DWO 2009 a smashing success!
Dances With Owls was a smashing success. Teams from all across Texas – including UT, SMU, A&M, and UofH – joined us for a night and a day of excellent dancing, fellowship, and competition.
Some of the comments I’ve heard so far are:
“Thanks again for everything. We had so much fun on Saturday!!!! (There is not an amount of exclamation points that could express this fully
) Is your club looking at going to any other comps soon?”
“I was very excited to hear other schools, specifically A&M & UT , say what a great comp this was and that they so much fun – and they would definately come back next year.”
“You an RSDS did a great job hosting the event and getting other campuses to come see what Rice is about! Great job and fabulous event!”
“This was literally the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.”
Event Co-Chairs Emilia Stepinski and Autumn Allen deserve rounds of applause for juggling all the details and preparations for this event. Our deepest appreciation also goes to Super-Awesome Team Mom Pam Shefman, Scrutineer Drew Shefman and Emcee Pat Walsh. (Without their experience and wisdom, we’d all be in way over our heads.) And lastly, thanks to all the folks who volunteered throughout the weekend. DWO is an entirely volunteer-run comp, and without our dedicated members and friends, the event simply couldn’t happen. So thanks to everybody. I’m really proud of this event, and I hope you are, too!
p.s. Thanks to all the dancers who joined us from the Houston community and other collegiate communities state-wide. We hope to see you next year!
Help us with our Spring 2010 schedule
All RSDS members, please take this really quick (45 seconds) survey to let us know how we should schedule classes for next semester:
Dances with Owls Registration and Volunteers
Registration for Dances with Owls is now open!
As a reminder DWO is on Saturday October 31st. The welcome dance will be on Friday October 30th.
Go to www.danceswithowls.com for all the information and to register.
Also we need a lot of volunteers to help make Dances with Owls a success
Below is a list of jobs we need volunteers for:
REGISTRATION FRIDAY NIGHT
Collect money for registration at the Welcome dance
8:00 pm – 9:00 pm
9:00 – 10:00 pm
REGISTRATION DESK SATURDAY
Collect money and pass out/collect competitor numbers
9:30 – 11:30
11:30 – 1:30
1:30 – 3:30
3:30 – 6:00
RUNNERS
Collect score sheets from judges after each heat and takes them to the Scrutineer
10:00 – 12:30
1:30 – 3:30
3:30 – 5:30
DJ
Press play when Pat says ‘music please’
9:30 – 12:30
1:30 – 5:30
SCRUTINEER
Tally judges scores using a computer program (with Drew’s help)
10:00 – 12:30
1:30 – 5:30
SCHEDULE IN THE SKY
Control projected schedules of current and upcoming events
10:00 – 12:30
1:30 – 5:30
email Emilia at ems3@rice.edu if you are interested in volunteering for any of these jobs.
Swing Classes in October
Just wanted to inform you that for October we have CHANGED the Swing
Schedule on Thursdays evenings. We will be having the following two
classes in the Miner Lounge:
- 7:00-8:15 Beginner Class with Hank and Natalie
- 8:15-9:00 Free dance
- 9:00-10:00 Swing Sampler Class with Richard and Chloe
This month we are bringing in Richard Lyders and Chloe Delepine to
teach California, an awesome Lindy Hop routine that is often performed
in Melody Club on Sunday nights. For those of you who have never seen
Richard and Chloe, they are two sensational dancers with a unique
style that will make you smile…seriously, I can’t help but be happy
when I watch these guys dance. Note that there are FIVE Thursdays in
September so you know that by the end of the month they will have
taught you some seriously cool stuff. Our Swing Sampler classes are
completely independent so even if you did not come last month, feel
free to take the class this month.
The beginner class will be wrapping up six-count Jitterbug in these
first two weeks and them move onto Lindy Hop, which is an 8-count
dance that you will usually see in the Houston Swing scene. This class
should tie in very nicely with our Swing Sampler class to give you the
complete Swing repertoire.
We were a little shorthanded on GUYS last month so if you know any men
who like/know/are interested in Swing dancing, make sure to bring them
along.
Red Hot Ballroom
The National Ballroom Dance Week gala is coming up next week!
Unfortunately, the Red Hot Ballroom event runs simultaneously to RSDS’s on-campus Harvest Moon Ball. Of course, we hope you’ll all attend Harvest Moon Ball to dance the night away with RSDS and our friends from the Houston Swing Dance Society. But, in case you desire a fancier and more ballroom-skewed event, here’s the gist of their event:
- “Red Hot Ballroom!”
- Saturday, September 26, 2009
- 8:00 p.m. – Midnight
- The Maria Williams Band will play everything from Salsas to Waltzes for your dancing pleasure!
