Comments From Others: 2011 Tampa Bay Line Dance Classic
FROM: stacy garcia
Had a GREAT time dancing at the Tampa Bay Line Dance Classic Thursday & Saturday night. It was wonderful seeing everyone! DJ's Louie, JP, & Oliva were fantastic, playing requests in both rooms all night. Scott Blevins did an awesome job as MC. Congratulations to Jennifer Howe Cameron & Jason Cameron for a wondeful event!
FROM: dallas proveaux
Great time dancing at the Tampa Bay Line Dance Classic last night. DJ's Louie, JP, & Oliva were awesome -- playing requests in both rooms all night. And the MC was Scott Blevins who did a great job. All the routines in the show were fabulous. Congrats to Jennifer and jason Cameron for a wondeful event!
FROM: Peggy Steelman, jaypeggy2@tampabay.rr.com St.Petersburg, Florida
If you are a line dancer living in the Tampa bay Area and didn’t attend the Thursday complimentary opening night of the Tampa Bay Classic at the Double Tree Hotel in Tampa, then you missed a fun filled evening of continuous dancing. There were two rooms open, one to beginner/beg/int and the other to int/adv. I gravitated to the beginner/beg/int. room, as that’s where my student’s interests lie. Olivia, our DJ, did a fantastic job of filling requests and keeping the music going the entire evening.
If you live in the St. Petersburg area or are visiting, we would love to have you join us on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday during the day. Check the “Where to dance “ link in the newsletter for when and where the classes are being held.
So you know what you missed, I’ve included a list of 32 of the dances I remember. Thanks to everyone who’s hard work made for a fantastic weekend of line dancing.
| Hello Dolly Tennessee Waltz Surprise Bop The B Cooler Than Me Is Baby's Radio ON Come Dance With Me Stroll Along Cha Cha Knee Deep Quarter After One Baby Kate Under The Sun Askin' Questions Waltz - a variety were danced This & That Bosa Nova Baby Bubbles |
Operator 4-1-1 Blue Night Cha Country As Can Be Mama Maria - done to Poker Face Boogie Bear Cha Cha Sexy Stir Fry Bad Bad Girl Southern Delight My New Life Mojo Mambo Alligator Walk Wobble 1-2-3-4 Duck Soup On My Mind Chicka Boom |
FROM: greg in pa
I’m having a hard time writing a review about the Tampa Bay Line Dance Classic, because I won’t let myself accept that it’s over. First off, I want to give a million thank yous to the event directors, Jennifer and Jason Cameron, and their very attentive staff for doing a phenomenal job with every aspect of the event weekend. When it comes to events, the Camerons consistently seem to have their finger on the dancer’s pulse, and they aren’t afraid to evolve an event based on feedback to help make it the very best that it can be. On Sunday, a few of us shared a ride on an airport shuttle with Jennifer. She excitedly described some of the changes they experimented with this year at Tampa, and she is already buzzing with ideas for their future events based on new feedback - welcoming ours as well. As a newer event goer, I simply asked to know in their future advertising when their events end. Since that is something of a mystery, it’s helpful when making travel plans. Her reply was “no problem”. All in all, her honest excitement over the prospects of making each and every event better was great to experience firsthand.
Those thank yous also extend to the absolutely stellar collection of instructors that truly helped to make the event for me and every other attendee. In addition to teaching some amazing dances that covered a wide range of styles, steps, and music (more on that later), they were warm and welcoming both on and off the dance floor. The event schedule at Tampa didn’t feel rushed and seemed to allow the instructors to stay close at hand, which afforded a lot of “getting to know you” time during the day and in the evening. Sharing a laugh or conversation between lessons or in the wings during open dancing easily made for some of my very best take-home memories.
