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appeldance's Journal
Monday, February 19, 2007
12:40AM - Appel Swing Party - February 17, 2007
My Swing party was a total success once again. There were 144 people at the party and Damon and Lisa's Wine and Workshop was well attended as usual.
It is wonderful to have such a supportive community as the Houston swing dancer's. A special thanks goes out to the "Totally Its" What a great group of people that know how to party.
Shelley and Chad
I have two more parties coming up in April. The first will be a Country mix party...primarily country with West Coast Swing sets mixed in. Then I have a swing party in Austin at Go Dance when Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann are there doing workshops.
Come out to the parties and have a good time...See You There!
David Appel
Friday, February 2, 2007
9:31PM - UCWDC Worlds 2007
When you think of Nashville, you think of country music. That makes it the perfect town to host the UCWDC World competition. Especially this year, with the excellent music selection for the competitions and social dancing by the DJs all week long.
OK so a general overview of the good and the not so good. Overall UCWDC Worlds was very well run this year. They kept the schedule very well for a comp of this size. The social dancing in the swing room was a good time and lasted into the wee hours. The Gaylord Opryland is beginning to show signs of being behind the times, especially in the very un-healthconscious food court area. At the same time it is a unique place to hold a competition with unusual details like the Godiva chocolate shop and the 12 foot tall plant lady walking around the atriums. The DJing and music selection this year was great. All my students remarked on how they liked the songs they danced to. More highlights: quick belt buckle delivery this year, complimentary boarding pass printing at the concierge desk, free internet access in the rooms, impromptu Chrisanne dress modeling show by Brandi Tobias. That last one wasn't in the program. The only major debacle we noticed was with the trophies being held up in customs and then arriving with about a quarter of them broken. That should be an easy fix for next year though.
My week very relaxing after Thursday morning. I had three country proam students: Carolyn Wilburn (Silver Advanced), Becky MacCorkle (Open Novice), and Lynn Macy (Diamond Novice) who competed on Tuesday and Wednesday. Worlds is a little different than other comps: the divisions are very large, the floor is larger, and you don't do the music previews on the competitions floor. The music previews are held in smaller ballroom nearby. All this can make Worlds a little intimidating for students, but Carolyn, Becky, and Lynn stepped up and performed very very well. I was especially pleased with the new Cha-Cha routine I had just choreographed in November, and which all three students performed beautifully for the first time at Worlds. They received many compliments on this particular dance, including a very enthusiastic one from Carolyn's husband, Harlyn :)
Thursday morning we got the results and my students cleaned up:
Carolyn is the 2007 ProAm Female Classic Silver & Gold Advanced World Champion!
Becky is the 2007 ProAm Female Classic Open Novice 2nd place winner!
Lynn is the 2007 ProAm Female Diamond Novice 4th place winner!
Thursday evening was a great show of Line dancing (Crown & Superstars) with our very own Mona Arvidson performing her Solo medley. We had cheering section in the bleachers just for her. After this there was a the Bombshel Stomp Off street line dance competition which get the energy going. After awards we retired to the swing room again and set up a home base on one of the oversized divans and socialized with the other dancers from all over the world.
Friday I had to get up early for the ProAm swing competition, which ended up being very small. I danced with Carolyn, Becky, and MaryDee. My students were very pleased with the cool swing trophies they gave this year. Becky in particular was very relived that she won, seeing as she was the only one in the Open Advanced division. Later on the I had a break before the Swing Invitational show and yet another awards ceremony. UCWDC brought lots of swing pros in this year so there were some great performances to watch from: Jordan & Tatiana, Ronnie & Brandi, Parker & Jessica, Miles & Tessa, Kyle & Sarah. Having all the swing comps on Friday made for a great party in the swing room that evening. Special thanks to John Lindo, Louie St.George, and Phil Adams for DJing the swing room all week.
Saturday was the last day of the competition with Couples Classic Open, Crown, Masters, and Showcase competition. Kudos to Sam and Denise Miller who danced away with 1st place in both the Masters Classic and Showcase divisions. I was also so proud of Chad Guidry & Shelley James for their 5th place in the Masters Showcase, and Bobby Pritchard & Kimberly Hromcik for 1st place in Division II Couple Classic. Fabulous dancing everyone! See you next year.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
7:35PM - ACDA Nationals 2006
This year's ACDA Nationals competition was held in Dallas at the Doubletree Galleria. The best thing about the event being held at this hotel is the wonderfully hot chocolate chip cookies you receive upon check in! The event ran smoothly and on time. Sunday awards were even early, which is almost unheard of and extremely welcome.
