appeldance (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} appeldance) wrote,@ 2006-05-26 15:59:00 |
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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!
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!