On that note, I realize that some dancers keep to themselves and take more of a business approach to event weekends, which I can respect, but sharing something as simple as a hello or a thank you to an instructor off of the dance grid can open the doors to an event experience that is, in a way, much more personal. The same goes for other attendees too. We are one big, happy dance family after all. I confess that I’m a bit shy in my personal life, but meeting, mixing, and mingling with other dancers is always something special too. Our common interest is the ice breaker, so my hat goes off to the Camerons for inviting this assortment of personalities and for creating a little world for all of to share what we love – to whatever extent - even if only for the span of a long weekend.
The Tampa event DJs (Louis St. George, Olivia Ray, and J.P. Potter) did a remarkable job all weekend. Some folks might laugh, but I finally managed to stay up late – and nearly every night too – to witness these pros in action. There was a great mix of requested dances played in every room, with requests often handled quickly in the smaller open dance room. From 2pm until dinner, open dancing in a smaller event room was available every day – Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – and seemed quite popular when I peeked in. Thursday evening was the free, kick-off open dance in the main room. In the evening on Friday and Saturday, two open dance rooms (the main room and a smaller room) were available. The tradition of projecting the dance queue in the main dance room continued – yay!!! Dancers often bounced between rooms and the DJs kept their respective floors filled until around midnight when a noticeable number of folks would wander to bed. Afterwards, the open dance diehards continued until the wee hours and the DJs were there to keep them dancing.
Other event notables were the Pro-Am Competition, Saturday show, and review sessions. I hope someone else will post some comments on the competition since I missed it. The Saturday show was a great treat that included two group numbers by area dancers, a group linedance performance of Wild Wild West by the Camerons and several choreographers, two dance skits by event instructors, and a clogging routine from Junior Willis and his clogging class participants. I’m excited to say that I helped participate in the clogging routine, but I’ll post more about that experience below. I hope to post a few photos of the Saturday show online, but I’m hoping even more that others will have videos that they can share. I was sitting behind the performers so my collection of photos includes mostly backside shots. Lol. Finally, the review sessions were an absolute blessing. On Friday night, during evening open dancing, reviews were conducted in several of the smaller rooms with a schedule posted. The Saturday reviews were held throughout the day on Sunday with a similar format. The great thing about the review schedule is that it was sufficient enough to allow time for a great walk-through, leaving time to practice once or twice to music. In the shuttle ride with Jennifer that I mentioned earlier, she did say that some folks were not happy about the timing of the Friday reviews since it ate into the evening open dancing. In response, they plan on moving them into an earlier slot after the lessons but before the previews and open dancing. I’m only mentioning this here since I think it’s another great example of an event director taking comments and criticisms to heart.
The hotel (Hilton Double Tree, Tampa) was O.K. as far as event hotels go. The accommodations were sprawling and a little worse-for-wear, but certainly clean. The shuttle service, however, was fantastic especially since it was free for any pick-up/drop-off within a two mile radius, which made grabbing a bite to eat or shopping for incidentals very easy. The best feature, however, was the layout of the event space. The workshop and open dance rooms were all close to one another, so it was easy to go from one lesson to the next without feeling rushed. Likewise, the rooms were outfitted with loads of chairs and great quality hardwood floors that accommodated everyone from what I could tell. The only time one of the floors felt too crowded for me was on the main dance floor the half hour after the show on Saturday evening. However, that quickly changed once folks finally dispersed into the hallway and the smaller open dance room. The room temperatures were comfortable for the most part, but not cold at least to me, so it was easy to get hot especially while dancing. Finally, fresh water and a supply of cups were available in every event room.
I’m a becoming a quick fan of the Camerons’ events, and I’m already looking forward to their next one. Hopefully this event report does some semblance of justice to their Tampa event, especially in light of their hard work. I’ll finish this event report with some comments about the lessons I attended, but don’t feel obligated to continue. Geesh. I’ve already made some of you suffer by reading this long. Although, if you do, please keep in mind that I picked my way through the dance grid using my personal preferences as a guide, and I enjoyed a lot about what I picked.
