Can-Am
London, Ontario
Canada
July 30 - Aug 1
EVENT DIRECTORS: Debi Bodven & Gale Erksine

Can-Am Instructors and Staff (Picture Courtesy of Vivienne Scott)

Being that this is the first event attended since last April's Phoenix Event, there were a lot of new dances out there.  Actually, there were too many I wanted to learn on the spot, but settled for a few select ones that really caught my eye. 

Dances of note (outside of my own teaches) include:

Make Your Mind Up (Peter Metelnick & Alison Biggs) - This was my favorite dance of the weekend and close to the entire year.  The music won't exactly thrill the Hip-Hop die-hards, but it's all about variety and originality in my book and this one stood out among the rest! 

Push - Michele Perron (Taught by Scott Blevins): This will be my next Thursday night teach as it is simple and fun.  Something I always look for.

Turbo Twang - Jamie Marshall: Thanks to Jamie for the private teach since I missed the class.  I very much enjoyed this one because it fit the music well and was reminiscent of the fun bar dances of yesteryear. 

One Hot Number - Larry & Tracy Harmon: Missed the class but judging by the demo and seeing it in Open Dance, I am going to further check it out.

Steppin' Out - Max Perry: A beginner dance to a song that the Hip Hop folks will run from the floor screaming.  But I loved it and I never thought anyone would have the guts to choreograph something to a Tony Orlando song! 

Slow Burn - Kathy Hunyadi & John Robinson (Taught by Kathy): You already know about this one.

Party Til Dawn - Scott Blevins: Already have learned this one and very much like it. 

Two Time Trick - Scott Blevins: I personally don't like the music, but this one is popular with my dancers and the dancers at this event so it deserves mention.

Misleading - Guyton Mundy & Pedro Mechado (Taught by Eve Yeaton): Great dance - especially if you like a lot of turns!

Montego Bay - Kathy Hunyadi: Just saw the demo. Didn't see this in open dance, but loved the music.

Superstar - Mark Cosenza (Taught by Eve Yeaton): Yep, it's mine so go ahead and ask some other folks about this one.  Thanks to Eve for teaching this one!  The response was terrific given what I saw at open dance and folks seem to get it down right.  So hats off to a great job from a great instructor.  Click here for the video clip.

 Kathy Hunyadi (to her left is Frank Cooper's Back)

Those were the hottest dances outside of my teaches that folks seemed to pass the word back to me on.  There were a lot of great other dances worth mentioning, but I just don't have the space to name them all!!!

Other previously noted dances taught were:

We Are The Same (Barry & Dari Anne Amato, John Robinson, Jo Thompson) - This one filled the floor  during open dance. 

Cha Cha Tonight - Scott Blevins (taught by JP Potter)

Givin' It Up - Kathy Hunyadi, Peter Metelnick, Mark Cosenza (taught by Kathy H.): The music is by KC & The Sunshine Band and it's a phrased dance, but hopefully that won't scare you.

Again - John Robinson: Another one that is a class favorite.  You must check this one out if you haven't already.

The following were taught by me and also had terrific open dance representation with the ones played:

Last Call - Mike Sliter
Bugle Bop 2004 - Mark Cosenza
10 Rocks - Mark Cosenza
No More Excuses - Mark Cosenza

The floors are OK as long as you have plenty of powder on 'em.  I was cracking up during my Bugle Bop teach because I kept on hearing lots of squeaks during the twisting portion.  Thanks to a great dancer for having some emergency powder on her.

Open dance was fun, but I must admit to not knowing a lot of the stuff out there.  Many were more local favorites.  One of the comments I heard was that knowing the top 20 survey dances didn't do them that much good because a lot of them were not done at this event.  Still, I did have a lot of fun moments out on the dance floor and plenty of drinks to get me through the slow times.  Not many repeats to speak of - but could have done without that "Let's Get It Started" dance done to the Slow Bus Ride which was done a lot.  Sorry, I know many folks like it (and many don't from what I heard) but I couldn't find much enjoyment in the song or the dance.  Yes, I'm all for novelty dances, but I'm looking forward to this one wearing thin really quick.  (Just my opinion - not saying everyone should feel that way....I have no problem grabbing a beer while it's being played)

Can't say there were many other repeats, so Louie St. George, as usual did a fantastic job.  Particularly on Saturday when he was calling out a lot more floor splitters.

Scott Blevins & Max Perry

Debi and Gale were awesome and they were always available for the dancers.  Another plus was the dinner which this hotel provides a great one as well as the short but interesting dinner show. 

Another positive was with the Step Description books included. They also had a great little index that showed the date and time each of the dances were going to be taught.

Given that I brought with me someone who never did line dance before, it helped me see the event a bit more through other eyes.  While at Windy City, we had a room dedicated strictly for beginner dancers and featuring all beginner dances, I now see just how much of an asset that really is.  With four rooms and plenty of choices for the advanced folks, I really think this would be a nice idea for next year. Besides, there are many experienced dancers that sometimes just enjoy the break of an easy dance or two throughout the day.   It's important that events do this as we continue to have new faces exposed and to keep this growing! 

Thanks again to Deb and Gale for a job well done!