From November 20th to 21st, I returned to Montreal to do more testing on the bridge in Brossard (now called the Daigneault Creek bridge in literature). Ayan's wireless sensors were ready for testing and I was to go with him because I knew the bridge, knew the testing procedure, and I could drive.
It was a really crazy schedule on the Tuesday since I had class until about noon and then I raced to the car rental place at Weber and Columbia, picked up the car, tossed our equipment in the back (which was nothing compared to the last trip), and picked up Ayan. The only equipment we essentially had was a laptop, two wireless sensors that had 2 axes of measurement, a receiver plugged into the laptop, and double-sided tape. As a side note, this was the first time I got to rent a car since my being under 25 normally makes this a more costly venture.
We made it out of Waterloo by 1pm and made it into Montreal just before 7:30pm, we were lucky with traffic. I had booked the same hotel as last time, and this time I brought my swim suit just in case. As background, Richard the lab tech gave me a hard time that I neglected to tell him that the hotel had a pool before we left. After a yummy meal across the road (Boulevard Taschereau is convenient like that), and taking home a piece of tarte au sucre, I went to sleep quite quickly after a long day.
The next morning we both got up at a good hour, got breakfast, and headed out, not needing to be crazy early for a long setup. We got to the site and started to check the equipment and go a few tests. Being very scientific, I used small rocks to delineate the location of the sensors (since I remembered their location with respect to the trusses from last time).
November 21, 2012 at Daigneault Creek Bridge (rocks on right side to mark location of sensors)
The accelerometers were a prototype design from a subsidiary company of PCB piezotronics, so it was simply a board on a battery pack. There was apparently a casing available, but it did not fit well. The sensors measured acceleration in the long direction of the board and out of plane. Since we were measuring the vertical and lateral accelerations, I picked up little aluminum angles from the UW machine shop to attach to the sides of the battery pack with double-sided tape. Double sided tape was also being used to attach the angles to the top of the bridge girders.
Wireless accelerometer setup. Double sided tape held the aluminum angles to the battery pack and to the bridge
Me with the installation of the wireless sensor on the bridge girder
Since we only had two accelerometers, but three sets of locations to acquire data (1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 lengths of the bridge), we had to repeat all tests three times over. We ran all the tests that we were capable of replicating (which excluded the crowd, bicycle, and car loading). This time I was the test subject while Ayan stopped and started the data acquisition from his laptop setup from the truck of the rental hatchback (which turned out to be handy).
No cart, no filters, no DAQ, no signal conditioners, just a laptop and a receiver this time around
The last test was really funny to do because Ayan wanted to try a forced loading for a minute by jumping and then wait a minute to measure free vibration, doing this at all 6 sensor locations). After the first few tests though, he cut the jumping time to 30 sec because it was a lot of jumping!
This time around we didn't have any visitors, and Sriram was willing to come down from Ottawa if we had any issues, but everything went smoothly. The only thing we found was that the sensors on occasion would just stop talking to the receiver, which might have been attributed to the cold (around 7ºC). We were done by 1pm, so we hopped back in the car and headed back to Waterloo. We hit a bit of traffic west of Kingston due to construction and got caught in the tail end of commuter Toronto traffic, but overall not too bad.
It was a very brief trip, we didn't get to go to Montreal proper this time around, but I still enjoyed the trip (and got work done). Oh, and as a plus, I got to learn more about Ayan and had some really interesting conversations with him along the way. :)
I've noticed that since I started grad school, the next question is often 'So...what do you do?' Well, in short, I do this:
A well-thought out setup. I'm serious, it worked out really well :D
Reusing covies, thanks GNCTR!
Promotional picture worthy, couldn't have done it without Richard
It can hold a car!
The subject for our running tests
Those are the 'yay for good weather and successful experiment' smiles
So, a bit of backstory, I had just returned from New Orleans 9:30 pm on October 1st. I was to meet Sriram at 8:00 am on October 2nd to get the last of things to pack in the CPATT Sprinter van before we departed for Montreal at 9:00am. Needless to say, all of my planning had to happen before I left for NOLA Thursday, so I was super prepared, and yet I still forgot my pajamas (don't worry I packed spare clothes and I didn't embarrass myself).
Sriram and Scott left in the rental car to take care of some errands and they would be meeting us at the ONroute stop past Toronto. They were also in charge of picking up the a 12th cable to run from an accelerometer to the signal conditioner. I couldn't find the last one in the lab so we unfortunately had to order one. Upon calling the supplier than morning, I had a bit of a panic when the receptionist said 'Oh ya, we shipped it'. Luckily they also had one at their office which we had to get before 5 pm.
Richard, Pampa, and I tossed the rest of the equipment that Richard had not yet packed on Monday into the tall van (as wide as a pick up truck but tall enough to stand in). We knew what we were generally getting ourselves into thanks to some pictures and dimensions courtesy of Alex's people at MAADI doing some surveying for us in the summer. We knew we needed long ladders to reach the midspan of the bridge from the underneath complete with fall arrest equipment for Richard (the only one trained). We had our non-destructive accelerometer mounting brackets all machined and ready to go. Toss in our personal luggage, about 4 laptops, Sriram's bicycle and all the cabling we'd need and away we went. Driving to Montreal was so uninterrupted, we forgot to point out the CN Tower to Pampa (this also happened on the way back!). Even just driving on the 401, Pampa was impressed by the colours of the leaves, which reminded me that she's only been from Pearson to Waterloo since she moved here on September 1. Well, she was going to drive through/visit Canada's two largest cities, a great outing for her!
Arriving to Brossard, we park the van up on the path and we have our first look around. The first impression while walking along the bridge was that 'wow, this is bouncy, yay we'll have data!'. We all got excited because we have known about the bridge for almost a year but we finally got to see it in person. Due to the embankments, 3 of the 6 locations (1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 bridge lengths on the north and south side) were easily accessible from the ground without a ladder. The centre north location required the long ladder off of the embankment and the centre south location was over the water. For this one, Richard put the base of the ladder in the creek and used the step ladder horizontally from the channel side to walk out to the ladder. I trust he knew what he was doing because he worked extensively as a rigger on telecommunication towers.We decide that since they're easily accessible, they could easily be taken/vandalized during the night, so we waited until the morning. Sriram and Scott met up with us with the crucial cable. Apparently there was a giant traffic jam and Sriram walked the last 1/2km to the supplier to get it before they closed (and it was still after 5pm but we got lucky). We had a nice relaxing dinner, talking about the future of the structures lab, planning and such (not that I could really contribute but it was informative none the less). Oh yes, and Richard (and Scott somewhat) gave me grief for not letting them know that the hotel had a pool and a sauna. :P
Wednesday morning we wake up nice and early, get breakfast at the hotel, and head out to site. Unloading stuff bit by bit, we all have our own tasks to do, and it worked out really great. Richard got the mounts on the bridge, Sriram installed the accelerometers on the mounts, I laid out the cabling with Pampa's help, while Scott fielded questions from Jaques from the Aluminum Association and Alex from MAADI. Alex was a really interesting person to talk to because he's the owner of the company that made the aluminum pedestrian bridge that we were working on, and that would also be providing UW with our own 70' aluminum pedestrian bridge. He's clearly excited about his work and puts all his effort into his company. It only took a couple of hours to set up, checking the working condition of the accelerometers, signal conditioners, low-pass Butterworth filters, and data acquisition software. I didn't want something to bugger up and not know where it was coming from.