RECAP:
Friday: The evening started out with the Int/Adv ProAm divisions competing. I had one student, Carolyn Wilburn, dancing in the Silver Advanced division. She danced exceedingly well so we were ready for the swing comp to follow. The competition moved smoothly through the Int/Adv divisions and finished early enough so that those competing in the swing competition had plenty of time to change, freshen up a bit, grab a drink ( a pre-swing competition ritual) and warm up prior to competing. I had two students competing in the Int/Adv Swing ProAm: Carolyn Wilburn in the Senior division, and Becky MacCorkle in the Open division. Both students danced extremely well in this as well. Swing is always the most relaxed competition for Carolyn and Becky. Later on the main ballroom settled down quickly but the party continued with late night dancing in the swing room.
Saturday: On Saturday afternoon, the ProAm Open competitions were held. Open is usually a large division because there is no age restriction so anyone may enter. Becky danced extremely well in the Novice Open division, as she always does. Then it was time to watch the shows and for more late night swing dancing to all hours.
Sunday: The couples competitions finished up in the afternoon, and there was a short period of time while the directors prepared for the awards ceremony. I am very proud to report that both Becky and Carolyn won the ACDA National Championship titles for their divisions. They deserve congratulations also for winning their Swing divisions as well. I know they are pleased with their performances, as they should be.
Kudos to Virginia Rainey, Judi Caudle and Patricia Morris, the event directors, for running the event so smoothly which allowed everyone to get on the road early after a long, fun-filled weekend. This was Becky's first year on the ACDA circuit and she commented that the ACDA events were very warm, welcoming and felt like they were run by family. All of us look forward to seeing everyone on the ACDA circuit again next year. See you at Nationals 2007!
Sunday, August 27, 2006
10:43PM - Summer Hummer - Framingham, MA
Summer Hummer is a great swing event ran by Bill Cameron. If you are traveling there you fly into the Boston airport and travel to Framingham. Fortunately, I had transportation in form of Joe Mahoney who drove Susan Kirklin, Victor Loveira and myself to the hotel.
The hotel itself is a great venue. The outside facade is like a castle and gives the hotel an old world charm and yet is modern and inviting inside. This is a very well organized event and it is attended by most of the top swing dancers in the country. Plus many of the new and out and coming talent is in the
Jack-n-Jills and the Strictly Swing contest.
We got to the hotel and checked in. Once we got our stuff to the room Susan and I headed for floor tryouts. This is the life of a Showcase dancer. The contest are almost always on Friday evening and the we are done except for judging and workshops. The floor tryouts went OK. Susan and I don't live in the same city so it takes some time to reconnect and find the right groove together. Mainly, it is a process for us and we trust the process. We will run the routine without music and try to see if the music speed is right then we try it with lifts. Always the hard part for me because it takes more physical output. Then if there are any parts that feel quirky we communicate our thought's on them. If feel up to it we will run it a third time. Later we will walk it several times before performing. Each walk through brings the routine into a better focus. Susan and I work well within our own minds preparing. Then when the night comes I have only one ritual...I hug my partner and a match my breathing to them. This helps calm me and makes me feel as though we are on the same wavelength. Then we go out and see how it works.
This weekend went pretty good and Susan and I placed 2nd in Showcase out nine couples. Not bad for an old guy:-)
Saturday was filled with early workshops and then in the afternoon they held the Jack-n-Jills and Strictly Swings. This is where you can tell that Summer Hummer has a popular following , because each of the different levels of competitions that were overflowing with competitors. I judged some of the competitions on Saturday and this is probably where things got a little sticky. There were twenty two couples in the category that I judged. They danced in two heats of eleven couples. Each heat had two songs in which to show their best and then at the end there was an all skate for everyone. The sticky part is that the judges had to place the couples 1 through 22. This meant that more time was spent doing paper work than watching couples. Although, it is easy to rank couples by a quick look, the time given to that look at each couple is divided between them and accurately marking the judging ballot. This is not my preference for judging. As couples move up the ranks they get much more time and attention from the judges. In novice categories it is extremely important that the dancers have good movement and quiet but not still movement. Musical acrobatics are mostly wasted on judges because there is little time to appreciate them, nor is it really prudent. What judges notice are good visible qualities of movement that are a coma-nation of many types of good technical applications. Simply said good technique produces a good quality and that is easy to see for an experienced judge and dancer. The other factor that sometimes enters into the mix is recognition. Do the judge know you? I have to say that this wasn't the case for me because I was in an area that had many unknown faces to me.
