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Reply With QuoteSeems not. Ironically enoughOriginally Posted by robd
Am I missing some irony here?
ahhhh simon R you just reminded menow what was it you said to me when I asked for a dance ???? you say it so much better than I
hang on you told me 29I belive every thing you tell me
no cos i'm not saying, didn't I say
Seems not. Ironically enoughAm I missing some irony here?
Seems not. Ironically enough
Overall
Must admit I don't get the hype that a lot of people on here abscribe to Southport. Maybe it's because I haven't been a regular visitor or something, but Southport has never been near the top of my fav weekenders list. Nonetheless, I've never been to a bad weekender and this was no different. Great people, great dances, a great time all weekend.
The Good
The people.
Clearly making an effort to integrate WCS. Big thumbs up to JA for achieving this far, far better than Ceroc or any other weekender organisation. I speak as a wannabe westie
Music. Overall I thought it was excellent. (Although I do think just because there is a Blues/COZ room is no reason to stick religiously to 125/130BPM music in the main room even at peak time. This is same for all weekenders tho).
I don't do it myself, but I was told the Milonga music was excellent.
Latin Quarter. Surprize of the weekender. First time I have spent so much time in the Latin room at any weekender. The standard of dancers in there was sublime at times. Even the music, which often seems to suffer from overplayed commercial tracks or too hardcore latin music seemed to be far better this time. Best dances came in here. Five stars.
RR & NR. For random reasons I won't bore you with, I've never been to a US Pro WCS lesson before and it was great. Really enjoyed the detailed technical aspects for a change.
Outside dancing. Every weekender not in the depths of winter should have this.
24Hr dancing and more dance options during the day. I get that classes are important, of course, but the more dancing that is available during the day, the better. Great that so many stayed to dance during the day.
The Bad
John and Wes's speech. Some people commented to me it put a downer on that particularly evening. And if you add the length to the long cabaret and fancy dress, it just took wayyyyyy too long for me.
The Chalet. Worst I have ever stayed in. First time I have seen grease actually ooze up thru a floor. Fire alarm was too sensitive, one door just wouldn't close, too few coathangers. The list goes on and on. Not JA's fault obviously, but just appalling.
Overcrowding in the Blues room. (partly why I mention lack of dancers in the Marquis below).
The temporary floor. Way better than Francos, but it still had raised edges in places. One lady I saw lost her shoe on an edge.
RR not turning up for a private for a good friend of mine. He also had a phone number, but no call was forthcoming. So no idea of reasons, could just have been 'time' misunderstanding or something etc. But big shame nonetheless.
Footballers bum smell in the Latin Quarter.
The thief(s).
Oh Hum
The Marquis. I went for the first hour's WCS on Friday, and popped in once or twice on Saturday and Sunday. There never seemed to be more than 5 or 6 couples dancing. The Blues room was, of course, full of westies in comparison.
Also, given the numbers in the WCS classes (over 400 at one I was told), it was also a shame the beginners and improvers had no desire to try it out in the Marquis.
Not a 'bad' thing, but more of a disappointment that the effort made by JA was not taken up by the westies. (I also understand maybe I was just unlucky, perhaps it was buzzing later, dunno).
Southport (Jive addiction) started June 2004 ?
ok then 2004 the one jordan and tat did have i got the right year ?
that weekend we had all our friends there will and kate, daddy ray and Jane , Clayton and Janine.
Even with all those people around we still had a better time this year just shows how much the community has grown.
Yeah that struck me too - partly because I was one of the Westies in the blues room on the Saturday night when the Marquee was on.
The Friday night session in the Marquee got really busy but tailed off towards the end of the session.
Conversely, the Marquee was pretty quiet all through the Saturday night WCS set.
I asked a few of the westies why they were not in the marquee. The reason they gave was the same reason why I was not in there. The atmosphere and the music in the blues room at the time was just too good. We couldn't leave.
Some of the tracks were not what I would call specifically WCS but this didnt seem to matter. It was the atmosphere and that special feeling that it gives you that seemed to keep people in there.
Aside from giving the DJs specific track lists to play that represent an exact opposite to what is played in the marquee, the problem would not be solved. The DJs must see lots of people dancing and figure he/she is doing the right thing.
You forgot the floor, too. The floor in the marquee was so slippy it was dangerous.
Although I quite liked the speed of the floor in the marquee you are right. Some people did say it was a bit fast and slopey*
*thats my made up adjective to describe a floor that slopes
The Good
Just about everything. I could leave it at that but will expand with some personal highlights.
