DANCES THAT DIANE POOLE and NICOLE TRACANNA PICKED FROM CHICAGO
(they didn't agree on all of them but a lot of them).
Hot and Sweaty, Guyton
Mundy and John Robinson was a split floor with Freek
Like Me, Playa by
Guyton Mundy, No
Regrets, Scott Blevins,
Cocoa Puffs, Zac
Detweiller (done a lot), Get Out
of Denver, Kathy Hunyadi
(cute and easy) Driving Me Crazy, Kinsers
and Amatos (funky, fun dance), Meltdown,
Scott Blevins, Look
Into Your Heart, Glenn P.,
Razor Sharp, Stephen
Sunter (taught by Max Perry), Evidence,
Gerard Murphy Night Club
2 good dance, Irish Waltz, Simon
Ward (Beautiful Irish Music), God
Bless the Child, Simon Ward,
Peace Train (taught by Max not sure if
it's his or Kathy's -- Older dance), Push Up,
Roy Verdonk - Liked the
song, Hernando's Hidewaway, Roy
Verdonk (challenging but fun), Spanish
Desire, John Dembiec,
Freeky Girl, MIL
good dance, You Can Dance, Mirandas,
Just For Tonight, Harmons,
Easy and funky, Bomshel Stomp, Jamie
Marshall (good club dance and fun), Keep
It Up - Roy Hadesboro
(sp), Careless Whisper, Paul
McAdams, Look for the two that won choreography, one
by Johanna Barnes (1st)
and the other by Maurice Rowe
(2nd), Double J Switch by Junior
Willis and Joey Warren was done a lot, Syncopated
Kiss, Dan Albro
(very popular), Pirates of Dance, Peter
and Alison was done a lot, Cajun
Walk, Judy McDonald
************************
FROM: CHRISTOPHER PETRE
I don't have time to tell you much but I will name that some off the
dances that I consider the best of this crop. Not just for me to dance,
but to TEACH!
Miranda's Daughters
of Erin-Good Club Dance!!
Max's I
Think About You-will go over great in my intermediate class,
like This Will Be
Mark's B
squared-will be taught at the Terrace Club and they will love
it!
Alison and Peter's Wright
or Wrong- Oh, it's just great to the Country track and moves
on the floor
and of coarse Scott's
MeltDown- the end of the dance is easy...IF
you close your eyes and DON'T watch all the other people! LOL!!!! Really
works so well to the beat of the music!
I should mention one other dance, from the choreography competition
Scott Shrank's Someday
Someway.... NICE dance! He used 2 pieces of music and danced
it without restarts. This won at the competition in Dallas this past
August and there was a reason for that. I taught it last night to my
"core" group before class started; they loved it! Although
they prefered the track from Anastascia (over the original song which
it was choreographed to) they love the way the dance flows!
Christopher
************************
FROM: BETTY
Wow! What a great weekend. This was their third year and I have been
there all three . It seems to get better and better each year. Mark,
Glen and Eve do such a great job organizing everything. It runs like
clockwork. There are 5 ballrooms going at one time, and they are all
located right in line in one hallway making it so easy to go from one
room to another. There is such a great mix of instructors from around
the world. There were so many great dances taught that I can't possibly
mention them all, but the schedule is still up on Mark's site www.countryedge.com
if anyone wants to look at it. The ones that seemed to me to be very
popular in open dancing included: "Cocoa
Puffs", a very cute funky dance by Zac
Detweiller and taught by Guyton Mundy, "Feels
So Good" by Amy Christian
and taught by Doug & Jackie Miranda. It is the one with the tai
chi moves, "Drivin' Me Crazy"
taught by Jo Kinser and I think choreographed by the Kinsers,
and the Amatos, and of course "Meltdown"
by Scott Blevins. And
I was about to forget "Freaky Girl"
taught by Rachael McEnaney.( I really liked this one the more I saw
it). And as I said there were many many other good dances taught too.
I really liked "Hot 'N' Sweaty"
by John Robinson and Guyton Munday
and Max Perry brought back an oldie "Into
The Arena" which was lots of fun. There was one room for
beginners going all weekend which is nice for those that haven't been
dancing long or for instructors who teach beginners to learn some cute
beginner dances to take back and teach to their classes.
