 
DANCE PICKS AND REPORTS FROM OTHERS
STACY'S PICKS
THESE ARE CLASSES I TOOK AND LIKED
Boardroom by Maurice Rowe & Zac Detweiller
Give It To Me by Maurice Rowe & Rob Glover
Nacho Daddy by Scott Blevins
Octagogo & Pucker Up by Scott Blevins
Get Bizzy & What Goes Around Neville Fitzgerlad & Julie Harris
Kentucky Flatrock Stomp by Nancy Morgan
Hick Chicks by Guyton Mundy
Loco by Christopher Petre
Burning by Cato Larsen (Lou Ann Schemmel taught)
Run This by Paul McAdam (Lou Ann Schemmel taught)
Ice by Shaz Walton (Nigel Amon taught)
DIDN'T TAKE THE CLASS BUT I KNOW I LIKE THEM
Crush by JP Potter
Do It by Gerard Murphy
I LIKED THESE BUT DIDN'T GET TO TAKE THE CLASS
Untitled Waltz by Maurice Rowe
Bring It On Down by Guyton Mundy
Keep Movin' It by Zac Detweiller
Make You Wanna by Joey Warren
SANDY ALBANO'S PICKS:
Carol: Thanks for the chance to input on this subject. I am sure I am leaving out lots of good dances but these are the ones I remember most and will probably teach at some point. There is no order to the list.
Butter Beans by Christopher Petre - Fun and easy country dance to a Neal McCoy song. Especially for my country lovers!
So Excited by Junior Willis - Cute and funky to Janet Jackson song, but not extreme. Just extremely fun!
Too Little, Too Late by Junior Willis and Pepper Siquieros. This was a super NC2 that I really liked immediately. The little hitch-y thing in the third set was a little challenging but once I figured out what I was doing, it all came together! Great song by JoJo!
Hick Chicks by Guyton Mundy - Doesn't the name tell all? Think Cowboy Troy! Guyton won first place in Pro Choreography with this one. Easy 32 counts and country funky. How cool is that!
Hot Damn by JP Potter - A clever little dance to Dangerous Man. My pick from the several dances to this song.
Never Had A Lady by Lizzie Clarke - This neat west coast was missed by most, but Kathy Brown was there with me and we both enjoyed this one. And Mad Lizzie is as wonderful and entertaining as ever, although a little under the weather this weekend!
Loco by Christopher Petre - Loved this Latin-y sound. I really liked this dance a lot, but at 64 counts and the speed of the dance, I will do it at the regular class instead of for my beginners.
Boardroom by Maurice Rowe - This one will catch on. It has the little hand slapping thing similar to Guyton's dance but much easier. Everybody knows it takes me forever to get hands and feet going at the same time, but I will get it eventually. It was a very popular floor filler!
Hurt by Zac Detweiler - Sorry to say I missed that class but saw it danced several times and wished I had been able to get up earlier. This is a very graceful and flowing dance that will not be for everyone. But the ones who did, looked really great!
KENNY TAN'S PICKS:
Get Bizzy
Octagogo
Show Me Wot U Got
Pucker Up
Last Minute
What Goes Around
So This Is Goodbye
Loco
Hick Chicks
LOU ANN SCHEMMEL'S PICKS:
SUBJECT: MARATHON PICKS
FROM: LOU ANN SCHEMMEL IN CALIFORNIA
Hi Carol, I didn't take too many workshops as usual - too busy staying up late dancing. :) However, I did like a number of dances I heard about/saw and tentatively plan to teach the following. Remember, I only teach one class - int/adv students - so there are no beginner dances but I am sure there were some great ones.
GET BIZZY - Fitzgerald/Harris
HICK CHICK - Mundy
CHEATIN' MYSELF - Mundy
TO LOVE SOMEBODY - Metelnick/Biggs
PUCKER UP - Blevins
OCTAGOGO - Blevins
NACHO DADDY - Blevins
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE - Pepper and Junior
ICE! - Shaz Walton
BRING IT ON DOWN - Mundy - great dance - would be a long teach!! We will see.......
COME A LITTLE CLOSER - Warren
HURT - Detweiller
We already knew Burning (fabulous dance, shameless plug - I taught this at the Marathon), Run This, Soul Energy (taught both), A Gigolo, Still Dirrty, Last Minute, Show Me Yours, Body to Body, Crown Royal, BooBoo's, Sail Away, Show Me Wot U Got, Gallery, Do It!, Those Days, Crush, Can't Stop a River, Little Star, And Fell in Love.....
I know I missed some good ones but you can't be everywhere!! Once I get more feedback from my students who were there I will probably add some others.
Off to learn some dances........
FROM: Diehard Dancers: Becky Abshire and Debbie Croy
WV 15 YEAR OLD LINE DANCER SETH LILLY WINS FIRST AND SECOND PLACES in CHOREOGRAPHY COMPETITION AT JG2 MARATHON in RALEIGH, NC!!!!!! The
Beckley-Bluefield Diehard Dancers are sooooo proud of fellow dancer, Seth Lilly for his 1st place win in the advanced level, non-country choreography competition at JG2! "Hazard to Your Health" is a 64-count, 4-wall intermediate/advanced dance with 1 restart which goes to "Heartbreaker" by Danity Kane. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czSabZCbexA His 2nd place win in the beginner/intermediate non-country division was his dance, "As Time Moves On", a 32-count, 4-wall dance that goes to "Movin' On" by Elliott Yamin,.Seth's step sheets and videos of these dances will be posted this week on Kickit and Carol Craven's new dances. When he is not dancing, Seth is an "A" student, hunts, fishes, and volunteers at a local hospital. Congratulations to a very creative, talented young man who brings fresh excitement to the future in line dancing!!!!!! He's one to watch!!!!!!
His dance Movin On is posted on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vGVrhF1VxI
We hope to have his other video posted later this week.
