Southport Feb '08 - the aftermath

[Lee Bartholomew]

Had a great weekend.

Was booked for me by Claire as a birthday supprise. Didn't know I was going untill 11am Friday morning.


In standard format :-

The Good

Not knowing I was going till the day. I was told we were going up to see family in Nottingham for the weekend. We went up there Thursday night. Woke Friday morning with SP tickets.

Some very funny dances with Vegtable and Co.

Having a lady I danced with say the following. "I have seen loads of great dancers here this weekend but you are the best as you are dancing with everyone and not just the ego's at the bar"


The Bad

Missing all except one WCS classes due to tiredness.

IMO the classes lacked Variation. Nothing really to excite me and very few MJ classes.

People just walking across the dancefloor because they cant be bothered to walk around to go to the bar, or worse, just standing on the floor to watch or talk. Got so pev'd off I ended up delib knocking in to people who done it. . Maybe something should be printed in the ettiqute about it.

Temptation was setting in to go and dance up at the bar. To show them how it's done.

[Terpsichorea]

Had a great weekend.

Was booked for me by Claire as a birthday supprise. Didn't know I was going untill 11am Friday morning.


In standard format :-

The Good

Not knowing I was going till the day. I was told we were going up to see family in Nottingham for the weekend. We went up there Thursday night. Woke Friday morning with SP tickets.

Some very funny dances with Vegtable and Co.

Having a lady I danced with say the following. "I have seen loads of great dancers here this weekend but you are the best as you are dancing with everyone and not just the ego's at the bar"


The Bad

Missing all except one WCS classes due to tiredness.

IMO the classes lacked Variation. Nothing really to excite me and very few MJ classes.

People just walking across the dancefloor because they cant be bothered to walk around to go to the bar, or worse, just standing on the floor to watch or talk. Got so pev'd off I ended up delib knocking in to people who done it. . Maybe something should be printed in the ettiqute about it.

Temptation was setting in to go and dance up at the bar. To show them how it's done.

Did you do the dips and drops class? I think I was stood next to you!

[Balders1973]

The "Stomp", it may catch on....... but probably not. Great dances Cat, thanks.

[Lee Bartholomew]

Did you do the dips and drops class? I think I was stood next to you!

Yeah. Was that you? Top left corner? Wanted to try and find you this weekender lol.

Didn't get on with that class at all. Too tired and a knee to the nuts near the start kind of threw it.

[Terpsichorea]

Yeah. Was that you? Top left corner? Wanted to try and find you this weekender lol.

Didn't get on with that class at all. Too tired and a knee to the nuts near the start kind of threw it.

Lol yeah I remember you getting kneed in the pods! I kept thinking, that bloke looks exactly like Lee, but I remember you'd said you weren't going, so I thought I was imagining things.

[cat]

The "Stomp", it may catch on....... but probably not. Great dances Cat, thanks.

True, but it was entertaining.....

[Balders1973]

Lee,

Been a while, but good to see you at SP, hope your prospective venture goes well. Carl

[tsh]

Wow. Amazing dances, not just with the best people there, but also people I dance with more regularly. I really liked the 3-part blues room, each area seemed to have it's own little separate feel (and it kept changing). I think the Marquee could be added as well, for when it gets busy.

Generally I found the music suited me well, except for Sunday night. So loud I had to go back for my ear-plugs, and then every single track sounded the same (all I could hear/feel was the bass) I very nearly went back to bed at this point, but I did find some blues in the latin room which kept me going for a while. Was fun dancing half-time for one track, but a Quo album would have been just as good, and probably more entertaining.

Very few of the classes that I did inspired me. I really struggled with the WCS classes on Saturday (despite knowing fundamentally what they were teaching, and not rotating) - so much that I turned down an invitation to dance WCS on Sunday to a WCS track in the bar area of the blues room. Massive contrast to the classes in September, which left me practising for the rest of the weekend. I'd much rather the classes focused on teaching ability than celebrity status - and when someone says 'do it like this, cause it makes you look cool', and they're not Viktor or Amir, I tend to think I prefer my own styling!

