Dean & Mary Faast hosted yet another great annual weekend workshop August
2,3,& 4 in London Ontario.
Registration was speedy, Debi & Gale, did a great job answering questions
n helpin folks out. The shedules posted were accurate and easy to find. We had a "Color"
theme this year so many of the dances tie into that. This was my 3rd time attending the event. Each
year it has been better than the last. While thought to be pricey, in comparision to other events, it's well
worth it. The entry fee for early registration, to at the door ranged from $85 - $120 US. This includes 3
days worth of workshops, all shows & demos, Friday's dance, Saturday's scrumptious buffet & dance, PLUS
the step sheet booklet. ( I think having the book included is new this year? :)
It was held again at the Four Points Sheraton and seemed well attended
by all of us workshop "reggies" along with lots of new faces that I hope to see again real soon in the future
:)
The line up included our Favorite Big Guns Max Perry, Kathy Hunyadi, John
Robinson, Scott Blevins, Jamie Davis Marshall, Peter Metelnick, Barry & Dari Anne Amato, along with Kevin
& Rena Ward, Mark Cosenza, Debi Bodven, Jo & John Kinser, Jenna Barber, Dave & Linda Corke, Mike & Inge
Evans plus plenty of our local hometown faves Jo Everhart, FRANK COOPER, Mike Bishop & Debbie Levesque, and Robert Fielder.
Add my "back up" fave DJ Wildman Louie to the mix - what more could ya ask for?
The hotel runs efficiently, check in was a breeze, staff was courteous
& friendly. We found service to be great & the rooms nicely done. (Tho the night
manager seemed to have his watch set at least an hour ahead of the rest of us n rushed to end the evening's festivities.
Apparently he just wanted us all to get a good night's sleep to be well rested & fresh in the
morning ;) Both Friday & Saturday night's dances ended
a bit earlier than most would expect, at least the dance room was still crowded when the lights went up
and the music shut down. Despite Louie's attempts to play late
- we got kicked out ;) Like we're not used to that eh??? It happens everytime we go dancin' no matter where
or how late ;) I remember last year we had to beg Louie to stop playin' &
finally let us go to bed :)
We had complete use of 4 rooms for daytime teaches, then combined 2
rooms for the line dancing ballroom at night, and a separate designated room for couples dancing. I never made it onto the couples floor, I'm sure Deb & Mike kept it hoppin' :) Louie
like always had his vibe goin' & kept the line dance floor filled gettin' in most everyone's requests - including plenty
of the weekend's teaches - that I loved! Often at workshops, you never get to dance what you just learned. I rilllllllly
enjoy his alternative music selections too. Go Louie!
The downside of the weekend that I heard about was the dance floor.
Which like at any hotel event I've ever gone to, the floor was a lil small for the gang of us and a bit sticky.
Face it - that's the price you pay for the convenience of an "Under one roof"
event. AND if it's a good event - it's gonna be a lil crowded - no biggy! Just more friends to
play with :) There was some talk of it being hot - guess what?
IT'S SUMMERTIME! WE DANCE OURSELVES WITLESS for hours
at a time - Yer gonna sweat! Like John's shirt said - "No one ever sweated to death" or sumpin
like that - so no mo' whinin!!!! We had a blast!
72 classes were packed in during the weekend, 22 were designed
for couples. I got in a whoppin' 10 classes including my "must take" class - Scott's So Addictive :) So
my weekend theme color was "Tickled Pink" :) I got just what I wanted, plus a whole lot more....
The "hits" from the music played most were American Pop, Sugarfoot
Rag, Can't Stop Loving You and So Addictive.
I'm sure I missed more than a few, but combining my faves &
the dances I heard most people talkin' about, my picks for dances (new & not so new) to come out of
the weekend are...
*Scott Blevins* His are ALWAYS a given :)
So Addictive, Hella Dance, Cowgirls & Switches - dubbed "Switchblades & Witches"
by my class - don't ask ;)
*Max Perry*
S.X.E pronounced "sexy" (R. Fowler) Nieve (K.M.Vinberg)
Sorento Moon (G. Ricks) Can't Stop Loving You (Andy Skidmore)
*Kathy Hunyadi*
Evergreen (Karen Hunn) Beat of Love I luv this song (M. Perron & J. Thompson)
*John Robinson*
Feel the Rush, done to another great Chris
Anderson song not on the step sheet Baha Holiday (w/ Pepper) Anybody Wanna cool new moves from the (Lady in Black)
*Peter Metelnick*
And They Danced, American
Pop (Michele Burton)
*Jamie Davis Marshall*
R.E.D "Really Easy Dance" done to Three Dog Night's
Mama Told Me Not To Come - I admit - I'm old - Luv this song
*Barry & Dari Ann Amato*
Sugarfoot Rag, Wannabe
*Kevin & Rena Ward*
I'm Alive, Solid Gold Cadillac
*Debi Bodven*
I Love To Boogie - cool new Brian Setzer music, The Colour of Blue
*Mark Cosenza*
Sha Na Na, (Been on my to-do list since JG2)
The Sombrero Waltz
*Jo & John Kinser*
Chicago Brown Another
song I luv from my lomnnnnng ago youth ;)
*Jo Everhart*
TYCO - Hot in Here Ya'll have
seen our version of "Renegade" to this song at my dances & classes - thank goodness we can put a stop to all that
sillyness and do a "for real" dance ;)
*Frank Cooper*
A Long Goodbye, Cherry Pink & Apple
Blosson White, Shake It Off
We know em, we luv em :)
*Jenna Barber*
Just A Little X - cool dance that goes to
the same music as S.X.E
We were treated to demos on Friday night - which I always appreciate - glad
to have them - just wish they didn't use up open dance time. (Again I suggest puttin on demos in
place of 1 or 2 lesson slots for interested instructors & dancers. Yea - there are pros
n cons for any plan or schedule, but the bottom line is dancers luv their open dance time! Half the fun of
a workshop is the open dancing)
Saturday's dinner was delish! Just like in previous years the food was great
and there was plenty of it. (My whine o' the weekend - I never found the dessert table. Which according to
Cynthia is a good thing cuz she thinks "Mah butts gettin' big" ;) Anyway, on with the night's entertainment.
We saw some rillllllly great dancing. Jenna's routine was new for most of us - she did fantastic. A
lil gal whose name I forget along with Jo & John Kinser, Peter & company, the London team, John &
Jamie, plus Barry & Dari Anne's still AWESOME routine, wowed us all :) Then some more open dancing, with
a brief intermission for competition awards.