I really like the way they do their 'demos' of the dances to be taught.
All of the instructors are right there ready to go when it is their
time. They go straight across the schedule, block by block, making it
very easy to follow along and write little notes about each dance. And
something new this year in our packets along with the schedule was a
sheet listing all of the dances to be taught in alphabetical order,
giving the instructor, song, artist, and times it would be taught. I
found this to be very useful. There was lots of open dancing scheduled
throughout the day if you did not want to take a class . At night, besides
the main ballroom, there was another room with open dancing playing
requests and also the dances that were taught that day, and two other
ballrooms going with instructors doing a review, or walkthrough, of
the dances they taught each day. There was a schedule so you could dance
in the main ballroom and then go to the other room when you wanted to
re! view a dance that you learned that day with a certain instructor.
Of course on Sunday everything was repeats with the instructors reteaching
some of the dances that they had already taught on Friday and Saturday.
I know some of the other events do this too, and I really like this
idea.
So, if you have never been to this event, I would definitely recommend
it for next year.( The Crowne Plaza Hotel is very very nice, and the
beds are wonderful!)
************************
FROM: STELLA CABECA
I just want to say a great big thanks to all at Wind City event in Chicago
for making me so welcome. I had a fantastic weekend and was overwhelmed
with the kindness fun and organization of this event. A special thanks
to the directors Mark, Glen, and Eve for inviting me, and for extending
that invitation to next year. I WILL teach there next year and will
stay a little longer to see more of Chicago. Have sooooo many great
dances that I brought back with me that I will be teaching here in Florida.
I will write those up on the website and another report on this event.
Thanks for e. mails, re the dances I taught at this event, I am glad
you enjoyed them: Soluna, I'm
Moving On, No Place To Go, Celeste,
Make It Up. Many of the instructors will
be coming to Tampa Bay and they have some great dances for you, we are
all excited to be together again especially me , with my (BUZZUM BUDDY)
Jamie Marshall. So for extensive report and list of dances I will teach
this week go to my web at www.stellacabeca.com.
I will let you know which are the favorites from my area of the new
ones from Windy City. Thanks CHICAGO dancers you are all"
" BLOODY MARVELOUS" hugs Stella Cabeca
************************
FROM: CAROLE DAUGHERTY
Thanks to Mark, Glen, Eve & all their staff we were treated to EVERY
ONE of the features we’ve come to enjoy at the MEGA events –
tons of instructors & lesson slots that had demos prior, close to
constant open dancing, vendors galore, dinner/show, choreography competition,
plus great floors, sound, and temps. The Crowne Plaza is perfect for
dance events – ballroom layout, hotel rooms, staff, location –
everything about this location is excellent. There was something going
on in the ballrooms virtually non-stop from Thursday evening through
Sunday evening. Every year it seems the hotel is perfectly fine with
letting us take over - and we do all weekend :)
Just like in the past 2 years - we had a blast! From morning till…morning
;)
DJ Louie – who never sleeps, worked the room with a magic touch
like always – no wonder he’s such an event favorite.
NEW, which will probably stand as a future event standard, was an option
to get the step book on CD. Great for instructors AND the paper reduction
act ;) Contact Mark Consenza for ordering – how clever! This year
also offered instructor review slots and a dedicated “dances taught”
ballroom - I think that was new???
There were tons of great dances from all of the instructors, many of
which we already know from the usual surveys/lists etc. BIG on the floor,
of those latest popular dances were: Meltdown
- Blevins, Looks
So Good – Christian,
Drivin’ Me Crazy – Kinsers
& Amatos, Clouds in My Eyes
– Robinson, Hot
& Sweaty – Robinson &
Mundy, Syncopated Love
– Albro, Home
– Cooper, Double
J Switch – Willis & Warren,
Crabbuckit – Murphy…along
with most everything else we're doing currently plus a lot by Scott
& Guyton like always J
There were probably over 100 dances taught over the weekend –
no way to see or do 'em all….but my picks for some of the newest
up n comers from what I did see are:
*Hernando’s Hideaway, Verdonk
- My personal fave of the entire weekend!!! Gimme an easy lil RPDs (Role
playing dances) like this one anyday...where ya can have fun - dance
out of character, forget about your feet and play with the music. This
dance prolly won't have a middle ground - you'll either love it or you
won't - I luv it!