*** Friday, November 4 ***
9am - No Llores with Ria Vos – I had read about this dance recently in the Line Dance Newsletter, so I was excited to give this lesson a go; doubly so since this was my first time meeting Ria as well. Ria is a superb instructor and she offered an effortless teach of her cha rhythm dance. The choreography hits the notes and timing perfectly. The second and third 8-counts required some extra attention due to a series of direction changes followed by a surprisingly different lock timing, but Ria was divinely patient and worked out the kinks. I love the track and the dance, and it’s easily one of several favorites of mine from the weekend.
10am – Free Fallin (Rachael McEnaney) with Debbie McLaughlin – Although I took a teach of this from Rachael at Windy City, I was looking forward to a second teach due to the complexities of the timing since it makes a huge difference in finally feeling or not feeling the music. Debbie did a fantastic job, as usual, presenting the timing and everyone seemed to be dancing to the skin-tingling John Mayer track in no time. From the buzz throughout the weekend, this was a definite favorite of many of the dancers and obvious floor filler during open dancing.
11am – déjà vu (J.P. Potter) with Maurice Row – I’m glad that Maurice selected this popular dance of J.P.’s to teach. I’ve heard it played at other event weekends, and Maurice made it a joy to learn. Since déjà vu was a rather quick teach, Maurice was also able to include his own popular dance After Party. Two great dances in under an hour. Thanks Maurice!
12pm – Clogging Part I with Junior Willis – After watching the clogging performance at Windy City, I was nervous about trying Junior’s lesson, but several friends nudged me into giving it a go. I had a BLAST and I’m so glad that I gave it a chance! Junior did an incredible job breaking down the steps and introducing us to 14 different clogging patterns. The naming conventions definitely made it easy to remember and we sequenced them to music to get a feel for the rhythm.
1pm – Prejudice with Debbie McLaughlin – I originally learned this from Rona K. at Windy City, but it’s well worth a second teach so it was an easy choice to take it from Debbie herself. Although its phrasing can be off-putting, you can absolutely feel each phrase in the music. I’ve been enjoying dancing this since Windy City, and given its popularity at Tampa I’m sure this will be sticking around for quite some time. Plus, absolutely any chance to learn anything from Debbie is a treat. Her sense of humor shines, plus she’s a dancer to admire on the dance floor so any aspects of style she offers make the effort worthwhile.
2pm – Walkin’ Blues (Jill Babinec and Debi Pancoast) with Kathy G. - I first saw this danced at Windy City, but I wasn’t able to make a teach there, so it was an easy choice to make for Tampa. I adore the track by Melinda Doolittle and the west coast rhythm dance Jill and Debi choreographed is amazing. I admit that I struggled with the some of the timing during the lesson from Kathy G., but it all made sense once we started dancing to the music. I would definitely recommend going to music early and often with this one since it certainly helped me, as well as a few others that I talked to. Kathy G. also taught A Drink In My Hand (Sandy Goodman), but I missed that portion of her teach.
3pm – Hot Stepper with Dan McInerney – Maybe because the song was overplayed in the ‘90s, I wasn’t in love with track selection when I first heard it. I went to the lesson to watch Dan’s teach and to give my feet a break, but 8-counts into watching I jumped out of my seat to join in. When all was said and done I absolutely loved it. Dan has a great ear for music and went out of his way to choreograph steps to the song’s musical highlights. For me, the fun was in hitting those highlights along with Dan’s interesting collection of steps. It’s both quirky and fun and helped me to enjoy Here Comes The Hotstepper.
4pm – Pay Your Dues with Maurice Row – Maurice is a high energetic instructor, and this dance is definitely an energetic match. The timing is quick, but once I got it, well, I got it. Lol. The key seems to be letting yourself simply move from step-to-step without stopping, especially through the opening syncopation. Natural inclination helped move me where his choreography wanted me to go. A friend taking the lesson also offered me some remedial practice with the hip-and-dip move ¾ of the way through, and with their help that clicked too. Lol. Oh… Maurice also recommended a Glee Cast version to the Destiny’s Child track, but I have to admit that I prefer the original maybe for no other reason than that Destiny’s Child sounds amazing.