That afternoon there was a pool party. This is probably the best pool party that I have attended at an event. Some of the things that made it rank high is the fact that it was...well, organized. They had food, hamburgers and hot dogs available for purchase. There was also free beer and a bar for those that wanted something more. In addition to that, they had a dance floor and a DJ set up to play music. Robert Royston was the MC for the party and as usual he did a great job of keeping the energy of the crowd up and involved. They had many contest...hoola hoops, limbo and their famous Karaoke. A kind of "blind karaoke" Participants are invited or coerced to come up and have headphones put on their head. A song is then selected and played over the speakers. As they begin to sing along to the song into the microphone, the music is lowered so that everyone only hears the voice of the singers. During this time they can still hear the song through the headphone. It is kinda like singing along to the song to yourself, except there are several hundred people watching you. It has been very entertaining and great fun! Jordan Frisbee and Parker Dearborn both showed their talent with the microphone, complete with the best "Diva" attitude that rival the "Sisters Sledge"
Tessa Cunningham showing her flexibility:-)
That evening Jordan showed his obvious talent with partner Tatiana Molman in the Classic Swing Division. This competition RAWKED! There were more than twenty couples and it was a awesome show and competition.
Both, Friday and Saturday evening there was a midnight breakfast buffet and then late night dancing into the wee hours of the morning. It is small touches like this that make a competition memorable. Another delightful touch is the roses that Bill provided for the Jack-n-Jill finalist boys to give to the girls that they danced with.
There were various DJ's throughout the weekend but the standout would have to be Victor and Lou...great music!
Summer Hummer is an awesome event and is very well organized. It also has many competitors in all of the levels. I really like this event!
Sunday, August 13, 2006
10:42PM - Lonestar Invitational - Austin, TX
The Lonestar Invitational is an ACDA country event held in my home away from Austin, TX. It was a great weekend and pretty much everything ran n time. The only problem was the swing competition on Friday evening.
This was the first year that The Lone Star had been involved with running the swing portion of the event under the World Swing Dance Council Rules - WSDC. This allows swing dancers to accumulate points that allows them to graduate to higher categories and it keeps dancers from staying in lower categories when they should be dancing higher up! We that said the system is less than fool proof and there needs to be some sort of regional directors to oversee the comps and to insure the intentions of the rules.
There was trouble in the registration of dancers for the swing category and the contest ran over two hours behind. Some of the competitors choose to leave. Others became very agitated and tired as the night ran extremely late. I myself gave up on the contest and began the celebrate with students and friends alike. By the time the contest started everyone was a little more than tipsy. We had a good time despite the poor start to the weekend. The music for the swing contest was provided Victor Loveira and Tina .
Saturday was a much better day for The Lonestar. Pro-am contest ran on time and without incident. Later that evening was the dinner show. The show was a good length and had a good variety of dancers participating. Susan and I closed the show with our Showcase swing to "Give Me One" and it was very well received by the audience. It is always such a pleasure to perform for such a warm and enthusiastic group of people.
Saturday also included the the Jack-n-Jills and Strictly swings. I judged this portion of the weekend swing contest. It was again a little disorganized but, well attended. The scoring got a little askew. Score were not recored properly but, were later set straight. It was important for many of the contestants because they were on the borderline of having enough points to move up into higher categories at the upcoming Dallas Dance swing event. There have been many times in the past where there were scoring errors made by the event. I think that it is honorable and the right thing to do when the event makes the effort to correct a mistake when it is made.
Sunday went off without a hitch and the various dance categories Division 1 & 2 were fun to watch and judge. The day wound down and awards happened late in the afternoon.
Carolyn Wilburn won 1st overall and Becky MacCorkle got 2nd overall in her division. I am very proud of my girls:-)
Sunday, August 6, 2006
10:41PM - Arizona Dance Classic - Phoenix, AZ
The Arizona Dance Classic http://www.shallwedancehouston.com/Arizo
I arrived on Friday at the Phoenix airport. I caught a shuttle and got a two hour tour from our very new driver that got lost. The drive out to the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort & Casino was very pretty. The hotel is set back in a canyon and it was a great view of the desert countryside. After finally arriving at the hotel I got to my room and got ready for the evenings competition. There had already been a full day of ballroom competition on Thursday and on Friday evening they had the pro-am competition and Division 1. The competition ran smoothly and my students Becky MacCorkle and Lynn Macy danced very well.