*Cocoa Puffs, Detweiller
– Another fun EASY dance that works the music very well. Youngins
will take to it right away! You’ll hafta like the music –
we do - for now ;) it's done to My Humps by Black Eyed Peas.
You Can Dance, Mirandas
– Nice mainstream Michael Buble track – combined with a
dance that most everyone can enjoy.
Bombshel Stomp, Marshall
& Hedges – Country dance track that looks
yee-hawfully fun!
I Think About You, Perry
– Max’s latest showy type phrased dance - not overly hard.
Irish Waltz, and The
Snake, Ward –
Simon’s Waltzes just feel nice, this goes to a Celtic song, The
Snake is a WC with a different sound too – both would help balance
an evening’s play list out with some of the non funky variety.
Venus, and Evidence,
Murphy – The first
is a brand new hustle – not in the step book but sheets were available,
don’t forget to check it out. Evidence is Gerard’s follow
up to The Way, with a different feel about it.
Just for Tonight, Harmon
– A good do-able dance for most with room to enhance, plus this
funky unique track by JC Chasez seemed to grab folk’s attention
– it did mine.
Careless Whisper, McAdam
– While solid intermediate, it’s a nice teachable NC2 that
will be widely done.
The competition winners taught their dances Sunday late afternoon. Again
both are very doable for the majority. Congrats to Johanna
Barnes with That’s Life
(C’est la Vie), and to Maurice
Rowe with a versatile West Coast called After
Party.
More good stuff for sure – I just missed em…
Also offered were plenty of usable high beginner dances taught by different
instructors that had those slots – too many to list. Windy City
had the beginner room slots before – this year it seemed to have
even more of the “Headline” instructors teaching some of
the easier stuff – verra cool!
Thanks to everyone involved, especially all the people I didn’t
mention here – ya’ll made this a fantastic weekend for dancers.
See ya next year!
Enjoy every dance!
Carole Daugherty
http://xrl.us/chancetodance
************************
FROM: RITA E, WATERTOWN, WI, ensm@msn.com
This is feedback from a senior getting bragging rights November 20 for
being 80 years young. This was my third year to attend the Windy City
Line Dance Mania weekend and it was fabulous, as usual. The reason I
like to go to Windy City is to (1) support line dancing, (2) learn new
dances from the professionals to teach to my beginners, (3) watch the
antics of the instructors, (4) watch the individual styles of the dancers
during Open Dance, (5) enjoy the fantastic Saturday dinner, (6) be totally
entertained during the Saturday Night Show, (7) enjoy relaxing at the
comfortable Crowne Plaza. Mark, Glen and Eve do a great job keeping
the whole weekend running smoothly and I love the way Eve has the entrance
to the Saturday night dinner and entrance to the Saturday night show
organized. The last table to eat gets first choice at seats for the
show. As you can see, I do a lot a watching while there, but did spend
several hours in the workshops where the beginner dances were being
taught. The ones I learned and will teach to my students are Wrong
Way by Barry Amato
and All Jacked Up by Christy
Fox taught by John Robinson; Roughin'
It (In Austin) taught by Mark Cosenza; Country
Twang Thang by Masters In Line
taught by Rachael McEnaney; Island Hopping
and Hit The Road Jack by Gerard
Murphy taught by Gerard Murphy; and Do
It All by Junior Willis
taught by Junior Willis. These are all excellent beginner/high beginner
dances. The instructors do a wonderful job of making the steps, patterns,
and dances look oh so simple for the beginners. Having a ballroom where
the dances for beginners are taught is an excellent idea. The importance
of getting new people excited about line dance can't be exaggerated.