5pm - I skipped a workshop during this hour to grab a bite with friends for dinner.
*** Saturday, November 5 ***
9am – You Better Stop (Stephen Rutter & Claire Butterworth) with Marilyn McNeal – This was an easy choice for me since I love the track, and the dance simply looked amazing. Although the timing looks intimidating (12&a34&a56&a78&a), which Marilyn compared it to Cry Me Out (Malene Jakobsen), the “12&a” repetition through the song was easy enough to hear and follow. I can’t offer enough praise for the flourish-and-flow of this dance to this track, and it’s easily another weekend favorite.
10am – Love’s Kiss with John Robinson – I’m a fan of the Lady Antebellum track Just A Kiss, so I was sold on John’s demo of this dance. Although it’s only 24-counts, John packed a lot into this NC2S, so it definitely doesn’t feel short or repetitive by any means. I love the flow, and especially the Sweep-Cross-Side sequence that opens the second 8-count. John also taught his No Love Allowed, but I needed to slip out to catch the tail end of Sandy Albano’s teach of Never Enough (Joey Warren) as a review for myself after learning it at Windy City.
11am – Hurt Me So with Scott Blevins – The quick of what I have to offer is simple: great track and great dance! Scott always seems to find winners when it comes to music and this is certainly no exception. Between this and Freak A Little More, Scott really hit two home runs. The choreography for Hurt Me So includes a lot of playful elements and you almost need to try it for that to make sense. The playfulness comes while dancing since moves hit some really strong notes in the music. I really love the closing “walk” type sequence of the dance. It’s a long string of whole counts (I seem to recall Scott mentioning that it might be the longest in any of his dances) and it has you covering some ground at just the perfect places in the song. The track is fast, but I can already tell from its popularity during open dancing that the efforts made in learning it will definitely pay off. This is easily yet another favorite from the weekend.
12pm – Rude Boy (co. w/Amy Spencer) with Junior Willis – After Scott’s Hurt Me So cardio session, I needed to relax a bit. I already had a teach of this from Junior at Windy City, so this was a fun-to-do refresher. Everyone in the class was smiling, and it’s just one of those dances that has you feeling naughty in a good way.
2pm – Leave Your Mark with Debbie McLaughlin – Debbie choreographed this waltz to the Beyonce track, I Was Here, which is stunning in its own right and definitely worth a listen or twelve. Her waltz is easily just as breathtaking, and absolutely approachable. While asking her about it, she said she simply choreographed what she felt did justice to the music. It didn’t need to be difficult. A lot of waltzes are chockfull of recycled steps, but her chorography keeps everything interesting. One thing I love about it is the strength of the closing counts that then fall away and become tender like the music. Cheers again, Debbie, and another favorite for me.
3pm – Clogging Part II with Junior Willis – Junior had me hooked after taking Part I, so I was definitely excited to learn the show number that he put together for us to practice. The song he chose was My Cowboy to help fit the theme of the Saturday Show – Wild Wild West – and we all had a great time learning it. I can’t say I was “accomplished” after two one-hour lessons, but I was more than happy to help with Junior’s clog show number as a diehard, self-appointed representative of the middle-back-row where no one except maybe Louis could see me. Lol. If anyone ever debated about giving one of Junior’s clog workshops a go – as they say – “Just Do It”. You won’t regret it.