Tests we did were; heel drop for free vibration, single person walking, two people walking synchronously or asynchronously, a runner, a cyclist, jumping off the railing, a walking crowd, a running crowd, ambient vibration, and (our favourite by Alex's request) driving a car. What I found funny was that I was left on the bridge for an extended amount of time to wait for random pedestrians and run the data acquisition for them. Meanwhile, everyone else went for lunch, though they also picked something up for me, I felt funny being exiled to the middle of the bridge. Then when Sriram saw someone coming he'd yell and point saying 'Ann! Random person!'. Now, being Montreal, not everyone would speak English, so I thought that it was rather funny for pedestrians.
By mid-afternoon we were done collecting data, cleanup was fast and we were all done. I'd say it was a super successful day, especially since even the evening before, it was calling for rain. It was dry and fair all day. It looked a little cloudy towards the end but we got lucky. We headed back to the hotel where we regrouped and went downtown to join Alex at a pub. We first dropped in on the MAADI office, which was in a tech incubator-type centre like the Accelerator Centre in the Research and Technology Park at UW. Since Alex was crazy busy, we decided to meet him downtown later, and went for a walk. This is when Pampa got really excited about being in Montreal (which made me proud of my hometown). Walking along Peel and then St. Catherines, we stopped for a few pictures.
Meeting up with Alex, he talked about some of the interesting projects he has been a part of, including floating barges in Florida and pedestrian bridges around Quebec. We were able to stop by his one project, which were bridges leading from an old boat renovated into a floating spa docked at the Montreal harbour. Needless to say, the pictures show that it is a very high-end trendy place now.
Bridge to Bota Bota, a floating spa in Montreal, actually I didn't realize this picture has me (left), Pampa (center), and Sriram (right)
This also meant that we walked through the old part of Montreal, cobblestone, European buildings, and all. It was great, I hadn't personally been there in...ages really. It was great for Pampa and a bunch of the others either hadn't been before or hadn't been in a while. I love Montreal <3 p="p">
The next morning we took at a leisurely pace where Scott took us to see his family house. The Walbridge family had a large plot of land near Bedford, QC, about an hour south of Montreal in the townships. On the land is Quebec's only 12-sided barn, still standing from around the 1880's. It was really neat to see because inside the barn, the centre platform rotated to allow easy entrance/exit of horse and wagon, but also easy loading of hay bales into the stalls. The roof work on the barn was complex and quite remarkable. Richard was very interested in the history and was gushing over how things were built. We went for a bit of a walk in the forested area, passing an old sugar shack where they made maple syrup. Since the trees were changing colours it was really something special. While Scott had to meeting at the family house, the rest of us ventured to the café in Mystic (the hamlet). They had an extensive set of chocolates, preserves and everything made form scratch. This is where Richard found maple syrup pie that was closer to my mom's tarte au sucre than the one we had the first night. I was all excited, yay French Canadian dessert that's pure sugar.
Oh yes, and to Bedford and almost all the way home, I drove the Sprinter van. That's right, on the 20 I drove the van, and confidently at that! :D I was proud, though I did have a bit of guidance from Richard to start since I had never driven anything bigger than my family's Chevy Malibu. Getting home at 9:30pm, I was tired from having travelled over 4000km by plane and 1200km by car, but I had a lot of fun, and the research trip seems successful (from what I can tell so far). Of course, here's hoping that the data looks nice, then it'll all be worthwhile!
After only a few hours of sleep, our bags already mostly packed from the night before, Dean, John, and I were off to the airport, bidding farewell to one of the most awesome cities in North America. Both of the guys were dressed up really nice (John because it was Oct 1 and the start of Oc-tie-ber and Dean because...well it's Dean), so I had a very nicely dressed entourage. We got to MSY really early, but whatever we were awake anyways. We hung out with Mel at breakfast until her flight to Montreal took off.
All was well on the trip home, I got to read some papers, Dean slept, John listened to pod casts. At the Atlanta airport, we hung out with Amanda Stock, who had the same flights as us. As a pass time, I took pictures of Amanda and Dean lindy-bombing the Atlanta airport thanks to Dean's portable speakers, for which they got applause.
Dean was kind enough to drive John and I all the way back to Waterloo but he was ridiculously tired, poor guy!
Overall thoughts:
ULHS 2012 was quite a different experience than last year, but I still loved it. The weather for some people was a downer, and yes the second line parade was cancelled. However, I looked at it and saw it as typical New Orleans weather, I thought it was almost more genuine. Plus, you're not made of sugar, so go run through those puddles, do the 'Singing in the Rain' routine!
I danced with lots of new people, but I found that a large proportion of my dances were people I knew from Canada/Northern US. I thought I would change that and be that person who dances with everyone, but I was still really happy with my dances since there are a lot of people that I don't have as many opportunities to dance with. I had awesome dances with some of the best swing dancers around, too!
I went for a run in the French Quarter the morning, which I'm still ooo and aaa-ing about, I don't know the architecture is just so neat. Plus, my route took me around some of the more normal local area, so it felt like actually being there, rather than sticking to touristy things.
Also, I really appreciated the down times with Erika and John individually since this is when I connect with people the best. Amongst all the craziness of meeting up with people and events and such, it's my time to be grounded.
Will I go again? Hmm tough to say, since I really enjoyed my time there, but it's not the same feeling as I had after going my first time. I think it depends where I'll be in my life and research work. Would I recommend it? Absolutely :D
It was already Sunday! And all through the hotel, not a creature was stirring before 9-10 am. It was a late night before, much fun had by all. Dean was off to the World War II heritage museum, Erika went on a photoshoot with Dave. Dave liked the rain in NOLA and how it worked for photos, I hope his pictures capture that because I too saw the magic of the pouring rain in the French Quarter.
John and I went for a leisurely IHOP breakfast thus I replaced Dean in the 'breakfast buddies' team, and we meandered the French Quarter. And it poured. Oh goodness did it pour. The gutters were overflowing into waterfalls, the second floor downspouts were streaming high velocity jets of water into the middle of the streets, it was really cool. Retreating into a courtyard, we found a little coffee shop where I found the most awesome smelling 'cinnamon bun' and 'red velvet' flavoured coffee beans. I have tried the first one so far at home, but yet to try the second, they smell like happy warmth!