Our group dances mostly intermediate/advanced. newline linedances and the classes we enjoyed at the marathon on Thursday were: "Ice" by Shaz Walton, taught in a very "proper" British accent by Nigel Amon, "Tell Me" by Niels Poulsen, taught by Neville Fitzgerald, both from England. On Friday, our first full
day of classes included: "This Will Be" by Max Perry, "Make You Wanna" by Joey Warren, “Bring It on Down" by Guyton Mundy, "Too Little, Too Late" by
Jr. Willis, "Lead Me Not" by Michael Barr, "Octagogo" by Scott Blevins. On Saturday, we stumbled out for Brian Barakauskas' technique class for cha cha (we realized we don't even do a walk, walk correctly!), "Come a Little Closer" by Joey Warren, "Pucker Up", "Nacho Daddy", "Sail Away Cha", by Scott Blevins, and "Cheatin' Myself" by Guyton Mundy. Also, we enjoyed “Boardroom taught and choreographed by Maurice Rowe and Zac Detweiller (we liked all of their other dances, check out the schedule but were unable to take them due to lack of time). There were many other dances demoed by other instructors we really liked and wished we could take at least 3 every hour! We are sure that many others will be writing about their favorites, so stay tuned to your favorite linedance news source. We all danced every night until at least 2:00 am, during which time DJ Jam and Wildman Louie did a great job of keeping everyone dancing in the main ballroom. We did not visit any of the other open dancing rooms but heard excellent comments about all the DJ’s, dance floors, and hotel. The Saturday night parade "Way Back When" featured beautiful/exotic/weird/hilarious dancers in costumes from the Middle Ages as knights, ladies ??, and dragons!! As usual, James Gregory and Jean Garr did a wonderful job of putting together one of the biggest linedance workshops in the country, offering all levels of dance, country, non-country, couples, technique, and DJ classes. It was wonderful seeing friends from different areas especially our adopted sisters Brenda Smith and Susan Webb from NC. We laughed until our jaws hurt, learned new dances till our brains were fried, and danced till our feet begged for mercy!!! We limped back home to WV/VA, exhausted, but eager to work on the new dances in our classes, only forgetting one of our dancers in the bathroom of a gas station for a short time (hey, we remembered her and went back!) LOL. Gotta love line dancing!!!!!!!
NOTE FROM ME: I was very impressed with the two dances that Seth did in the choreography competition at the Marathon. I especially liked HAZARD TO YOUR HEALTH but I really liked both of them. You should take a look and I'll let you know when the second video is posted. Seth is only 15 but I would say he's a young talent to watch.
FROM: fullwoov@ahqb.soc.mil
My name is Valarie, I was invited to the line dance event by Renita. I want to say I had the best time in my life at the JG2 Line Dance Marathon. I just started line dancing this year with a great bunch of women. I enjoyed the choreographers and dancers everyone made me feel very welcome. I plan to attend next year. I have to say that the technique class were very helpful and the people who took time out to help me do the dances correctly I would like to thank them also. The whole event was just wonderful. I am looking forward to learning more and doing more.
Hooked on line dancing.
Valarie D. Fullwood
Human Resource Specialist
Officer Management Branch
U.S. Army Special Operations Command
DSN 239-5404/COMM (910) 432-5404
fullwoov@soc.mil
FROM: carole_matsumoto@yahoo.com
My first marathon and the first time I've seen Guyton Munday!!! I loved watching BRING IT ON DOWN and learning Hick Chicks! Had a great time!!!
I also got to meet you briefly!
Carole Matsumoto
From: Lynne Martino, Wiska51@aol.com
Well, I'm back from another four day dance weekend that is always on the top of my list not to be missed. And, again, it was absolutely fantastic. Jean & James, along with their wonderful staff did a great job keeping us dancing and laughing. It's a great weekend to meet up with some old friends and new ones too.
Due to my tendon injuries, I didn't take that many classes. I was saving myself for the open dancing.
But here is a list of some of the classes I took and ones that I wish I had taken!
MOOOTOWN BOOGIE, Michael Barr & Michele Burton,Music: Ain't Too Proud To Beg by the Temptations, easy intermediate 64 ct, 4 W.This is a fun, party dance. Once again Michele and Michael have done a great job in creating a dance that all levels can enjoy. Wonderful for dance and party teaches.
JJ JAM, Junior Willis & John Robinson, Music: Hear Us Now by Southside Rockers, 32 cts,4W intermediate, with one time 4 ct tag. Funky dance by a dynmic duo. Hip bumps and toe taps hit right on the music. This had a good response at the workshop.
NEVER BEEN THERE BEFORE, Gerard Murphy, Music: Never Been There Before by the Irish Descendents, 32 ct,4W, intermediate. A fun little dance with Irish flair. Quick steps with an easy tag. Kicks, flicks and speed, but surprisingly not difficult for the intermediate dancer.
TO LOVE SOMEBODY, Peter Metelnick & Alison Biggs, Music:To Love Somebody by Jordin Sparks(Idol),
32 ct, 4W, intermediate. Wonderful nc2 dance. Smooth and flowing. Great song. Alternative spins can be added for those who love to spin. One of my favorites.
BODY TO BODY, Francien Sittrop, Music: Body to Body by XYP, 32 cts, 4W, easy intermediate. It has a few tags, but they are all hip sways. Nice music with good step combinations.
AMERICAN THIGHS, Rachael McEnaney, Music: You Shook Me All Night by ACDC, 64 cts, 2W, intermediate. Bracken Ellis did a great job teaching this dance. I liked the combination of steps, but not the music. Sorry, not an ACDC fan.
STILL DIRRTY, Rachael McEnancy & Paul McAdam, Music:Still Dirrty by Christina Aguilera. 48 ct, 4W, intermediate. Needed another lesson in this dance. Joey Warren did a great job with it. It was played a fair amount of times .
The ones I wished I had taken:DESTINED, Kathy Hunyadi, SHOW ME WHAT U GOT, Neville Fitzgerald,
MAX FACTOR, Gerard Murphy, DREAM IN COLOR, Max Perry, CRUSH,, J.P. Potter, SHADES, John Robinson.
Dances that I thought were popular on the dancefloor:HICK CHICKS,Guyton Mundy,BOO BOO'S BOUNCE, Scott Blevins, SHOW ME WHAT U GOT, Neville Fitzgerald, CRY TO ME, Paul McAdam, A GIGOLO, Robbie McGown Hickie, BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS & HOLDING BACK THE OCEAN, Metelnick & Biggs,A LITTLE SOUTHERN COMFORT, Mundy,GALLERY & ONE, Junior Willis,DO IT, Gerard Murphy.
And now on to the entertainment: The parade. Kings, queens, knights, castles, magicians, a dragon ,Robin Hood and her merry man, marched into the Grandball room in all of their splendor. And although they did not win the prize, my vote went to the most original and far out theme - The Prickinstone Village Idiots!. Dressed in sack cloth and dirty faces along with their "Ye Old Hussy", they had the place in fits of laughter. Ye old hussy was none other than Bryan McWherter. The hairy legs gave it away. The finalists were the dragon, the castle and the village idiots. The dragon won and I must say that he or she was one great looking dragon!
Earlier Saturday night we had a show. It was opened by Pepper dancing a lovely routine. A waltz routine was done by Max Perry, Lizzy Clarke and her friend . We had a dream skit by Bracken, Zack, Michelle Jackson & Michael Thompson. They dreamt of being on American Idol, So You Think You Can Linedance! Very different and entertaining. Then we had our supermodels come out - Kathy Hunyadi, Gerard Murphy(Ford modeling agency is calling!)John Robinson, , Junior Willis & James. Well, it was quite hysterical watching each one outdo the other while dancing to Kathy and Gerard's new dance Supermodelz. However, I think the prize goes to Gerard for his outstanding poses for the camera. He really got into character. Brian Barakauskas was phenomenal with his routine.He is one of a kind and always entertaining.
