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MICHIGAN DANCE
FUN WEEKEND 2003
| Event Director Barb Pierce |
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| aka Mom |
MDF 2003 PHOTO GALLERY
MDF 2003
Event Director Barb Pierce known as "Mom" by many, organized
the 7th, possibly 8th annual MDF weekend held at Central Michigan University in Mt Pleasant Michigan. Like the
name says - Dance Fun!
This was my 1st time at the event, so I can't make comparisions to
previous years. The comments I did hear involved it being larger in the past, offering more concurrent teaches during
the day and "Big Gun" instructors. Many of this year's evaluations said that isn't a priority and overwhelming
response was for the event to continue!
Good thing too, cuz I'm invited back :) So is Denise and ??? oops I
forgot to check who else...
CMU makes a great workshop facility - large but easy to navigate.
There was talk of a future location switch - be hard to beat CMU imho tho.
Centrally located in the state, Mt Pleasant has lots of shoppin', gamblin' n other fun stuff to keep ya busy if you tire of
dancin' - as if! Never! ;) Plus there are lots of late night restaurants/clubs to choose from to keep the
night going longer n stronger - why, yes we did!
We had the use of 3 "gyms", all with wood floors. Two next to each
other upstairs near the entrance, the 3rd teach room located downstairs. These were designated for novice line, int-line
and couples rooms during the day. The main gym was used for the evening dances both Friday and Saturday night.
Parking
on site was close & free, a fast food snack bar
offered advanced order lunches to be ready at your requested time. How neat! The workshop fee of $40.00
with early registration, $45.00 afterwards, included all workshops, the step book, and Fri & Sat night dances.
The only negative I heard was many did not receive the mailing until after the early cut-off date. It was
still cheap compared to "Under one roof "events, plus with so many nearby hotels that didn't seem to make
a big difference.
The instructors & teaches for the weekend's fun were:
Fran Yeager:
X Cuse Me, Chihuahua, A Little Bit of Nothing, Feel the Rush
Denise Stone:
Don't Stop, Trickle Trickle, Sweet Little Dangerous
Mary Jane Ormsby:
One Mississippi, Splish Splash, Fun Cubed, Juke Joint Jive
Charlie & Nancy Rood:
Echoes in the Valley, Coffee for Two, Weak in the Knees
Keith & Sherry Sutton:
When I'm 64, Hootchie Dance, & East Coast basics, West Coast Basics
Mark & Diana Merchant:
Two-Step, Waltz
Helen Azelio:
Sweet Sweet Smile, Stroll ALong Cha-Cha
Barb Pierce:
Someone's Waltz
And me Carole Daugherty :)
Badda-Boom! Badda-Bang!, Sugar Daddy, Bucklehuck, Swing Your Chains, Expressions &
Cowboy Rondie for couples.
BTW - Again I'd like to pass along Frank's regrets...Sorry he couldn't make it.
I'd say all the dances went over rilly well...as yanno lots are being done on
our local floors currently. I'm purty sure everything taught was danced during
open dance at least once - We always luv that :)
The step book contained quite a few sheets that weren't gotten to, most of those
made it to the instructional video - I think. Instructors got a copy of the video
too...what a nice perk. Thanks!
Onto the nitty gritty...the open DANCE & FUN!
Both Friday & Saturday night dances were DJ'd by the Suttons aka "Justus". They did a steady
mix of old and new - we did everything from Guilty to Jungle Freak. Or tried our best on some of the golden
oldies anyway ;) I had tons of fun and danced up a storm - like always! In case ya couldn't
tell - those were variations not forgetations :) Pssst - Jim's renegadin' however, needs
a lil work before we're floor ready ;)
The request list was lonnnnng - dunno how many of them were able to get played. While
our gang gets up n dances to whatever music is on, I noticed some dancers seemed to have downtime. Mighta been
their choice??? Usually, from what we know about dancers... we all just wanna dance - all night long :)
One suggestion I have for next year is to make use of the great layout and open the gym next door for
evening dancing. The trend with most successful workshops these days is to have multiple open dance rooms at night.
One room for the progressive new stuff, and a seperate room for Country, Couples & Classics. That way most
everyone is happy, has FUN, and DANCES all they're able to! With the gyms right next to eachother & the
door between, folks could easily bop back n forth to their boots/bootys delight ;)
The workshop did offer a great range of teach levels for all dancers, beginner & up for couples
& line - country and non-country - also the trend for workshops. Have something for everyone - they
will come :)
The only drawback I saw with the CMU locale was the early quittin' time. I think we had
to be outta there by 11:30??? I'd whine about it - but ya'll have heard dat before ;) Soooooooo we made
sure to get in as much dancing as we could whilst the music played.
Saturday also featured a nicely done demo esp the waltz, by Helen's Blackberry Creek group.
The problem with that - or with a demo by anyone for that matter - is it takes up treasured open dance time.
Most any dancer would tell ya their opinion openly...The cardinal rule is - Don't take up open dance time...for
anythiing.
As I and others have suggested in many reviews before - demo the weekend's dance teaches during
the 1st teach slot of the day, & feature spotlight demos early 1st thing on the evening program - prior to the start
of open dance. One day I'm sure this will finally be the trend & catch on ;) Until then - I'll juss
keep goin on about it ;)
|
| Dale has his choice of partners... |
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| And does his best to give everyone a turn.... |
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| The gals decide to carry on... |
Organization at the event was good - registration went smooth, any
changes to the schedule were announced and posted. Water was available - even snacks were provided on Saturday
night.
Once again the best part of the weekend was the company! DANCERS
are by far the friendliest and most FUN folks I've ever met. This weekend was no exception :) I hope everyone
had a fantastic time - I did!
Everyone was made to feel welcome and at ease - by staff and
dancers alike. Teach & event evaluations were overwhelmingly positive, any suggestions were constructive -
I'm sure they appreciate the input. (Personal thanks for the all kind words on my teaches too :)
I'm realllllllly looking forward to next year's event!
I dunno the direction Michigan Fun Dance will take in
the future.... whether it's to be small and comfy, cozy....or if it evolves to sumthin bigger...either way is great!
See you next May! Until then - DANCE & have FUN!
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| See ya next year! We might even have matching shirts to go with our hair ;) |
My personal MDF TOP TEN
10. It's in MICHIGAN! We need our own local workshop!
9. It raised $ for charity!
8. I got to teach, dance and have fun with instructors from our area that I
never met before :)
7. It's close and Central!
6. Leslie, me... and those 4 rock solid cts in Mambo #5 ;)
5. Enthusiastic Dance Fun people!
4. Blending both LINE dancing and couples!
3. The renegade that wasn't ;) Jim, Jim, Jim....
2. A floor fulla Bucklehuckers ;)
1. Gettin' asked back for next year - Yippeee! :) :) :) (pssst I took the liberty
to confirm for Fwank too ;)
Keep the 3rd weekend/middle of May open - See ya there!
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