Sean

[MrBean]

Wow! What an amazing weekend! OUr first Southport visit, and it simply blew us away!

It was very inspiring being introduced to Jamie, Alex, and Matt, and the crew in the corner. Me and the wife learnt so much from you lot!

The class line-up was okay, although I agree with some in saying the Heidi and Benji were far from socialable. In fact, I dont think I actually saw them in the freestyles?! Correct me if I'm wrong...?

The only BAD point I have was the temperature of the chalet - BLOODY FREEZING!!!

That aside, Hannah and I (Nathan), thank everyone for a fab weekend and look forward to seeing you in May/Jun.

[Lory]

I had a really brilliant Southport! The atmosphere was superb and the standard of dancing just seems to get better and better!

My chalet mates were lovely. Minnie is a typical Jewish mother and brings enough food to feed 10 chalets for a week!

Talking of which, LemonCake and LM did their usual magic and produced the most lethal anti-diet recipes known to man! But they were just what I needed at 5am, to keep me going for another couple of hours! Cheers guys!

My highlights included some new discoveries - Balders being one of them, when you say I made you concentrate, i'm not sure what that means/intailed but it felt good to me anyway!

JonD and Sugarfoot, I finally got to Tango with you both and loved every second. Also some of my best dances of the weekend, were with non-forumites in the Latin room (shocking stuff huh? lol )

Tango cabaret - I personally loved this, I know this piece of music very well and it happens to be very very special to me. The performance actually left me quite emotional.

Special thank you's go to KevF, Spice n easy, Sparkles, PMJD, Cornish pixie, Blueshoes, Passion harem, Pretzelmiester, Balders1973.. you all know why!

and to LimpyTink and SF, for their friendship and hospitality!

The Venue.. I thought the extra flooring worked very well and the only time I got too hot was early on Friday, in the main room and I didn't get too cold either, I just put a jumper on as the Bluesroom thinned out towards the end of the night.

The music - on the whole, I thought the music extremely good.. there were a couple of dodgy moments in the blues room but one of them in the afternoon was a bit of a saving grace, as I needed to get some sleep anyway and the other one was during the last set, I was a bit worried when the atmosphere seemed to drop for a while, then I think Sparkles had a quick word with the DJ and hey presto, it was buzzing again! Well done!

I didn't really go in the WCS room, for some reason it just doesn't 'do it' for me?

The not so good...

Benji and Heidi - as has been said, they're great performers and their cabaret was awesome but as for teachers, i didn't rate them at all.. I thought Benji came across as extremely arrogant. And they completely left out lots of fundamental teaching points. Unlike their previous American peers, they didn't mix or social dance at all!
I know someone (a lovely dancer/man), who had a private with Benji and came out completely soul destroyed, which IMO was disgusting and unnecessary and not the sign of a good teacher!

I feel sorry for John and Wes, as I don't think they got what they bargained for.

The bad

being asked if I was drunk, when I was stone cold sober.. I asked why? ... apparently, I was being overly expressive and 'into the music.' Talk about make me feel self conscious, it burst my cloud and ruined my dancing for a short period!

But all in all, another brilliant weekend and I'm also booked for June and Sept!

[Lory]

I knew i'd forget something's.. (i'm sure i'll be remembering more and more as the day goes on)

Killingtime, for sorting my sore calves out and the lovely dances and also McJester, for helping my back!

Can you both nip down to London quickly, as I feel like a cripple today

[Lynn]

Now I am little more awake... my review

Weather/venue etc
Aside from some heavy rain (which I managed to miss and only saw evidence of walking back to chalet) and being a bit cold walking back and forward to venues, there was no problem with the weather. (We kept the heat on all the time in the chalet and it only worked out at £3 extra each.)