Congratulations go to our fellow New Yorkers Ginny Sheridan and Lynne Flanders for their competition placements. Ginny placed lst in the intermediate category country for her dance Long Island Love Thang and Lynne placed second in newcomer/novice country for Way Up Yonder.
I'd also like to congratulate a new friend of mine, Frank Trace for his lst place wins in newcomer/novice country and newcomer/novice non-country for his popular dance ADAPTABLE. We have been doing this dance in NY for quite a while and we love it.
Also congratulations to Bracken Ellis for her third place win in the Pro Challenge competition and Guyton Mundy for his 1st and 2nd wins in the Pro Challenge.
Next year's theme will be Boot Camp. So get your old Army, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, Air Force uniforms out(it they fit) and get ready to march.
Thanks to James and Jean for a wonderful weekend. And to all of my friends, old and new, it was great being with all of you and I can't wait to do it again. As Johanne Barnes calls it - one big crazy cousin reunion. This party is getting bigger and bigger.
FROM: CARMEN MAH
Hi Carol,
Here are my Quick Picks from the jg2 Marathon.
SOME PEOPLE - Steve Lescarbeau - music "Some People" by Leann Rimes - Int NC2, Country, 2w, 3 restarts. Some interesting bits, especially the ending. I actually came home remembering this dance, so I must REALLY REALLY love it! I taught it Monday night and everyone loved it.
WATCH ME SHINE - Liz Clarke - music "Father & Daughter" by Paul Simon - Int Cha Cha, just love the lyrics (CLEAN!) and dance really flows You just feel really good doing this dance.
CREEK (CREEQUE) ALLEY - Steve Lescarbeau. Fun Country music, slowish, forget the name/artist. Such an easy dance you don't realise it's 80 Cts!
LESS IN TIME - Bracken Ellis - music by Josh Groban. Waltz. Reeally beautiful music. Beginner/Improver, 1 restart. There is an Int dance - Eleganza by Gary Lafferty to this music, so this could be a floor splitter.
LEAD ME NOT - Michael Barr - Int. Waltz. Country music, love the song.
I really liked other dances too, but I've already seen people write about them or figure others will write about those.
Carmen Mah
www.geocities.com/caycmah
FROM: BRACKEN ELLIS
(In no particular order)
HURT by Zac Detweiller – wonderful lyrical – be sure to get the latest stepsheet for the new music (thanks Louie!) and revised tag
CRUSH by JP Potter – all time classic favorite from our area
CHEATIN’ MYSELF by Guyton Mundy – good cha for intermediates from how it looked (didn’t get a chance to dance it myself)
WATCH ME SHINE by Liz Clarke – I love the track and remember seeing this one before – glad she is still taking it around
J.J. JAM by Junior & John – I enjoyed hearing the music all weekend and finally had time to watch the dance on Sunday – easy intermediate, good dance, good tune
SOUL ENERGY – played almost non-stop all weekend…
ADD ‘EM UP – fun little contra dance – Louie was amused watching the contra lines expand across the floor as more people come out throughout the track to join in the fun, and we even had James Gregory out dancing with us on this one!
AMERICAN THIGHS – I’ve already taught this to my classes and everyone has enjoyed it
KEEP MOVIN’ IT – Zac’s follow-up to Hips
50 & BEAUTIFUL– country track (Carrie Underwood I believe?), looks like an easy country dance from Johnny 2-Step
SHOW ME WOT U GOT by Neville – catchy music
GALLERY by Junior – teach was hilarious for me (gotta love Junior & his accent) and the song is great (by Mario Vasquez)
ONE by Junior & Amy – easy little dance
SLIPAWAY by Pepper & John – this is an oldie that they’ve revived with two new song choices
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE by Pepper & Junior – popular song, another one I didn’t get to learn or dance myself but will be taking a look at the stepsheet to try it out.
LESS IN TIME – novice waltz to a beautiful Josh Groban track (won 3rd in the pro-challenge choreography competition – Guyton’s dances took 1st and 2nd)
HICK CHICKS by Guyton – great bar dance – already sent an email suggesting it to our local club for Sunday nights
HOT DAMN by JP Potter – as I’ve said before – hot country dance to a great country track!
Bracken Ellis
Instructor, Choreographer, Team Director
www.MoveInLine.com
FROM: KATHY G.
First I would like to thank Jean, James and their staff for a great weekend of dancing. Carol has mentioned she will be adding to the newsletter all the favorite dances from the weekend, my list is very long and most likely everyone else's favorites too. All the instructors added something unique to their classes something for everyone. Thanks to the DJ's they kept the energy going all weekend.
At the Marathon this year they had a workshop called "Understanding Dancers' Learning Styles"
I wanted to say thanks to Gerard Murphy for facilitating the Instructors Seminar. This workshop was well attended, it was nice to put faces to names. The workshop was a two hour session, which at first I thought; "What might I be missing in a dance workshop at the same time" So with coffee and cookie in tow, the two hour workshop went by so fast, we wanted more, we actually stayed a little longer. This workshop was designed for any line dance instructor who wanted to increase their knowledge. Covering skills and confidence to prepare for and instruct a line dance class, and that we did. Gerard had interaction with the group, finding out what type of students and instructors each of us were and how to apply the new techniques he and the fellow instructors brought forth. I know we left that seminar having greater confidence in our teaching abilities. I hope other events like JG2 will add this workshop to their schedule, Thanks Jean for having it at the Marathon. Gerard was professional, well informed and with his great sense of humor made this workshop well worth our time. I hope we don't lose him to the modeling world after dancing Kathy Hunyadi's Supermodelz, they were great.
As the weekend was winding down Pepper our fabulous MC was having a little trivia game, I won, thanks to Christopher Petre and Judy Chen why? The correct answer to the question was Christopher's dance "Butter Beans" a great country dance and to Judy for the prize she offered of a weekend pass to her WOW Line Dance event this August. So what more could you want in a line dance weekend
EXCEPT SLEEP>>>>>>Hope to see you all again at the next event. Kathy "G"
FROM: NANCY MORGAN
Well, this past weekend at the JG2 Line Dance Marathon was a blast!!! I learned a lot and got to me a ton of new people both as students and as instructors.
I taught on Friday:
Bring Me Water done to Waiter, Bring me Water by Shania Twain and Family Affair by Mary J. Blige (Beginner)
Kentucky Flatrock Stomp done to Anyway the Wind Blows by Brother Phelps and She's Going Home With Me by Travis Tritt - And oldy but goody and surprises enough, a lot of people had never done the dance before - HUGE CLASS! (High Beginner, Low Intermediate)
Not Your Slide, But Mine done to Crash by Gwen Stephani (Beginner)
On Saturday:
He Keeps Me which I am renaming as "Foolish". This was a hit and I had to be moved to a larger room! The dancers did great. This was a waltz. So I taught Rise and Fall, hand movements as well as the steps. (Intermediate)
On Sunday:
Bring Me Water done to Waiter, Bring me Water by Shania Twain and Family Affair by Mary J. Blige (Beginner)
Escape My Love done to Escape by Enrique Iglesias and I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide by Dwight Yoakum
Zig Zag done to Zig Zag Stop by Toby Keith and SOS by Rihanna
All of the dances where well received.
