Liberty Swing Dance Championships

Elisha Cohen Monzella & Jason Ng

A saint is someone who performs a miracle.

Last weekend at Liberty Swing Dance Championships in New Brunswick, NJ – Saint LINDO performed the miracle of 1,000 smiles. 

Maria Ford

Never before – in all the events I have attended – has one been run SO WELL – offered SO MUCH ENTERTAINMENT – and included SO MANY PEOPLE.
 





I do not believe that the attendees could have had ANY MORE FUN!

Saint LINDO brought the teachers we have raaaaved about (and not necessarily the “all knew and sexy”) to give workshops.

Everyone’s favorite – Mario Robau (with his lovely new wife, Stephanie) continued the theme they introduced at Swingin’ Into Spring in May. This duo is real quality.

Mario is even funnier now that he’s remarried!
(Its given him a whole bunch of new material!)

Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollman did the same thing. Their recurring theme is putting the stretchy quality into our dancing. Nobody else is working on this and we really appreciate it!  They walk around and check on us personally, too. This is the mark of truly good teachers.

Benji Schwimmer & Torri Smith - Friday night show
(Pic courtesy of Jim Chow)

We had many astonishing instructors: Kyle Redd & Sarah Vann Drake, Robert & Nicola Royston, Arjay Centeno & Jennifer DeLuca, Brennar Goree & Torri Smith and Benji Schwimmer. The only problem was not enough time to take lessons with EVERYONE!


Hey – Saint LINDO – more workshops on Friday – PLEASE!

Benji Schwimmer in glasses, Kyle Redd with the cigarette,
Jordan Frisbee in the hat, Angel Figueroa and Arjay Centeno on right.

The opening ceremony featured a show which included a Broadway style performance based on Grease.

John Festa and Angel Figueroa fit right in with the boys of swing.

They ALL danced like they belong on the Broadway stage – and I had to wonder why they aren’t doing more of this kind of thing.

We were treated to the hysterical MC standup comedy improv of Robert Royston and Mario Robau.

These guys can tell the same jokes – or new ones – and we all laugh.

They find the humor in everything and set a tone for the whole event. A lot of us would pay to see these guys in a comedy club.



 The best part, however, is the social dancing. So much has changed since “Genius” Ken Mercik infused his fabulous event, Swingin’ Into Spring, with actual social dancing.

Can you believe it?  We used to have to sit in a coma until the endless round of performances ended. Like zombies, we finally got to the dance floor after midnight. http://www.djkenm.com/

John built quite a bit of dancing into the evening schedules both Friday and Saturday nights. Most of the time, us working stiffs only get to dance with our friends from other places when we come to these events.  

And, what about visitors from France – England – Scotland - Singapore – New Zealand?

It might just be a chance of a lifetime to dance with them!



John Nye

 Another highlight – and tradition – is the Midnight Pizza Party.

New York City has a different take on home town hospitality. Gotham Swing Club - which had had five tables at Liberty – hosted ALL of our out of town guests to a feast! NYC knows what folks need to party.

We fueled up and boogied down!



Steve Wilder

 The DJs were amazing this weekend. I was diggin’ Wildman Louie – who was a bit in his oldies zone. When Eric Cudmore came on you couldn’t tell the difference. Cuddy judged the vibe and kept it real. This guy is an awesome DJ. 

Reluctantly, some of us had to drag ourselves to our rooms. Friday night was so OUTRAGEOUS – it felt like a whole weekend had taken place. But – there was more – because Saturday was here!

What a day that was. It started with a free continental breakfast set up next to the shoe vendor.
Where else can you have breakfast and try on shoes at the same time!

Steve Wilder & Sophie Caz
3rd Intermdiate J&J

Saint LINDO has done away with the stupid competitor meeting! Can you believe it?! For years we've been lectured on why we need this idiotic process. People were simply required to check in 15 minutes before show time. It made soooo much sense!

All Jack n’ Jills – all levels – prelims and finals – were run in 4 hours. Who ever heard of that?!

The awards were presented right away. No waiting until after everyone has left on Sunday. All winners got their money back.

Hey – you event organizers out there – I hope you are taking notes!

Congratulations to the Lucky #$%*!'s who won!!!

