Swing Niagara

Just got back from that awesome dance event in Buffalo, New York known as Swing Niagara. What a blast! 52 workshops were offered over this three day weekend in west coast swing, hustle and nightclub two step. Also, there were competitions and social dancing all day and night.

Some of the greatest dancers and teachers in the world were at this event: Mario Robau, Angel Figueroa, Mary Ann Nunez, Parker Dearborn & Jessica Cox, Michael Kielbasa & Jennifer DeLuca, Arjay Centeno & Melissa Rutz, John Lindo, Stephanie Batista, Jason Miklic & Sophy Kdep and Fred & Tina Price. I was particularly impressed by Jennifer DeLuca - who went over to students who were struggling and gave personal attention.

There were the usual Jack n' Jills, Strictly Swings and Rising Star competitions. Since this event is a little smaller than most, catering primarily to the upstate New York and Canadian dancers, there were fewer contestants. And here is a great tip: if you have 1 point in Newcomer - you get to dance in Novice!

For those of you who don't understand how competition works, there are four categories: Newcomer, Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. An international organization (WSDC) keeps track of points you earn when placing 1st through 5th. Each event has their own rule about how many points you need per category.

What makes an event good is the scheduling in of social dancing among all the workshops and competitions. Nobody does that better than Ken Mercik at Swingin into Spring in Connecticut. Maria Cirino - the amazing woman behind Swing Niagara - came close.

The event was held at the Adam's Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo. The only thing about the hotel that is remarkable is its convenient location. A couple of easy walking blocks away is an area with shops and restaurants and a lightrail stop. Its easy to get to this hotel from the airport too - using the city bus #24. And, its a hop, skip and jump to Niagara Falls.

For those of you starting out in west coast swing - or those that just don't care for the mega-events like Summer Hummer - this is a nice lower key event with plenty of quality lessons and dancing in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

http://www.swingniagara.com/