The one thing on my shopping list for New Orleans this year was to buy a parasol since I really wanted one since last year. We wandered the French Quarter and found the one stall with the parasols, and I found a really nice pink and purple one (surprising colours for me, I know!) After having checked out the dancing in the French Market, we went to a Mexican restaurant nearby that Nyree recommended for the table-side guacamole. Avocados, who can resist! The afternoon was more walking and enjoying the French Quarter and meeting up with people after their adventures.
Ee had dinner at Coops again so that Erika could also try it and then headed to Generations hall again for the evening dance. The competitions that night were the partnered slow dancing and solo blues dancing. I don't know, I mean sure they're good dancers, but I don't really understand the solo blues dancing. Or at least I don't know why just the most daring should win, I can more appreciate the control and isolation of movement (so I liked Sharon's dancing more than Evita's).
After the dance we stopped at Café du Monde, which we had to make sure we got to before we left (like last year, we went on the Sunday night). Beignets, powdered sugar, coffee, and paper hats. It's always a fun time, especially since Dean finds something interesting to do with icing sugar and 4 days of unshaven face!
Erika and I passed up on the late night (at Maison) since her flight was around 6 am and had to leave the hotel around 3:45 and I had had my fill for the evening. Dean and John went onwards, but soon returned to the hotel because it was the soul night (so it wasn't the swing they were hoping for) and a lot of people didn't show for the same reason Erika didn't. Though it seemed like she was going to fall asleep, Erika made her taxi and was off to the airport.
This morning started off with a nice swim in the hotel pool since everyone else was asleep which was refreshing, plus the ceiling was glass so I could watch the rain fall.
At around lunch time, a bunch of us including Toronto, Hamilton, and Waterloo, ventured out to Magazine Street where there is a bunch of shopping, vintage stores, and stuff we had not seen even last year. After spending a bunch of time in Trashy Diva, Erika and I had a nice relaxing time in a nearby café just chatting. You realize that in such a big group, the small intimate conversations are hard to come by. I have to say with all the nuttiness of the big group, this was my favourite part of the afternoon. In the French Market that day was the showdown prelims.
We heard adventures from the guys (Dave, Dean, and John) where they went hat shopping at the Goorin Bros (I approve!) and they met a man in a wheelchair with a dog sometime after the cigar shop that upon them telling him they were from Toronto, he told them they had a messed up mayor. Oh my goodness, people outside of Toronto area know Toronto politics!
This evening's dance was held at Generations hall, a big hall with a second floor balcony and a good dance floor. The competition of the night was the showdown finals and the showcases. Chance and his partner won, but I was quite inspired by some of Sharon's flow and moves. What I also found refreshing was the lack of aerials, this was actual swing dancing, not 'let's throw her around in crazy ways'. This makes it so that what you see is more repeatable on the dance floor.
The late night was again at the US mint, but I almost didn't go because I had a bad pain around my kidney (not a new thing for me but it was pretty darn bad), and I got stomped on pretty fierce. I did make it, but I hung out outside the dance room blowing soap bubbles with a bunch of folks. I had a good time regardless :) wow, bubbles was a theme of the weekend, I just noticed...
Having woken up and feeling slightly less congested than the night before, I grabbed my gear and went for a morning run. I took a tour of the residential area north of the French Quarter and down Esplanade. By the end of my trip I was so sweaty and warm, it was totally not appealing due to the humidity. After coming back and showered, people were waking up. It wasn't until noon (and I had read papers) that I got out to meet people for brunch (tasty blueberry pancakes!).
In the afternoon I went preliminary shopping for shoes, dresses, and lingerie with Jay, Liz and Vanesser around Chartres. It poured so much, it was kinda magical in the 'this is New Orleans rain' kinda way. What was funny was that I guess I didn't fully rinse my shoes after I last washed them, because shortly after my feet got soaked, bubbles were growing around the toes and heel of my shoes. Jay lovingly gave me the nickname of 'Bubbles', and it seems to be sticking...well knowing Jay it could be way worse so Bubbles it is.
That night was at the Wax Museum where I had some of my favourite dances of the weekend. Many of the really good dancers were around and not too tired (yet from the weekend). Also the floors have a pretty good slide to them without being dangerous. Though, I learned to keep track of your glasses because a turn could result in flying glasses, luckily Mickey picked them up before they were stepped on. The jack and jill competition was fun to watch and we were super excited that Caitlin got into the finals. Though Toronto's cheering was louder, the other couple had a dynamic that couldn't be beat, but Caitlin did awesomely.
The late night was at the US Mint, which was an impressive building in the Quarter. The dancing room had a very cool vibe, very different than the bright grandiose architecture of the rest of the building.
So the border was speedy at Buffalo, got on the plane ok, my congestion really rattled my brain though. We got in at 2:30, went hat shopping where Dean bought a boater hat and John pre-ordered a pork pie hat. We roamed around, had dinner at Coops (best jambalaya ever, oh and I stole half a piece of fried chicken when John was elsewhere). My congestion was really stuffing me up around midnight, which is the earliest I've called it a night while in NOLA, but I'd rater be healthy to enjoy the next 4 days!
Dancing was awesome, nice and fast! With the resurgence of balboa, it allowed more people on the dance floor too :). Definitely more to come too! Went for a run inthe French Quarter, I love the architecture! John's sleeping and Dean is out taking pictures. More people are arriving this afternoon, there's outdoor dancing at the French Market and some of the competitions. :) Ah yes and I plan to buy some chickoree coffee from Cafe du Monde, it's a local thing!
Reading papers and will probably do breakfast soon when Dean gets back :)
The weekend of September 14-16, Toronto had the plasure to host Lennart, eWa, Daniel and Äsa eho are excellent lindy hoppers and instructors from Sweden. This was a super refreshing change of teaching since I've more often gotten the North American style. They went back to more Frankie inspired stuff and really tried to stay away from patterns since it is a vernacular dance.
Lennart had the nice points that lindy hop should flow and should be relaxing, not just all energetic and flashy when the music gets intense. I know this point really made John happy because that's his dance philosophy. For others, this point would be a tougher one to implement just based on their style.
Daniel and Äsa had some nice body movement exercises to make the dance flow through more of the body, or to vary your position/mood. They also did a bunch of scatting exercises, and at first people felt awkward, but it became fun when the whole group was doin it.
The dance DCH was pretty fun and it had a lot of people who didn't show up atla often because of work/school (even Turlough came down from Montreal). I had the pleasure of dancing with Daniel a few times over the weekend and it was sooo much fun! Up there on the list of best dances including Peter, Juan, and Stefan.
So this post is a little delayed, which would correctly indicate that I have been super busy (not just school but yes school's taken a big chunk of time). I'm still working for Walterfedy partime when I don't have classes, lab work or meetings. I enjoy the two types of pace, academic and industrial, I feel it keeps me grounded.
