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djkenm
03-11-2008, 02:48 PM
Swingin’ Into Spring
Striking a balance between Workshops, Competition and Social Dancing.

www.sis.djkenm.com

A Wold Swing Dance Council Registry Event

Instructors ...Mario Robau, Angel & Debbie Figueroa, John Lindo & More

Let’s face it, big events are fun. Lots of people, lots of competition, Lots of energy ... but due to competition schedules, social dance time during "Reasonable Hours" tends to suffer. More often than not, the real social dancing doesn't start until after the competitions, which is usually Midnight, or later … sometimes as late as 2:00AM. This is particularly annoying if you do not compete, or are not really interested in sitting through endless divisions of multiple dance forms.

Swingin’ Into Spring is a little different.

Workshops

Many big events advertise 40, 50 even 80 workshops … but they are scheduled 4, 5 sometimes 6 at a time, and usually several different dance forms. At best, you can usually attend about 6-8 per event.
For Swingin' Into Spring, there are currently 12 hours scheduled for workshops … Two at a time (24 Total). For those who have been to one of my workshop weekends with the top pro's. This is set up sort of the same way ... only bigger.

Workshops are set up so that the same instructor will teach at least two 1 hour workshops, sometimes 3, in succession. That way the instructor can take their time and build from one lesson to another. ALSO, there is a ½Hour social dance time between every workshop. No rushing out of the room and starting a new workshop with a different instructor immediately. That ½ Hour allows you to practice what you just learned and hopefully retain more of the material presented. That ½ Hour also allows the instructor to run a little longer if necessary to make sure he/she completes the intended lesson in its entirety.
One room is designated for Beginner/Novice workshops that concentrate more on technique and variations of basic moves. These workshops are for newer dancers, and more advanced dancers alike. Especially recommended for instructors or those considering teaching.
The Main Ballroom is dedicated to the more advanced workshops. The Intermediate/Advanced Workshops tend to be more “Move Orientated” … with less time spent on basic technique. Obviously, the instructors will still mandate proper technique for the moves taught, but will spend less time on it assuming you have heard it before. By the time you are ready to step up to take these workshops, you should be well versed in proper technique.

Competitions

At Swingin’ Into Spring, we keep the competitions to a minimum. The Jack’N’Jill is the epitome of social dance competition. Since we only have West Coast Swing Competitions, that limits the time required for the 6 competition divisions offered. Newcomer, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced & All Star Jack’N’Jill’s, and an Open Strictly Swing. They are all held in the afternoon. NO EVENING COMPETITIONS !!!! If need be, I will cancel one of the workshops in order to keep the competitions in the afternoon.
Best yet, we are a World Swing Dance Council Registry Event … Meaning … YOUR POINTS COUNT !!!! J

Social Dancing

NO EVENING COMPETITIONS !!!! - Social dancing starts after the evening workshops … about 9:30PM, and goes to at least 3:00AM, but the DJ’s will continue to play if people are dancing. If you add up the hours of social dance time between the workshops, and the uninterrupted dance time in the evening, Swingin’ Into Spring provides more social dance time than every other event I am aware of.

Oh Yea .... And a $79 Hotel Rate - Includes full breakfast buffet from 8-10 AM ... No getting up at 7AM to make sure you get breakfast. They have a lower priced menu than most hotels, , An independent Italian restaurant on the other side of the parking lot (Not owned by hotel), 30+ restaurants in the area that deliver ... AND for those who like to imbibe ... I negotiated more reasonable drink prices. Domestic Beer will be $3 ... Drinks $4 ... etc, etc ... and at the end of the night, you can order Beer/Wine/Liquor to be delivered to your room after hours ... as long as you pay for it before 2:00AM.
Book your hotel room early ... this Hotel has 3 wings ... 2 have been totally renovated, one is under renovation right now. There currently only 100 rooms available for the event ... maybe as many as 160 available by May ... but no promises.

SO … If you are more into social dancing and learning, but still like to compete in Jack’N’Jill's … come check out the event. I have a dedicated website for the event www.sis.djkenm.com

Thanks,

Ken Mercik
www.djkenm.com

djkenm
03-13-2008, 02:23 AM
I had another good question asked today ... Some have already noticed that there is a Saturday & Sunday "Competitors" package. This is $100 Before April 12th ... and $120 After April 12th. This event pass is good from Saturday Noon, thru the rest of the weekend.

THIS INCLUDES the Jack'N'Jill Regiistration fee and the WSDC fee. ALSO, since you are in effect pre-registered for the contest, there is no need to worry about registering Saturday morning. You will be all set.

dancin_weezie
03-18-2008, 01:43 PM
What city is it being held in? Sounds like a fun idea!

derbyhat
03-24-2008, 02:35 PM
The event is in Windsor Locks, CT at the Beverly Hills Suites Hotel. It's right near the Bradley International Airport.

djkenm
03-27-2008, 11:26 AM
Due to the reality that we might not have much of an "All Star" division this first year ... If any ... I have decided to add a Novice/Intermediate Strictly Swing to the schedule. This will give the folks newer to dancing a chance to try their hand at competing.