The music in the blues room and the WCS sets in the Marquee were pretty much spot on for me. As ever there were some sets that I really enjoyed (Zebra woman and dance demon esp) and one set that was less to my taste (which is not much of a critique when set against the overall level of utterly superb). The music was a very well crafted mix at all times with an absence of latin music (since there was a full time latin room) and the WCS content all but disappeared when WCS was on in the marquee. There was a small amount of real blues being played in the small hours which gave me the opportunity to dance real micro blues in a way that I haven’t had the chance to do since last being at Beach Boogie (looking forward to going on that next year though).
Robert and Nicola Royston are just great as WCS teachers giving the explanations down to the last molecule that I really respond to. If they ever carry out their desire to move to the U.K. we might just give them part of our house, or failing that, chuck in our jobs and move house so that we can go to their classes. If they want to to creat a mix of MJ and Swing then they may not succeed with their chosen name of Swive but perhaps if they call it Jwing (pronounced “Schwing”) it might catch on.
Other highlights were meeting all of the people from all over the country that I love to dance with and have deep feeling for as people (they know who they are). I also loved watching a fellow class mate from WCS classes at Petts Wood, Richard, making a huge leap in his WCS over the weekend – just wish I could improve at that rate. I also enjoyed watching Zebra Woman get hooked on AT over the weekend and doggedly tarted herself around all the able AT leaders. The days when she will be excited my my simple AT are over I fear. Time to get serious about my AT lessons I think.
The Bad
Absolutely nothing at all for me. I would love to do all the lessons and all the dancing but either my feet give out or I just lose the ability to think in real time and I start giving dull dances to people.
The accomodation and showers were pretty naff but that is true of every Pontins I have ever been in and is something that John and Wes have no control over. But I paid my money and took my choice. I would go and camp in a tent (and have done) if the dancing and music were superb.
Ugly
Hearing that people had had their purses/wallets stolen.
How I felt on Monday evening.
Having the weekend come to an end.
Overall It was simply the best weekender I could imagine and way better than anything I have experienced before.
Well, my experience differed a bit. The marquee was pretty busy at times but also quiet at other times. I went in there Fri night for an hour or so and then on Saturday for half an hour or so (I didn't come out until 3.30 am so not sure what it was like before that). Didn't go in on Sunday night at all.
I didn't like the speed of the floor in there nor the slope of it in places but I know it's not easy putting down a good temporary floor. I also don't like the fact that I have to change shoes to go between the Blues Lounge and Marquee as that wasn't necessary with the Dance Den.
I think there's also very much an element of some WCS dancers wanting to be where
a - the Pros are dancing (I didn't see either of the Roystons social dancing this weekend but I presume they did do some?)
b - Paul Warden is dancing.
The latter in particular can influence some people's choice of location as
a - he is a friend of theirs
b - they want the chance to dance with him
c - they want to watch him dancing
I do think the scheduling in the Blues Lounge on Fri night wasn't ideal either as Colin Shaul (I think) played lots of pretty fast swing through til 1 at which point the Marquee opened for WCS and the next DJ in the Blues Lounge also started playing music that was more suited for WCS.
Ultimately though the Blues Lounge tends to be the place with that special Southport 'buzz' and lots of people, WCS dancers included, want to be a part of that.
The Good
Everything - my personal highlights are
Dance Demon's Saturday Blues Lounge set - perfect (IMHO) early morning Blues. I certainly tested Rosie's 4 month tango experience with your last tune. Loved your Latin Quarter set.
Zebra Woman's Friday night Latin Quarter set and our dances.
Sugarfoot's Milongas - a few hit and miss tunes however the time just few by at every Milonga. Enjoyed all my tangos and it was great to meet so many new tango dancers. Thank you Wes to letting us all know the Milongas will continue @Eclipse and putting seating in the Marque this time.
All weekend the atmosphere in the Blues Lounge as the sun went down, and as the sun came up, sublime.
The music, made this Southport feel very upbeat and moving on.
SnowWhite, thank you
Lynn - Pump It
Noel - had a wonderful dance in the main room to Touch 'n Go - Tango in Harlem
My fellow co'habiters of a Blues Lounge booth StokeBloke and Twirlie Bird- with the odd marvellous dance with Twirlie Bird on the Saturday night.
Fun Little Monkey
Freudian Hips 'contemporary cake sitting' move
DianaS- AT
So many wonderful dances all weekend
The Bad
No Nessiemonster
No killingtime, CJ's sets or HelenB's cute friend
No dance with Nina
The lights coming on during Dance Demons Latin Quarter set for some filming
The Ugly
-where is that Tumble Weed smiley?-
The Thanks
Jon, Wes and the team
and finally
The people who make the JA events special some are friends and the rest are yet to be.