There was no set videographer at the event instead they had video passes available for anyone who wanted to record the competition. The next day started out very early on Saturday morning with the Intermediate-Advanced Division. This is somewhat unusual because typically newcomers dance early most of the time. This is one of the reasons that I am glad I don't have newcomers this year, but damm...here we go at the crack of I Hop time. Dancers as a whole are night creatures. It is hard to get your "funk on" when it is that early in the morning! My advanced student Carolyn Wilburn had a rough outing at this event. This is not normal for her and I didn't helped her on the first dance by changing the Triple-Two choreo on the fly. What was I thinking! But, her other dances came together and we survived the competition. It was just too early...I think my brain arrived by FedEx sometime in the afternoon.
Damon D'Amico and I at the pool party.
Saturday evening was the dinner show and Susan and I performed our showcase swing. I love the way they run the show at this event. It is short and sweet and yet packed with talent. As usual a good performances by everyone involved! After the show the performers had dinner in the restaurant and headed for the pool party. I pool party was different this year and not as well organized. I stayed visited shortly and headed off for private parties. Later that night after the pool I went swimming and the water was awesome.
The Louisiana Crew.
Sunday there was more dancing and competition. Later in the afternoon they had the swing competitions. Here is another area that could have been better. The DJ for the swing competition was ill prepared and not very experienced, so the music was a little lackluster. It was hard to get motivated for the swing when the music was not appropriate.
Sunday evening there was a get together at an Italian restaurant. They had got the owners to open up just for the people still left at the event. The food and company were awesome. Kudos to the Arizona Dance Classic
I have to say that I would not want to live in the desert but it is a beautiful place to visit and the Arizona Dance Classic is a great reason to make the trip!
Sunday, July 30, 2006
9:46PM - Dance Houston Championships 2006, Houston, TX
The Dance Houston Championships wrapped up July 28th-30th this year. It was held at The Melody Club, the home of Houston swing dancers, with its fabulous bar and huge dance floor. This place has so much history and memories that everyone tends to overlook the dusty corners. It's home to our local events and they wouldn't be the same without it.
The good: the vocal acrobatics of MC David Young, Best Bites economical and delicious catering, Michael Stephens & Jamie Callahan's Anything Goes dance to 'Baby Got Back'
The not-so-good: the leaky roof that left puddles on the dance floor & the two hour dancers meeting
Dance Houston is the largest local event and draws competitors from all over the region, including Louisiana and Oklahoma. Although they have been the official Houston City contest for many years, Whip Inc. has announced their intention to change all that by adopting SWRDA rules and requesting the dominant place in the local regional event hierarchy. This would mean that Dance Houston would no longer be a city contest, and henceforth be classified as a higher contest than Regionals. This has created confusion among competitors, which will remain until the final ruling on this request at the next SWRDA meeting. Only time will tell.
So, overall great food, fun, and dancing. Let's get to the pictures:
Ruby and Jamie got back!
Local entrepreneurs Michelle and Nancy show off their booths of bling.
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
1:42PM - Appel Country Party - Saturday, July 22
There are many things that define Houston, TX as a city. But, one of the most enjoyable differences that sets us apart from other major cities is country and western dancing. It started here in Houston and it is still very much alive and well. I had a country party this last Saturday evening and for a debut of the country format I had a fabulous turn out. There was a little less than 100 people at the party and everyone had a good time!
Leading up to the party I worked on the music or six or eight weeks. I wanted to have the best mix of dance music to play which included both old favorites and new and popular songs. The tempo of the music was also very important. Not everyone likes to dance to the fast 2-steps. So, it was critical to have good feel good 2-steps at a moderate tempo. I only played faster polkas and East Coast Swing once or twice. Most people danced polkas to the song that were more in the Triple Two-Step range. I played one or two Cha Cha's and more of the Nite Club Two and Waltz. The bulk of the music that I concentrated on was 2-Step's and West Coast Swing. I played a Country Night Club format...country music except for the West Swing's were my normal swing mix of R&B, Hip Hop and Jazz, etc. The music mix turned out really good and all of the dancers had a good variety of music types and tempos to choose from. All in all, it was a huge success!
