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  "Welcome to Windy City Line Dance Mania 2003.  I'm Peter Metelnick.  Here is your water, newspaper and other assorted welcome goodies."

  Peter Metelnick greeted each dancer with a Windy City welcome package.

  

  "Hey Mark, fill em up please."
  Being an event director is not all the glamour it's cut out to be.

  

  "You are so beautiful, to me, You are so beautiful, to meeeee, can't you seee...."
  Doug Miranda and Joanne Brady entertained the other hotel guests and dancers taking a break in the lobby.

  

  We saved a few bucks on the Saturday dinner buffet by telling Simon Ward that Frosted Flakes are an American delicacy.

  

  "Why you ---- "
  Eve Yeaton was very receptive to last minute schedule changes by the instructors such as Judy McDonald.

   We had Glen try all sorts of entrees until we came up with just the right combination for the Saturday night dinner buffet.
  
  
  "Just a minute, Just a minute.  I can't start my demo until Heather Frye is done digging around in her purse.  I wouldn't want her to miss my Miss Lizzy demo."

  
  "Louie, could you play 'Cool Whip' just one more time for me - pleeeeese?"

  Judy McDonald didn't have any problems getting her dances played.

  

  Joanne Brady's lap dances were well received.

   

  "Oh Joaaaaane, Come here....It's my turn!"
   

  
  "Then I said, well you look like you have a Halibut crawling up your pants when you dance.  And you know what she told me, well I don't remember, but it was really bad.....and not true."

  Southern Ca. Instructor Lou Ann Schemmel patiently waited as Bay Area's Doris Volz monopolized a bunch of DJ Louie's time.

  

  Eve (seen on right) was a bit sidetracked during the demos as someone spread a rumor to her that Jo Thompson would be stopping by.

  

  "OK Mark, so I'm going to fall back now and you're going to catch me right?  Right?  Mark? Ouch!!"

  The whole trust factor between Peter Metelnick and Mark Cosenza was totally blown.
   

   

  "Sure Jackie, I'll cancel all of the classes in the other ballrooms...."
  Jackie Miranda worked her magic with Mark to get all of the best workshop slots.
   

  
  It's right thumb twice, THEN left thumb twice.....
  Chicagoland Event Director Jennifer Jeffries learns a line dance...well sort of.

  

  Mark promised the "Mountain Time" dancers that he'd clean off their table at the food court all weekend if they'd register for the event. (Well next year, they're on their own....)

  
  
  "I left my heart, in San Francisco...."

  Even after the event ended, Doug and Joanne stuck around for a few extra days..... see you next year!!

   

  Pictures courtesy of CJ.
  Captions courtesy of Mark.

   

Event Directors Glen Pospieszny, Eve Yeaton & Mark Cosenza

Wow!  Who would have thought.  After all these years of attending other folks events and writing up event reports, I'd be a part of it myself.  After over a year of planning, it finally arrived- our very first event!  Who would have thought.  

Folks asked me if I'd be doing a report considering it was my own event and of course I said I would.  After all, most folks don't read my reports as a walking advertisement, they read it to find out what were the hot dances!  When an event doesn't go well, folks know about it and all of the sugar coating in the world wouldn't fool the dancers out there.  Fortunately, this event went extremely well and I certainly was pleased as both a co-event director and a dancer. 

Glen, Eve and I were proud to host some of the best folks in the business including:

The instructors and Event Directors of Windy City 2003

A full list of the dances taught can be found here.

Dance demos were held on Friday morning for the Friday dances and on Friday night for the Saturday dances.  Because we wanted to keep the sit around time to a minimum, no Sunday demos were held and folks got to sleep in an extra hour on Saturday morning.  I was extremely pleased with the quality of the demos and the amount of fun all of the instructors seemed to have doing them. 

Scott Blevins and Simon Ward make a surprise appearance at Joanne Brady's dance demo.

Here are my top dance picks based on the demos and the few classes I could attend:

Determination - Simon Ward: One of many packed classes for Simon Ward.  Glen learned this one and wants to teach it very soon!

Whatever Happens - Ron Kline & Liz Bogan (Taught By Debi Bodven): The first teach at our Thursday night class.  I always like to see a dance hit it big that's not taught by a major national touring choreographer!

Mambo Jive - Max Perry: Brand new dance that was done to Mambo Italiano from Bette Midler's new album. Learned it from the quick review.  There is an A, B and C and will take a few times to get it down, but not that hard.

Turning Up The Heat - Peter Metelnick:  This dance got one of the best buzzes all weekend and it was taught on a Sunday!  Peter better reteach this one in a prime slot when he gets to Tampa.  (And please don't slot me against it - thanks!)

Freak Out & The Believers - Doug & Jackie Miranda: Both of these dances got great buzz from our class and will be taught in the area for sure!

Blindsided - Lucy Strack & Betty Maddox: My personal favorite that I learned from the choreography competition (and took second in its heat.)  This one is phrased flawlessly to the music.  Definitely a must teach!

Nasdravia - Laura & Becky Michaels (taught by Karen Hedges): My current favorite beginner dance.  Not much to the steps, but the music is terrific.

Karen Hedges

On The Rocks - JP Potter, Bracken Ellis & Amy Kempster: Winner of the choreography competition is destined to be a national hit.  I wasn't there to learn it, but it sure looked like fun.

Do It, Do It, Do It - Ron Kline: This one has hit written all over it.  I learned it on the dance floor (most of it anyway.....) and it will be taught.