Great chalet mates - and yummy to have Little Monkey cake available at all times - I lost count of how many pieces I had of the chocolate cake!

Blues room
Really liked the extra flooring in the blues room. Not only did this increase the space to dance without causing any issues with the temperature - it would have been just too cold for the marquee - but it also changed the dynamics of the blues room, making it a bit more inclusive perhaps? And because you walk through in between two areas of dance floor it was easier to get partners, easier to see people etc. I find if I go and sit on the comfy seats you end up dancing with the same people - lovely to dance with familiar faces but the whole point of somewhere like Southport is getting to dance with lots of different people as well! Not that I actually sat down very much... As per usual I spent a lot of time in the blues room, nice mix of music and people.

I did miss the mellow Sun afternoon music, maybe it was mellow earlier (didn't get there till about 4pm) but I think the 2-6pm afternoon time should be really chilled and it was a bit too uptempo for me for some of the time.

Latin room
Wasn't in here much, mainly because in the past I found it harder to get dances in here and have memories of standing at the edge looking for partners (though this SP was different in that respect, see below), however every time I did go in I heard great music and had lovely dances.

Main room
Wasn't in here much on Sat night, its just too busy for me and while a good mix of music, its the usual freestyle stuff - I know that's what many people love about it, like a big long freestyle. On Sun night when there was more space and when I needed some fast dances for energy I had some fab, fun dances!

Dance Den
Went over on Sat and Sun for the WCS and found a different vibe to the WCS room than I have in the past. Maybe its because there are a lot more people doing WCS, but it didn't feel like a private party amongst people who knew each other already which is a bit how its felt to me in the past. It started well for me, being asked by someone who when I said 'I'm only a beginner at WCS' replied with, 'You may be a beginner at WCS but I know you are a good dancer' which boosted my confidence and that in turn made me dance better. (I have my worst WCS dances with those I know to be better dancers as I stress too much about mistakes I make). Therefore instead of sitting in the corner giving off 'help, I can't do this' vibes, I stood and looked about for partners and was asked to dance. Yes, I made mistakes, that's OK, I'm learning!

Cabaret
Great performances as always - thought the first WCS was good, showing a different side to WCS and loved the simplicity and musicality of the AT performance.

Workshops
Can't comment much as only did two, the first two WCS ones and I also thought that the B&H teaching style didn't seem to suit. If a class of people aren't getting a move then asking if they understand it and saying you won't move on til they do - then waiting for one person in a class of hundreds to finally say 'yes' does not mean the class has got it! Heard good things about lots of other classes. I just wanted to freestyle and you can't do everything!

Getting the balance right
Something just really worked for me at SP. It started right from shortly after arriving over at the blues room to meet people for tea, when I was dancing in between ordering food, meeting friends etc. Just walking across the room to go and order food or speak to someone turned into encounters with people which turned into dances and that natural 'see, smile, speak and dance' pattern continued through the whole weekend for me.

I don't know if it was the gender balancing or what but I was never short of someone to dance with. I never sat down or even stood around for a track looking for partners at any point during the weekend. If I wasn't being asked (and I seemed to be asked a lot this weekend) I looked around and there was someone to dance with. If I sat down it was to do just that, sit down and take a break! As soon as I walked near a dance floor I was up dancing with someone in seconds. Not sure why this was, but I think it was a combination of just being there so often, many familiar faces, and feeling good about my dancing.

The lows
My eye being sore on Sat night/Sun morning making my dancing off form and forcing me to give up about 6:30am as I simply had to go and sleep.

A lot of people that I didn't manage to dance with, despite doing hours of freestyle!

The highs
Spending time with people, chatting, eating, relaxing.

Buying dance shoes (no big surprise there!) that were really comfortable.