There are a few things that I wished come have been a little different. For one, the air conditioning at the studio was not working well. Unfortunately, there were two out of the four units that were not working. So, it was really warm...HOT! This is not usually the norm for the studio and was really out of my hands. But, nonetheless I felt bad for the dancer's. Also, I will plan to start the party earlier next time, probably around 7:00p and ending at 11:00 or so. The Houston C&W dance crowd are used to going out early and then leaving as the clubs get crowded and by 10:00p people started funneling out the door. Each stopping by to say how much they enjoyed the party and that they would be looking forward to the next party. So, next time I will definitely start earlier in the evening. I will plan on having workshops next time as well. I think that having workshops before the party helps to kick the party off and gives an good overall experience for the whole event. I was trying to get one of the C&W competitors to do an exhibition, but this didn't work out this time either. I will start a little earlier next time and make sure there is some entertainment in the form of exhibitions.
But. when all is said and done I had a really good turn out for a first time party...100 dancers!
The next country party should be sometime next year after worlds. It will be a good time for dancers to come out and enjoy dancing without having to worry about the competitive edge.
Monday, June 19, 2006
10:38PM - Orange Blossom, Orlando, FL
I attended the UCWDC country event, the Orange Blossom http://www.orangeblossomdance.com. The new event directors, Donna Bonham-Steinfeld and Shawn Swaithes, did an awesome job organizing and running the event this year. The Marriott Hotel was very nice and the swimming pool was awesome, with it view overlooking a natural waterway at the back of the hotel.
The hotel restaurant had great food and was exceptionally priced. Which is always a plus when you are trapped at the hotel and at their mercy for food.
The event itself ran on time and had a good turn out of competitors, as well as, Master level dancers. My only complaint would be about the dance floor on Friday afternoon. The floor was new and appeared to be a beautiful, but unfortunately the air conditioning was not turned on in the ballroom until shortly before the competition started. This caused the humidity in the room rise and make the new floor sticky and slow. It made it extremely difficult to dance with pro-ams at the competition. I guess that would explain some of the problems that my students had that evening. The floor did speed up as the weekend progressed. All in all, it was a very good event and a nice weekend in Sunny Florida!
Friday, May 26, 2006
3:59PM - Grand Nationals - Atlanta, Georgia
On Memorial Day weekend the Grand Nationals swing competition http://www.usagrandnationals.com was held in Atlanta, GA. This is the 12th year that Charlie Womble and Jackie McGee have ran and hosted this prestigious event. They have brought together the worlds of swing and shag for a weekend of dancing and competing. I was there 12 years ago when the Grand Nationals had its debut and from that classy start to now there has been nothing but year after year of outstanding event's. This year is no exception, with dance categories such as Classic Swing packed with 20 couples and Showcase with 12 couples. Grand Nationals rivals the U.S. Open with its number of competitions and competitors.
What makes an event like this one stand out from the others is simple...they care about the dancers. In every interaction that I had with the event they made me feel welcome and that I was an important part of their event.
For this event review you will get two opinions of the Grand Nationals weekend. One from myself, David Appel and the other from Valerie Menard.
David and Valerie
David Appel: Traveling to Atlanta to attend the event is affordable but, a little pricey. My ticket from Houston was about $329.00. Better airfares were probably available, but I didn't find them. I made the mistake of taking the cab from the airport to the hotel, The Renaissance Waverly at the Galleria. The cab fare with tip ran $50.00. I found out later round trip shuttle was about $50.00...next time take the shuttle %&*#@. I had booked the room for two double beds in a non-smoking room at the very reasonable rate of $87.00 plus tax. This is a big hotel with an extremely well trained staff that was very helpful and pleasant to deal with. As soon as you walked in the door's of the Renaissance you immediately felt the presence of the swing event. They had iced water near the front desk compliments of the Grand Nationals. The elevators were running quickly which makes things easier when you are rushing around to get to different competitions. My room was spacious and had a wonderful bed. The bathroom was a good size, but would be cramped for more than one person at a time. The dressing area outside bathroom was a big plus. Many of the dancers pack multiple people into one room to cut cost. Now, imagine five girls trying to get ready at the same time in a small bathroom...chaos! So, the separate dressing area is always a plus.
Valerie Menard: I absolutely loved the hotel. It's had semi-private coves and corners all over the hotel that made you feel relaxed and comfortable giving you places for privacy, but not so far out of the way that you felt left out. The open and beautiful atrium gave full view to the ballroom from the lobby area, as though that was the major focus of the hotel. Unlike other competition venues where you have to wind your way down corridors and hallways or even through several buildings before finding the ballroom. Also, no parking garage to pay for! They just had a good old fashioned parking lot. This hotel gets my top rating.
