Rebel Yell - The aftermath .........

[Minnie M]

Just got in ................... so tired, even with the time change !

Fantastic day - Kyle & Sarah were awesome SIX CLASSES/workshops plus an icebreaker class PLUS two cabaret performances

I confirm my choice of fave WCS teachers - they are the greatest

[Cruella]

Unfortunately I couldn't do the daytime so just came for the evening. But I had a great time. Started off with socialising around the huge chocolate fountain in the bar Once the rooms opened I did the WCS Improvers class as a lead. Was it just me or did Kyle whizz through those moves! I found it a challenge to keep up, but got there in the end. Decided to start the evening in the jive room, boy that DJ dug out some dusty CD's. I felt like i'd gone back in time and was dancing to all the classic stuff from my 'beginner' days. Had fun all the same, even had a WCS to Boney M!
Managed to get a good view of the cabarets. loved the WCS ones, Sarah puts so much character into her dancing, it's a joy to watch. Thought Ryan's solo bit went on a bit long and kept waiting for Jenny to rejoin him. Dan B, still a hunk and worth watching.
Spent the rest of the night in the WCS/Blues room and had a great night with lots of lovely leads and follows. Thanks to Ollie for the bra lead which i'll try and remember to add to my leading repertoire.
My only 2 down points were the heat, and the music was very inconsistent in the WCS/Blues room, but I was on a high so it didn't spoil my night.

[Simon]

Fantastic day - Kyle & Sarah were awesome

15 years teaching together and it shows. What pros! Gutted not to be free for a private lesson with them. If anyone had one and wants to post a few details I'd be interested to know how it went.

down points were the heat

Imagine the same room without all the fans round the outside and you'll get a good idea of how horrible and stuffy it was during the day. Many people I was with ended up with headaches as a result. I believe the venue management said the air con was broke?

I completely forgot to ask at reception about ordering a DVD of the event. I couldn't spot anything on the website so does anyone know how they're ordered?

[Astro]

I kept away because I'd heard the floor there is well dodgy and I didn't want to risk any more injuries.

Glad I went elsewhere now as I hate the heat and have had headaches in the past.

[Minnie M]

15 years teaching together and it shows. What pros! Gutted not to be free for a private lesson with them. If anyone had one and wants to post a few details I'd be interested to know how it went.................

Just spoke to Jiver (Phil G) who had a 'private' with Sarah this morning - and he is on such a high, he said he has learnt so much, so watch out you westies in Exeter

Got to book for WSM NOW !!!!!!

Imagine the same room without all the fans round the outside and you'll get a good idea of how horrible and stuffy it was during the day. Many people I was with ended up with headaches as a result...............

The 'Kemp' room (the one upstairs) was unbearable, I missed 2 K & S lessons because I couldn't bear the heat and still ended up with a headache .... Poor Jiver missed the evening as he had to leave as he felt so bad (glad he did as he was fine for his 'private')

The brought in 4 fans for the evening thank goodness, and even with them it was still very hot.

....I completely forgot to ask at reception about ordering a DVD of the event. I couldn't spot anything on the website so does anyone know how they're ordered?

No DVD Simon unfortunately but ESG was there with is camera, so at least we can look forward to some great photos

I am seriously thinking of going to Liberty Swing next year - anyone want to join me ????

[Cruella]

I kept away because I'd heard the floor there is well dodgy and I didn't want to risk any more injuries.

The floors were fine.

[Cruella]

:No DVD Simon unfortunately but ESG was there with is camera, so at least we can look forward to some great photos

Who was the guy, with the tripod and camera, filming the cabaret then?

[Minnie M]

Who was the guy, with the tripod and camera, filming the cabaret then?

My apologies I was told by one of Analisa's team that there wouldn't be a DVD - if there is one ......... I WANT IT !!! Or maybe they just did the cabarets

[wigglebum]

Thats right only the cabarets were recorded.

[Simon]

I am seriously thinking of going to Liberty Swing next year - anyone want to join me ????

Very interested.

Thats right only the cabarets were recorded.

That's a great shame. There were so many nuggets of top quality advice in Kyle and Sarah's classes that I couldn't keep up and was hoping to get a reminder from the DVD.

[Minnie M]

There were so many nuggets of top quality advice in Kyle and Sarah's classes that I couldn't keep up and was hoping to get a reminder from the DVD.