I'm taking the only civil structural grad course being offered this term called Risk and Reliability, as well as an ECE stochastic processes course in relation to signal processing. It's something different but I'm trying to get a feel for where I could take my master's thesis afterwards. So far both courses are good, had the same first 2 weeks if lectures since they have to review statistics. The ECE course will definitely be higher math, should be interesting.
So the big news is that We were finally able to nail down a date to go to Montreal to instrument MAADI's aluminum pedestrian bridge spanning 44m across a ditch in Brossard. I'm super excited because we've been planning this since June but the date would get pushed back. We're hooking up up to 12 accelerometers on mounts that will be clamped on the underside of the bridge, hook them up to a data acquisitions system, and collect data on the laptop. An added challenge is 1) we needed to bring our own power and 2) we're leaving the day I get back drom New Orleans. :P
I'm also excited because some of the coolest people from my graduation year stuck around for MASc too :)
My office has been frequently frequented by my friends/people hungry for baked goods. :P
So yes, things have been going exceptionally well, busy, but very well.
Two weeks after my first visit to the Algonquin Park area (previously for Lindystock), I headed up there again but this time for a 5 day canoe trip with Martin, Ceara, Connie, Mel, and Mohrgan. I had never gone on a multi-day hiking or canoeing trip before, so I was excited. a few weeks before the trip, I start looking for gear, figuring that I'd use a hiking pack and a bunch of the other accessories lik dry bags in the future. I was fortunate enough that my parents got this set of gear for me as my undergrad graduation gift, so it'll make every trip from now on more special!
Mimi was the grand planner of the trip, having spreadsheets and a menu planned out for the five (originally 6) people coming. I was brought on board the trip when someone had to drop out, and there were several changes to the list of people going before the trip actually happened. Martin was the most experienced hiker, so he had a bunch of the gear that possibly no one else had.
The night before we left, I helped Mimi and Ceara make trail mixes for each person and pack the food barrel in order of what was being consumed (this turned out to be an effective way to pack since going by least squishable on the bottom meant a lot of rummaging each meal time). The rest of the group showed up and we divided up the communal gear among the packs to ensure every item had a home.
The next morning we were off to the races! Picked up early by most peoples' standards, Mel got to my house around 7 and we drove to Connie's where we took the back roads (led by Mohrgan and his knowledge of these roads by bicycle) to the 400 and up through to Algonquin. I believe we put in the canoes around 3 in the afternoon and we paddled to the opposite end of Rain Lake for our first camp site. We had homemade hamburgers and hung out around the fire until it started to rain. Oh, and this night it poured, we found out the large tent, housing Mel, Mohrgan, Mimi, and myself, was not entirely rainproof, and rained onto us. Mel read a bit from '50 shades of grey' out loud before going to bed. I don't like that book, it's just plain silly hah.
The morning consisted of hanging a lot of things to dry; clothes, sleeping bags, and tents. Of the tents, we all got wet, but ours most-so. After our first night of hilarity and silliness, we were still able to get up early enough to pack up and get ready for the next leg which included 4 portages, the longest of which was 550m. I was paired with Mimi, Mohrgan and Mel were another team, and Martin, Connie and Ceara made the team of three where one person got to sit regally in the middle and watch the others paddle. Mimi was a fun canoe partner, and we got to be in charge of the food barrel, which was stupid heavy going into the park. If others said a path was clear from the rocks or trees under the water, we ended up scraping them! I had never portaged a canoe before, so I let Mimi go first, but on the second portage I gave it a try (with my pack!) and it was cool. I had thought portaging was a 2-person thing but we got the light-weight canoes. After the 4 treks through the lakes, we got to the site where we'd stay two nights. It was a great site with a nice clean rockface to enter the water or lie in the sun. Lots of swimming was had, though the water was cool. Mel and Connie only made it in on the second day at the site because it was warmer that day.
I soon realized that Mohrgan and I were the early birds of the group, frequently hanging out on the rock or going for a morning swim or canoe paddle together. I hadn't really known him much before, but he's a really interesting person. I mean, I got to learn a lot about Ceara, Connie, Mel, and Martin too but I feel I may have known them better/longer already. I like Ceara's sense of humour :)
On the full day that we were at that camp site we had pancakes in the morning (yum!) and then went on a day trip further into the park onto a portage route that was labelled 'unmaintained'. It was a nice hike but I'd rather not do it with a canoe on my head, it's just quite shrubby. We found a nice little bog with a log to sit on and have lunch. Connie and Mel were snapping away taking pictures of all sorts of trees and plants, which was awesome for memories after, I just don't have the patience for it, or is it that I just want to experience it in person and not through a camera? I don't know which. I believe that night we had spaghetti with sauce and TVP which was awesome. This is the night that I acted on my 'I can eat anything with chopsticks' and successfully drank a bit of wine by slurping it up with my chopsticks.
Heading back out of the park, we did two of the four portages and stayed a nice site that had a lot of little corners on the rock by the water for us to sit as a group together and just chill. That night was pretty cold, but we went away from the fire to watch the stars (so many shooting stars!). For some it was one of the first times to have seen them that clearly, and I had missed seeing them that well.
The last morning, most people slept in. It was super cold, and even though I toughed some pretty chilly nights in my capris and canoe shoes, I finally had to change into pants, long sleeve shirt, sweater, and running shoes. The lake was so still it was like glass, and Connie and I saw a beaver peacefully swim by.
It was an awesome trip in every sense; we got great weather (I consider the fact that we got all types of weather the best), great people, and lots of new experiences for me. Plus, being outdoors is awesome :D
A little late is better than never, my recap of Lindystock!
On the civic holiday in August, a group of lindyhoppers from Toronto and the surrounding areas trekked north toa round Hunstville where we spend 3 nights at a retreat-type lodge doing camping and dancing activities. This year the sign up was intense because the passes sold out in 117 minutes, less than two hours! Waiting on the internet for the registration was worth it because the weekend was a blast.
I drove up with Mark from Waterloo and we got in the craziest cottage traffic on the 400. Not being one to tolerate traffic, Mark had some choice words and was visibly perturbed like a caged squirrel. Eventually we made it, unpacked our bags (into very nicely kept log cabins). We were then greeted to dinner and the Charlie/Phil Hawaiian shirted duo running a tiki bar. Not sure how many cans of coconut milk or pineapple juice they went through but they were a really hilarious team.
Every night there was dancing on the top floor of the main hall, and man was it hot and stuff up there! Not only does heat rise, but people added to it on a weekend that was pretty warm to start with. The venue and atmosphere were great and that's why we continued to dance regardless.