I had a great weekend and look forward to many more with JA
Was it room 634 ? was there in June. There was a disclaimer on the door to sign ? The one where the ear wigs and woodlice had walked off in protest ?
The yellow sheets were in fact meant to be white etc
Got much better one this time in the 500s
Got 3 coat hangers so I was happy (enough for all my weekend clothes)
GF took 234 coat hangers for hers.
TV had a picture and the bed had some springs in the right places etc
Got free electricity , guess the machine which takes the tokens was broken ?
Wow - that summarises my second (and last) Southport....
From the very first Southport "encounter" on the M6 with DTS and Mikey last Friday, honking at the sign on my car ("Honk if you're going to Southport, Jiving You Wild!") and pulling faces as they overtook me,to the last dance at 4 AM on Monday morning, the weekend was one of absolute magic.
The Outstanding
One of those rare dances early on Monday morning in the blues room, when location, time, and other dancers disappeared, and there was only myself, my dance partner and the music. Wonderful connection, drama, and perfect timing. Pure bliss!
The Good
The atmosphere over the whole three days. Chilled, mellow, with a twist of sadness but everywhere, everyone was determined to get as much out of the last JA Southport as possible.
Dancing outside on both afternoons. I was slightly spaced out after lack of sleep and too much G&Ts but it all added to the moment! Too many great dancers to mention by name, but thank you every one of you. I didn’t have one “bad” dance the entire time.
Tango/Milonga on Sat and Sun nights in the Marquee. Much respect to DJ Sugarfoot for the music, and to the dancers who got me well and truly hooked on a dance I’ve only dabbled in before
DTS and his wonderful sense of humour, including a rude introduction to tag dancing with Mikey and Poi Boi in the sunshine on Sat afternoon
Fitting into a size “small” top during clothes browsing on Sat (had to buy the garment after that!). The crowning glory after a year of healthy eating and dancing that has seen me lose four stone, and go from a size 18 (Breeze Oct 2007) to an 8/10 (Southport Sept 2008).
The Bad
The thieve(s), a horrible mar on an otherwise flawless weekend.
The Ugly
Monsier LeClerc (you know who you are), who danced with me just before the cabaret……that fake moustache on Sat night was the only “ugly” thing I could find about this fantastic weekend!
Words cannot express the wretched feeling I had as I set off for work this morningbut I'll be looking forward to Skegness with excitement, and more than a little trepidation and wistfulness for the brilliant event that was Southport Sept 2008.
Right, I have almost recovered enough to write a report. Any spelling mistakes etc will be blamed on still being part Zombie.
The Good:
My back! Yes, my back actually behaved itself all weekend, despite me not really being very careful and doing lots of dips and drops. I just had sooooooooooooo much fun, and should be a cripple now, but am amazingly feeling pretty ok. Ok, so I had to drug myself to the eyeballs on codeine on Monday morning, but even people with no injuries would be in pain after that amount of dancing!
Catching up with friends from all over the country (and abroad), and making new friends. Tom, you were definitely one of the reasons I had such a great weekend. Poi Boi, you're great fun to dance with!
Dancing outside on the decking.
Cuddles.
Having my ego boosted by all the lovely compliments about my dancing, in particular one guy who said 'That dance was the highlight of my weekend'!
All the hugs and cuddles from Robert Roystone. That man should be re-named the Cake Monster. I've never seen anyone who can eat as much cake as that him! I think he could even give Sheepman a run for his money!
Sheepman's, Zebra Woman's and Dance Demon's sets. Someone played a lot of faster swing/lindy style tracks one night, which I normally don't like in the Blues Lounge, but on this occasion I had so much fun dancing to it that I didn't care. Particularly dancing with Nigel Anderson!
The dancers that push me out of my comfort zone and make me do things I never knew I could do, in particular Bertrand (no, I don't know how to do rumba!!!) and a lovely dancer from London (I think his name is Nigel, he does tango and used to be a regular at Jango) who makes me think I can do Jango.
Ooooh, yes, that was great! I remember being petrified at the beginning, thinking 'I can never do WCS to this', and then ending up having a great dance to it. Thanks!Then there were the alternative tracks. One example of this was the track 'Poison'. It came on and I thought "What the hell?". Thing is, as the track went on I really really got into it and ended up telling everyone about it
The Bad:
Being a bit emotional on Saturday. Probably brought on by just being completely knackered. But my lovely chalet mate was ready with cuddles and g'n'ts, so I was soon smiling again. Note: Don't trust Dance Cat's g'n'ts. There mostly g with a tiny drop of t!!!!