- Huge Dance Floor
- Light refreshments
- BYOB and Chandelier Ballroom beverage service
- Dance Performances During Band Breaks
- “Full Table” Prices Available
- Sponsor Tables (best seats in the house!) Available
- Evening Attire Required
Dance Location:
- SPJST Chandelier Ballroom
- 1435 Beall Street, Houston, TX
- For information please contact (713) 464-2700
Prices:
- $20 Students
- $35 Adult
- $30 USA Dance members
If you want to make a reservation, call Janeil Bernard at 713-464-2700. If you do a group reservation ahead of time, they can put everybody together at the same table.
Harvest Moon Ball registration
HMB is coming up soon – 9/26!
The dance starts at 8:00 (with a free lesson at 7:00) in the Grand Hall. You can find more info about the dance on the swing page.
If you pre-register with RSDS, you won’t have to pay $20 at the door.
RSDS student members: free
RSDS community members: $10
Please let us know if you want to attend Harvest Moon Ball, and we’ll put you on a list to get into the dance. Please tell either Tal Einav or Emily Watkins before MIDNIGHT of September 24. You can find us in the Grand Hall on Tuesday between 8:00pm-midnight and in the Minor Lounge on Thursday between 7:00pm-10:30pm.
shuttle to RGA for tango TONIGHT!
Argentine tango classes begin tonight!
For the next five weeks, tango expert Indre Rapalaviciute will be introducing us to Argentine Tango fundamentals for social dancing.
Classes will be held Wednesday nights, 7:30-9:00pm (Sept. 16 – Oct. 14) at the Rice Graduate Student Apartments.
If you have a car, you can drive to meet us there. (1515 Bissonnet St.) Parking is free.
IF YOU DON’T HAVE A CAR, you can take the shuttle from campus. The shuttle ride is very short and easy. Just catch the Rice Graduate Apartment bus on the lab side of the inner loop (i.e. at Keck, or between the RMC and Geology building) and ride over.
Argentine tango is a very versatile dance that focuses on the connection between lead and follow. It is a really fun, expressive, and social dance, and I hope you’ll come learn with us this evening!
Invitation to Dances with Owls 2009
The Rice Social Dance Society hosts an annual ballroom dancing competition called “Dances with Owls” and we are inviting you all to join us this year.
Our competition will be held on Saturday, October 31st at Rice University. There will also be a welcome dance on Friday, October 30th.
Dances with Owls is a fun competition perfect for both beginner and advanced collegiate dancers. The competition includes Standard, Latin, and Social dance events.
More information on registration will be available at the beginning of October at the event website: http://danceswithowls.com
If you have any questions please feel free to contact Emilia: ems3(at)rice(dot)edu!
tango, tango, and more!
In this issue: two ways to get your tango fix, plus discounted parking, and one more reminder about the blues workshop… Read on!
1. RSDS tango is starts next Wednesday…
When: Wednesday nights, 7:30-9:00 (Sept. 16 – Oct. 14)
Where: Rice Graduate Student Apartments (1515 Bissonnet St.)
How to get there: You can drive, OR take the Rice Graduate Apartment shuttle (3 min. – super easy) from campus.
What: Argentine Tango fundamentals for social dancing (Milonga).
More info on the website: http://rsds.rice.edu/argentine-tango
2. Insomnia Milonga this weekend
RSDS is hosting the Houston tango community’s Insomnia Milonga this Saturday, 10:00pm to 3:00am, in Farnsworth Pavilion.
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147019129017
Admission is free for RSDS members.
3. Discounted parking passes
RSDS can provide discounted parking passes for community members who drive to campus and wish to park in the Central Campus Garage under the Jones business school (very near the RMC). If you’re interested, talk to an officer before/after classes.
4. Blues workshop this weekend
The workshop on Saturday includes beginner and intermediate blues/fusion classes, taught by pro blues dancers Chris Mayer and Campbell Keatinge-Clay. Admission is free for Rice students who are RSDS members, and only $60 for community members. Register online.
More info: http://rsds.rice.edu/blues-workshop
ballroom starts TONIGHT! + tango + blues
howdy RSDS –
1. Ballroom classes begin TONIGHT for the fall semester!
Join us in the RMC Grand Hall for beginner waltz (6:30pm) and intermediate jive (8:00pm). Advanced class will begin next week, so during the 9:00-10:00 hour tonight, we’ll break into some western and talk about throwing swing/jive/whatever moves into the Texas Two-Step.
THEN, from 10:00-midnight, we’ll have a free dance. Come to socialize, practice, watch, learn, listen, and dance!
2. Argentine tango classes will start NEXT week on Wednesday September 16. Make plans to be there. It’s gonna be HOTT!
3. If you’re into swing, tango, or breaking rules, you need to check out our upcoming Blues Fusion workshop. http://rsds.rice.edu/blues-workshop/
The workshop will be all day, next Saturday, September 12. The amazing Chris & Campbell are coming in from Austin to be our special guest instructors. Admission is free for RSDS Rice-student members. Register online.
See yall tonight!
– Michael