The first day we had a chance to go on an interpretive hike, led by one of the people who lived at the lodge year-round. It was much of an ecology hike with a bit more story telling, so it was something new for me, and neat. A bunch of people walked out to Ragged Falls and climbed the rocks to get to the nice pools to swim in. Having wished I bought canoe shoes, I was pretty precarious with my walking in scandals. The water was deeper and faster than some people expected so we had some close calls of people getting too close to the edges of the falls area. My apprehension of moving water is thanks to my hydraulics course and Bill Annable's rule of thumb for water while surveying. The rest of the day could be spent however we pleased, so I believe I had my laptop to do some work, a lot of people had books, and some brought knitting supplies. Oh and we had a stream nearby to swim in, oddly enough I ended up swimming there mostly at night.
On the Saturday and Sunday nights I got to DJ for a while which was neat but I didn't know what kind of reaction to expect since I had never DJed for Toronto dancers before. I've danced with them enough peoples' preferences, but yes whatever I did they really liked. I ended up doing a gigantic shift from midnight until 3 am on Saturday of blues music because up until then it had been all fast lindy. This makes me laugh because I didn't consider my blues repetoire enough (though I found out later at the late night dance at the Kitchener Blues Fest that I could run a dance until 6 am on my repetoire no problem).
On Sunday morning I went for a run with Martha, Jaime, and Mark, though I didn't have my normal runnings shoes so I had to turn back early (they were doing a 20km half-marathon prep run). It was still really nice scenery to run by, though it was a bit damp/rained when I returned.
Oh I have to say, the food was really great but not only that, they catered to every food allergy, intolerance, and eating choice possible, it was unbelievable!
On Monday right before we left, we did gunnel bobbing (tradition form last year). This is where a person stands on the gunnels of the canoe on each end and jumps up and down. The first first to touch the water loses. I did my once but had to stop after because while the other person was setting up, I tumbled into the canoe, my knee landing on some rivets, so it was a little bruised and was kinda bleeding. But I still did it, darn it! and it was a blast.
Of course it had to be a big question for the end...
I dance because it is an art form that I can communicate how I feel. I've always enjoyed moving to music, be it ballet, figure skating or swing dancing. If I'm having a busy day at work or a stressful day at school, I knew that even if it was laborious to get myself out to dance that my mood would improve as soon as I got on the dance floor. The exhilaration of the speed and turns in figure skating is what I enjoyed most about that dance. Though I have been in the competitive mind frame for figure skating, I have not yet competed in swing dancing. I feel that either it's not for me or that I want to develop my skills further before I start along this path. Competition also takes a lot of time, which I don't necessarily have since my main focus for the next two years is grad school.
To get ideas and to challenge my presence when I dance (I've been told I'm too nice and that I need to release my bitch), I like watching Skye and Frieda from ILHC 2011. It's a fun routine where they play with so many of the aspects of classic lindy hop.
Lindystock in Ontario in early August, Rhythm Ramble in Toronto on September 14th, ULHS 2012 in New Orleans September 29th, and who knows what else is coming for me! I'll be watching the ILHC competitions from the comfort of my own laptop.
My goals for this year are to better understand where my body is in terms of isolation, extension, and feeling in the movement. I also want to work on improve the clarity of the energy levels that I am dancing in (fast and dynamic, chill, soft, clownish, etc.).
My level? Hmm, somewhere that's never the top because I have lots and lots to work on. I know moves and movement (and still working on movement), I think I need to spend more time infront of a mirror to dance since I don't do any performances (given my time schedule...no way!) This is kinda a silly question.
The last night I went dancing was last night at the Imperial Pub in Toronto (just around the corner from Dundas Square). It's always held the first Sunday of each month and it also happened to be Canada Day/Pride parade Day/Spain winning the Eurocup, so the city was all over busy.
There was a DJ battle between Phil and Brooke, both sets were really great, though Brooke won the contest by the volume of cheering for her.
It was the last event in a giant weekend of events including Dean's birthday, Glenn Crytzer and the Syncopators on Friday at SPK, and the band again but plus Meschiya Lake on Saturday night at DCH. I got a couple of great dances since it was so flipping hot I didn't dance most songs (save on space and on energy). John and I then drove back to Waterloo via motorcycle using partly the 401 and country roads. It was refreshingly cold (to the point of too chilly), which is quite surprising considering the daytime temperature in Toronto.
Jeremy and Laura's performance of Maharaja is my new favourite pro performance. The crowd's energy level and support for them was so intense. Before the performance, there was a bit of a disclaimer because the choreography was so difficult, and the movie's was done in a few cuts, that Jeremy and Laura could screw up. Despite the crazy footwork, they did it flawlessly and the crowd went nuts. Here's the original paired with their performance.
I really enjoy watching Lunou from Montreal dance. She has such a vibrant energy, I was hooked and listening as soon as she started to move. She has a very silly clownish style that she clearly likes and does incorporates it well into her choreographs and social dancing.
1. New Orleans - like I mentioned before, it's the culture, music, dancing, food and architecture! It's infused everywhere
2. Montreal - my hometown still feels like home and the dancers are wonderful (talent wise and personality wise)
3. Seattle - gotta love the fast Charleston stuff paired with the hipster coffee bars.
Grey a-line skirt that flows, white button-down shirt, and suit vest. Sometimes a hat. Vests are neat.
In warmer or more casual situations, it's definitely jeans and a t-shirt. Dresses are nice and such, but I find I can get wrapped up in them or twisted (like in balboa for instance), so I like separate tops and bottoms.
I just fixed up my pink satin Keds from Camp Jitterbug and Stompology but those are my favourite shoes at the moment. I have a simple pair of grey oxfords from Aldo, a pair of the Aris Allen bowler shoes with suede bottoms, and a pair of green suede, leather-bottomed ReMix 1940's vintage shoes. These heels are ridiculously comfortable to dance in, it is crazy.
I also pick up a new pair of heels (ee hee) at the All Balboa Weekend. They're a Remix shoe, grey suede with a yellow leather patent heel. They're quite high but still really comfy, not sure how that works! These would be for balboa by the way.
The double heel click. I remember trying to do that in my first term at swing club and I was so determined but never got it. Thing is, I like my heel clicks, I think I do them rather well.
There are no moves, just movement, haha but yes anywho, I really like the simple moves (like partnered fall off the log) but rhythmed-out to the max. To make it punchy and thoughtful to the phrase being played makes me melt dance-wise.
The more angular, vintagey and sillier the better. So, flexed feet, knees definitely bent, and usually wearing a silly face of sorts to complete the look! For example, check out Jo and Kevin's routine from this year's European Swing Championships, I really like it!
There aren't that many of those! That may be saying something about how my dancing looks. Here's one with Dave Tom at the Toronto Lindy Exchange (TUX) in 2010, not too long after starting.