Groupie
04-01-2008, 12:14 PM
Any leader looking for a partner for the novice/intermediate strictly swing?

djkenm
04-02-2008, 09:05 PM
Online registration and payment is now available for the event.

For online registration;

http://www.strictlywestie.com/cal/caldetmain.php?evtid=3899&evtex=1209686400

For Online payment;

http://www.strictlywestie.com/e_sis/sis.php

Joe Maximo
04-10-2008, 06:40 PM
anyone looking for a cool, charming and suave roommate? PM me if you are.:cool:

djkenm
04-11-2008, 01:15 AM
Just a quick note ... There are 13 rooms available for Friday night, and 9 rooms available for Saturday night with my current room block. NOW ... there is another wing of the hotel that has been totally renovated, with an additional 40 rooms. The various inspectors will be there Monday & Tuesday (04/14& 04/15), If all goes well, and they get the Certificate of Occupancy, there will be another 40 rooms available.

The deadline for the reduced rate rooms is April 12th. I'm trying to get the hotel to extend the deadline once we know whether those extra 40 rooms are available or not. But for now, the 120 rooms the hotel has available are almost sold out. Book Soon. :-)

Ken

djkenm
04-14-2008, 08:07 PM
Here is the latest e-mail update on the event ... went out today April 14th
-------------------------------------------------------------
Hey Folks,

The event is shaping up pretty well. Folks from all over the Northeast, including Ottawa & Toronto Canada have pre-registered.

Now ... Talk about bone headed moves. The other day, I asked the hotel if we could extend the $79 room & Breakfast deal for another week, and they said "Sure, No Problem", which seemed a little too easy to me. So, I took out the contract and realised that the deadline in the contract was already extended to April 19th (A change I made back in January). So, you have until this Saturday to book the room before the hotel bumps the rate to $99.
As of last Thursday, there were 12 rooms available for both nights. So call quick. There is also a newly renovated wing with 40 more rooms that should be open by event time. I received a tour last Thursday. The wing is finished, and just waiting for the inspectors to come in this week and approve the Certificate of occupancy.

I also decided to extend the pre-reg deadline to match the hotel deadline, so you can still get the discounted rate until this Saturday.

* By Request ... I have added one additional competition ... a Nov/Int Strictly Swing.
* There is also a PayPal option now available ... here's the link if you so choose.
http://www.strictlywestie.com/e_sis/sis.php

As always, thanks for all your support.

Ken Mercik

------------------------------------------
For complete information & Registration, go to website - www.sis.djkenm.com - For latest updates, go to www.djkenm.com
------------------------------
Dancers An event with NO EVENING COMPETITIONS Just Social dancing. No waiting until Midnight or 1:00AM for the real social dancing to start.

Event Highlights

* Lots of Social Dancing, Lots of Workshops & a Little Bit of Competition

* No Evening Competitions Social Dancing only

* Beginners/Novice & Intermediate/Advanced Workshop Tracks

* Beginner/Novice Track suitable for Beginner/Novice Dancers, those learning opposite part, For Instructors and dancers considering becoming instructors

* Int/Adv Workshops in WCS & Hustle/Beg/Nov/Int in WCSHustle & Niteclub 2-Step

* Social Dancing between all workshops, Practice and retain what you just learned

* WCS Competitions

- Jack'N'Jill - Newcomer, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced

- Strictly Swing - Nov/Int & Open Divisions

* Dont Miss any Workshops Video Notebook Available with all workshops

* Cash Prize for Winners in each competition to be determined after competition registration closes. The more that enter, the bigger the cash prize.

* $79 Hotel rate includes Free Breakfast Buffet Sat & Sun Mornings

For more complete information - www.sis.djkenm.com

--------------------------------------------------

Updates 04/11/08 - www.djkenm.com

* Hotel Deadline Extended until April 19th for $79 & Breakfast Deal

* Pre-Reg Deadline also Extended April 19th.

* Paypal Option for credit cards - http://www.strictlywestie.com/e_sis/sis.php

--------------------------------------------------------
Swingin Into Spring

Striking a balance between Workshops, Competition and Social Dancing.

www.sis.djkenm.com

Lets face it, big events are fun. Lots of people, lots of competition, Lots of energy ... but due to competition schedules, social dance time during "Reasonable Hours" tends to suffer. More often than not, the real social dancing doesn't start until after the competitions, which is usually Midnight, or later sometimes as late as 2:00AM. This is particularly annoying if you do not compete, or are not really interested in sitting through endless divisions of multiple dance forms.

Swingin Into Spring is a little different.

