special event
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!
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.
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.
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
Jazz Soiree
The Rice Social Dance Society is gearing up for their annual swing dance, the Jazz Soiree. This is an (optionally) classy affair, so feel free to ritz it up, or come as casual as you wish. We’ll provide the snacks and water, the Rice Jazz Band will provide some live grooves, and you provide the steps. There will be an intro lesson before the night gets in to full swing, so be sure to bring your friends. And the best part? It’s completely FREE!
A call for performers:
The trouble with running a club on campus is that the officers and students turn over too fast to really continue any one legacy. However, persons older (and wiser) than us have informed us that there used to be performances at RSDS’ Jazz Soiree. We’re pretty tickled by the idea and are looking for groups, couples, and individuals who want to perform at the Jazz Soiree this year. We welcome swing dancers (of course!) but are also glad to see any other sort of social dance.
If interested, please email Natalie (nweber@rice.edu) ASAP, and no later than Wednesday, April 8th
The down-low:
Friday April 10th, 2009
Rice Jazz Band playing 9pm – midnight
Intro lesson 7:45-9:00pm
FREE!
Martel Commons, Rice University campus
- You can find Martel here (http://www.rice.edu/maps/maps.html), or it is #42 on the printable map on the same page. There is construction around campus, so it is a little confusing to get to, but we will try to have signage around the campus.
- Parking: The nearest visitors’ parking on campus is at Founder’s Court (http://parking.rice.edu/visitors.cfm). However, it is generally easier to park north of campus on a residential street that allows parking and walk on to campus.
Questions? Contact Natalie Weber (nweber@rice.edu)
RSDS discounts for the Houston Tango Festival!
(2) 20 Free Spectator Passes for the Friday night milonga.
(3) 50% discount on a-la-carte prices for milongas and individual classes.
(4) Free Milonga passes to RSDS members who volunteer 3 hours of their time at the festival. Those interested in volunteering should email Diana at dianacan@earthlink.net by noon on Thursday.
Dances with Owls
Start making plans for our upcoming dance competition and showcase, Dances with Owls:
see http://DancesWithOwls.com for more info.
Harvest Moon Ball — THIS SATURDAY!
Houston’s largest and snazziest swing dance occurs annually on Parents’ Weekend right in Rice’s very own Grand Hall. (Psst, that’s this Saturday). Harvest Moon Ball is the perfect opportunity to see social dancing in its natural environment (out on the dance floor) and to show off your moves. We know that due to Ike a lot of new RSDS members have only gotten one or two classes under their belts, so we’re offering a free hour-long intro to swing just before the dance.
WHAT: Harvest Moon Ball
WHERE: Grand Hall, in the RMC (Student Center on Rice Campus)
WHEN: Saturday, Sept. 27
Free lesson 7:00 – 8:00
Dance: 8:00 – midnight
PRICE: RSDS is subsidizing $5 for its members and any Rice students. That makes the price $10 in advance or $15 at the door for RSDS/Rice, which is insanely low for the premier swing dance of the year. WE WILL BE SELLING TIX IN RSDS CLASSES THIS WEEK so bring your money then to get the lowest price. If you can’t make it to class this week, email nweber at rice dot edu to get advance tickets. Or you can always pay at the door for the $15 price. If you know anyone outside of Rice who would like to come, tickets can be bought early online at the HSDS website.
WEAR: “Your sharpest clothing.” This is the night for dress-up, so channel your inner 1940s and ’50s and dress to kill.
MUSIC: Courtesy Houston’s premier swing band, Third Coast Swing.
OTHER: photo booth, performances, competitions, good company, prizes, live music, slick threads, cool moves. =)
West Coast Swing Workshop: April 6
West Coast Swing is one of the most fun and versatile social dances. It can be danced to almost any music written in 4/4 time at speeds ranging from very slow to very fast. Any music from hip hop to blues can be used to dance WCS.
On Sunday April 6th (the sunday of Spring Recess) there will be a west coast swing workshop for beginners taught by a professional dancer Ben Hooten. Ben is 22 years old and has been dancing for 13 years.
The Details:
3:00-4:30: Lesson in the Grand Hall (Students only)
4:30-5:30: Free Dancing
No partner necessary!
and… it’s FREE!
Check out this YouTube video of Ben dancing West Coast Swing:
If these videos don’t convince you to come learn this awesome dance then consider that:
This workshop is….
- perfect for making up a class for a dancing LPAP!
- a great way to learn moves for both hip hop and blues music!
- an excellent place to meet new people!
- a wonderful way to find a date…?