The Saturday night show was terrific. It was extremely entertaining
and professional. Doug Miranda as the Saturday Night Show MC always
does a wonderful job. The theme this year was miming the words and dancing
the music, which may sound simple enough, but this wasn't ordinary music,
this was, well, just so wonderful it can't be put into words. Everyone
in the Show did a outstanding job, but the routine of Holland's Roy
Verdonk sticks in my mind and won't let go. Windy City is a great place
to spend a line dancing weekend. Hope to be there again next year.
************************
FROM: RAINY DAE
Dear Carol,
Its been a week now since I returned from Chicago, and I have just about
caught up with everything back here at home. I had a wonderful time
in Chicago. We went early Wed Morning,and spent two days sight seeing
and eating in the the Windy City before the line dance event.
This was my first time at the Windy City Dance Mania. The hardest part
of the dance event was trying to find time to go to the bathroom, grab
a bite to eat, and visit with old friends and meet & make new friends,
dancing was from 9 am - 7pm non-stop Friday in the 5 dance instruction
rooms, And from 9 am - 5 pm Saturday. It was hard to choose what dance
not to do in order to take a break.
It was a lovely hotel, very clean, friendly & helpful staff, but
you were limited to eating food from the hotel which was rather pricey.
We did bring instant hot breakfast cereals & snacks & fruit
from home to help supplement keeping the cost down. The beds were the
most comfortable I have ever slept in, and when I layed my head down,
I was OUT!
Mark, Eve, & Glenn put together a totally awesome lineup of choreographers
and instructors, there was so much talent under that roof I thought
my brain would explode. I had so much fun meeting and seeing all these
people whos dances we do, read about them in newsletters etc.... it
was just so COOL to get to finally put a face, voice, personality to
a name.
Every class I attended, I learned something new, not just a new dance,
but as an instructor, I learned new ways to teach dance steps (or how
not to teach steps) and of course, tips on ways to make steps flow more
smoothly.
I would like to thank all the instructors & choreographers for taking
time to be available to answer questions, help with dance steps, and
for giving encouragement, not only to myself, but to other dancers as
well.
Line Dancing has progressed quite a bit over the last few years, It's
not just country music anymore, and I think its great that we can now
line dance dance to everything from Gospel to Rap. I was just a little
disturbed by some of the music choices though, due to the lyrics. I
know it is very hard to get most places we dance at back home to play
music that is not country, but if the lyrics are particularly offensive
it makes it hard to promote a dance.
I also enjoyed watching and learning a few new dances from the linedance
competitions. My favorites were:
Rock This Room - Petre
Kountry Rushky -
Hoffer
That's Life (C'Est la Vie) - Barnes
*** this one won the award
There were over 100 dance lessons to choose from.......
some of my favorites were (in no particular order)
Pat Ti Cha - Brown
Lover Boy - Mundy
God Bless The Child - Ward
Globetrotter- Ward
Backseat Blues - Albro
Meltdown - Blevins
Boogie 2night - Hunyadi
Shake Yourself Loose - Hunyadi
Chain Of Fools - Murphy
Crabbuckit - Murphy
Pirates Of Dance - Metelnick
You Can Dance - Mirandas
Celeste - Hickie
Make It Up - Gallagher
The Snake - Ward
Soluna - Hickie
Country Drive - Mirandas
Daughters of Erin - Mirandas
Syncopated Love - Albro
Simon & Barrys Waltz - Ward/Amato
Replay - Blevins
Rhythm of the Falling Rain - Vera
& Theresa
Daydream - Thompson
Double XL (ouch) - Metelnick
Coming Home - Biggs
Hernandos Hideaway - Verdonk
Irish Waltz - Ward
Again, A BIG THANK YOU to Mark, Eve, & Glenn, (and all their local
dancers who helped out) for putting on a spectacular weekend event.
I had a great time, and am looking forward to teaching a bunch of new
dances to all my classes over the winter months, and keeping in touch
with all my new dancing friends from all across the country
Sincerely,
---rainy dae---
************************
FROM: SHOW-MING
Congratulations to Mark, Glen, Eve and all the helpers! This “year
three” weekend was a huge success. Dancers loved the ideal all-in-one-place
set up with five good sized workshop rooms in a row (including one dedicated
beginner’s room), vendors, unlimited ice water supply, affordable
tasty food choices and the easily accessible restrooms. I also slept
well at night on the very nice quality hotel bed. I just loved their
crispy white linens. Crowne Plaza Hotel also offers hotel guests sleep
aid CD, earplugs and eye mask to ensure quality sleep.
