LINE DANCE CALGARY

OCTOBER 2008

“Dance to express, not to impress”

What a busy fall! Classes are in full swing and all classes are full. I still think back to a few years ago when I started with one beginner class and know how blessed I am with the opportunity to now have over 225 dancers in twelve classes and just thank God every day for being able to do what I love.

Summer was a whirlwind of prepping for Harvest Moon and while at the time I thought we were crazy for trying to learn so many new dances, it paid off! We knew most of the dances played during the social dance evenings and were on the floor for most of Friday and Saturday nights.

The Harvest Moon line dance festival held in Westbank, British Columbia in September was a fantastic event with approximately 180 dancers in attendance. Guest instructors included Michele Perron, Simon Ward and Joanne Brady and some wonderful new dances came out of this weekend. Simon’s “The Smell of Your Sweet Perfume” and “Turn Me Loose” were huge hits as was Michele’s “Bossy”.

Photos from the event are now posted here.

Plans are already underway for 2009 as the event moves from Westbank to Kelowna into a larger venue to accommodate more people. Next year’s event will see Michele and Joanne back, along with the fun and “dangerous” John Robinson. I am privileged to have been asked to teach at this event next year as well and Susan Clark from Vancouver will also be instructing. I have booked a block of rooms at the Sandman Inn in Kelowna which is directly across from Orchard Park Shopping Centre and around 3 blocks from the Parkinson Rec Centre where next year’s dance event will take place. I was able to get a great rate on rooms and almost half of them have already been booked so book now as you can always cancel if you decide not to attend. All rooms are currently being renovated as is the courtyard pool and Jacuzzi area so rooms will be like new and will include a microwave and mini fridge. There is a sports bar, Denny’s is attached (all registrants will get 20% off all meals there). To get this rate of $98.00 a night, you can call either the Sandman direct at 250-860 6409 or toll free to the reservations line at 1-800+SANDMAN and ask for a room under the New Attitude Line Dance block. You can request an outside room, a room overlooking the pool or a poolside room. Poolside rooms are all on the lower level and give direct access to the pool.

VEGAS DANCE EXPLOSION

Many of us from Calgary are now getting ready to go to Vegas for Doug & Jackie Miranda’s Las Vegas Dance Explosion, a 5 day line dance event that takes place from November 19-23 at the Riviera Hotel & Casino which has been newly renovated. With a special on airfares at $200.00 return and a half price sale on rooms from Expedia, it was too good an opportunity to miss. There is still time to register for this event and you check out more details at http://www.djdancing.com/vegasexplosion.html. There are at least 16 confirmed instructors from all around the world so you’ll get the best of the best at this event. I’ll post a write up about the event along with photos once we get back.

UPCOMING:

Christmas Dances: November 30^th and December 7th

There will be two Christmas dances this year. One will be specifically for beginner/high beginners and will take place on Sunday, November 30^th in the church lower hall. The other will be open to all levels and be held on Sunday, December 7^th in the church lower hall. Both dances run from 6:30-9:00 p.m. at a cost of $10.00 per person. There will be a limit of 40 dancers as the room can get too crowded otherwise so if you plan to attend, you are asked to pre-register by emailing me to let me know you’re coming. People are asked to also bring an appetizer or dessert to share. A great time to try out that new Christmas recipe! We all love trying out the great dishes that people bring each time!

WINTER/SPRING 2009 CLASSES:
Well, my schedule is now all set to the end of June and I’ve posted the winter schedule for January and February here I can’t believe that I’m already thinking of posting schedules this far in advance but with community centre bookings, they require dates months in advance. Keeps me organized I and on my toes I guess!


STAMPEDE 2009 – JULY 3-12, 2009

Yeah, can you believe this......already thinking of Stampede, however, I've been emailing back & forth with a dancer in Australia who is bringing around 25 dancers to the west coast to do an Alaskan cruise. They're in Calgary for 3 days over Stampede and I'm thinking that it would be fun to include them for a couple of the demo dances that we do at Rope Square. It's what Stampede is all about; showing visitors what the Stampede spirit is all about and this would be a great way to include them. I’ve also heard from a couple of people in the States who are looking at coming to Calgary over Stampede so it will be nice to have a wide range of dancers from all over to join us throughout Stampede.