David Appel: I had meals in the room, the cafe and at the Grill. All were great, especially the Grill! There was also food available at the bar and they had a Starbucks Coffee counter available inside the hotel. The late night breakfast buffet was $13.00. Many people thought that it was included in the ticket price and were surprised when they received the bill, but the breakfast buffet was exceptionally priced and had a wide variety of choices available, both cold and hot. This is perhaps my only bad experience of the weekend. The service was extremely poor at the buffet. It was slow and discourteous, as waitresses ignored request for coffee and water. Although, this still did not change my mind about the event being awesome!
Valerie Menard: They allowed the classic division dancers to practice on Friday floor tryouts. This was during the time allotted for Showcase or anyone dancing on Friday night to practice on the floor before they would compete. I felt that the people who owned the event took a personal interest in the details. If you had a question you got answers right away and your problems were solved on the spot. Everyone working the event made feel like I was a guest. I experienced this wonderful attitude at every turn, not just by a few people, but by the whole staff. During the competitors meeting on Friday the dancers were told that they were the "show" and were treated like guest all weekend.
David Appel: The event had more categories than most swing events, because of the added shag competitions and cabaret. There were also junior shag dance competitions and teams divisions. This is one of the most outstanding parts of this event...the way they supported young and talented dancers. Showcase Swing started Friday evening around 11:00pm. There were 12 couples competing in Showcase, which is more than normal...that was awesome! It was great to see so many couples competing together at one event. Many times you only compete against a few couples here and a few coupes there, but this was an exciting competition to watch and to dance.
Valerie Menard: This is a HUGE event. Yet, I never felt that I was lost in the shuffle or just another weekend pass. The staff was pleasant and the spectators were energetic, even up through the 20th performance of the Classic Division which finished around midnight Saturday night. Brian Spivey and I danced in the 19th spot. The fact that the crowd wasn't asleep yet was very encouraging to a new partnership like ours. It was a great place to compete together for the first time. The competition provided amazing shows each night. Friday had 12 couples in Showcase, Saturday had 20 in Classic and the other's...18 in Strictly prelims, 11 in Strictly finals, 60 couples in the J&J prelims and 16 in J&J finals--each recieving prize money!
David Appel: Again, one of the most important aspects of this event is the way that they want to make the dancers attending feel special...customer service and appreciation. Now that is special!
Valerie Menard: At one point during the weekend they held a free ice cream party. We aren't talking vanilla in a cone. They had a big selection to choose from...I had a dream sickle, my partner had a fudge-sickle , and others had nutty buddy's. Of course, when I saw the line, I almost turned around. But again, the staff was there to serve you...a few of them picked up an assortment of ice cream and came down the line and passed them out to speed things up. I was very impressed!
David Appel: Also, during the weekend they provided free popcorn to snack on and free bottles of water from one of the sponsors.
Valerie Menard: The social dance music was great...imagine...two different swing rooms! Pick your DJ! It seemed everybody was there and visible most of the time...not like some events where you see the celebrities during their performance and then not again till the next event. I think the hotel layout gets most of the credit for this. I was so impressed with the good things about this event, that I am having a hard time remembering anything negative. This is a must-go-to event. AND plan to stay over on Sunday night. The ballroom and hotel were still packed with dancers at 1am...we aren't talking just a few left over stragglers.
The Good Ole' Boys
David Appel: The Grand Nationals is and will probably forever be a great event to attend! Whether you are there to social dance, spectate or compete. The venue is fabulous, and the event directors and staff make you feel right at home. Now that is what I call Southern Hospitality!
Saturday, May 20, 2006
12:03AM - Texas Classic
Friday-
The Texas Classic http://www.thetexasclassic.com hosted by new owner Kathi Bittner started on Friday, May 19. I got to the hotel and checked into room around three in the afternoon. The venue was fabulous...it was the Hilton hotel on Post Oak situated in the Uptown Houston area near the Galleria. The hotel and staff were excellent. My only complaint is that the design of the hotel is a little confusing. More than once I made a wrong turn and that was before I started my celebratory drinking:-) My hotel room was very nice and I was glad that my view was of the swimming pool...next time bring swimming suit. Although, night swimming is the only safe way for me...during the daylight the reflection off of my white body could be blinding. "Pale, is the new tan"
Registration check in for the competition was quick and easy. The staff manning the registration area were informative and pleasantly cheerful. I think that this is very important because the very first contact that you have at an event is the registration process and it should be a good first meeting. The ballroom was a good size for the competition and the floor was great...kudos to Gerald Morris for the floor. After a little searching I was able to find the dressing room' s. They were in a separate room off of the ballroom, but still close enough to make quick changes easily. The dressing rooms were very well stocked with clothing racks, mirrors, chairs for those with balance issues. There was also safety pins and all of the other essential items needed to look like a country and western superstar. Big points in this area!
