocoa Puffs, Drive Me Mad, Freaks to the Floor, Freaky Girl, Happy Hour, Irish Stew, Jukebox, just For Tonight, la Tortura, Last Man Standing, Mr. Pinstrip, Nu Flow, Pre-Party, Quand'05, Sending Signals, Size Matters, Street Soul, The Way, Together Forever, Trust Me, Wat Da Fuss, Whatever Happens SOME OTHERS(not currently on survey) (not including workshop dances taught) Watch Me Cha Cha, Poetry In Motion, Sinfull, Cheek to Cheek, Friction Addiction, Suds in a Bucket, This Will Be, Musicology, L8er, Larger Than Life, Cheetah, Feels So Good, Phloor Phiila, Speechless, Hernado's Hideaway, Push, SXE, Atlantis, Salsaria, DHSS, Uno Dos Tres, Yeeeee Haaaa, Slow Burn, Cha Cha Tonight, Syncopated Rhythm, Cho-Co-Latte, God Blessed Texas, Ride Em' Cowboy, Pot of Gold, Lose It. Waltzing Matilda, Have Fun Go Mad, Cold Blooded, Islands In the Stream, Junkie, Natural Selection, Doctor Doctor, Party Till Dawn, Cadillac Ride, Hot Potato, Freeks Like Me, Hot N' Sweaty, Guilty, Now or Never, Car Wash, Yes You Won't, Stop It!, Invitation to Party, On the Water, Just Got Paid, TGIF, Beer for my Horses, Wave on Wave, Dizzy, Basha, Let's Get it Started, Under Your Spell, Last Days of Disco, Tush Push, Wild Wild West, Replay, Electric Slide, Mr. President, Dangerous, Black Ice, Watermelon Crawl, Swamp Thang, Backstreet Attitude, Human Motion Thanks again, Jen, Jason for directing such a great event. Plus, another big thank to the workers, volunteers, DJ Louie, the instructors and line dancers that made my trip to Florida a fun time, Jim Harvey(Tennessee) NOTE FROM ME: I didn't know about the Be Strong song. I don't think I'll ever be able to dance to that song again so you're gonna have to do it when I'm not around. That was so nice of all of you as well as everything else you did. What amazing friends you all are. *************************** FROM: Bonnie Stein (Bonnie@AceWalker.com) Here’s what I especially liked about the MIL Workshop in Orlando this past weekend. I agree with Marilyn that everything seemed so smooth and efficient. All the workshops that I went to were on schedule. I REALLY liked the previews being in the evening (before Open Dance) rather than in the morning. Everyone seemed friendly enough, but there were two instructors that stood out in my mind for being so enthusiastic and interactive with the line dancers. What a pleasure to get to meet Jamie Marshall, who was enthusiastic all weekend, even when she wasn’t teaching a class. This was my first time going to an event that included Simon Ward, and if I were an event director, Simon would be on my list of “MUST HAVE” instructors. He was friendly, warm, a fabulous instructor, and very professional. He made some challenging dances very simple to learn. And his classes were so much fun. It seemed to us that he actually loved being there teaching us. I don’t always get that impression from all dance instructors. Again I agree with Marilyn – my favorite dance of the whole weekend was Wonder Woman by Simon Ward. I love how he instructs. Simon teaches eight counts and repeats it over and over until he’s sure that it’s in our muscle memory. Then he adds on – sometimes four counts, sometimes eight. He doesn’t go back to the beginning of the dance until he’s sure we have the new part. Then, instead of going straight to the beginning of the dance – he first attaches the new part to the previous four counts that precede the new part. Then, the eight counts that precede the new part. Then, back to the top, adding on all the parts that he’s taught so far. If I were ever going to teach line dancing, Simon would be my role model. His classes were huge and everyone seemed to catch on, even though the dances were at least Intermediate level. My other top dances during the weekend – Kowboy Krazy by John Robinson (another energetic, enthusiastic, fun instructor), Jamie Marshall (I think she decided to call the dance “With You Forever”) the consummate hostess with the mostest, Pre-Party taught by Maurice Rowe, All the Way taught by Arline Winerman, and Attitude by Masters in Line (an Advanced, very challenging, but very fabulous dance). Another thing I loved about this weekend that I haven’t seen too often in the past – some of the instructors gave some very helpful styling or technique tips. When I’ve asked my own instructors why they don’t give technique tips (or not often) they’ve explained that most line dancers don’t want technique or styling suggestions. I imagine that they must be right because these instructors surely know their classes and they’ve been teaching long enough to be quite proficient, not only at instructing, but at knowing what their classes want. Nevertheless, at this workshop several instructors (Jamie Marshall, John Robinson, Simon Ward, and Johanna Barnes) gave some small, but perfectly pinpointed technique or styling tips that I appreciated very much. Even if you don’t care what you look like as a dancer, we should keep in mind that good technique will not only make us look better, it will help us prevent knee, hip, back and foot related injuries. The key for instructors is to not belabor the point. Throw out a technique or styling tip when it makes sense. Perhaps one or two per dance. These instructors did a great job suggesting the tips. They didn’t talk about it for too long. They gave a 10 second explanation, demonstrated it, and moved on. There were probably a number of dancers who ignored their suggestions, a number of dancers who thought they were incorporating the suggestions, and perhaps a few dancers who hung onto every word of the suggestion and incorporated it every time. That be me! Thanks to Jennifer and Jason for bringing together a fun and talented group of instructors. Thanks to all their friendly volunteers at the Registration Desk who were most helpful all weekend long and acted like they weren’t tired of answering the same questions over and over. Thanks to the instructors who came to this weekend well prepared and proficient at teaching the dances to us. Thanks to all the people who donated items for the raffle baskets (I love the basket I won from the Round Up in Tampa) and to the those who put the baskets together and made them look so beautiful. Thanks to Louie, who gave up some of his dinner