Could be a long post so if you don't want to read the whole thing here's the summary in one short sentence. IT WAS GREAT!!!
Now in more detail, with gripes and praise where appropriate.
General Organisation
-----------------------
This was very impressive. Gone were the long queues of UK congresses and BritFests (possibly due it being a smaller event - also I heard there were queues at 5pm when registration opened but when I arrived the number of people were outnumbered by the staff working.
Shows were started within 15 minutes of their advertised time. Those arriving 30 mins early got a seat, those arriving 10 mins early go to sit at the front on the floor (which was clean, happily). Those arriving later got to stand at the back and sides so I'm assuming 90%+ of people had a good view given the three different height levels of heads (floor, seat, standing). A few technical hitches cueing up music for performers (which the DJ blamed on them giving him CDs that were burnt at too high a speed. A couple of acts had to be shifted back in the queue whilst their music problems were sorted out. Rohan Brown did a good job keeping the audience entertained in between acts and could have done with a more responsive crowd occasionally. Mel C did an excellent job presenting the results of the spinning competition on the final night and I would like to see her teamed up with Rohan next time to add something more to the MC role.
There was a problem with the bar on the first night when a massive queue formed immediately after the show. The staff reacted quickly to this by setting up a stall selling bottles and cans of soft drinks (so one minus point to the organisers for not anticipating this but two plus points for quickly finding a good solution). More plus points for the water stations outside each room both after the classes and during the night - brilliant idea!
Venue
-----------
Easily accessible, in the middle of the city with lots of hotels within 10 mins walking distance. They had the added bonus of the Christmas Market being held right outside the Town Hall. The main room had a perfect floor but less than perfect acoustics (something to do with it being built before amplifiers and speakers existed I expect). The cooling system worked well as I can only remember being hot in the main room at the peak time. I enjoyed the music in the main room all weekend and when it got a bit too fast it was nice to have the other two smaller rooms playing at a more relaxed tempo, although the air tended to get a bit hotter in there. Getting to the toilets was a bit of a trek but it did give you a chance to cool down.
Shows
------------
Santo Rico, The Cobo Brothers, Baila Society, Yamulee, Los Hermanos, Pablo & Diana and the Leon Rose Project were all excellent. The tango show by Eider & Luisa was simply stunning. And there was a surprise treat on the Sunday night when Victor & Burju (HYM) gave a fantastic performance. The shows didn't last much more than one hour each night, which meant there was plenty of time to social dance even for those who like to be in bed by midnight. Another plus compared with other events I've been to where the shows have gone on so long that I've felt too tired to dance afterwards.
There was one sad moment in the weekend when Emma Moore read out a very moving letter by Shelley Cook regarding the terrible loss of Lee Wright earlier this month. I hope she got some comfort from the minute of noise made by the crowd in tribute to Lee. This was followed by a performance of his favourite show - A Man's World by the Leon Rose Project, which was superb and got a standing ovation.
Workshops
-------------
Cobo Brothers (Turn Patterns on1 and on2): I did two clases with Milton. These were very well organised in general with the teachers on the stage and regular rotation of lines. Although there was no partner rotation, any "extras" (which was me for the on2 class) were asked to join another couple to rotate partners with them and to stay at the front by the stage for the whole class, which worked pretty well. His turn patterns were kept simple at first and he made sure at least 90% had mastered (as much as you can in a 1 hour class) each part before moving on. He also showed at the end how to make the pattern more complicated and shared a few tips on social dancing. 9/10
Santo Rico (Spinning technique on2): The class was split into men and women for about 2/3 of the time as each were shown the Santo Rico methods for spinning. I can't praise this class enough - very knowledgeable teachers and very engaging. Good rotation of lines even though it was a relatively small class (for the men anyway). I felt like I learnt a lot here. The last 1/3 of the class was partnering where we were given moves which exploited the technique we had just learnt. 10/10
Leon Rose (cha cha shines): The most physically demanding class I took all weekend. Leon has a unique cha cha style which looks great and he shared a small part of an upcoming show with us. Again a small class but good rotation of lines and a real focus on body movement rather than just the steps. Leon is a born entertainer and kept the class amused for the whole hour and by the end I had a clear idea of how much effort and training goes into a top performance. 10/10
Brian & Mechteld (partner work on1): Again a small class. The level of the students was more intermediate than advanced, which the teachers realised early and tailored the difficulty accordingly. There were more women than men and the pattern focused more on the leader which caused one advanced girl to swap roles and another to leave the class as she found it too easy. The technicalites of the moves were well explained and Mechteld gave a few good technique tips for followers where required. 8/10
Yamulee (Partner work on2): Oh dear. How not to organise a class. Where Milton Cobo coped well with a big class, Yamulee were completely clueless. First they started on the stage, a few people said a circle would be better so they came down and said "okay, sort yourselves out. Let's have an inner and an outer circle". No good. So, on big circle with them in the middle so everyone could see. First they said there would be rotation then the didn't call it out. Then, as always happens with large circles, some couples decide they are more important than everyone else and they move closer and closer "to get a better view". So then other people get frustrated because they can no longer see and the class gets slowed down as the teachers have to show moves three or four times. They apologised at the end saying the class was too big and there was "nothing we could do about that". Well, I'm sorry guys, but other teachers managed perfectly well. 4/10 (because it was a nice turn pattern, otherwise 1/10).