I took Christopher Petre's Class and learned Butter Beans which he did to Head South by Neal McCoy. This is a great club dance for those who teach in night clubs. Basic 32 count 4 wall dance, NO TAGS or RESTARTS! If you have never taken a class from Chris - YOU MUST!!!!!! He is an awesome instructor!
I also learned one of Guyton's new ones. I do not learn to many of his because....well let's face it, I suck at his dances. But this one is going to be a smash hit in the nite club scene. Especially in Florida! The dance is called Hick Chicks and is done to Hick Chicks by Cowboy Troy. I loved this one, it was my favorite of the weekend.
Gerard Murphy and Kathy Hunyadi did a cute dance that went to Taylor Dayne song. I think the name of the dance is Supermodel. The song is Supermodel by Taylor Dayne and is off of the The Lizzie McGuire Movie Soundtrack. Very Cute dance and a lot of fun.
There was a whole lot more but I forgot my list, so you will have to rely on the other inputs. But either way, if you did not come to the event this year, you missed a lot. It was not all hip hop, there was a lot of country that was taught this year and most of the dances where fairly easy. For all of us who teach beginners and intermediate, this was one great weekend for picking up great dances to bring back.
The Saturday night parade was fantastic! Very creative costumes. The theme was medieval and we had it all! We had our Dragon, Castle, Maidens, Queens, Kings, Squires, Princes, Princesses, Friars, village idiots, and more!
To all of my fellow instructors, it was great seeing all of you and look forward to our next meeting!
To everyone else that I met, See you on the dance floor!
Nancy A. Morgan
Ballroom and Country Western Dance Instructor
World Renown Line Dance Instructor and Choreographer
Retired USAF, MSgt
World Champion Couples
Website: www.morgans-linedance-mania.org
Email: nancymorgan@hotmail.com
2101 Ridgway Road
Pine Bluff, AR 71603
(870) 534-7177
FROM: Pat E.
DANCE PICKS FROM THE MARATHON
Do It Gerard Murphy I didn't just like this dance, I loved this dance! A dancer's dance.
Show Me Wot U Got Neville Really moves, fast & fun
Pat E. psedanzn@verizon.net
FROM: Steve Lescarbeau
Another year has come and gone and as Carol said, it just keeps getting better. Most of you who go know me as the guy in Registration, but this was my second year as a Marathon Instructor. I want to first thank James and Jean for the opportunity for me to teach two of my newest dances, "CREEK ALLEY" and "SOME PEOPLE". As a lesser know instructor I was very please that my classes were packed, even though I was up against, Guyton, Gerard Murphy, Johnny 2-Step, and Neville Fitzgerald during the same time slot for one. So a big THANK YOU to all of you who took my classes. CREEK ALLEY has been moving slowly up Carol's countdown, so I'm thrilled it is being taught. After this weekend, I hope that SOME PEOPLE will make the list too.
From a Marathon Staff person, I have to say that everything went smoothly over the 4 days. Each year I say I can't believe how many people there are on Thursday now. Well, this year there were about 150 people who came in Wednesday! While there officially was nothing going on, they did manage to get in some dancing later on that evening. There was 5 different classes going on every hour. I actually got to take a couple of lessons. Of course I have already forgotten them. That's why I get the workshop videos. If you are interested in ordering one, please contact Jean Garr at jg2dancer@earthlink.net as soon as possible to get them in just a couple of weeks. At night, Louie had the main ballroom hopping until about 4 or 5 AM every night, playing not only the current top hits, but many of the old classics we used to know and love. I don't know how they make it up in the morning for the previews and lessons. In addition to the main ballroom there was dancing going on in the Empire Ballroom
Steven J. Lescarbeau
A+ Vacations
64 East Road
Clarksburg, MA 01247
(413) 662-2323
steve@aplusvacations.com
www.aplusvacations.com
FROM: Gerard Murphy
Well...it was definitely the busiest JG2 Marathon for me - that's for sure! Thanks to Jean and James Garr for including me once again and for all the dancers and instructors who attended my workshops. As always the staff and volunteers were awesome - everything was super organized - and I had the best BED you can ever imagine! :)
Dances I taught this year included:
MAX FACTOR by Daniel Whittaker...on the 'Thursday New Teaches' day. The class had fun with it - and though the song was a little long, everyone danced it a few times over the weekend.
DO IT!...I was surprised with how many people already knew it! And thanks to the DJs for playing it over the weekend - it's the one of mine that I most enjoy teaching and dancing!
NEVER BEEN THERE BEFORE...my litle irish style dance...what a fun class! Thanks folks!
TAKE ON ME...choreographed with Jo & John Kinser (UK) - once we got over the microphone issue it was smooth sailing! A great 80s song by A-HA! It will be on Jo & John's website soon (www.jjkdancin.com)
EYE CANDY...my newcomer (easy!) dance...threw it in during a few workshops - love it to the Candyman song (a great floor split for the beginners!)
I also attended Kathy Hunyadi's workshop when she taught our new dance called SUPERMODELZ... The dancers did a 'super' job! Kathy and I had great fun demoing it on the Saturday morning and 'hats off' to John Robinson, Junior Willis and James Garr for joining us to dance it during the Saturday Show... Now, for those of you who were NOT there...the pictures (and there were TONS) will tell the tale... I think I laughed for the next hour after our little stint on the 'catwalk'... I was SURPRISED...no...hmmm...totally blown away by the reaction afterward - and for the record...NO - I've never modelled before (HA!)...I'm just a good actor! And thanks to my two 'stylists' for keeping me 'primped' during the whole thing!!
My absolute weekend highlight was the opportunity to facilitate a 2 hour instructor seminar (which ended up almost 3hrs) about helping instructors learn tips and strategies around how to teach to the various learning styles in their classes. I had 35 instructors from the US and Canada and they were an awesome group! The session was very interactive. We had great discussion and completed some fun questionnaires that helped everyone better understand their own personal learning style! The bonus was to see 35 line dance instructors at an event be given a special opportunity to meet each other, compare stories and share experiences...they likely would never have met as instructors! I was more than pleased with the seminar and will be looking to offer it at other large events - if the opportunity arises! Kudos to Jean for going along with the idea - it was a bit of a risk! I really believe that more can be done at large events to help develop and support instructors who keep line dancing alive in communities everywhere - it's a perfect opportunity!