Absolulely getting the mix right on Sun night of stopping for caffeine and chocolate, a half hour back at the chalet for tea and cake, drinking plenty of water, changing my shoes, some fast high energy dances - all enabling me to dance pretty much non stop from 10pm - 9am. The last hour or so was sublime, sun shining outside, mellow music, lovely mix of partners, weaving in and out of MJ, tango and WCS...bliss.

Best ever Southport for me - best ever weekender in fact - so many wonderful dances with creative, playful partners.

[Lynn]

And wanted to add - once again thanks to John and Wes. I have had a range of Southport experiences from the very first one when I felt completely overwhelmed, to last June when I was off form with my dancing and hardly danced at all, to this one when I really can't believe how much I danced! There is just something about Southport that works for me, but I know its a result of a lot of hard work going in behiind the scenes by these two guys and their team.

[robd]

Having a lady I danced with say the following. "I have seen loads of great dancers here this weekend but you are the best as you are dancing with everyone and not just the ego's at the bar"

Temptation was setting in to go and dance up at the bar. To show them how it's done.

I'm amazed it took over a day for someone to mention the 'ego's at the bar' (I heard that phrase mentioned by another forumite too). Why do you describe the people dancing by the bar as that? Were you turned down by any of them? And you can't really complain if some people (but by no means the majority) there are ostentatious in their dancing if you then talk of how you'd like to 'show them how it's done'.

It was very interesting observing in the Blues Room after about 8 a.m Sunday morning as there seemed to be two pretty separate camps - those dancing in the bar area and those dancing on the main floor and very little transfer of people between the two. Not sure why this should be but I know in my case that my feet had pretty much gone at that point and I was just hanging on to buy a cooked breakfast

I'd much rather the classes focused on teaching ability than celebrity status - and when someone says 'do it like this, cause it makes you look cool', and they're not Viktor or Amir, I tend to think I prefer my own styling!

So was this something that Benji said? Or a.n.other? I always tend to think that if Viktor says 'do it like this, cause it makes you look cool' that, yes, maybe it looks cool when Viktor does it but not the rest of us.

[Lee Bartholomew]

I'm amazed it took over a day for someone to mention the 'ego's at the bar' (I heard that phrase mentioned by another forumite too). Why do you describe the people dancing by the bar as that? Were you turned down by any of them?

It was said to me but there did seem to be a gathering of good dancers in that corner that seemed to make it intimerdating for other dancers to dance in that area. Was great to watch though

And you can't really complain if some people (but by no means the majority) there are ostentatious in their dancing if you then talk of how you'd like to 'show them how it's done'.

Was tounge in cheek.

[tsh]

So was this something that Benji said? Or a.n.other? I always tend to think that if Viktor says 'do it like this, cause it makes you look cool' that, yes, maybe it looks cool when Viktor does it but not the rest of us.

It was Benji, but I can't remember exactly what he was referring to. It kind or reminded me of fixed cheesy grin that seems to be mandatory for the male SCD pros, or some lindy teachers who want everything to be big and showy.

At least with Viktor's suggestions, I'm prepared to try it and see if I can find a way to make it work - but I think he teaches confidence rather than specific style.

Sean

[fletch]

pps did anyone spot Zebra women dancing at least 7 mins to one bouncy tune in the main ball room

Nope, anyone we know?

[robd]

I know someone (a lovely dancer/man), who had a private with Benji and came out completely soul destroyed, which IMO was disgusting and unnecessary and not the sign of a good teacher!

I don't know the specifics of that case (though I think I know who you're referring to) but if you are going to have private lessons I think you need to be ready to hear things that you might not like. Not condoning Benji's behaviour if he was rude or condescending (and I know someone who came out of a private with Jordan in June feeling the same) but as I posted elsewhere if you are paying people money to improve your dancing you don't want them just to point out the things you are doing well. In my private this weekend I was basically told that I lacked any musicality in my WCS dancing (not musicality in the sense of being in time and hitting breaks but in terms of expressing other elements through my body). This was something I was pretty aware of but it still wasn't pleasant to have it pointed out. Nonetheless I took on board what was suggested I could do to improve in this area and tried to implement some of it straight away back in my social dancing.