It’s so cool to walk into the double sized room full of energetic
dancers at the Thursday night welcome party. There were dancers from
Sweden, UK, Canada and all regions of United States. (It was surreal
and inspiring to dance next to the dancer who lost her home in New Orleans
from Hurricane Katrina. May joy dry her tears.) I saw smiling faces
everywhere and the excitement was instantly contagious. This year there
were 100+ workshop dances plus many good Choreography competition dances
offered, so personal time and energy management became the key to maximize
the learning experience. I loved the challenge. It motivated my tired
body to try harder. Apparently the organizers felt the dancers’
pulse and made a bold decision to include many older favorite dances
on the schedule along with brand new ones and the recent popular ones.
It proved to be a successful mix.
Dances I liked include Hernando’s Hideaway,
Coco Puff, Drivin’
Me Crazy, Meltdown, Pirates
Of Dance, Evidence, Lonesome
Cry, I Think About You. Older favorite
dances I always love include Razor Sharp,
God Bless The Child, Ushered
Through It. During the Ushered Through It lesson, dancers clapped
proudly when they completed learning each segment; it is truly not an
easy dance.
I did a small survey of favorite dances for the event and just about
all dances were mentioned by dancers, yet Hernando’s
Hideaway, Cocoa Puff and Drivin’
Me Crazy won the biggest smiles. I was on such an emotional high
when I tried Roy’s Hernando’s Hideaway.
There are Paso Doble moves mixed in Tango beats. I had never done anything
quite like this. By the third time I danced it, I felt like I can fight
the bull. (Oh, it has been a week after my last try, my muscle told
me I should have chosen a smaller bull.) I learned Cocoa
Puff in the parties and it was just wild. Dancers were all so
focused with their newly invented body movements. Doing the dance steps
then became a breather in between moves. When I first saw Jo’s
Drivin’ Me Crazy, I simply couldn’t
help myself to follow her and do this dance the way she did. It was
a very cool structured dance. Jo just danced it with such loveliness.
While I watched portions of the Choreography competition and considered
them all winners, I did wish I could dance as beautiful as David Morgan
doing his dance Dilemma. Apparently my
friends agreed with me on this one, so Lou Ann taught it in our Wednesday
class.
During two of Scott’s workshops, his buddies walked in singing
“Happy Birthday” with balloons to surprise him of his upcoming
milestone birthday. His wife Deborah also presented him a beautiful
birthday cake during the dinner show. Love was definitely in the air.
I so loved the moment when the pirates, Christopher Petre and the beautiful
Lindsey, embraced me and let me dance “Pirates
Of Dance” between them in the parties… how cool is
that? And our Orange County dancers also did “Running
Away Home” with the talented choreographer Christopher
in open dancing. Yes, we did do his steps correctly, including the double
loop moves. Thank you, Phyllis, for teaching us this dance at the Brandin’
Iron. I felt really cool on the dance floor after having Marion’s
red wine and Celine’s chewy yummy goodies even though I noticed
most of my steps were wrong… but then who is picking on me?
The Saturday dinner show was awesome and well managed. Thanks to all
the superstars. We were all very entertained by their talent. Many dancers
were especially impressed and mesmerized by the versatile performance
of Roy Verdonk, he did an electrifying medley of different dance styles
including Ballroom, Latin, Hip Hop, and funk with a cool sense of humor.
I felt a bit guilty laughing non-stop watching Doug’s needle poking/balloon
popping game. It’s true I laughed so hard that I found all my
arms and legs were moving in all directions yet I did feel for the contestants
every time the balloon popped, thinking it must feel like going to the
dentist’s office with that sound effect right around the ears.
Apparently women do handle the pain better. Here it was proven by the
lovely Kathy Hunyadi and Jo Kinser; they kept the smile on their faces
at all times and did not groan at all. To the contrary, the manly Guyton
and Simon protested with the *Aah *Ow! *Ouie! Sounds. It w!as comical
when they played it in such an uninhibited way.