A huge thank you to all the dancers who once again 'adopted' me - as I was travelling alone again... From my Canadian buddies keeping a spot for me at the table - to the Virginia gals presenting me with my very own hand-stitched seat cover (WOW!) - to the Florida folks for dragging me out of the hotel to some Texas-style restaurant - or the pool-side gang for letting me crash their party... It was great see you all and to meet lots of new dancers! Looking forward to catching up again real soon!!
But until then...just DO IT!
Cheers!
Gerard Murphy
Nova Scotia, Canada
murphydance@ns.sympatico.ca
FROM : Sunday Garcia
Just returned from NC. It was a 7 1/2 hour drive from Cookeville, Tn, but well worth it. I haven't been to a seminar in about 6 years. however, I was welcomed back by everyone as if i never left the dance community. For those of you who have never been to a semainar you have to go. There is so much more to do than just dancing : field trips to the local restaurants and country bars, swimming in the pool and lounging in the hot tubs (except for this weekend, it rained), having liquid libations in the hotel lobby at night till 5 in the morning, arm wrestling and leg wrestling with the staff of the event and dressing up in silly costumes and trying to maintain any dignity that you have left.Can't wait till next years party , oh i mean seminar...
By the way,there was dancing done also. I voluntered as a staff member and worked the doors. This way i was able to view the instructors and their dances. I listen to everything (rock, hip hop, etc) but i can only teach country in the bar where i work. My favorite instructor was Christopher Petre and his wife Muffy. No, No. Her real name is Lindsay, she just uses an alias when she dances.I loved his enthusiasm and teaching style. His dance Butter beans is very cute. I loved his dance Loco. At first when i was taking the class it was a little difficult to catch on, but that was because i was still slightly hung over from the night before. When that wore off i got the dance . One of my favorites.
The other dances that i recommend are Gerard Murphy's Do It and Eye Candy. Both are what i call bar dances. By the way Gerard makes a great supermodel. His runway walk is perfect. Nancy Morgan's Easy Does It and ZigZag. I didn't get to take her classes, but she took the time to show me personally. Junior Willis' dance "one" has a nice flow. Of course Scott Blevins "boo Boo's Bounce was a big hit. JP Potter's "Crush" is a beautiful dance. I taught that 8 years ago at a seminar, but i think it was a little ahead of it's time then.I think the most requested dance was Guyton Mundy's dance "Hick Chicks". The song is by Cowboy Troy. It has a country twang to it with more of a hip hop feel. The moves are interesting and the booty shaking that the younger kids will love this.
FROM: Patty Howells
Favorite Dances From the Marathon
My favorite dances were: Zjozzys Funk, Max Factor, really liked Come on Over (Michael Thompson!), Freeze Frame and Moootown Boogie both by Michael Barr, Bracken Ellis' contra, Add Em Up was really fun, Butter Beans by Christopher Petre and Nancy Morgan's Kentucky Flatrock Stomp!! The whole event was awesome and hope they will do the previews the night before!!
Patty Howells
Franklin, N.C.
skipandpatty@verizon.net
FROM: ALICE DAUGHERTY & TIM HAND
First of all we want to thank Jean and James for a Great Marathon again this year and for having us back again as instructors and DJs. A big thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers who worked so hard to make everything so nice for all of us! Like every year we have a long list of great dances that we brought home with us to teach. We also want to thank everyone who joined us for our classes which were "Being With You" our new couples dance, "Mean Old Sal" our new line dance, "Makes You Wanna Dance" which we added at the last minute and also "Breathless Anticipation" which was one of our older dances that we brought back. Any questions, please e-mail us at bigalofamerica@aol.com. Also, we want to thank all of the dancers who danced with us Friday night in the Crystal Coast and Friday and Saturday nights in the Empire Room we had such a great time with everyone! A Big Big Thank You to Stacy and Carol for the wonderful job with the newsletter keeping us all informed, the reviews of events and Stacy what a great job with the pictures this year!
Alice Daugherty/Tim Hand
FROM: ROBERT MAH
As always, a great event. We stayed for the Sunday night pizza party this time. It was worthwhile to wind down the weekend with the small dance party and get one night's sleep that consisted of more than a few hours.
First of all I'm way behind in event reporting since World's at Nashville. Guyton, Rachael, Paul and Shaz were in Toronto at Lily Choi's One Day Fun Event. Also Peter and Alison came to Toronto for a one day workshop last month organized by Vivian Scott. Great Big Party will be in Toronto in 2 weeks with Guyton, Scott, Gerard, (Lil') Rob Glover and John. This is just a long way of saying that these events coloured the workshops I took since it is impossible to cover all the dances taught when there are five rooms every hour. I tended to take workshops from instructors I won't be seeing soon.
OK Thursday is really fuzzy. We were delayed in the airport and now I don't remember which dances I wanted to take and the ones we actually made it to. I think I went to Pepper's and Bracken's classes. Dances taught from Thurs. that got a lot of open dance play were: ICE,
GIGILO, RUN THIS, CROWN ROYAL, RIO, STILL DIRTY, BURNING, MY GREEK NO.1.
Friday:
Guyton Mundy HICK CHICKS. Popular and also won 2nd in the pro choreo competition.
A LITTLE SOUTHERN COMFORT. Played a number of times in open dance.
John Robinson SHADES. Easy, fun dance.
Max Perry DREAM IN COLOR. This was a catch-up for me as this is getting a lot of play in Toronto after Max taught this at Judy McDonald's Canadian Classic in March. Do you get the feeling Toronto is a great line dance destination? Did I mention Joanne Brady is in on the 16th?
Liz Clarke
NEVER HAD A LADY. Liz always makes her classes fun.
Kathy Hunyadi DISCO ROUND. An easy dance to a classic 70's track.
I took Donna Caudill's body roll technique class to reduce the new dance "overflow" and to try to improve.
Dances with a lot of open play: THIS WILL BE, HICK CHICKS, BRING IT ON DOWN (1st Place), DO IT, CREEK ALLEY, BOO BOO'S BOUNCE, BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER, UNTITLED WALTZ, HOLDING BACK THE OCEAN, OCTAGOGO, GALLERY, ONE, TAINTED LOVE.
Saturday
Michael Barr FREEZE FRAME. Easy dance and as fun as GO GREASED LIGHTENING with the photo op posing.
John Robinson HUSTLE-LICIOUS. I liked this dance and there were about 30 people who took it. Only 5 of us went to the dance floor during open dance. Where was everyone else?
Junior Willis J. J. JAM. A crowd favourite in open dance.
J P Potter CRUSH. Fun. Got a lot of open play time.
Pepper Siquieros UNTOUCHABLE. DROP DEAD SMILE. Easy dances. Pepper did such a great job MC'ing the show and demos.
Open Dances: LOCO, ALONE TOGETHER, PUCKER UP, LAST MINUTE, SAIL AWAY CHA, NACHO DADDY, CAN'T STOP A RIVER, LITTLE STAR.
Special mention: SUPERMODELZ. People enjoyed the special demo and had great fun in this class.
