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!

https://www.survs.com/survey/US13YQKLVW

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.

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.

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!

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

RSDS is getting into gear for the fall semester. I can’t wait to see yall on the dance floor again!

Our first event, a meet-and-greet info session & free dance, is TONIGHT (Tuesday) at 7:30 in the RMC Grand Hall. There will be pie. We’ll dance until 9:30… or maybe (probably) later, who knows.

BALLROOM meetings this year will be TUESDAYS in the Grand Hall:

6:30 beginner ballroom classes (open to students and community members)
7:30 practice time
8:00 intermediate ballroom classes
9:00 advanced classes
10:00 free dance until the cows come home

SWING is meeting on THURSDAYS in Miner Lounge, starting this week:

7:30 beginner swing classes
8:15 practice / free dance
8:30 Swing Sampler classes
9:30 intermediate swing classes

TANGO will meet on WEDNESDAYS at the Grad Student Apartments. Shuttle service is available from campus. More details TBA.

All the schedules and details will be up on the website: http://rsds.rice.edu

I look forward to seeing yall tonight and in the coming weeks!

cheers,
Michael

Ballroom = Tuesdays 6:30-10:00, RMC Grand Hall
Tango = Wednesday evenings, TBA
Swing = Thursdays, 7:00-10:30, Miner Lounge

FREE DANCING! Every Tuesday, 10pm-midnight

TUESDAY, September 1 will be our first ballroom meeting. It’s a meet-and-greet dance, with pie from House of Pies!

More info coming soon…

see http://DancesWithOwls.com for more info.

Check this schedule for information about what dances will be taught each week:

Fall 2008 RSDS Schedule

Each evening will be formatted in four time blocks:

6:30-7:30, we will hold beginner lessons, which are for students only 

7:30-8:00 will be free dance/practice time. Music choices will focus on the dances taught during the beginner lessons.

8:00-9:00, we will hold intermediate-level lessons, open to all RSDS members.

9:00-10:00, we will hold advanced-level lessons, open to all RSDS members.

10:00-midnight will be free dance/practice time.