My First Weekender - What Should I Expect?

[frolicols]

Hi gang! Unfortunately I couldn't make it to Southport as I'm away this weekend, but I've decided that I am going to book to attend Viva Las Vegas at Camber. It appeals to my gambling nature , and by the time it comes round I will have had about 4 months dancing under my belt to get by on!

So obviously for one I hope to see you there for a dance and a drink , but what should I be expecting and what hints and tips can you give a virgin "weekenderite"?!?

[dave the scaffolder]

My advice my lover is this.....Go, dance your firm little ar*e off, ask everyone to dance and refuse no one. Do no more than 4 lessons a day, buy the dvd for the lessons you missed and above all give it large mate. You will love it, we have discussed hygiene and floorcraft at length, go and be a polite and happy dancer which will make your teachers proud. Stone me I am filling up one of me little fletchlings taking his 1st steps in the murky world of dance weekenders.

I am going to give you a hug on wednesday.

DTS XXX XXX

[fletch]

My advice my lover is this.....Go, dance your firm little ar*e off, ask everyone to dance and refuse no one. Do no more than 4 lessons a day, buy the dvd for the lessons you missed and above all give it large mate. You will love it, we have discussed hygiene and floorcraft at length, go and be a polite and happy dancer which will make your teachers proud. Stone me I am filling up one of me little fletchlings taking his 1st steps in the murky world of dance weekenders.

I am going to give you a hug on wednesday.

DTS XXX XXX

flip me DTS you do make complete sence some times
you are truly a god amongst mortals.

seek 'fletch' out and she will look after you

are you any good at pub quizes ? we need to beet Lee I only won on Sunday cus he wasn't in it

[Minnie M]

..........I will have had about 4 months dancing under my belt to get by on................

I went to Camber (last weekend) with my son Jack who had only been dancing a couple of months beforehand. He had a workshop the weekend before which really got him in the mood.

Tips....... Jack is "cgull" on the forum, so hopefully he will see this thread and answer for himself.

My tip, is to get to know as many forumites as poss beforehand, hopefully you will meet many at freestyles etc.

[Lory]

Sore feet

[kps]

Hardly any and lots of amazing dance's

[dave the scaffolder]

Another tip given to me by an excellent dancer years ago.

Look at the women standing by the dance floor tapping their feet and jiggling their hips, they are bursting to be asked to dance. Ask these women to dance and you will not be dissapointed, keep your dancing simple and avoid dips and drops, laugh when a move goes to rat sh1t and smile at your dance partner. If you laugh and enjoy your dancing you will not leave the floor all weekend. Do not forget to eat as you are doing the equivelent of running a couple of marathons over a weekend. Look your dance partner in the eye and tell her/him how wonderfull they are, because if the dance is not so good for you it wil be good for them, compliment them and stroke their ego and above all RELAX.

Ask the more experienced dancers for help, they will give it.

DTS XXX XXX

[Lory]

hints and tips

My Blog contains my packing list, some people have found it useful in the past

[Minnie M]

My Blog contains my packing list, some people have found it useful in the past

[cgull]

Tips....... Jack is "cgull" on the forum, so hopefully he will see this thread and answer for himself.


Did and am! my first weekender at camber (in fact first event outside of a class) with a few months of lessons and a workshop under my belt. I had the advantage of being with minnie (she has to love me ) who knows everyone and helped me settle in - so it is good advice to try to get to know people beforehand. Mind you, dancing and friendliness seem to go together so there is little problem there.

My personal advice is that the classes at the event are a great way to spot people so that when you see them later it is easier to ask for a dance and makes it all more social. (there are so many people - that seeing a familiar face is quite rewarding).

DTS advice is spot on. At Camber there were simply loads of ladies waiting for a dance and not one does anything other smile and say yes when asked - so the way forward is to keep on going. Another bit of advice is a typical male problem of 'move envy' (or something like that). There are some pretty special dances going on all around that you just don't see normally (well i haven't anyway). The way forward I reckon is to stick with doing what you can do well without over-stretching.

If you do the quiz - make sure you don't play the joker on the music round!!!

Have a great time!

cgull

[Lost Leader]

A few random tips:

- pace yourself (Sunday dancing can be great but not if you are totally knackered and have had next to no sleep)
- time spent watching others dance isn't wasted time
- flit between rooms as the mood takes you
- mornings are for sleeping
- don't try to do too many classes
- take breaks when you need to
- don't skip meals
- ask and smile
- don't feel intimidated by the sheer scale of the thing, remember they are all just dancers out to have a good time
- pack carefully (see Lory's packing list)
- don't let a small incident ruin your week-end
- if you are driving be sensible about the journey home
- read through some of the relevant threads on this forum about week-enders to get some idea what to expect and for more useful tips
- above all have fun, that's what it's all about.

[Maxine]

1. To have a fantastic time meeting people from all over the country and dancing with them

2. To age 5 years for every weekender as sleep is not in the programme.

3. To have the choice of different styles of dance in different areas, my favourites are the blues room but closely followed by the pub area where you can dance in the afternoon and is sheer decadence or ‘ decadance’ even

4. I could advise you to take it easy on the workshops as you need to save your strength for the dancing that goes on to morning, but you won’t.