Sunday. Slept in after being up until 5 am with the Waffle House excrusion.
Karen Hedges (she's just one of those nice people)
WHAT'S NEXT, YES I DO. Easy dances where I got to practice Donna's tips after the first few walls.
Other floor fillers (hard to name all with 2 big dance floors going and one smaller room) GRAVITY, CRY TO ME, DIVISADERO CHA.
We'll be back next year.
Robert Mah
Toronto, Canada
http://oldhat-2u.blogspot.com
FROM: lindy kicknboot@cfl.rr.com
Just wanted to add my two cents worth to all those who have already covered the EVER WONDERFUL MARATHON!!! I always enjoy this event and this year was no exception. It is great fun to meet, dance and visit with old friends and make new ones too. The dances were really good and the enthusiasm of the instructors is just infectious!!! Jean and James outdid themselves once again!
FROM: NEVILLE AND JULIE
Have just about recovered now from the big loooooooooooooooooooooooooong flight back from the states... lots of delays due to Tropical Storm Barry down around Florida.
We had a great time firstly staying with your Newsletter Queen Carol C... Thank You Carol for putting up with us again & to Justin for sleeping at the bus station while we had his nice comfortable bedroom..
Lovely new bed he had... & he said he was looking forward to trying it out... its nice & comfy J... You'll love it. Thanks to everyone there for making us so welcome.. Rose & Bev the Stick Insect... Diane, Arline, Dallas & Stacy..
Then a comparitively short flight up to North Carolina for the Marathon... It's a great event that is really well organised & run by Jean & James & their multitude of helpers.. I would recommend it to anyone whatever level you dance at. A great bunch of instructors & some great dances taught.
We met up with a lot of people there including the gang from California.. Tom & Claudette.. Barbara Miranda- the worlds number 1 Nev fan. Lou Ann Smiley Schemmel.. Trish & Bob Boesel... Tennessee Dawn... & the lovely Trish Little the mad TShirt woman.. Trish makes a wicked Marguerita.. It was really cool spending time with you guys.. I think you need to wear those shirts more often.. see you again soon.. & our friend from Tuscon.... the much travelled Carolyn.. Patti & Show Ming & everyone else it was great to see you all again too..
Back to the Marathon.... Thanks to Jean & Old Dude James for inviting us again... looking forward to next year
Nev & Julie
FROM: daltman@csc.com
Let me begin by giving a little history of myself. I just started line dancing about a year ago (my husband, about 6 months ago). I am the type person that when I like something, I don't know how to do it just a little bit, I have to go all out. Well, needless to say, I fell in love with line dancing and couldn't get enough of it. My instructor wasn't giving me enough, so I discovered the World Line Dance Newsletter site (totally wonderful for us newbie's) and Kickit and realized with videos and step sheets I could learn these cool dances on my own. I then discovered Mutiny on the Dance Floor site and was totally in awe of Christopher Petre.. Thought he was the coolest dancer (Forgotten Footsteps got me hooked). I found out he was going to be at JG2 and since I am from SC figured I'd give it a try. This was my first line Dance event, and boy, did I ever start at the top!!!
I absolutely loved it!! My friends and husband that went with me, came home so excited about the good time we had. It was unbelievable how nice and supportive everyone there was, from the instructors to the other dancers in the classes. Needless to say, I was a little intimidated taking my first class on Thursday. Being such a new dancer, I didn't know whether I could keep up. My first class was with Kathy Brown. I lucked out on that one, because she was such a wonderful teacher. My next adventure was Christophers "A Gigolo". Well, I quickly was knocked down a peg, cause I was out of my element on that one (didn't help that I ended up dancing beside "Mr Adaptable" himself ,Frank Trace). Christopher did a great job (still my hero) and I did learn enough that I think with some work at home, I will be doing the dance soon. In that class I did meet a women who seeing my frustration, quickly assured me that with time, I would begin processing the dances like the others in the class who had been dancing a very long time. That put the spunk back in me, and I continued on taking classes and was actually able to keep up with most of them ( of course, somewhere between NC and SC on the way home, we apparently went through a mind eraser warp, cause most of the dances I learned are gone now!)
Anyway, just wanted to say what a wonderful group of people there are in the line dancing world. I am so glad to be a part of it now, and look forward to seeing some of my new friends at the next event!!!
Highlights....
Christopher Petre - enough said
Kathy Brown - Loved her new dance by the pool, already have the music for it and just waiting for her to bring it out
Nancy Morgan- Fun, Fun. I already knew a lot of her dances, but wanted to take her class just so I could meet her. She's the greatest. Kentucky Flatrock Stomp is one of our favorites that everyone here at home loves when they see us doing it.
Steve L. "Creek Alley". One of my favorites from the weekend. My husband and I almost fainted when he said it was 80 steps. Was able to get through it , and actually came home and still able to dance it. I goes so well to the music, it doesn't seem like 80 steps at all
Donna Caudill- We took her Giggle, Wiggles and Body Rolls class and laughed so hard, I'm afraid I did more giggling than wiggling. Thanks for the inside scoop of practicing the Body roll with my hubby. Donna was one of the nicest people we met the whole weekend.
Bracken Ellis "Add 'Em Up"- This was the last class we took, and boy did we end on a high note. The dance is so much fun!. I am going to be showing it to my class this week. All four of us that went on the trip took it together and was having so much fun, we had to be separated so we could learn the dance instead of laughing at ourself. Thanks Bracken for making this such a fun class.
J.P Potter- Took both of his classes, Hot Damn and Crush. Crush was my favorite and I can actually do that one now also. He's a great instructor!
John Robinson- Was so impressed with his energy on the dance floor. Didn't get to take his Shades class, but after seeing it on the floor, it is definitely on my list of dances to do.
Guyton Mundy - Hick Chicks- I am so mad I didn't take this class. The couple that took the trip with us did, and was so excited about the dance. I am waiting on the video so I can be sure and get all the hand movements right to do it justice, but can't wait to introduce that one to everybody.
Last but not least, James Gregory- Our group met him out by the pool and he is such a wonderful & nice person. Felt like I had known him forever. I am going to be working on getting him to Columbia for a workshop (a first for us here, we're a little behind in the line dancing world).
Sorry for the lengthy letter, but had such a great experience I wanted to be sure that those that made an impact on me, knew how appreciative I am for their kindness and support. It really means alot to us "newbies" Keep up the good work that you all do and Carol, thank you so much for your hard work keeping up your wonderful website.
Daphne Altman
803-333-6034
From: Christopher Petre (and Muffy) PetreThePirate@MutinyOnTheDanceFloor.com
(Sorry I didn't write sooner, but it's been a busy week. I started a new job...wonder how long it will take before all the construction workers at my firm find out I'm a dance teacher.)