What makes Kyle & Sarah special and different from the other US pros is that they said that they tailored the classes to suit the audience - they watched their students and in their very very small breaks decided the content for the next class based on the title given AND gave some great tips for us to take on board plus Sarah gave some nice styling tips for us girlies

The classes were interesting and varied and the instruction was clear and precise - just wish they could come over more often

(reminder to me - book WSM)

[watchout]

Hiya guys who did what classes and what did u think ?

[Minnie M]

Hiya guys who did what classes and what did u think ?

Well you know what Simon and I did

[Minnie M]

Looking forward to seeing the photos

[Chef]

That's a great shame. There were so many nuggets of top quality advice in Kyle and Sarah's classes that I couldn't keep up and was hoping to get a reminder from the DVD.

I would also be very disappointed if there was no event DVD available. I rely on them as an aid to memory after the event so that I can reinforce what went on in the classes. If it is the case that only the cabaret was recorded I wouldn't see the point of having only that on a DVD. The cabarets were great but not enough in themselves to be worth putting out a DVD for. I will wait a week or so to see if more information comes out on the organisers website before phoning to ask about the situation.

That said, I have an absolutely great time. Everything was slickly organised. Kyle and Sarah (only did the WCS classes) were absolutely, utterly fantastic. The Kemp room was quite hot during lessons and the evening due to the failure of the air conditioning. The main room in the evening was absolutely rammed and IMHO no real dancing could be done in there due to being constantly barged by other dancers due to the lack of space. If you had paid £15 for the evening dance in the main hall I would say that you wasted your money. Each of Kyle and Sarahs lessons were worth the entry price alone and if they weren't there I wouldn't have touched this event with a barge pole.

The real big downer was the floor in the downstairs venue. It was lethal in terms of the buckled floorboards, changes of slope, liberal coating of discarded chewing gum and protruding screws used to fix the errant floorboards down. Utterly awful. How Alex managed to teach his spinning techniques class there I will never know.

To sum up. Fabulous teachers (not just the WCS), an unfortunate failure of the air con, a really poor floor surface in one of the teaching venue and the organisers got too greedy and rammed out the evening MJ venue.

[Andy McGregor]

The main room in the evening was absolutely rammed and IMHO no real dancing could be done in there due to being constantly barged by other dancers due to the lack of space. If you had paid £15 for the evening dance in the main hall I would say that you wasted your money.

The evening freestyle was like this the last time I went to Rebel Yell. Which is why it was the last time

This venue is fabulous with the right number of people in it. Why not run it twice a year or move to a different venue - or simply limit the numbers so that it's safe to dance in comfort.

[Chef]

This venue is fabulous with the right number of people in it. Why not run it twice a year or move to a different venue - or simply limit the numbers so that it's safe to dance in comfort.

Now, now Andy. I thought you had pledged not to give Ceroc any more business advice.

I am pretty sure that I saw Mike Ellard at the event and he and the franchisee could see what is going on. They can make their own judgement on the balance between packing them in and making more profit and limiting entrants to ensure a more enjoyable dance experience for the customer. It is a judgement that every organiser has to make. I was just expressing my own personal view about how I felt about that aspect of the event.

[Chef]

Just to update anyone that is interested in the DVD of the Rebel Yell event.

There isn't going to be one.

I just phoned Ceroc surrey to ask about this and was told that they had someone to film the lessons to produce a DVD but they pulled out at the last moment. Another company was called at short notice. They did film the cabarets but they have no plans for the footage.

I guess the people that were pulled in at the last moment to film the cabarets couldn't arrive on site early enough for the teachers to be able to film all the lessons.

It is a real shame. If I had known I would have used my own video camera to at least record myself and my partner dancing our own interpretation of the class. We would have missed out on the important technical tips but it would have been better than nothing.

At least the people in the class in the Kemp room will have a little bit of fame. At one point Sarah van Drake said she wanted a video of us all to show how WCS has grown in the UK and I gave her my camcorder to shoot some video of us all. All I have to do is get Kyles address to send him a disc of the footage in various formats and he says he is going to put it on his website. Cue loads of people going to see if they can spot themselves in the video.

[johnnyman]

Although I was only there for the evening, well done to Kyle and Sarah for their effort in teaching extended and extensive classes during the day. It is rare to see that many WCS classes covered in a day. Their taster class in the evening, which I did attend, although quick tempo, was priceless in knowledge

best
johnnyman

[Andy McGregor]

Now, now Andy. I thought you had pledged not to give Ceroc any more business advice.

Oops

The last time I went to this event it wasn't run by Ceroc.