Here are some of the letters written both to us and to some of the line dance lists (I didn't include names if it was just sent in private...)

Subject: Windy City   
From: Jean Rowe, Novi, MI

 My group hated to leave this very fun event but unfortunately we had to depart on Saturday before the dinner/show.  I'm sure they all had lots of fun while we were driving back to Michigan.

Mark, Glen & Eve did a phenomenal job of putting this event together.  There were 5 rooms of non-stop line dancing at all times.  Our only problem all weekend was that we couldn't be in all 5 rooms at the same time.  Choices, choices, choices....

 My personal favorite all weekend was Peter Metelnick's "Make Your Mind Up"!!!!  Very popular at this event and I definitely plan to teach this one!!

 Simon Ward's "Hit the Road Jack"
John Robinson's "Summerlove" and "Next Dance"
 Doug & Jackie Miranda's "All Out of Love", "Scotch Mist", "Let It Be", "Staying Alive"
 Peter Metelnick "Round, Round, Baby", (heard lots of people saying good things about his new one "Better Life" but didn't get to see it)
 Heather Frye - "Just Killing Time",  "Rescue Me", "Tell Yer Mama"
 Denise Stone - "Justify" - good dance
 Max Perry "It Doesn't Matter" by Crazy Chris
 Yvonne Anderson "What I Like About You" (saw it demoed and loved it)
 Mark Cosenza "Under the Boardwalk" - good dance to really good music
 Eve Yeaton - "Superstar" very popular - good moves - will be a big hit
 Alison Biggs - "Bad Moon On The Rise" (missed the teach but heard lots of talk about this one)

 Staying at the Crowne Plaza is the way to go with this event!  Right there in the same building as the event is so nice!!!!!  Hotel just changed from Holiday Inn O'Hare and upgraded the bedding, mattresses, pillow, etc.  Oooohh very nice. Like sleeping on a pillow.

 I'm sure that, like every event, there are problems but none that were visible from this very happy event attender's view. Again the event directors and many helpers did a wonderful job.  I've seen Louie many times as DJ but never had the pleasure of meeting him before. We had an enjoyable elevator ride with him very early on Friday morning.  Even at 7:30am he is funny and alert - amazing considering the schedule he keeps. Thanks for playing our requests Louie!

 One of Mark's students (I think her name was Laurie) was very gracious and stopped by to chat.  I thought that was really nice.  Hey Mark she loves your classes - keep up the good work!!!!!

 I spotted Floridian Arline Winerman (sp?) and introduced myself.  I told her that I had seen her name many, many times in CAROL CRAVEN'S newsletter so felt like I already knew her.  Also mentioned what a good choice she made by inviting local Michigander Ron Kline to teach at her November event.

So there you have Windy City from my viewpoint!!!  I would highly recommend this event to anyone. It offered a 100% beginner room all day everyday. Had lots of intermediate and advanced choices in the other 4 rooms. Something for everyone!!!!
Jean Rowe
 bettyboop@twmi.rr.com   

SUBJECT:  FEEDBACK ON WINDY CITY EVENT
FROM:  Jenn Jones

 Hey Carol,If it's possible (and it is), the 2nd annual Windy City Line Dance Mania event was even better than the first year! Mark, Glen and Eve (and their wonderful staff) did an amazing job and I can't believe how sore I am OR how much fun I had!  What a line up of instructors and choreographers! Simon Ward was his crazy self, Joanne Brady was, well, you know (she was herself and I always love being around her), The Miranda's are wonderfully talented and gracious people and it goes on and on!  I have several favorite dances All out of Love and Let It Beā€¯, both by Doug and Jackie Miranda but I have to say that the WOW dance (in my opinion) was Round Round Baby by Peter Metelnick and Alison Briggs! Ok, it's a fast hip-hop beat and in the middle of the dance it becomes a waltz (Peter called it a Jazz Waltz) I think that was because it was so fast! The dance is wonderful and I can't wait to teach it!  Truly the whole event is very high class and I have already registered for next year! :) Sorry, I AM exhausted so that's it for now!
Jenn JonesDenver, CO Dancinboots24@comcast.net

SUBJECT:    Windy City Event/Midnight Rodeo
 FROM:         Marilyn McNeal, Ocala, FL

   Congratulations to Mark, Glen and Eve for another successful event!  The instructors were excellent and represented about 80% of the newletter's top 20 dances around the world!  Five huge ballrooms offered a complete variety of all levels of dance, all types of music and styles, including one ballroom designated just for beginners. Some show tunes, (MIL's Racheal taught All That Jazz, Doug and Jackie - Stayin' Alive), some oldies (Simon Ward taught Larger Than Life, John Robinson brought back Switchblade, one of my all time favorites) and there were several more from the archives.