Overall the booking system worked quite well. I can see problems where if you don't like the class for whatever reason (imbalance of numbers/too easy/too difficult) you can't leave and join another but on the plus side there wasn't any overcrowding. Also big plusses to the staff who kept the teachers on schedule so that classes didn't overrun. And the feedback system of red, green and yellow boxes is a good way of giving the organisers a rough idea of how the classes went (if a bit lacking in specifics of why it was a poor/excellent class). No workhop system is perfect and this was pretty good. 8/10
PARTIES!!!
-------------
Well, this section is just a little personal indulgence for me and a bit of name-dropping. I had a great time and stayed until the end on Saturday and Sunday night (Friday was "only" a 4am finish
). I got to dance with lots of the professionals and fell in love at least three times . I think Ahtoy was my favourite - it took until Sunday night to find a moment when she was free - and she smiled her beautiful smile for the whole song. As perfect a first dance as I can remember. Close behind was the new girl in the Cobo Brothers, Erin who, like Ahtoy had this radiant smile for the whole dance. I danced with Burju every night - what a treat! And what a lovely, friendly lady generally. Another dance with a Baila Society girl provided amusement when she missed half my leads as she had to keep letting go to pull down her very short, clingy dress :lol:. Funnily enough the stop-start nature of the dance didn't frustrate me at all 
. I had no connection with the two Santo Rico girls I danced with (I've been told by others that their regular partners have a very distinctive lead, which clearly is nothing like mine). Diana, from Pablo & Diana was also a delight to dance with - Monday, 3am and she was still smiling). And Carol Flores from Yamulee was a delight too. I also had the pleasure of encouraging a friend to ask Milton Cobo to dance. She was a bit nervous so I kept on at her to ask him. She eventually did and guess what? He asked her twice more in the next half hour (including the last dance of the night) and she was buzzing when I saw her at the end!
Emma and Salsology deserve huge praise for a great weekend. I hope it was also financially rewarding so they can repeat it next year!
Now in more detail, with gripes and praise where appropriate.
General Organisation
-----------------------
This was very impressive. Gone were the long queues of UK congresses and BritFests (possibly due it being a smaller event - also I heard there were queues at 5pm when registration opened but when I arrived the number of people were outnumbered by the staff working.
Shows were started within 15 minutes of their advertised time. Those arriving 30 mins early got a seat, those arriving 10 mins early go to sit at the front on the floor (which was clean, happily). Those arriving later got to stand at the back and sides so I'm assuming 90%+ of people had a good view given the three different height levels of heads (floor, seat, standing). A few technical hitches cueing up music for performers (which the DJ blamed on them giving him CDs that were burnt at too high a speed. A couple of acts had to be shifted back in the queue whilst their music problems were sorted out. Rohan Brown did a good job keeping the audience entertained in between acts and could have done with a more responsive crowd occasionally. Mel C did an excellent job presenting the results of the spinning competition on the final night and I would like to see her teamed up with Rohan next time to add something more to the MC role.
There was a problem with the bar on the first night when a massive queue formed immediately after the show. The staff reacted quickly to this by setting up a stall selling bottles and cans of soft drinks (so one minus point to the organisers for not anticipating this but two plus points for quickly finding a good solution). More plus points for the water stations outside each room both after the classes and during the night - brilliant idea!
Venue
-----------
Easily accessible, in the middle of the city with lots of hotels within 10 mins walking distance. They had the added bonus of the Christmas Market being held right outside the Town Hall. The main room had a perfect floor but less than perfect acoustics (something to do with it being built before amplifiers and speakers existed I expect). The cooling system worked well as I can only remember being hot in the main room at the peak time. I enjoyed the music in the main room all weekend and when it got a bit too fast it was nice to have the other two smaller rooms playing at a more relaxed tempo, although the air tended to get a bit hotter in there. Getting to the toilets was a bit of a trek but it did give you a chance to cool down.
Shows
------------
Santo Rico, The Cobo Brothers, Baila Society, Yamulee, Los Hermanos, Pablo & Diana and the Leon Rose Project were all excellent. The tango show by Eider & Luisa was simply stunning. And there was a surprise treat on the Sunday night when Victor & Burju (HYM) gave a fantastic performance. The shows didn't last much more than one hour each night, which meant there was plenty of time to social dance even for those who like to be in bed by midnight. Another plus compared with other events I've been to where the shows have gone on so long that I've felt too tired to dance afterwards.