[johnnyman]

As a 100% attendee at Southport since it's inception in June 2004, I continue to marvel at the way this event has evolved and the way people gravitate towards coming back again on the Sunday evening booking their tickets for the next one. I actually booked for June ahead of February and have just booked for September as well.

I also was delighted to dance with those females alongside the regulars I do each time who I have never danced with before and well done to anyone who took the plunge and danced in the Blues Room for the first time in their lives. It is a good thing to do and well worth doing at least once.

I was also pleased to see so many people in the WCS section of the Dance Den on Saturday and Sunday trying out what they had learned. It is not the easiest of disciplines to learn but it was great to see people having a go.

Good move for John and Wes to put extra flooring in the restaurant area of the Blues Room this time in light of what was clearly less than good weather (I arrived on Friday in the torrent around lunchtime by cab)

None of this dampened the evolving spirit that is Southport. See you all in June.

best
johnnyman

[SnowWhite]

For me, Southport was everything I wanted and needed it to be. And more.

Meeting up with old friends, making new ones, settling back in and 'coming home', I was never for a second disappointed.

Organisationally for John and Wes it must have been a nightmare, but I felt that everything that could be done - had been done. The temporary floor in the blues room was great, really created an added dimension. Check-in was pain free, rooms were warm and cosy and in all honesty if you intend to spend a weekend by the sea in February then you need to prepare for the cold - my snuggly blanky (stolen from my daughter - ssssh, don't tell her!) kept me beautifully warm for the 5 hours I spent in bed this weekend. As dancers, we travel thousands of miles, spend a fortune and organise our entire lives to get the fix that we need - we can rough it a little, surely.

Music - Wow!

For me, Sunday afternoon in the Blues room was incredible. CJ's set had a very dramatic effect - I've never seen anything more like Marmite! There was no like or dislike, it was love or hate. Those who loved it were in total rapture, those who hated it went off to find something else to do - creating a very interesting dynamic. Follow that with Richard, whose set couldn't have been more different to CJ's and was made all the more sublime because of it. Not quite as dramatically polarising, but just as dramatic in the effect it had on the room. Then later we had Blueshoes who came along and knitted everything back together again, and the mood changed again. I loved it!!! to all of you - particularly Richard, what a first impression!

Dancers - Double Wow!

From my little corner of heaven I watched so many people grow and grow over the weekend. Obviously being amongst the dance Gods that were there inspired everyone to try more, experiment more, relax more and definitely enjoy more. I was blown away by the friendliness and generosity of the more experienced dancers who just gave so much to us all, and particularly the more nervous and timid ones. Raphael, Pretzel Meister, UnderPar, Passion Harem, Mr Cool, Tom (forum?) you made a massive difference to some nervous souls this weekend. Thank you.

Raphael - it's an honour to be your friend.
UnderPar - an allround good guy
Pretzel - is it legal to be so much fun?
Passion Harem - how does it get better?
Mr Cool - you so are!
DTS - you are so bad it's almost good.
Daryl (forum?) - a star in the making
BarnPot - the right things at the right time
Stokie - memorable
Tor - silk and heading towards chocolate

Friends - Mmmmm!

Hot and Cold Feet, Ruby, Trouble, LemonCake, the JN's gang, ClareS, BoardRider, Ellie and everyone else who was just so much fun - when I have to start wearing Tena pants, it will be all your fault!!!! My sides hurt from laughing as much as my feet hurt from dancing - thank you!

There were some 'Why does this only happen to me moments' that I shall eventually get over - note has been made of those who chose not to step in and rescue me...

CJ - remind me, what's the difference between a break and the end of the track?

All in all, I've decided that February Southport is the best. John and Wes do it all, and better. Good friends, lots of laughs, great dancing and awesome music - I couldn't ask for anything more.

Thanks everyone. I needed that!