South Bend convention: report from 1996 attendee
Ron Larkin (r-larkin@UIUC.EDU)
Sun, 13 Apr 1997 22:20:15 -0600
Having attended this major workshop in South Bend last year (we didn't
see any other Champaign dancers there), I offer a few remarks about it and
invite anyone who wants more info to ask me offline or give a call. Our
interest was toward swing and away from country/western (c/w) 2-step, line
dance, and competition.
The mood of the convention is c/w and the dress sort of mock-cowboy--what
the Times called transwestite some time back. Instruction and competition
is divided into a line dance section and a partner dance section. Partner
dance instruction includes c/w 2-step, ECS, WCS, c/w waltz, and c/w
cha-cha. A lot of the clientele are repeat customers and some attend these
country/western conventions many times a year and are very
competition-oriented. Clearly, the competitions are income-producers for
the professional instructors. They do a good job of making the instruction
fun, and the customers keep coming back. The convention went very smoothly
despite its size.
Quality of instruction varied and the better instructors' workshops can
get crowded. Instructors are treated as the "guests" of the convention
rather than as hirees of the convention, so the instruction is not tightly
organized. For instance, the content of the 1-hr workshop sessions is free
to vary from the printed title at the whim of the instructor.
C/w waltz is swoopy. C/w cha cha covers a lot of ground and feels
different from latin cha cha. Neither is given much empahsis at this
convention. However ECS and in particular WCS are extensively taught at
this workshop, including lots of nice technique, "sleaze moves", and stagey
patterns. Because there's not a whole lot of oportunity for practice
dancing (not counting 2-step) and some of the social dance floor is
oftentimes taken up by line dancers, I recommend setting aside time at the
convention specifically for practice with your partner, to consolidate what
you're trying to learn.
You need a partner for the partner dance workshops. Some instructors
rotated the partners, some didn't. Introductory classes were pretty large
and most did not rotate, so that beginners had trouble learning lead/follow
skills.
However, the line dance workshops included a lot of unpartnered people.
One of the rooms where workshops are held has a parque wood floor and
there is a 3,100' dance floor in the main "ballroom" (the floor occupies
about 25% of the carpeted "ballroom"). The latter is occupied by
competitions much of the time. Most workshops take place on industrial
carpet or terra-cotta (?) tile floor.
A caution: This convention shares its weekend every year with the state
school soccer tournament. In 1996 it rained, the kids were cooped up
inside, and the noise in the halls of our motel was unceasing. If you can,
make a reservation early at the expensive hotel that hosts the convention.
Overall, it's cheaper than trying to get your money's worth out of a dance
class while sleep-deprived.