Dipstick (Judy McDonald), Funkalicious (MIL) and What It Is (Scott Blevins) and Sizzlin' Hot (John Robinson) filled the floor in open dancing, as did so many others. With a total of 80 dances listed, there were huge numbers in each class. A few were taught that were not listed, (bonus dances!) like the "killer" dance Cuba Libre, (Adv.+) by Simon and Rachael, which was choreographed just this week! It's super fast and fun, with a "washing machine" ending! You'll know what I mean when you see it! Simon said the stepsheet will be out this week on www.countryedge.com.

John Dembiec won First Place in the choreography contest for his dance "Mood Swing."  I will definitely teach it at Midnight Rodeo!  Congratulations John - this one will surely be a hit!  "Under Your Spell" by Bracken Ellis took 2nd place and this dance will also be a huge hit and will be taught at Tampa Line Dance Classic in November. The choreography contest had 12 entries. I only watched 6 and they were all good, so be sure to look over those step sheets and consider them when looking for new teaches. 

This event was well organized right down to the dinner arrangements and show seating. Classes started and finished on time, every time. The wide variety of instructors and dances provided everyone with several really good choices, and I was happy to dance with some of my very favorite choreographers! Many of them will be in Tampa and have promised to teach some of these same ones, so I hope you'll be there too!  Florida was well represented and there will be many other commentaries on this event. The final word.......there's a ton of new stuff out there! 
 

Subject: Windy City 04
From: Dodee

We looked forward to attending this event since we left last year and weren't disappointed. I haven't heard the final total, but it was somewhere between 500 and 600 line dancers. You'd never know it by the demeanor of the staff. It was as relaxed as the smaller events I have attended. Since the admission includes all workshops -- there are no additional costs and we don't have to go out of rooms and back in and show our badges, etc. The only event that was not open to everyone was the dinner and show. We chose tables upon registering for the event, they drew numbers to see which tables would eat first, then reversed the order for seating for the show.

I watched 6 of the choreography contestants. I was in Room 1 the first day and Room 2, the second. I like having the judges learn the dances and other dancers can learn them, but the choreographers are told to teach to the judges, not the other dancers. I did like some of the winners and close runner-ups in the contest. I'm thinking of teaching the winner -- Mood Swing -- catchy name for a swing-flavored dance to Bad Bad Mood (John Dembiec). Also, Postage Due, an easy phrased dance to Signed, Sealed, Delivered by the Twin Cities' own Jodi Wittman.

Not only did we have the choregraphers we have grown to expect -- Max and Kathy, John Robinson, Scott Blevins, Judy McDonald, Jo Kinser -- but also Simon Ward & Rachael McEnany. They are both such energetic instructors. They keep the class moving and fun.

The only constructive criticism I would have is a solution to the problem of changing schedules. For instance, I wanted to take Judy McDonald's Dipstick. She was scheduled to teach two dances and the first one took longer than she thought it would, so she switched Dipstick with another dance. I was in the room, so I knew this. Then I got tied up with something else and missed it. I found out upon leaving that she re-taught it Sunday morning, but if you weren't in the class, you didn't know that. I don't know the solution -- maybe any schedule changes need to be reported to the event directors, so they can be marked on the big schedule boards, or given to the DJs to be announced.

So make your plans to attend next year -- I'll look for you.

Hi Mark,
 
Congrats to you, Eve and Glen for hosting a great event. We couldn't find you to say good bye before we left so here I am. Thanks for keeping the dinner show reasonably short. I loved the Simon says and Rachel and Yvonne's performances. I didn't know Yvonne was a singer....such a nice voice.
 
Now you can catch up on your sleep! That's all I've been doing since I came home.

HI

HAD A WONDERFUL WEEKEND.  I KNOW YOU WORKED VERY HARD BECAUSE IT
SHOWED.  EVERYTHING WENT SMOOTHLY FROM MY POINT OF VIEW.  THE
SHOW ON
SATURDAY WAS SO MUCH FUN.

THANKS AGAIN FOR YOU INTEREST IN KEEPING LINE DANCING ALIVE.
 

    Eve, Mark & Glen,
 
I just wanted to thank the 3 of you for all your hard work on Windy City.  As I'm sure you've been told by hundreds of people, your efforts certainly paid off.  The event was a huge success!
 
I have never been so tired from a weekend of dancing.  I could barely stay awake at my desk at work today.  I must be getting too old to stay up to dance until 2:45 AM, but knowing me, I will do it again!  Louie did a wonderful job especially on Sat. night and I loved seeing some of the old dances that have been buried in the archives (such as Switchblade and Never Dance). 
 