Have fun and I may see you there but have not decided yet

[Minnie M]

And......... ask Minnie M to dance

(I missed quite a few forumite dances at Camber )

[frodo]

I reckon things are different at your first weekender, if you haven't been dancing long so:-

- mornings are for sleeping
- don't try to do too many classes

Do as many workshops as possible, and buy the DVD. You'll get a much better overview of what is available. You'll naturally find yourself dancing later and sleeping in the morning as you go to further weekenders. It isn't necessary to start that way.

- don't skip meals

Don't worry about skipping proper meals. You just need calories so snacking all weekend is fine, and social reasons aside, preferable to maximise your useful intake of energy (don't stop snacking just because you aren't hungry).

Sleep is far more important than meals (except on Sunday night if you're not driving).

- pack carefully (see Lory's packing list)

Only if you've got to carry your luggage (Lory clearly isn't planning to). Otherwise just chuck in whatever you think you might need (including plenty of shirts). You don't want to be spending time doing laundry because you took too few.

If you do have to carry your luggage, pack very carefully, and pay attention to what weighs the least, because you still want lots of shirts. Don't worry about packing stuff useful for non dancing activities you might do. It is just dead weight as you won't have time.

Dance relatively early in the night

It depends on the gender balance of the weekend (despite balancing it does vary significantly weekender to weekender), but if you're newer it is probably better to dance earlier in the night, as the balance swings in the ladies favour later in the night.

[Jay Jay]

Hey........so you're going for it

My only advice is don't do too much, at my first weekender I wanted to do everything but by 2 am the mind was willing but my feet were throbbing so much I had to retire to bed even though I didn't want...the key is to pace yourself.

....and forget work on the Monday you will need it for sleep

[fletch]

If you do the quiz - make sure you don't play the joker on the music round!!!

Have a great time!

cgull

unless we can get a couple of the DJ on our side

[frolicols]

....and forget work on the Monday you will need it for sleep

Didn't think of that! I'll book the Monday off in that case!

And......... ask Minnie M to dance

(I missed quite a few forumite dances at Camber )

I have a Frolicols t-shirt somewhere, no excuse to miss me then!

I am going to give you a hug on wednesday.

DTS XXX XXX

I'll hold you to that.

are you any good at pub quizes ? we need to beet Lee I only won on Sunday cus he wasn't in it

I've won a fair few in my time, I love a good pub quiz!

Did and am! my first weekender at camber (in fact first event outside of a class) with a few months of lessons and a workshop under my belt. I had the advantage of being with minnie (she has to love me ) who knows everyone and helped me settle in - so it is good advice to try to get to know people beforehand. Mind you, dancing and friendliness seem to go together so there is little problem there.

My personal advice is that the classes at the event are a great way to spot people so that when you see them later it is easier to ask for a dance and makes it all more social. (there are so many people - that seeing a familiar face is quite rewarding).

DTS advice is spot on. At Camber there were simply loads of ladies waiting for a dance and not one does anything other smile and say yes when asked - so the way forward is to keep on going. Another bit of advice is a typical male problem of 'move envy' (or something like that). There are some pretty special dances going on all around that you just don't see normally (well i haven't anyway). The way forward I reckon is to stick with doing what you can do well without over-stretching.

If you do the quiz - make sure you don't play the joker on the music round!!!

Have a great time!

cgull

Great advice cgull, thanks!

[marcusj]

Don’t have too many meal replacement bars for energy - I found out at Camber last weekend to my cost that they have a laxative effect !!

[Jan in Notts]

What to expect:
All different types of dancers with varying levels of ability - watch and enjoy the amazing dancers but don't feel intimidated as there will be lots of less experienced dancers there as well all having a good time.

Advice:
Keep your fluids up and take the opportunity to have some time out during the evening if you feel the need to re-charge your batteries. Nipping back to the chalet for a shower and snack at 1am can give you an extra few hours dancing if that is what you want.

I have only been to a few weekenders so I am still in the mindset of "do all of the workshops that you want to" but I can see the benefits of limiting them to the ones that particularly appeal - benefits like finding time to eat. sleep and resting your weary feet.

Read the threads about weekenders, listen to the views of the people you respect but ultimately go with an open mind as your experience will be individual to you.

Have a fabulous time.

[Astro]

4. I could advise you to take it easy on the workshops as you need to save your strength for the dancing that goes on to morning, but you won’t.

I always arrive at a weekender with a list of classes I plan to attend, but I never do. Good intentions though.

I reckon things are different at yourIf you do have to carry your luggage, pack very carefully, and pay attention to what weighs the least, because you still want lots of shirts. Don't worry about packing stuff useful for non dancing activities you might do. It is just dead weight as you won't have time.

It's the spare dancing shoes that add the weight. I never need them, will it be sod's law if I don't pack them? Will they have my size in the shop if I'm desperate?