Newcomer:

1. Chris Chung & Winsome McDonald
2. Anthony Silke & Megan Ferguson
3. Jared Church & Sara Lozyniak
4. Thierry Lou & Clarice Vanessa
5. James Geary & Mary Ellen Graham








Novice:

1. TJ Bednash & Sandra Pellegrini
2. Evan Dupre & Alaina Sisney
3. Phouvank Meckhasinh & Rebecca DeRosa
4. Jim Chow & Marine Fabre
5. David Kalifa & David Ward



 







Will Burbage

 
Masters deserves a special mention because it was a pleasure to watch!

This is a category for the 50+ age range. The baby boomers reinvented everything else - so why not reinvent middle age? 

They're not getting older - truly - they're getting better!

This will become a category to reckon with!

 

Another great highlight was the ice cream handed out Saturday afternoon personally by John. The announcement caused all the dancers to turn into delighted five year olds who quickly scampered over.



Only – somebody needs to get John a hat or something!

Anthony DeRosa & Lemery Rollins
1st Allstar J&J

Its nice that all the winners got their money back. However, as hard as it is to earn WSDC points – WHO CARES ABOUT THE MONEY?!

By 6 pm, on Saturday we had written feedback.





This was a major highlight of the weekend.

The look of relief on people’s faces was amazing because the judges' comments were soooo much LESS WORSE than expected!

 Hey judges - here's some feedback for you! 


"This being the first time I received written feedback, I would have to say that both of the constructive comments were quite relevant to my performance during the LS Jack n Jill event. They reaffirmed, in my mind, what I should continue to concentrate on practicing." ECM

After the awards we broke for dinner.

New Brunswick is a lovely little town filled with interesting and tempting cafes nearby. It was my pleasure to share a much needed carb load with my wonderful Canadian dance pals at “Panico’s.” http://www.panicosrestaurant.com/

The food was delicious and authentic – as was the atmosphere. Best, however, was our waiter. Truly old country, he recited each special with a sumptuous description. Being taken care of in that way turned a simple meal into an experience.

Saturday night held the Junior, Classic and Rising Star competitions. There was plenty of time for everything (and social dancing) because it all ran on schedule. The French were the only team competitor this year. They were amazing, fresh and original.

This dance is exploding all over the world. Extremely popular in Europe, we see British and French all the time. But, this is the first time we had a table of Scots – who came because of John LINDO’s unofficial swing ambassadorship!

 Apparantly, he went all the way over there to bring them a smile!

Donna Vitiello & Tom Gendrachi
Mario Robau & Blake Hobby

Also on Saturday night was John Festa’s Fabulous Blues Room! True stars last because they are able to reinvent themselves.

John Festa has been a ballet dancer, swing superstar, DJ and ladies lingerie buyer. The Blues Room debuted at Swingin' Into Spring and has been in big demand ever since.

Just when we were the most tired, here he comes with his late night, stone groovin’ Blues Room. We found the strength because it hit the spot at the end of a long, grueling day of dancing!

This party was held in the same ballroom that hosted the Thursday night smash hit kickoff party. It was just as full for Festa's gig. Look forward to a Festa Blues Room near you!

This is like Starbucks and cell phones – how did we get along before? No event organizer could be nutz enough to forgo this highlight!
 



Barbara Jackson & Robert Royston 2nd ProAm
(Pic courtesy of Jim Chow)

At some point in the wee hours of the morning, many of us could not continue and were forced against our wills to pack it in.

Besides, there was still Sunday!

What a good idea Saint LINDO had to hold the Strictlies and Pro-Ams then.


Anyone on the verge of hospitalization from exhaustion could leave because there no finals (miracle) to hang around in hopes of.

This is an awesome location. A short train ride from Newark Airport and Manhattan, it is easy to get there. No need for cabs either. The Hyatt is two blocks from the train station and anything we could want is nearby.

Jim Chow & Barbara Jackson
(pic courtesy of Jim)

"My favorite thing about the event was the event! The workshops, the social dancing, the friendships, the competitions especially the Champions' Jack and Jill and they gave us ice-cream! What could be better!!!" BJ

If dance events were places, Liberty Swing Dance Championships would be a wonder of the world. Its no surprise people came from all over to participate.



It is possible to have too much fun and we had it ALL last weekend!

Check out Saint Lindo’s event schedule: http://www.johnlindo.com