This year's Marathon was "just great" (said in Lizzie Clarke's inimitable way). I had a blast; my feet were sore, my back stiff and my hips aching. Now that the bruises from slapping parts of my body I don't normally slap (thanks, Guyton) are fading, I can reflect on all the great classes I took...which means that I can't remember a one! Thank goodness for step sheets; my kitchen is littered with them!
To all the great people I met last weekend (got drunk with some of them) and to all the great teachers and DJ's at the Marathon, thank you! I danced my ass off!
Fervent thanks to Jean and James for inviting me to be an instructor at this event and I would like to shout out to Neville and Julie for taking my class.
My favorite of the weekend, Neville and Julie's SHOW ME WOT U GOT, even though I had to learn it off the dance floor.
I really appreciate all the comments from the folks who enjoyed my dances LOCO, STARRY EYES and BUTTER BEANS. Hope to see you all at future events. "Muffy" (Lindsay) says Hey to Gerard and thanks for the new identity!
FROM: Judi Wynne, Wichita, KS. judiwynne5@cox.net
I just got home from a two week vacation which included the JG2 Marathon. It was my first time to attend this workshop. I had a fantastic time and thought the workshop was very well run. Because I knew a lot more dances would be done at the Marathon than I normally do here in Wichita, I learned a bunch of dances just so I would not be sitting a lot during open dancing. It was well worth the effort as it was so much fun to dance lots of dances with a large group. During open dance I spent time in each of the three ballrooms and enjoyed them all. I especially liked that the instructors also spent a good bit of time dancing with us during open dance. I won't go into specifics about all the dances taught since that has already been covered in many reports. Bonnie Johnson and I will both teach many of the dances we learned to our Spinnin' Boots Line Dance Club here in Wichita. I plan to teach "One" by Amy Brockmann & Junior Wills this week. The Parade was wonderful and the costumes impressive. One unexpected surprise was the Sunday night Pizza Party. Quite a lot of people stayed over and the Pizza Party held in the smaller Crystal Coast Ballroom turned out to be such a fun cozy party. It was a pleasure to have John Robinson join Bonnie, Johnny and me at our table and nice to get to know him a little better. Everyone, it seemed, was in a relaxed mood and the banter with DJ Louie was fun. In summary, the whole weekend from Thursday afternoon through Sunday night was fun and I hope to be able to attend again.
After leaving JG2 my husband and I were visiting relatives in Cincinnati, Ohio and they took us to a great place to line dance. Every Wednesday evening from 7 PM to 11 PM there is line dancing at Jim & Jack's on the River, 3456 River Road, Cincinnati, Ohio (513)251-7977, www.jimandjacks.net (click on show calendar). Non stop line dancing with a short easy lesson at 8:30 PM. Daisy taught Alfie by Cato Larsen. The DJ announced every dance and played all types of music. They did everything from really old, somewhat old, and new. I hardly sat down the whole four hours. What a pleasure to find this little gem of a place. So if you are ever in Cincinnati you might want to look into this place.
From: Rona Kaye, New York City
I am still recovering from this wonderful line dance event! This was my first time at The Marathon and, needless to say, will not be the last! I wanted to especially thank Jean and James, their most dedicated, friendly, organized and competent staff and volunteers, and, of course, to all of the instructors and DJ's...everyone worked so very hard to help this event to be a huge success.
I came back to New York with quite a few new dances and have already started to teach them here in The City. It was so great to see so many of my line dance friends once again. Being a part of this family means the world to me. I will look forward to seeing all of you again very soon.
With warmest and sincere regards,
Rona Kaye
FROM: SUSAN WEBB
What a great time I had at the jg2 Line Dance Marathon, May 31-June 3 at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center in Raleigh-Durham. In my opinion, it was the best ever. James and Jean did a great job, as usual, planning this wonderful event, and everything went like "clockwork" in the schedule. I took many wonderful classes, and there were other classes taught I did not take that I would have liked to have taken. My favorites I took on Thursday afternoon were Ice by Shaz Walton taught by Nigel Amon and Tell Me by Niels Poulson taught by Neville Fitzgerald. Ice is a 64 count intermediate/advanced 2 wall dance with restarts done to the music Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice. Tell Me is a 64 count 4 wall mega funky dance with a tag and restart done to the music Tell Me by P. Diddy and Christina Aguilera. I also took A Gigolo by Robbie McGowan Hickie taught by Christopher Petre, a 4 wall 40 count dance with and 8 count tag done to the music A Gigolo by Helena Paparizou. The dances I took on Friday and liked a lot were: Make you Wanna by Paul McAdam and Joey Warren taught by Joey. It is a 64 count 2 wall advanced dance done to Summer Love by Justin Timberlake; Get Bizzy by Neville Fitzgerald and Julie Harris, a 64 count 2 wall dance with one restart done to the music Get Bizzy by Paris Bennett; Octagogo by Scott Blevins, a 32 count 4 wall dance done to If Loving You Is Wrong by Faithless. Other dances that were taught on Friday that I didn't take but have learned since the marathon are Hick Chicks by Guyton Mundy, a 32 count 4 wall Beginner/Intermediate dance done to the music Hick Chicks by Cowboy Troy. This dance won first place at the choreography pro challenge at the marathon. I also have learned and love Do It by Gerard Murphy since the marathon, a 32 count 4 wall easy intermediate dance with 1 restart done to the music The More you Do It by Natalie Cole. The classes I took Saturday were: Come a Little Closer by Joey Warren, a 32 count 4 wall advanced line dance done to Take Control by Amerie. The dance has a easy tag at the end of walls 3, 6, & 8: Boardroom by Maurice Rowe and Zac Detweiller, a 2 wall funky line dance done to Boardmeeting by Timbaland--steps are not hard but the arm movements in the second 8 count need a little practice; Nacho Daddy by Scott Blevins, a 32 count 4 wall dance done to Step Daddy by Hitman Sammy Sam ( this was one of my favorites of the week-end and a fairly easy dance); Pucker Up by Scott Blevins, a 112 count 4 wall dance done to the music Kiss by Chris Thomas King ( will need to work on this one to get all the steps straight and in sequence in my head ). I have learned So Excited by Junior Willis in class since returning which is a 32 count 4 wall line dance done to the music So Excited by Janet Jackson. I only took one class on Sunday: Hurt by Zac Detweiller, a 32 count 2 wall NC2 with 2 restarts and an easy tag done to the music Hurt by Christina Aguilera ( Zac did a great job teaching the 1 1/2 pirouette).
There are other wonderful dances taught during the week-end that I didn't have a chance to take but will learn from the step book.
Fortunately, there were some dances taught during the week-end that I already knew and we do in our class so it gave me a little rest at times. Ones taught that I already knew and like were Run This by Paul McAdam, Crown Royal by Frank Cooper, Still Dirrty by MIL, My Greek No.1 by Maria Rask, Last Minute by Joey Warren and Rachel McEnaney, Tainted Love by the Amatos and Joey Warren, and Sail Away Cha by Scott Blevins.