My inner circle of swing dancing friends are in the UW Swing Club, the Hep Cat Hoppers, the Hammer Hoppers of Hamilton, and Toronto (Bees Knees and UTswing). A lot of the people I stared dancing with have moved on to other things in their life or moved away, so I've been the most consistent friends with John, though we were in a band together so that makes us like super cool too. I've also travelled across the continent with Anna (was at UW Swing Club now at Notre Dame) for Camp Jitterbug recently. I've travelled with my good friend Dean to New Orleans where we met up with John, Anna, and a bunch of the Toronto crowd. In Toronto I have to say my favourite group are the regulars at the Imperial Pub monthly swing and blues nights.
I have to say that travelling to New Orleans, Louisiana for the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown is the best and brightest memory of my swing dancing.
What I enjoyed so much about this trip was the blend of dancing, music, good food, and culture. The weather also merited for lots of time hanging out outside and exploring the French Quarter. Frenchmen's street is by far my favourite with the awesome jazz clubs.
I also happened to have travelled with a great bunch of people and had lots of people from Toronto show up as well. Moreover, I met a whole new set of people since there were dancers from all over the United States, some from Canada, and from around the world (notably France and Korea).
I finally got my degree yesterday morning. Not much to say, the ceremony was nice enough, about 2.5 hours so I was getting pretty hungry by the end (so was everyone else). The speech was given by the chair of the Cambridge Toyota plant with the message of 'if you can think it, you can build it', though I found the speech kinda overly focused on his work on the Lexus. O well! Here are pictures!
Even in those few days I was in Waterloo between going to Rochester and Cleveland and the week that has followed since Cleveland, I have not had the motivation to post about the second part of my trip. In all fairness, the camping and road tripping out to Seattle is flashier and has more writing potential, but the dance workshops were a great learning experience for me personally (less interesting for others I should think). Lots of fun stuff went on during those weeks still.
The last I left it was that I was going to leave Des Moines (Anna's parent's place) to fly to Rochester. Fortunately, the flight was uneventful and I was able to finish reading David Copperfield. I got some compliments on the hat I bought in Seattle since the best way to carry it around was to wear it on the plane. Landing in Rochester, my hostess, Eileen, was ready to pick me up, which was fantastic. This was above and beyond what she was to do as a hostess for Stompology attendees but no one else was in town yet. It was great talking to her, meeting her two lovely kitties and even sharing dinner with her that she cooked. She had the most amazing house. Like many of the houses in downtown Rochester, hers was from the late 1800's (1860's she estimates), but hers retains the original wood flooring in the kitchen/dining room with new berber carpet in the bedrooms and living room. New bathroom and kitchen, oh I was impressed.
Off we headed to the Friday night dance where the introductory lesson was an advanced solo jazz choreography by Sharon and Juan, very neat. Like many things during this weekend, it's given me lots of new ideas to blend in anywhere to lindy hop or solo dancing. That night was music by the Careless Lovers, which I only seen a few days before in Seattle. During the teacher demos, I notice that Stefan (from Oregon), and Laura were there, which I thought was neat. So to some people it was like 'Oh, hello again!', which was fun. At the dance we met Turlough, Joyce, Amanda, Julie-Anne (though the last two were staying elsewhere), and the other people being hosted by Eileen for the weekend.
The weekend's lessons were great! Ranging from Stefan and Juan doing flash moves, advanced tap with Andrew, improvisation techniques with Sharon, classic jazz with Juan, and Doin' the Jive with choreographer/musician/singer Falty. I have the say the neatest class was being able to get into the critique class where 25 people got the chance to do some solo dancing to two songs (medium and fast), where Sharon and Falty would give some constructive criticism afterwards. Though the comments for other people are still great to remember, I was told that I'm too nice by Falty and that I have to be more a bitch by Sharon. Essentially, contrast the smooth moves with sharp dynamic ones (more emphasis). Though I have done this in the past, well, nerves or the music and such just didn't happen.
Amanda, Julie-Anne, myself, and Turlough at Stompology
Anyways, I got a ride home with Julie-Anne and Amanda on the Sunday night, having a fun car ride home just talking about fun stuff. For the next two days, I basically spent it helping with laundry, organizing my things, and packing for Cleveland's All Balboa Weekend. I was still able to make it out to Monday night's dance, which was funny because it felt mid-trip for me yet I was in Waterloo doing my regular thing. Also somehow I ended up on campus most days between Monday and Wednesday, funny. Thursday midday I was off to meet Mimi and Amanda on campus to take off for ABW.
All Balboa Weekend was certainly a different experience. Having the event in the hotel in which you are staying is super handy, though you feel you don't see the outside much unless you're going to find food. Seeming to start a new tradition, Amanda, Dave, Mimi and I picked up Steak and Shake when we were an hour or two outside of Cleveland (Steak and Shake being the first thing after Anna picked me up in Chicago). The first night I met Dave's friends Nico, Sandrine (two dancers who lived in Waterloo when I started dancing but I didn't really know who they were), and their friends Florence and Vanessa all from Toulouse, France. Apparently I need to check out Toulouse, they have a giant swing/balboa scene.
The next morning were the auditions for the advanced, advanced+ and masters classes. I had decided to sign up for advanced when I registered ages ago, thinking why not. So did Amanda, and we went to the space on the floor meant for intermediate-advanced trying out for advanced, which sounded correct. When the judges weren't around for long and no one was bumped up (everyone given an intermediate-advanced bracelet), some people were confused and upset. I figured, hey whatever I tried, plus I'd be in classes with Anna, Jo, and Lisa. Though after the first day where I have gone over these concepts quite a few times with John and Dominique, I approached Valerie (the first instructor on the second day), asking if it's not too much trouble for her to watch me and see if I could be moved up. After class she was like oh ya go go, which was cool. However I hung around the track I was in one more lesson otherwise I would have missed all the classes by Peter and Mia for the weekend, and seeing them was important to me.
Every night of ABW was spectacular, but the performance by Jeremy and Laura of Maharaja from 1943 was absolutely intense. With a warning that this is a very tough routine and that the dancers in the movie were allowed a few takes, Jeremy and Laura were dancing it live, so no second takes. People were obviously supporting them regardless but they nailed it flawlessly. It was so great to watch! For reference, here is their performance compared to the original. Hal and Betty Takier were known for lightning quick steps and making new steps of their own.
Surprisingly, most of the girls wore their heels for classes and for the dance (which I only expected it for the dance). Though my feet were a little tired by the 4th day, most people were dying, yay comfy ReMix shoes!
After classes on Sunday, we stuck around a bit so that Amanda and Mimi could go to part of Peter Strom's soul party, which just allows you to do something other than balboa for a bit. Earlier that day Anna was begging me to send her on a swing out just because it's a very intense weekend on what is considered a fringe swing dance. We unfortunately missed the showcase and the competition results, but the reality sets in that there's work the next day. I have not heard word yet of the results, though I'm sure if a Toronto dancer got something, I would have gotten word via Facebook.