Obsession - Heather Frye: Fun music and a nice easy cuban line dance.

Honorable Mentions and other dances we may teach:

1 Thin Dime - Michele Perron: Nancy Hays follow up song to Come Dance With Me will be a hit for Michele.

Ave Maria - Kathy Hunyadi:  The music is terrific!  The dance looked like fun and will see how it flows from the step sheet.

Where Is The Love - Lady In Black: Great music and fun looking dance.  Only caught the demo, but will catch and learn from the video.

Other taught dances already mentioned:

Badda Boom! Badda Bang! - Karen Hunn (Taught by Karen Hedges)

Basha - Michele Perron

Bidness - Scott Blevins

Boogie All Over - Mike & Betty Weeks (Taught by Larry & Tracy Harmon

Bucklehuck - Carole Daugherty (packed the floor all weekend)

Cold Blooded - Scott Blevins

Cool Whip - Judy McDonald (packed the floor all weekend)

Goody Two Shoes - John Dembiec & John Robinson (already taught here)

Infatuation - Johanna Barnes (taught by Scott Blevins)

Just Like Dynamite - Kathy Hunyadi

Love Struck Groove - John Robinson

Mr President - Simon Ward (my personal favorite dance of 2003 and will be my next teach.)

No Doubt About It - Larry Bass (learned this one at Bonanza Bash)

No Parking Baby - Jeremy Oldham (taught by John Robinson)

Nu Flow - MIL (taught by Cody Stevens who filled in for Brian Barakauskas)  Already taught at our Thursday night class....

Romantasy - Peter Metelnick & Alison Biggs

Start Walking! - Mark Cosenza (taught by Jo Kinser): The best dance taught this weekend.....(giggle)  Well anyway, it did fill the floor during open dance and had a packed class against some tough competition, so  you can decide for yourself.  (Check out the video clip....)

Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Doug & Jackie Miranda

         Doug & Jackie Miranda                          Cody Stevens

Yeeeee Haw - Simon Ward: Another packed class and probably the top learned/played dance of the weekend.

You're Not Listening - Larry Bass & Yvonne Anderson

So that is a heck of a lot of dances to sort through isn't it.  Well it will keep us busy for at least til the end of the year......

Kathy Hunyadi & Max Perry / Larry Bass

Larry & Tracy Harmon                             Heather Frye

John Robinson & June "The Lady In Black"          John & Jo Kinser

So the number one complaint has been the dinner show being too long.  It was our intention for us to be done by 9pm, but unfortunately we ran over by over an hour.  Yikes!!!  Live and learn and we shall do that.  Still, I received a ton of great feedback regarding the MC job of Doug Miranda and Eve Yeaton and the musical chairs game (except from a few California folks who have seen it before but c'mon folks, give the rest of the country a chance to enjoy and they definitely did!)  Incidentally, Joanne Brady was the champ and she was no match for Peter Metelnick or California instructor Trish Boesel (Are you folks competitive or what?).  Show Ming also wowed the group with her unique dance skills, and everyone loved Max Perry's encore song presentation. 

Louie did a terrific job in open dancing thanks to few repeats.  The dance floors were absolutely flawless in quality and have received endless praise on them from the dancers.  (Ballroom 5 being the exception since it was provided by the hotel and was decent, but not spectacular.)

DJ Louie St George

The choreography competition provided dances that were taught to the judges and dancers.  I found them to be of extremely high quality.  The only change I will make on this for next year will be to divide up the heats a bit so that the judges aren't learning more than 3 or 4 dances at a time.  Thanks to Peter, Michele, Doug & Jackie, Max & Kathy, Joanne, Kevin & Rena Ward, Judy and John for donating their time selflessly to learn these competitor dances.  Not only do the competitors appreciate the opportunity to showcase their creations,  but so do the dancers at the event who enjoyed learning them!  There were two simultaneous heats in each room and the top dances faced off with a demo on Saturday night. 

The top winners were:

Heat 1:

On The Rocks - JP Potter
My Cherie Amour - Bob Izral
Stop Look & Listen - Carole Daugherty

Heat 2:

Do It, Do It - Ron Kline
Blindsided - Lucy Strack & Betty Maddox
Light's Out - Team UK (Big Dave and company..)

JP was the overall winner with $100 in prize money and an instructor slot at next year's competition.  Ron Kline was the very close runner-up with $50 in prize money.  Both also received free passes to the Chicagoland event generously donated by event Directors Jennifer and Randy Jeffries who made a surprise appearance at our event.

Choreography winners Ron Kline and JP Potter w/ Event Directors Mark, Glen & Eve

I can't thank the volunteers enough - especially Gale Erksine and Debi Bodven (who are also experienced event directors for Can Am and the upcoming March Tri-State event!)  Without whom, this event would not have been half the success I perceived it to be.  Gale and Debi will certainly be a huge presence as we plan for this same event next year! 

I also want to thank everyone of you dancers who came out and took a chance on this first time event.  It meant a lot to Glen, Eve and me and I hope you all felt as if you got your money's worth and will return.  Please feel free to send me an email with any suggestions for next year. 

We definitely are planning on more floor space and adding one more extra large ballroom (twice the size of the workshop rooms!).  So mark your calendars folks for Oct 7 - 10, 2004.  As soon as we finalize the plans with the Holiday Inn, an announcement will be made with the details for next year!