Part of the reason I am so exhausted is from the great new dances.  Cuba Libre and Round Round Baby are definitely more work than an aerobics class.  I hope I will remember at least parts of these two dances.
 
Again, thanks for a job well done!

Hi Mark.  

We had a ball!!!   We were sorry it had to end……….our bodies couldn’t have take much more dancing and fun, but we were still sorry it ended.   It was very well organized and the ballrooms were wonderful.

We’re making our plans to attend again next year.    We’ve told many dancers since we’ve been back how GREAT it was.

Thanks again - especially for your hard work……..you did GOOD! 

Verna Miller
Sharon Hoppman

Subject: Windy City Event
From: Cathy Jones (Ottawa, Canada)

This event is on my "must go to" list.
The few problems that existed last year were addressed and corrected
for this years' event and all I can say is WOW. Congratulations to
everyone involved with the planning and execution of this event. The
quality of the dancefloors was great and my feet and legs weren't
tired or sore at the end of the weekend which is very rare.
The music was varied thanks to a great job by Louie and
there were so many great dances taught it was difficult to choose
which classes to take. Loved Funkalicious (MIL), Wanna Wanna
(Neville Fitzgerald),
What It Is (Scott Blevins), Latin Spice (MIL) and John Robinson's
Sizzlin' Burn (aka BTB). Also had a blast from the past doing
Never Dance and SwitchBlade with John Robinson and Larger Than Life
with Simon Ward.
The atmosphere at this event is very friendly, great dinner
show and you can always find someone to party with in the main
ballroom. I appreciate that the ballroom remains open for those who
want to dance until the very early hours of the morning. If you want
to party and dance til ya drop this is the event to do it at.
 

Subject: Windy City Line Dance Mania
 From: John Dembiec

WOW. What an event. Kudos to Mark, Glen, and Eve for a well run event. And it was only its 2nd year. SO Carol, you need to go next year.  The hotel was wonderful. Plenty of room to walk around and the workshop rooms were great. I don't remember seeing anyone dancing or learning on the carpet for workshops or the evening social dancing.

The whole staff was wonderful. From Debi Bodven and Gale Erskine doing registration, DJ's Louie and John Lindsey were fabulous as always, Bob Bahrs video production, and of course all the great instructors that were there. The hotel staff was also very courteous and flexible to our needs from what I can tell from my experience. And with me being in the same business (hospitality) I hold a high standard. So I must say it was first class.

Now for the dancing. Since there was 5 workshops going throughout the day, it is quite hard to evaulate and do all the dances taught. So I will do my best. Dances I learned were Latin Spice, Funkalicious, Superstar, and Sixteen Tons.  Unfortunately, I ended up wanting to learn more after seeing some of the other dances done. Peter Metelnicks Round, Round Baby and Dreams of Martina, Mark Cosenza's Under the Boardwalk, Judy McDonald's Dipstick,  JP Potter Everlast, MIL's Poetry In Motion, and Simon Wards & Racheal McEnaney Cuba Libre. Those are the one's I can remember.

The popular dances for social dancing were: What It Is, Cool Whip, Texas, Push, A Short Bus Ride (Let's Get It Started), Misleading, Cheek to Cheek, Funkalcious, Serenity, Wave on Wave, Party Til Dawn, Two Time Trick, Have Fun Go Mad, Imagine, Dreams of Martina, Poetry In Motion, Slow Burn,  A Devil In Me, Clean up To the Elbow, Whatever Happens, Hot Temptation, Hole In The Head, SXE, and All That Jazz.  Again there were many more favorites well beyond what I just mentioned.

And now for the choreography competition. I first want to say thank you to everyone for their support and encouragement not only to me, but all the competitors. The response for my new dance Mood Swing was quite overwhelming and was very unexpected considering the other dances I competed against. For this again, thank you very much. Though I wasn't able to see all of the choreography competitors, I did see some that were very good dances that I encourgage people to try. First is Bracken Ellis' dance Under Your Spell. This is probably one of the very best waltzes I have ever seen and the music is just as beautiful. This is a must learn. Millie Scheel has a cute easy dance called Mean Woman Blues. This dance should be a hit for all levels of dancers, especially the beginners. The other dance I like was by Winnie Yu called Summer Wine. When you hear this music, you'll love it. And the dance fits the music very well.

All in all, if you get the opportunity to attend this event next year, do so, you won't regret it. I got to meet new people and make new friends and see old ones. It's like a family reunion for the linedance community.

Well I think I talked enough. Everybody tell Carol she needs to go next year. See you on the dance floor and remember, Dancing keeps the feet happy :)

John Dembiec
 TwStpr@aol.com