I did not hear any complaint about the dinner but it’s difficult
for non-cheese eater like me. My selfish wish for the dinner arrangement
is to include fruits and vegetables (not just lettuce) and some non-cheese
items, or if we can even preorder certain foods. The food issue is usually
the reason I do not sign up for the dinner show package.
I had so much fun this weekend; it reminded me how good my life is.
Thanks to all the dancers who filled my heart with so much love that
the endless loving dialogue is still going strong inside my head. I
now know how line dancing has turned my life into a beautiful love story.
Hiro, I looked for you
************************
FROM: JOHANNA BARNES
So it seems that event reports are trickling in, and I'm certianly late
on this, but I have to give props to one of the best run events I have
ever attended! Glenn, Eve and Mark were great hosts and created a well-run
and energetic atmosphere. The sheer amount of talented instructors,
the number of workshops offered, the amount of dances taught, the floors,
the open dance times... well it just made for a spectacular event!!
The hotel set-up works great for getting back and forth, the name tags
are a huge help to re-introducing yourself to all the dance acquaintances
you've made, and the open door - all workshops included made for such
a smooth, fun and favorable weekend! Hotel did well with almost everything,
and it's proximity to an EL ride into the city worked great. (I chose
the walk to the El, then the bus to Navy Pier - the Huge ferris wheel
gave an amazing view, and then a walk around Millenium Park) I can tell
you that I recorded more than 100 dances for the DVD! (whew!) and I
was impressed by how well thought out the choreography competition was.
I have competed dances before, but this is the first time (for me) that
a judge actually got to learn and feel a dance that they were judging.
It makes the outcome that much more of an honor!! A HUGE thank you (I
am very honored) to Max, Judy, Junior and Rachael for deciding to dance
THAT'S LIFE with me in the finals, I am honored to get to compete in
such great company with all the other choreographers! I am thrilled
that Saturday's judges picked my dance, that I get to teach next year
and that so many instructors and dancers liked my dance and want to
teach it! Thank you very much to all the well-wishers, you made me feel
amazing!!! Email me directly if you'd like my original step decription
of That's Life (C'Est la Vie).
I can't beleive I hadn't made this event a priority until this year,
and I will be sad if I ever have to miss Chicago again!!! Get cheap
flights early and join us next year!!!!
DANCE What You Feel!
Johanna Barnes
JEB22@aol.com
www.dancewhatyoufeelstuff.com
************************
FROM: SCOTT
Well, I guess I might be a little late in getting this out, but I feel
I have to say something about Windy City. This was my second time at
this event - I regretfully missed last year. What a difference one year
made! I don't think there was even one snafu. Mark, Glenn, Eve and their
crew made it seem effortless. I especially like the repeats on Sunday.
The dance selections by the choreographers was a nice mixture from beginner
to advanced dances.
I still find myself flipping through the step book and reviewing the
dances I "Tried" to learn.
I happen to be in the Choreographer Competition heat doing my dance
"Someday-Someway" against Johanna Barnes and Christopher Petre-
poor me!!! Her dance was quite amazing. Christopher' s dance was wonderfully
versatile with the different choices of music it could be danced to.
I agree with Johanna about what a great honor it is to have the judges
as well as other participants dance along with you. (Most of the time,
it is just me in the den :) Even though my dance came in below Johanna's,
I want to thank all the people who e-mailed me to ask for the step sheet
for my dance. There are no better people in the world than Line Dance
folks.
I hope more of you will join us next year in Chicago. You won't be sorry.
Scott Schrank
************************
WINDY CITY LINEDANCE MANIA REPORT IS ONLINE
FROM: MARK C.
Hi All!
The 2005 Windy City LinedanceMania Event is over and I am recovered
enough to put together this report complete with Pics. Many thanks go
out to all of the instructors, choreography competitors and staff for
making this a really enjoyable time! Just go to http://countryedge.com
and click on Event Coverage.
Thanks!
Mark, Glen & Eve
NOTE FROM ME: Mark does great writeups on events so be sure and visit
and read his report
Back
To Top