break time to help Dance Express (our dance team) with the music during our rehearsal. Lastly, thank you to Carol Craven, who even in this most stressful time, is still amazingly putting out this Newsletter every day. How, I do not know. It is this Newsletter that is the lifeblood of the line dance community and the best tool of communication that the line dancers have. Carol, there was a huge void felt this weekend without you and Bucky there. We’re all hoping that you both will be back with us again soon. Bonnie Stein Redington Shores, Florida ******************** FROM: BILL MCGEE What a weekend. Thanks to Jen & Jason Cameron, you guys are the best. It all started on Thursday night with open dancing at the hotel so we didn't have to search for a place to dance. There were lots of dancers there on Thursday night and that's always a sign of a good weekend to come. I didn't really take lots of classes but did fake my way through a few. Seemed to be a bit of variety taught. Thanks to you all that took my class on Fool No More and On My Mind. Hope you liked both dances. Masters In Line, Rob, Paul, & Rachael always have some great dances and I missed some of them but will use their well written step sheets to learn them. Thanks you guys for coming to Orlando and dancing with us. Then there was Simon Ward. What energy he adds to an event. I always like Simon's dances. What a pleasure to dance Thrill Me (or else) with you guys. Thanks Roxanne for such a great dance. We had THE Jamie Marshall teaching some great stuff and with the mic on Sat. night. Jamie always gets everyone wound up. I remember the first time I saw Jamie and she is still that same bundle of energy as always. Lets see, there was Dancin Dean who always teaches the best dances you can find. Arline Winerman will always have some great dances to teach. Marilyn McNeal has such a cool way to teach dances and can always be counted on for the variety that we all need. We had Johanna Barnes (Ms. Geek In The Pink) teaching and strutting her stuff all over the dance floor. John Robinson can make any crowd happy with his superb talent. Junior Willis,, what can you say but we all like watching him on the dance floor. I have always liked the way Bryan McWherter dances, SO SMOOTH. Then you have Mr. Hip Hop Guyton Mundy, and I did learn Hey People from him and liked it. He is always fun to watch, just wish he would dance more with the rest of the dancers. Scott Blevins was there teaching his stuff which everyone always likes.. This takes me to this little guy named Maurice. Do you think he can dance or what? I got some great feedback on what he taught also. So I must teach some more Maurice dances. Oh I can't forget the DJ for the weekend. OK everyone, hold your breath, The one and only Louie. Great job you did all weekend. You must have played a million songs for the weekend. We know, you can please some of the people some of the time, just try to please all of the people all of the time and Good luck with that. Thanks to those of you that joined us on Sunday night at Son On The Beach. Like we didn't get enough dancing in at the Marriott. You know some of these people think it's all about them! When in reality it's all about all you dancers that attend these events. The BIGGEST thanks goes out to all you dancers that make it possible for us that teach to have someone to teach. These events wouldn't work if you weren't there supporting this great sport of Line Dance. Keep it up and we will see you on the dance floor soon. DO IT ON THE DANCE FLOOR with BILL MCGEE Orlando, Florida Fun Capital Of The World 407 422-7248 bill_mcgee@prodigy.net Click below for the web site. http://pages.prodigy.net/bill_mcgee/index.html **************************** FROM: Misty Wilson I just want to thank everybody involved in the Florida Masters. This was my first time at this event and I had a blast! As always, my favorite choreographers/instructors are BRYAN MCWHERTER and GUYTON MUNDY. Their dances are great and so are their classes. It lifts my spirit just to be a part of their classes. What an awesome feeling. Both BRYAN and GUYTON are so friendly and personable, they make you feel so welcome both in their classes and during open dancing. My thanks to both for taking the time to answer questions and pose for pictures, etc. It was a real treat to get to watch BRYAN work on choreographing a new dance he is working on and also to be the first class to learn GUYTON'S latest dance "Ain't No Other"! I also had a lot of fun in JUNIOR WILLIS' classes and enjoy his dances. I also want to mention JOHANNA BARNES. This is this first time that I have ever had the opportunity to take one of her classes. I must admit that I had actually thought about resting up for Guyton's class that followed her class. However, when I heard that she was going to teach the "funky foot slides" from "Geek In The Pink", I had to go. I'm so glad that I did. I liked how she taught the foot slides and stayed for her dance "Secret". It has a great feel to it...it really lives up to her motto "Dance What You Feel"! What a great dance and what a WONDERFUL teach she did. I loved the fact that she included tips on TECHNIQUE (let's face it folks...we all need it because we all want to look good!) and also many tips on STYLING the dance. I really enjoyed her class and look forward to more of her classes and her new dance that she previewed for us. Thanks also to WILDMAN LOUIE for taking the time to chat with me about dancing. (Hope the back is feeling better soon so you can get back out on the floor.) I also want to thank him for the great job he did both at JG2 and at the Masters. I loved that at JG2 he played our requests for Guyton's latest dances enough that we were able to really get some practice before going home. And I loved that here at the Masters he played quite a few of Guyton's other dances. I didn't know how to do them, but I LOVED watching Guyton dance them!!! ...especially "Natural Selection". My compliments and thanks to the Marriott on their hospitality and to Greg, their concierge for the help with my plane tickets. Hope to see all of you out on the floor at another event soon. Misty Wilson *********************** |
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