There was one sad moment in the weekend when Emma Moore read out a very moving letter by Shelley Cook regarding the terrible loss of Lee Wright earlier this month. I hope she got some comfort from the minute of noise made by the crowd in tribute to Lee. This was followed by a performance of his favourite show - A Man's World by the Leon Rose Project, which was superb and got a standing ovation.
Workshops
-------------
Cobo Brothers (Turn Patterns on1 and on2): I did two clases with Milton. These were very well organised in general with the teachers on the stage and regular rotation of lines. Although there was no partner rotation, any "extras" (which was me for the on2 class) were asked to join another couple to rotate partners with them and to stay at the front by the stage for the whole class, which worked pretty well. His turn patterns were kept simple at first and he made sure at least 90% had mastered (as much as you can in a 1 hour class) each part before moving on. He also showed at the end how to make the pattern more complicated and shared a few tips on social dancing. 9/10
Santo Rico (Spinning technique on2): The class was split into men and women for about 2/3 of the time as each were shown the Santo Rico methods for spinning. I can't praise this class enough - very knowledgeable teachers and very engaging. Good rotation of lines even though it was a relatively small class (for the men anyway). I felt like I learnt a lot here. The last 1/3 of the class was partnering where we were given moves which exploited the technique we had just learnt. 10/10
Leon Rose (cha cha shines): The most physically demanding class I took all weekend. Leon has a unique cha cha style which looks great and he shared a small part of an upcoming show with us. Again a small class but good rotation of lines and a real focus on body movement rather than just the steps. Leon is a born entertainer and kept the class amused for the whole hour and by the end I had a clear idea of how much effort and training goes into a top performance. 10/10
Brian & Mechteld (partner work on1): Again a small class. The level of the students was more intermediate than advanced, which the teachers realised early and tailored the difficulty accordingly. There were more women than men and the pattern focused more on the leader which caused one advanced girl to swap roles and another to leave the class as she found it too easy. The technicalites of the moves were well explained and Mechteld gave a few good technique tips for followers where required. 8/10
Yamulee (Partner work on2): Oh dear. How not to organise a class. Where Milton Cobo coped well with a big class, Yamulee were completely clueless. First they started on the stage, a few people said a circle would be better so they came down and said "okay, sort yourselves out. Let's have an inner and an outer circle". No good. So, on big circle with them in the middle so everyone could see. First they said there would be rotation then the didn't call it out. Then, as always happens with large circles, some couples decide they are more important than everyone else and they move closer and closer "to get a better view". So then other people get frustrated because they can no longer see and the class gets slowed down as the teachers have to show moves three or four times. They apologised at the end saying the class was too big and there was "nothing we could do about that". Well, I'm sorry guys, but other teachers managed perfectly well. 4/10 (because it was a nice turn pattern, otherwise 1/10).
Overall the booking system worked quite well. I can see problems where if you don't like the class for whatever reason (imbalance of numbers/too easy/too difficult) you can't leave and join another but on the plus side there wasn't any overcrowding. Also big plusses to the staff who kept the teachers on schedule so that classes didn't overrun. And the feedback system of red, green and yellow boxes is a good way of giving the organisers a rough idea of how the classes went (if a bit lacking in specifics of why it was a poor/excellent class). No workhop system is perfect and this was pretty good. 8/10
PARTIES!!!
-------------
Well, this section is just a little personal indulgence for me and a bit of name-dropping. I had a great time and stayed until the end on Saturday and Sunday night (Friday was "only" a 4am finish
). I got to dance with lots of the professionals and fell in love at least three times . I think Ahtoy was my favourite - it took until Sunday night to find a moment when she was free - and she smiled her beautiful smile for the whole song. As perfect a first dance as I can remember. Close behind was the new girl in the Cobo Brothers, Erin who, like Ahtoy had this radiant smile for the whole dance. I danced with Burju every night - what a treat! And what a lovely, friendly lady generally. Another dance with a Baila Society girl provided amusement when she missed half my leads as she had to keep letting go to pull down her very short, clingy dress :lol:. Funnily enough the stop-start nature of the dance didn't frustrate me at all . I had no connection with the two Santo Rico girls I danced with (I've been told by others that their regular partners have a very distinctive lead, which clearly is nothing like mine). Diana, from Pablo & Diana was also a delight to dance with - Monday, 3am and she was still smiling). And Carol Flores from Yamulee was a delight too. I also had the pleasure of encouraging a friend to ask Milton Cobo to dance. She was a bit nervous so I kept on at her to ask him. She eventually did and guess what? He asked her twice more in the next half hour (including the last dance of the night) and she was buzzing when I saw her at the end!Emma and Salsology deserve huge praise for a great weekend. I hope it was also financially rewarding so they can repeat it next year!
\ SSDD...same idea though - delay the lead to speed the spin up.