4pm – Just For Me by Ria Vos – Here’s yet another occasion where I was sold simply on the song selection. It’s another swing rhythm track by Renee Olstead called My Baby Just Cares For Me. Any fans of Rob Glover’s Midnight Swing, or any of its floor splits, will love it as well since Olstead’s Midnight Man is used for that. I love the variety of steps in her choreography, and it’s simply a joy to dance to the music. I’m trying to pull out some highlight steps that really sold me on the dance, but there are just to many to choose. Give it a go and you’ll see what I mean. This was yet another easy favorite for me.
*** Sunday, November 6 ***
9am – Missouri Swings (Michele Perron) with Barry & Dari Anne Amato – Barry opened his teach of this by praising the musicality of the steps in Michele’s choreography, and they wanted to help give it the kind of attention that it deserves. The Brenda Lee track Kansas City is a classic, and I have to admit that after we learned enough to go to music the first time, the steps simply pop and jazz from the track.
10am – Goodbye Kiss (co. with Joey Warren) with Debbie McLaughlin – I first had a teach of this from Debbie at JG, and it was a favorite of mine from that event weekend. Debbie started her lesson in Tampa by admitting that neither she nor Joey has taught it again since. She did promise they would be more diligent in introducing this at upcoming events, especially since the song is fantastic in its own right and has done incredibly well on both the pop and country billboards – Don’t You Wanna Stay by Jason Aldean ft Kelly Clarkson. I was a fan of this when I first learned it at JG, and I’m still a fan, BUT as Debbie also admitted, this is easily a two or three teach dance. There is a lot to the choreography, but she apologized that it’s required by the phrasing of the music. The dance is every bit as difficult as Debbie slowly revealed throughout the lesson. Just when we’d work through one tricky spot, Debbie confessed “it gets worse”. But to her and Joey’s credit, the steps and flow fit the music achingly perfectly. I’m looking forward to keeping this practiced now that I feel like I finally “Got It” – or at least I think I do. Lol.
11am – That Kinda Lovin’ with Guyton Mundy – This was another second teach for me since I first learned it at JG. I guess I’m discovering that I’m something of a nightclub junkie, so I was glad for the second lesson on this since I haven’t been keeping it practiced for myself. Regardless, Guyton had us rolling with laughter along the way with each of his “okey-dokey”s and “maybe”s.
12pm – I skipped the lessons in this hour to take Debbie’s and Marilyn’s scheduled reviews of their Saturday workshops.
1pm – Love On Top (Kate Sala) with Dan McInerney – One word – yay! I’m so glad to finally learn this after reading so much about it in the Line Dance Newsletter. I love the movement, energy, and controlled-bounce of this dance “You put my love on top, top, top, top, top.” There is something infectious about it and I can’t quite put my finger on what it is. Regardless, Dan did a ‘top’ job teaching. Ok, that was bad. Lol.
2pm – I didn’t take any workshops in this final hour since I slipped in for a final round of open dancing before I had to pack and catch my flight home.
As usual, that’s probably too much from me, see some of you at Tim Gillis next weekend!
FROM: vivienne scott
Hi everyone:
I had a really terrific time this past weekend down in Tampa. Many thanks
to everyone who again made me feel so welcome, there are always so many
smiling faces at this event. Jennifer had a hard act to follow in Arline as
Event Director but she organized an excellent event that retained the unique
atmosphere of previous years and at the same time she added her own personal
stamp. I've now put up my report and photos on www.stayinline.ca
Thanks so much to everyone who came to my classes. I taught 'Dr Flame',
'Hands On My Heart', 'Baby Tonight' by Robbie McGowan Hickie, 'We Can Help U
With That' co-written with Fred Buckley and 'Good Time George'. I also did
an impromptu teach of 'Beach Thang!' a beginner dance co-written with
Dancin' Terry. In my report I have included all the dances taught at the
event plus the level of the dance in case any of you instructors are looking
for something specific. There was a mix of levels taught to all kinds of
music, in fact something for everyone.
I'm now looking forward to catching up with dancing friends and making new
ones at the Vegas Dance Explosion. See you soon!
Happy dancin'!
Vivienne