The demo team this year will be made up of ALL levels of dancers and focus will be on doing dances that the beginners and easy intermediate dancers feel comfortable about joining. The demo team for the past couple of years has been made up of intermediate+ dancers and it would be nice to include more people and make them feel at ease. A couple of dances will be geared to the lower levels which they can do and then some of the higher level dances will be done to include the Aussie group. I’ll post more info on the demo team after Christmas.

Over the past couple of years we have had some real problems with the Stampede Caravan people. This year we were treated horribly at the Southcentre breakfast by some of the staff who made it very clear that they did not want us to dance even though they have a large open dance area and the bands always welcome us and are happy to see people dancing to their music. As a result, several letters were written to the Stampede Caravan Committee by many of the dancers. To date, there has been no reply even though I've personally written twice to ask for someone to respond. Until there is a resolution of this issue, I will not be doing any Caravan breakfasts this year but have already been in touch with several different venues regarding stampede breakfasts and response has been good.

TEEN ANGELS:

Besides being a line dance instructor, I am also the director of Teen Angels Calgary which is a non-profit Alberta registered charitable organization which assists teens over the Christmas season. My family and I set up Teen Angels last year after eight years of volunteering with the Salvation Army Toy Hamper Program. During our years with Salvation Army, we saw a need for Christmas gifts for teens and decided to try and fill that gap. While Calgarians are generous when it comes to toy drives, the bulk of Christmas donations are for younger children and teens are often overlooked or forgotten. I cannot tell you how devastating it was to fill hampers for families with teens and not have items in stock for those older kids, thus Teen Angels was established.

Last year we helped over 400 teens and assisted several agencies including Big brothers & Sisters, Women's Centre and several Boys & Girls Clubs programs including Avenue 15 and The Side Door. We helped many students through several junior and senior high schools including many kids who were struggling to finish off high school and support themselves. We provided gifts to families with teens staying at Ronald McDonald House. We provided stuffed backpacks to Street Light, the mobile unit that goes out and ministers to street kids. Throughout the month of December I learned the reality of just how many teens in Calgary live on the streets.

None of this could have been done without the help of so many. Those in my dance classes started the ball rolling and it gathered steam throughout November and December. So many groups and organizations got wind of it and decided to support Teen Angels. I was so grateful for the assistance and our basement was covered in gifts for teens. The month of December was spent sorting, wrapping and delivering gifts, meeting a lot of staff at various agencies & community organizations and shopping to fill in items that were needed to complete hampers. It was a wonderful feeling to get up on Christmas morning and know that there were smiles on the faces of so many teens who would not have otherwise received Christmas gifts.

For those who want to be a part of this, I've set out below our "request" list based on what teens asked for last year. Please note that ALL items must be new. No child young or old wants to receive a used Christmas gift. Those in my dance classes can bring items to dance classes between now and the end of November. If you're not in one of my classes, feel free to call me at 403-249-5741 for information on dropping off gifts. Items that we cannot use are given to the Salvation Army for their hamper program.

TEEN REQUEST LISTS (based on last year's "hot" items)

Hoodies..... large or XL as it's better to be too large than too small....especially for boys.

mp3 Players (1 or 2 gb)

Gift certificates to any of the following:

Walmart, HMV, Chapters, Old Navy, Stitches, Blue Notes, Mark's Wearhouse, any mall store.

Fast food certificates for any of the following:

McDonald's, Tim Hortons, Second Cup, Starbucks

Grocery stores ie. Safeway/Co-op

Movie passes or gift cards

Journals and pens

Disposable cameras

Transit tickets (teen or adult)

Warm gloves for both male & female, scarves for both.

Some people may want to help with the backpacks that we give to Street Light. We stuff them with the following items so any of these are appropriate.

# Pair of warm socks

# Warm Gloves

# 5 Adult transit tickets

# Shampoo & Soap (small size)

# Toothbrush & Toothpaste

# Brush or Comb

# $5 Fast Food Gift Certificate

# Movie pass

# Deodorant Stick

# Chocolate Bar or Treat

# Small First-Aid Kit

# Memo Pad & Pen

If you choose to make a monetary donation, you can make your cheque payable to Teen Angels Calgary. This will be used to purchase items that we do not receive that some agencies may have a specific request for. I cannot issue a tax receipt until we receive federal status. We are 100% voluntary. Every single penny donated goes to gifts for teens who would otherwise receive very little for Christmas.

Items not needed:
perfumes, bubble baths, makeup, candles or jewellery.