Warm ups...why do they call them warm ups anyway? I mean you go out on the floor, with everybody else that is competing that evening and try to dance your routine on the floor that has no room on it whatsoever. You get bumped and cut off from the line dance and then if you get warm, you will be cold by the time you finally get to that dance in the competition. Really, the only true purpose of the quick run time that you have on the floor is to get a feel of the floor and the music...with a slight possibility of anxiety thrown in for no charge.
Friday night competition ran on time and my student Carolyn Wilburn danced wonderfully. Then immediately following the country event was the swing, hustle and salsa competition. After the C&W there is always a mad rush from the ballroom to to quickly change for the swing. Those of us dancing C&W with hats on have to take time to do something about...HAT HAIR!
The swing competition was well attended and had many competitors. I had four students that danced; Carolyn Wilburn, Mary Dee Harris, Becky MacCorkle and Lynn Macy. All of the girls were awesome!! I have truly found the secret to good dancing...pick beautiful talented ladies and then I look great. (good taste goes a long way)
I left before the end of the swing competition because I had to be up early the next morning.
Saturday-
I had to teach at 9:00-11:00 and then practice with Susan. A short nap and it was already time for Novice. I danced with Lynn Macy and Becky MacCorkle. The afternoon went smoothly with only a couple of creative moments on my part:-) After the session I quickly went up and changed for show rehearsal. We started the rehearsal with the tribute to Trini DeSilva. The run thru was quick and efficient . Then Susan and I ran our routine to music. I left the ballroom as others were about to come in and take their seats for the evenings competition and show. I went back and showered, ironed clothes and headed back down to the ballroom. I just missed Chad Guidy and Shelley James Masters waltz...*&%@#.
The tribute to Trini went very well. I have been professional throughout the whole period of time that the routine was being put together. I thought only about the mechanics of the routine and video presentation. It was when I entered the floor to dance that the emotion of the moment struck my face red and watered my eyes. I could not and did not want to contain the emotion that I felt...so I let it go.
Immediately afterwords, I had to change and pull myself together so I could dance the swing with Susan. She had perfect understanding as she let me compose myself and then focus on our task together. We danced and had one major problem, but it is still fixable and I am looking forward to Grand National's this coming weekend. The show itself was not too long, but still very entertaining. There was lots of time between the Masters Competition and the show that gave spectators a chance to social dance.
After the show I did swing award's and my girls rocked...more on placement's later:-)
A new friend at the swing awards!
I changed and opened a bottle of Chateau Nuf De Pap...yeah baby!
A quick visit to the staff room for a party. This is also where I think Kathi had done a great job. She made the staff and the attendee's feel special and important. Way to go Kathi. Staff room was great. Good food, good selection(healthy-not healthy) and drinks, COOL! Nice touches.
Sunday-
An early morning again, more choreo and then watched the competition. On a side note, one of the competitor's Donnie Stewart fell to the floor clutching his right knee during Nite Club 2. I feel bad for him and hope that he is going to be alright. Hopes of a speedy recovery to Donnie.
All the couples danced great and there was a lot of improvement for the competitors. I had multiple couples dancing that I coach. It was nice to see them dance live instead of watching just the video. But unfortunately there were several uncontested divisions.
Overall, I think the Texas Classic was a very well ran event, with a great new venue and lot's of nice special touches. Also, there was a good gathering of upper level dancer's, which makes coaching more available to competitors that want help with their dancing.
I always try to support the local country event's, but I would recommend this event to everyone.
My girls placed very well and I am happy that they all were pleased with the way that they danced this weekend.
The Swing Placements-
Mary Dee Harris - Silver
Lynn Macy - 2nd Newcomer
Becky MacCorkle - 2nd in Intermediate
Carolyn Wilburn - 1st in Advanced
The Country Placements-
Lynn Macy - 2nd Overall Diamond Novice
Carolyn Wilburn - 2nd Overall Silver Advanced
Becky MacCorkle - 1st Overall Crystal Novice
Great job ladies and I am very proud of you!
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
12:00PM - Appel Swing Party...Houston, Tx
I held Another Swing party in Houston on Saturday, May 13. It was a very good party, not as large as most of my parties, but it was packed with mostly new people...at least new to my party. SWEET!