Er........ My feet? The pain in most of my body on Monday morning? Having to go home on Monday? The fact that this was the last ever Southport weekender? Not getting to dance with a lot of my favourite dancers again until February?
Er...? Moi? You were clearly leading me astray!Not being able to hear the teachers that well from the temporary flooring in the main room (although I think it was LM and I that were affecting that!)
The Bizarre:
Raphael's cake eating technique on Saturday....!
The tag dance with Princess Fi, pmjd and est101 Monday morning in the Ballroom!
Raphael reclaiming his harem on Monday morning!
Me too! And June!Let's see what Eclipse has to offer. Im booked for Feb!
Last edited by Little Monkey; 16th-September-2008 at 04:00 PM.
I spent the whole weekend on crutches, but still had a great time. At times I was really frustrated at not being able to dance, but every cloud has a silver lining. I spent much more time socialising getting to know people a bit better.
Due to the leg, I was not going to teach the Tai Chi class on Sat. Mandy was going to replace me with a yoga class. But when I saw how packed the hall was, a made a last minute decision to do the best I could. I have seen this class grow from the small dance den roots to filling the Latin Quarter to capacity. Fantastic…you inspired me.
The Milonga
I can’t remember when it started, but I remember how. Mandy & I put a Tango CD on in the Blues room one afternoon and began to dance. 2 other couples joined us, JonD & partner & Clive & Chris. We danced for about an hour on a virtually clear blues room floor. I felt guilty for hogging the floor so called it a day. To my surprise, far from offending people we got constant feedback for the rest of the weekend about what a nice change it was to listen to different music and watch a different form of dance. Many seemed inspired to have a go at tango. From then on, we asked to teach at every weekender and John & Wes were brave enough to allow me run a dedicated milonga each night. It was a very small beginning.
All 3 milonga at this event were well attended. I could not believe how many are now dancing Tango and how much they had progressed since that humble beginning. Despite not being able to dance I was deeply touched by the warm feedback and the atmosphere.
A huge thanks to everyone for making my weekend and the milonga such a success. It has been said here many times before, but it really is about the people.
Thank you John & Wes for being open minded and innovated enough to have made this possible. I am sure your passion and belief will continue to be rewarded.
Let’s keep it going at Eclipse.
I really wanted to do the Tai Chi class too but, inevitably, dancing got in the wayI have seen this class grow from the small dance den roots to filling the Latin Quarter to capacity. Fantastic…you inspired me.
Although I dont do AT I really appreciated having a completely different dance being performed. I only stopped by for 5 minutes to have a nosey but it is really nice to see.All 3 milonga at this event were well attended. I could not believe how many are now dancing Tango and how much they had progressed since that humble beginning. Despite not being able to dance I was deeply touched by the warm feedback and the atmosphere.
I didn't know that was how it started. So thank you to you too for being the person to get AT started at SP.
Like so much at SP over the past five years its been something that has evolved and been a result of a dancer having an idea and John and Wes taking it on board. Not surprising that people feel its 'our' event when a lot of what has developed has had its roots in what the dancers want.
I can only assume they laid on a free buffet this time.....
Last edited by Will; 16th-September-2008 at 05:15 PM.
Well as usual I had a blast.
The Good -
The chilled out, relaxed, happy but buzzing vibes that I get at Southport.
The fact that more of my mates are not only coming to Jive Addiction weekenders with me now, but staying out later tooalthough I need to work on them as I'm still the only who lasts til the next morning haha.
Getting more dances with my favourites (and getting to chat to one of them a bit more this time - I'm never very good at the stopping and chatting part, if we're talking I can't help but think we're wasting dancing time haha), some of whom I only get to see at Southport.
A couple of people (especially Randall) helping me with my WCS - I even managed to get through quite a few freestyle tracks. Nothing fancy but it's still progress
A couple of great dances with Noel in the Blues room one evening - not sure if he's on here. I love both watching and dancing with this guy and always have fun with him.
New finds
Getting lots of compliments on my dancing, some of the more memorable being "when you do do stuff it's pretty hot" and "you're a lovely find, I'm definitely going to play with you some more this weekend".
Robert and Nicola's WCS classes on the Sat -, lovely people, fab teachers, great sense of humour and good control of the class.
The cabarets
The Bad -
Accomodation is never great but then I don't spend much time in it so I don't really care.
One of my favourites, who I've only ever seen at Southport, not being there.
The Ugly
It was the last Southport weekend as we know it.No more can I flit between the Blues room and the main room so easily.
------
All booked up for Eclipse in Feb and I can't wait! Thanks to John and Wes and all the JA team who made Southport what it is and am looking forward to seeing what you do in Skegness.
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