Overall, those 3.5 weeks were absolutely fantastic! Chicago, Des Moines, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Rochester, and Cleveland <3<3<3
Ok, favourite pros! I have to say my dances with Peter Strom at the Rhythm City Mess Around in Vancouver and Juan at Stompology in Rochester were really enjoyable and they were both great to chat with. I liked chatting with Stefan and Bethany from Portland, OR this summer. Nina and Jo are also really fun to learn from and definitely empower the follows, which rocks. Also, just because he posted on Facebook waiting for this day of the challenge, I love David Trinh :P
Day 10: Favourite workshop weekend (Lindy Focus, Camp Hollywood, etc) or one you'd really like to attend
It's really hard to decide between the last three that I went to: Camp Jitterbug in Seattle. Stompology in Rochester, and All Balboa Weekend in Cleveland. I learned a ton and I got challenged in different 'subjects' of dancing. I'm still practicing the little routines that got dished out from Jitterbug and Stompology or the really neat tricks on movement.
I found as the size of the event grew, the organization complexity was exponential. The people running Camp Jitterbug and All Balboa Weekend had to really be on the ball and were always super busy because of the sheer volume of people, competitions, class levels, and instructors involved. That being said, I was quite impressed by how well they pulled everything together, since I understand how difficult coordination and the background work to events really can be.
My first one at Caesar Martini's with Martin and Angie, because I wouldn't be doing this shit today if it had scared me away. Let's hear a collective 'aww' for being sentimental.
Oh jeepers, that's tough. I really liked Peter Loggins for the down-to-Earthiness and historical aspects of his lessons. I think that's why I'm also a fan of Falty's lessons, and he's got more of the sarcasm and humour in there. I being a muscian too, definitely enjoy his associations to music in his lessons. I have to say Jo is my favourite female instructor because she inspires you to release your inner badass bitch and attitude in your dancing, and she's really fun to listen teach.
Boogie woogie, this is new as of two weeks ago. I think it looks like a blast to dance, but it doesn't really look like there are any Boogie Woogiers in North America and less likely in Canada. If anyone can prove me otherwise, let me know!
Day 6: Your Favourite group dance (shim sham, tranky doo, big apple, etc)
Tranky doo by far.I feel it's the underdog, is that why I like it? No idea, but I enjoy it. It plays off of the different levels that you can dance at (low down, upright and really up) moreso than the Big Apple. I like it when group dances are more out of the blue, the percentage of dances I've gone to where the tranky doo gets busted out is so low compared to the Big Apple and definitely the shim sham.
Day 5: Your Favourite Lindy Hop variation dance (charleston, balboa, shag)
Hmm, I've been really interested in learning balboa (seeing as that I am currently in Cleveland for the All Balboa Weekend). I like the fact that it is subtle and elegant but that it still has the swing dancing lines (the bent leg, twists in the hips, or foot flicks) unlike ballroom. Called the 'dancer's dance' it's the dance I find myself smiling the most in because I read his lead and we stylized a really nice move. On the solo dance front, I'm a huge fan of solo Charleston. I love the empowerment of being able to say 'darn right, this song is killer and I don't need no silly lead so that I can dance', and just claim some dance space for myself. I actually did that on the Sunday night of Camp Jitterbug this year for the last song that the Careless Lovers played (naturally 'Black Coffee') and it was a blast.
Meschiya Lake and her Little Big Horns! They are fabulous musicians, what else is there to say? I really enjoy New Orleans jazz and I like the quality and feeling of Meschiya's voice paired with the musicians. I could just listen to their CD when I'm too tired to dance.
Day 3: A description of your Favourite partner (and why they're your Favourite)
Do they have to exist? It depends on my mood really. I want to have a lead smile and get inspired if I play off the musicality of the song or I copy a move he did earlier. If I want something technically good, under control but will still pull out the fun stuff on occasion to throw you for a loop, my current teaching partner is great for that. When I'm feeling creative, I appreciate a lead that will leave me room to play (at any count of a swing out, not just the 'out').
Overall, I really enjoy dancing in New Orleans, the mix of music, dancing, food, and culture is like none other. I had a fabulous time at ULHS 2011 and I hope for a repeat performance. The streets lined with excellent jazz bars makes you miss it so much once you get back home. In Waterloo, I have to say I'm reminiscent of Caesar Martini's, perhaps it is because it is where I learned to dance, but also it had a a great lounge/club feeling that was quickly made comfortable.
As posted by SwingDynamite of Ottawa and reposted by the Hep Cat Hoppers of Waterloo, the challenge to fellow swing dancers is write a post each day on the topics below. I've tossed these all on my blog so it doesn't clog up Facebook or Twitter. Here I go!
Day 1: What got you started in Lindy Hop Day 2: Your favorite place to dance Day 3: A description of your favorite partner (and why they’re your favorite) Day 4: Your favorite live band Day 5: Your favorite Lindy Hop variation dance (charleston, balboa, shag) Day 6: Your favorite group dance (shim sham, tranky doo, big apple, etc) Day 7: Something you really want to learn Day 8: Your favorite instructor Day 9: Favorite class taken Day 10: Favorite workshop weekend (Lindy Focus, Camp Hollywood, etc) or one you’d really like to attend Day 11: Favorite song(s) to dance to Day 12: Your swing crushes/favorite pros Day 13: Favorite dancing memory Day 14: Your swing group of friends Day 15: Favorite classic clip Day 16: Photo of you dancing Day 17: Favorite Styling Day 18: That move you love Day 19: That move that eludes you Day 20: Your swing shoes Day 21: Favorite outfit to wear dancing Day 22: Favorite city to dance in Day 23: A dancer you admire Day 24: Favorite pro performance Day 25: Describe the last night you went dancing Day 26: The level you think you dance at Day 27: Your goals for the year Day 28: Events you’re looking forward to Day 29: A clip you love Day 30: Why you dance
Day 1 I started Lindy Hop when Martha (Mike's housemate) was really excited about it and told me I should try it out at Caesar Martini's in the fall of 2009. I told her I don't dance (meaning club dancing). I've had 7 years of ballet as a kid and 8 years of figure skating so I was used to routines, specific moves and a certain amount of grace and athleticism in my dancing. So after chickening out one or two times, I finally go and with the help of John, I had a really great time. I had been looking for a dance that was a bit more structured and not so pelvis-y as the club stuff, so yes, gotta love that swing dancing! Started with the UW Swing Club at winter term and I've been with them ever since!
Camp Jitterbug was fantastic! First of all, my trip isn't over and second is that the trip to and from Seattle was an adventure in itself. Map provided by Google Maps and Anna...