I will probably never schedule another party in the month of May again. There are just too many great functions that happen at the same time and not everyone can attend everything. I also, did not have workshops ahead of time which will not happen again. I think that the workshop's help get the party...partying sooner:-) That and the wine:-)
So many beautiful ladies...So little David:-)
I played a lot of new swing music that evening. As usual I spent hours scouring the stores and internet for music. It is not a business or a hobby...it is an obsession! I like finding good music. I could play what I know is safe but, I occasionally like to try something new and different. If it works I play it again. If not then I scrap it or use it for teaching.
Speaking of music...I released my website AppelDance.com
On my web site there is a link to my iTunes iMix of 99 WC Swing Songs.
What is an iMix? A iMix is a playlist of songs that I can put together and then publish on the iTunes web site. You can purchase the songs straight from iTunes after you have opened an account and downloaded the free software. One song is .99 cents or the whole playlist is less than $100.00. This means that you do not have to search for good music. I have done it for you:-)
It was also exciting to see Brian Spivey and Valerie Menard debut their awesome classic swing routine to "Baby Get Lost" by Queen Latifah. It was a fabulous performance, especially for the first time on the floor and I was glad that I could provide a good venue for them to debut their swing routine. As usual Valerie was sexy as ever and had everyone's attention immediately, while Brian demonstrated what a man with rhythm looks like. It was fun to watch and I will be looking forward to seeing them compete in Atlanta at the Grand Nationals.
Good Luck Guys!
Sunday, April 30, 2006
12:21AM - Appel Swing Party at Go Dance in Austin, TX - April 2006
I held an out of town West Coast Swing party at Go Dance http://www.godance.cc in Austin, TX which is owned and operated by the beautiful Mylie Alrich. The studio is an awesome multi-level design that is decorated extremely tasteful way.
Through out the weekend Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollman http://www.jordantatianaswing.com were at Go Dance teaching workshops and private lessons. A lot of swing dancers came out from Houston to join in on the fun and learn something new from the current U.S. Open Classic Swing Champions. Then later on Saturday evening I was the DJ for the swing party. As usual attendance was great...108 people!
Then midway thru the party Jordan and Tatiana did a freestyle lead follow swing. They danced to "Taste of Dis" by Brooke Valentine. It was an absolutely awesome display of lead-follow swing. They pulled sounds out of the music that made you think they were part of the original band. Tatiana is the "Mistress of Musicality" and Jordan is Mr. Finesse. Together they are fabulous!
I played the party all the way up to 1:00am with all of the last few diehards getting in their final dances. I can't wait until I have my next party at my home away from home. It was a great party for everyone that came out.
I can tell when I am in the DJ zone when song after song people come up and ask, "What song was that?" If you want to know some of the great music I play, then check out the iMixes on my web page AppelDance.com
Friday, April 7, 2006
2:59PM - Texas Hoedown - March 2006
I just got back from the Texas Hoedown http://www.dancetexashoedown.com which is an ACDA country event held in Ft. Worth, Texas and it was awesome this year! I have attended the Hoedown every year for the last four or five years and I believe that this years attendance was better than in previous years. Even the upper divisions of couples, Division 1 & 2, had more competitors dancing this year. Kudos to Jerry and Virginia Rainey who are the event directors of the Texas Hoedown.
The hotel that the event was held at is a Holiday Inn that is making the change into a Radisson. This year they were completing renovations to the hotel. This made the stay a little more uncomfortable but, I think in the long run the hotel is going to be much more upscale, especially with the addition of sleep number bed...SWEET!
Some of the things that I like about the competition and its venue is the laid back and inviting way it is presented. Everybody feels good about being there. I also think that it is great that they have a liquor store just next door to the hotel...how convenient. In addition, there is a Cracker Barrel to eat at just across the street, as well as, a large selection of restaurants just two miles down the freeway. It was a great event this year and everyone had a good time.
My students danced wonderfully...
In the Country and Western competition:
Becky MacCorkle won 1st place overall in the Novice Copper Division
Carolyn Wilburn won 1st Place overall in the Advanced Silver Division
In the Swing Competition:
Mary Dee Harris placed 6th in the the Novice Swing
Becky MacCorkle placed 1st in the Intermediate-Advanced Swing
Carolyn Wilburn placed 3rd in the Intermediate-Advanced Swing
"Country BLING"
Also, Virginia Rainey recognized me as a special addition to the Texas Hoedown...Thanks again to Jerry and Virginia Rainey for another great competition!