The week-end was great fun and their were some wonderful medieval costumes for the Saturday midnight parade . The person who won had on a great dinosaur costume. I left after the awards ceremony Sunday afternoon and am sure the people who stayed for the pizza party and dance Sunday night had a good time.
FROM: Judy Romanenkov, judybmr@sbcglobal.net
This is only my second JG2, the first was in 2003. I was curious how it would stack up after 4 years. I remembered then seeing a very long line to a SCOTT BLEVIN's class that I decided to go somewhere else, or that workshop with PETER METELNICK and ALLISON BIGGS where I danced partly on the wood floor and partly on the carpet because it was so crowded. I'm happy to note that none of that happened this year. Over 700 attendees spread themselves into 5 workshop rooms of varying sizes every hour without overcrowding or creating long lines. A scheduling masterpiece, if ever I saw one. But the array of offerings, 118 workshops taught by some of the most recognized names in the line dance world (33 choreographers/teachers) posed a scheduling problem for me. Watching the previews doesn't help because they all look great and you want to take them all. So I had to set parameters to limit my choices: Thursday's workshops were out because I arrived late afternoon, Sunday's were out too because I leave in the afternoon and I like to just do open dancing before leaving. That leaves me with Friday and Saturday, with workshops starting at 10:00AM every hour on the hour up to 6:50PM and a leisurely break for lunch, that's at most 16 workshops. I decided to take half of them from those I've had lessons before and the other half from those I haven't. I'll mention a few of them here at the risk of being repetitious as by this time a lot have already been written about these workshops starting with CAROL CRAVEN's extensive report on the event.
GUYTON MUNDY's Hick Chicks: I first say Guyton in this very same premises in 2003 doing something I've never seen before, putting hip hop moves in line dancing. He danced with a group of young dancers. It blew me away. I saw the future and it was exciting. But there's a resistance to hip hop line dancing in my area, perhaps in yours too. I hope this waaay cool little hip hoppy dance would break that barrier. Its hand and feet movements are not too exacting, Guyton said "play with it" and indeed there's a lot of room to play in this dance.
SCOTT BLEVINS' Boo Boo's Bounce: Scott was surprised to see the big main ballroom filled with people. He thought everybody knew the dance already. But there we all were - as one lady said "I know the dance but I want to take it from you". That might have summed up the prevailing sentiment among the group. Just like Guyton, I first saw Scott here in 2003 showcasing his marvelous jazzy routines and effortless dancing. Aside from that he's a natural teacher. He teaches with a certain amount of nonchalance, as if on second thought. He notices everything and can regale you with a running account of something in his life while teaching. When a photographer took a picture during the lesson (which I, for one, didn't notice) he turned to him and admonished him to give a warning before shooting so he can suck in his gut.
JOEY WARREN'S Last Minute: This would be my first ever class with Joey and as luck would have it, teaching a lovely dance that I love. After the teach, when I congratulated and thanked him for choreographing such a beautiful dance with Rachel, he blurted "I want to marry her". Seeing the expression on my face, he quickly added "she has a boyfriend but I still want to marry her". Well, Joey, life never runs out of surprises.
JUNIOR WILLIS' So Exciting: With a name like Junior, I expected to see someone youngish, boyish, and perhaps smallish or something like that. Well, in strode a tall, strapping, simpatico of a man and taught an "exciting" dance to match. I didn't have a chance to get his teach on "ONE" - a captivating dance that flows so well with the music. Fortunately, you can pick it up from the floor especially if you get help from kind dancers.
NEVILLE FITZGERALD'S Get Bizzy: Neville was prevented from going to the Worlds in January because of a car accident on the way to the airport. Thank God everything went well this time and here he finally was with JULIE HARRIS. With advance write up from Carol Craven, I anticipated the teach with bated breath. Another dance of his "Show Me What You Got" was a hit on the dance floor.
THE SHOW: Relic made his debut on the show, up there on the branches on the stage. He looks a lot like a close relative of Kermit but then he can't be a frog because he broke out from a shell. He sounded like a groveling Guyton Mundy who incidentally was his creator. With his bulging sleepy eyes, he had this adorable, benign expression on his face as he moved his head from side to side surveying the proceedings in front of him. JAMES GREGORY, in his trademark baseball cap, addressed the crowd acknowledging JEAN GARR as the force behind the event. The audience responded with a prolonged ovation. Jean dabbed her eyes. Two-time world superstar champion BRIAN BARAKAUSKAS took the floor and electrified the audience just as he did 4 years ago. Adding exotic flavor and variety was LILLIAN LO from Hongkong, a beautiful woman with alabaster skin, thick cascading black hair and an impossibly slender girlish body, performed in a shimmering blue chinese outfit with her right hand holding a stick with a thin long pink ribbon attached to it. The ribbon undulated and danced gracefully in the air following her, surrounding her, preceding her. It was almost hypnotic. Not once did my eyes wandered over to Relic during her dance. I sought Relic whenever the other numbers dragged, became repetitious, long and tiresome.
THE COSTUME PARADE: At the stroke of midnight on Saturday, the carriage turned into a pumpkin. No, wait, that's a different story. I mean the place got overran by medieval people - kings, queens, princes, princesses, knights, ladies, jesters, wise men, idiots, a dragon and walking white castle. JOHNNY 2-STEP paraded as a queen in full regalia and I believe behave like one too. Earlier during the previews he had to zip up his front in front of everyone before starting his demo. There was a contingent of knights from the bay area led by TRISH BOESEL brandishing a sword. They were dressed in black and hanging from their shoulders is a Round Table pizza box. The winner of the parade was decided by the crowd's applause. There were 5 finalists but in the end the plastic dragon narrowly defeated the burlap-wrapped village idiots. Thrown in with them was the village hussy played to the hilt by BRYAN McWHERTER.
SO LONG, FAREWELL: The open dancing at the main ballroom on Sunday before leaving for the airport was a most enjoyable one. It was not crowded with plenty of room to dance but most importantly, you make requests that for sure are going to be played. And even if a dance you don't know is played, at that time of day when your feet are still not tired and your brain's not yet fried, you can just about follow anything. MICHAEL BARR was there leading Grease Lightning and then he did something I've never seen before on a dance floor. He danced Freeze Frame pushing and pulling his luggage all over the floor in his unshod feet. Nobody got hit by a runaway bag and you've got to give it to him for sheer energy if nothing else. When Kathy Hunyadi distributed boas to wear during her SupermodelZ dance, the boas shed and filled the floor with colorful feathers. In no time at all, someone appeared with a sweeper to get them off the floor. Is that efficiency or what? And before I forget, I must mention that the floors were better than 4 years ago. The DJs for this part of the event were GALE ERSKINE and DEBI BODVEN who wore spectacular hats for the occasion. Every time I approach their table to make a request, they had a different hat on, a sparkling smile and a wit to match. That alone is worth coming back.
Clip arts provided by Jean Garr
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