Workshops

Many big events advertise 40, 50 even 80 workshops but they are scheduled 4, 5 sometimes 6 at a time, and usually several different dance forms. At best, you can usually attend about 6-8 per event.

For Swingin' Into Spring, there are currently 12 hours scheduled for workshops Two at a time (24 Total). For those who have been to one of my workshop weekends with the top pro's. This is set up very similar ... only bigger.

Workshops are set up so that the same instructor will teach at least two 1 hour workshops, sometimes 3, in succession. That way the instructor can take their time and build from one lesson to another. ALSO, there is a Hour social dance time between every workshop. No rushing out of the room and starting a new workshop with a different instructor immediately. That Hour allows you to practice what you just learned and hopefully retain more of the material presented. That Hour also allows the instructor to run a little longer if necessary to make sure he/she completes the intended lesson in its entirety.

Back in 1995, I attended an event set up like this out in California, and to this day, I still retain and use most of the material I learned at that weekend, so I am going to give it a try here.

One room is designated for Beginner/Novice workshops that concentrate more on technique and variations of basic moves. These workshops are for newer dancers, and more advanced dancers alike. Especially recommended for instructors or those considering teaching.

The Main Ballroom is dedicated to the more advanced workshops. The Intermediate/Advanced Workshops tend to be more Move Orientated with less time spent on basic technique. Obviously, the instructors will still mandate proper technique for the moves taught, but will spend less time on it assuming you have heard it before. By the time you are ready to step up to take these workshops, you should be well versed in proper technique.

Competitions

At Swingin Into Spring, we keep the competitions to a minimum. The JackNJill is the epitome of social dance competition. Since we only have West Coast Swing Competitions, that limits the time required for the 6 competition divisions offered. Newcomer, Novice, Intermediate, Advanced & All Star JackNJills, and an Open Strictly Swing. They are all held in the afternoon. NO EVENING COMPETITIONS !!!! If need be, I will cancel one of the workshops in order to keep the competitions in the afternoon.

Best yet, we are a World Swing Dance Council Registry Event Meaning YOUR POINTS COUNT !!!!

Social Dancing

NO EVENING COMPETITIONS !!!! - Social dancing starts after the evening workshops about 9:30PM, and goes to at least 3:00AM, but the DJs will continue to play if people are dancing. If you add up the hours of social dance time between the workshops, and the uninterrupted dance time in the evening, Swingin Into Spring provides more social dance time than every other event I am aware of.

Oh Yea .... And a $79 Hotel Rate - Includes full breakfast buffet from 8-10 AM ... No getting up at 7AM to make sure you get breakfast. They have a lower priced menu than most hotels, , An independent Italian restaurant on the other side of the parking lot (Not owned by hotel), 30+ restaurants in the area that deliver ... AND for those who like to imbibe ... I negotiated more reasonable drink prices. Domestic Beer will be $3 ... Drinks $4 ... etc, etc ... and at the end of the night, you can order Beer/Wine/Liquor to be delivered to your room after hours ... as long as you pay for it before 2:00AM.

Book your hotel room early ... this Hotel has 3 wings ... 2 have been totally renovated, one is under renovation right now. There currently only 100 rooms available for the event ... maybe as many as 160 available by May ... but no promises.

SO If you are more into social dancing and learning, but still like to compete in JackNJill's come check out the event. I have a dedicated website for the event www.sis.djkenm.com

Thanks,

Ken Mercik

www.djkenm.com

____________________

djkenm
04-27-2008, 02:33 PM
Swingin' Into Spring - Added - Early Bird Workshop & Updates
---------------------------------------
Hey Folks,

A few things that may be of interest to those of you attending the event. The event is shaping up well, we have about 160 Pre Registered, so it should be a good party..

* Early Bird workshop
* Online Pre-Reg Ends today
* Hotel Update
* Workshop Schedule

See you this weekend.

Ken Mercik
www.djkenm.com - Updates
www.sis.djkenm.com - Event Info

--------------------------------------------------------

* Early Bird workshop - ADDED - Due to the number of people arriving early Friday afternoon, I spoke to John Lindo. He's going to come in early so we have added an "Early Bird" workshop at 5:00PM Friday ... which was not previously on the schedule. That way, those of you coming down early to beat traffic, will have some "Entertainment", as opposed to just sitting around the hotel. :-)

* Online Pre-Reg Ends today - The "Snail mail" deadline was a week ago ... but you can still get the pre-registered price online today.

http://www.strictlywestie.com/e_sis/sis.php

* Hotel Update - A little added info .... when the hotel opened the new wing last week, they also retired 20 of the oldest rooms for renovation ... SO ... we only added an net of about 20 rooms. The room block is sold out, but there are about 10-12 rooms left, and nobody has changed the rate in the computer yet ... so ... Call ASAP and you may still get the reduced rate.

* Workshop Schedule - ... I submitted the event workshop schedule, and it should be up on the website soon. ... very soon. :-)