Road Trip A: Picking Ann Sychterz up from the Chicago bus station B: Crashing at Anna's in South Bend C: My parents place D: Mount Rushmore E: Camping in the Black Hills National Forest F: Camping in Shoshone National Forest G: Yellowstone National Park H: Camping near Spokane River I: Visiting Heather Russell and camp Jitterbug in Seattle J: Great Salt Lake K: Crashing at a deserted looking gas station L: Back to my parents place for Anna's brothers wedding
Getting to Seattle
Firstly, my parents dropped me off at the Charles Street Terminal in Kitchener on Saturday morning. I had Greyhound buses from Kitchener to London, London to Windsor, Windsor to Detroit, and then Megabus from Detroit to Chicago. The thing that surprised me the most was the thoroughness of the border security when crossing from Canada to the US via bus. They ask you more questions and search everyone's luggage. Meeting Anna in Chicago, we went directly back to South Bend because the traffic was horrendous from Obama landing in Chicago for the NATO summit. Apparently Anna made a few turns while trying to pick me up that landed her in the middle of a squad of armoured cars and enforcement with machine guns.
Driving to Ankeny, Iowa was no problem, though we ran into traffic in Des Moines than in Chicago, which is unheard of. Getting some camping gear, food bags and such from Anna's parents, we were off the next morning. That evening we went to go see Mount Rushmore and at night we camped in the Black Hills National Forest. Dinner consisted of canned pears and s'mores. The next day we hopped off the I-90 and cut across the Big Horn mountains to the southern part of Yellowstone where we camped (but far-ish away because there were bear warnings). The next morning we drove through Yellowstone National Park and it was gorgeous! It snowed which made it really pretty (for me), we saw Old Faithful, the Obsidian Cliffs, packs of buffalo (some even being a traffic jam on the road), a moose, and the Painted Pots.
That night we headed to a camp site around Spokane, Washington after having passed through the rest of the Rockies. The greenery really started to change and looked more mossy with the occasional waterfall off of the rocks, really pretty! We fell asleep to the sounds of a group of guys camping next to us jamming on a guitar by their fire. The next day was a short hop over the Cascades into Seattle where we met Heather between her many classes and meetings. We had a chance to go shower (which was awesome!) and explore the U district, which was a short hop away from Heather's place. I ended up doing most of the city driving since Anna was not a fan, but I didn't like parallel parking her mom's station wagon, ha. Anna showed me the cool troll under the Freemont bridge, and yes I took a picture of the bridge and not the troll.
That night we had dinner with Heather and her friend Bryce, went back to her place where Anna and Heather geeked out about physics and I worked on my damper research data in the corner. Oh, and Anna gave Heather a refresher lesson for swing in the living room.
Friday came and Anna and I went off to explore Deception Pass (just 1.5 hours north of Seattle), a park that was highly recommended by Heather, and I can see why. Mossy cliffs on one side, a pebbly beach and open blue water of the sound on the other. There was also a really neat bridge.
By the time we got back to Heather's it was time to head to the Benaroya Hall in Pike Place to register and go for the Jump Session show. On the way I got to see the first Starbucks.
In the Jump Show were the instructors like Alice, Max, Mike, Laura, Chester, and some other people around for the weekend like Falty, Lunou, and the main star of the show Meshiya Lake. After the show, there was a dance with music by Meschiya Lake and her Little Bighorns and Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five on the stage of the Benaroya Hall and outside in the lobby. There I was able to meet a whole bunch of people I knew from Vancouver, Victoria, New Orleans, and Montreal. Very much a "getting to know people" type of dance since we were going to be spending the weekend together. Headed out at a fairly reasonable time so we could be awake for the auditions the next morning.
Saturday morning we had the auditions to get into the advanced track, but seeing that people were just jumping in to any audition level, we tried out for the advanced-plus track (the levels being masters, advanced+, advanced, intermediate+, intermediate, and beginner), and we both made it. Saturdays' lessons at the Knights of Columbus were:
Mattias and Hannah from Sweden with some great rhythm work
Chance and Amy from New Orleans with grounding and a type of bal move
Mike and Laura from Austin with an 6-count and 8-count pattern variation
Chester with a solo jazz routine
Anna met her old swing dancing teacher from Grinell so we hung out with him and a few other Seattle people at the park jamming on the guitar and turning pop tunes into swing songs. After dinner we headed to the Temple de Hirsch for the evening dance with Casey McGill. At this point I was starting to get to know people, so I was starting to seek people out for dances. I found some really interesting dancers from Los Angeles, Washington DC, and Germany. There were the finals for the Jack and Jill.
The late night was with Meschiya Lake at the Century Ballroom. Oh man was this a great venue! My favourite of the event, definitely rocked the vintage feeling and we stayed until 4 am ish. Oh yes, and this is when the solo Charleston finals happened, they were off the wall good!
The next morning was a little rough for some people, but classes started again at 11 am at the Knights of Columbus. The lessons on the Sunday were:
Max and Alice from Montpellier teaching a short solo jazz lesson and then movement through a basic pattern
Andy and Nina from NOLA/Baltimore showing how to groove to simple stuff such as touch step and emphasizing different beats.
Justin and Jenn from LA bringing some lindy hop styling from the west coast (read, not west coast swing)
Stefan and Bethany from Portland dished out their masters on us with some wonky timings and triple steps (this couple was the surprise of the weekend because they were so ridiculously fun and I hadn't heard of them before).
The Sunday night dance had Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five playing the quick beats which was great for the "showdown" style couples dancing which was a joy to watch.
The late night was again at the Century Ballroom and this time with the local band the Careless Lovers, which I knew of from Vancouver this fall and have the popular single called 'Black Coffee'. At this point my feet were starting to break my Keds (and vice versa), so I danced a few and enjoyed the music. Everyone stayed until the end, because after the last song and after the encore they played 'Black Coffee'.
The Monday was the last day of classes where we could take electives, so I chose Chester's tap lesson, Hannah's Black Bottom lesson, and Stefan and Bethany and their Charleston tricks (I just watched because there was no room and honestly, I was a little concerned with getting tender feet getting stepped on). The wrap up dance happened at the Knights of Columbus with the Careless Lovers but didn't hang around too long because people were taking off.
I finally got a chance to meet up with Nik afterwards which was really great since we had tried to organize something the entire weekend. We said goodbye to Anna's old instructor and we hung out with Heather for the rest of the evening, which was great fun.
Tuesday morning we took off with some ideas of where we'd be stopping but nothing for sure. On the way home, we took the I-84 and I-80 that went through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, clipped Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa. On the way there we did Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and Washington. So...I had an energy drink and some coffee, so 16 hours later, we stopped because I was feeling sluggish. We slept in the car at a quiet gas station off the interstate and I couldn't really sleep. So I got up early again and got Anna to drive for an hour until I fully woke up. We were able to get into Ankeny by the evening after a really wicked storm in western Nebraska.
Tomorrow morning I leave for the Des Moines airport to fly to Rochester for Stompology!
