A Happy and Healthy 2012 to EVERYONE and THANK YOU ALL!
The 2011-’12 edition of our FloorPlay New Years Swing Vacation was, according to all of the positive feedback and comments, once again a great success! This was our 12th dance event and one of the best! What better place to be than Orlando on New Years with the Rosen Plaza as the host hotel in the heart of all the action at the #1 vacation destination of the world? The weather once again cooperated staying in the mid 70’s for the event attendees coming from up north as well asEurope.
We topped 550 in attendance and A HUGE THANKS goes out to everyone who attended! This year 426 attendee’s took advantage of the fantastic dinner buffet included at the hotels Café Matisse on New Years Eve. The best way to fuel up for the party to come is with a terrific meal shared with friends. We also managed to make 56 pizzas ‘disappear’ at the New Years night pizza party; it cooled off a bit at night so we brought it inside.
This year we added the ‘unique’ Golden Ticket Tour competition to our series of Pro / Am Competitions, regular WSDC Jack ‘n Jill’s and the Florida State Swing Dance Championship. There was very good participation in all the events. Congratulations go to Hugo Miguez & Brianne Cline for winning the 9th Edition of the FSSDC! Great thanks to Demery Strickland and his staff including Beverly Co for controlling the competition sign-ups, scoring and allowing us to Award the winners of each division shortly after the finals of each. Thanks to Danielle Blouin and Mike Oates for having all the certificates prepared for the winners in every division. Thanks to Trish Berlanga and Laura Beers who served as head judges for most of our competitions and thanks to all the judges in every division. Judging is never an easy task.
Applause goes out to Robert Royston and his usual masterful job as Emcee. Thanks to all of the great Pro Instructors who joined us this year for a terrific New Years Eve show and the many workshops conducted that were very well received. The classes were huge! Robert & Nicola Royston, Robert Cordoba (also supplying our late night music), Deborah Szekely, Michael Kielbasa & Katrina Branson, Danielle Blouin & Demery Strickland, Brian & Pamela Bennett (FloorPlay Directors in Greensboro N.C.), and Billy Fajardo & Katie Marlowe who topped off our terrific New Years Eve Pro Show with a top ‘flight’ Hustle routine. Once again our Original Dance Forum on Monday proved to be its usual most informative opportunity to learn those ‘in-depth’ theories and concepts associated with this dance we love.
I also want to thank the many terrific pros from around Florida who joined us for the weekend including Steven White & Sabrina Paxmann, Rick Weston, Bruce & Beth Perrotta, Bobby Caudill (whom also DJ’d for us), Hugo Miguez, Tommy Gibbs & Renee Lipman, John & Mary Jane Harris, Cindy Lee Overton and the many other top level dancers and Instructors I may have missed.
But no event can be successful without two all important things, a good dance floor and a GREAT sound system with fabulous music! The dance floors were smoothly provided by Cherry Taylor and Master Dance Floors ofTampa. The sound systems were supplied byOrlando’s Kevin McDeed who also provided some cool lighting and video for the Midnight Champagne toast. Kevin ‘KMac’ also set the tone, as always, with a terrific variety of music to keep everyone moving. He continues to be the ‘soul’ of the FloorPlay Dance Club events and dances. April Prince was back with us again setting up all of the competition music as well as playing for the crowd, proving her position as ‘one of the best anywhere’. As mentioned, Robert Cordoba and Bobby Caudill also played some great music for us during the late night sessions. I heard nothing but compliments about all of the music played ALL weekend long and there were lots of new tunes being heard. Great Thanks to all the DJ’s!
There are MANY on any event staff who make it all work, without them it simply doesn’t happen and I believe we have the best staff anywhere! These are the folks who initially greet you, sign you in, answer your questions, handle security, keep things organized in all aspects of presentation and make everyone feel welcome…all with a smile! Ed Sullivan & Nora Batts lead security and recruit ample ‘friendly’ help. Registration is very involved and Amy Palmer is the key to making it all happen and running smoothly. She did so much behind the scenes it would be to hard to describe. Helping out tremendously were Meggan and Marilyn Thomas (full time!), Sandy Sanborn, Cindy Winternitz, Linda Murphy, Jutta Baerman, Angela Sammons, Shari Voit, Elaine Sipe and Robin DiMeo; who is also the ‘keeper’ of our website and doing a fantastic job making me be as ‘up-to-date’ as possible. Diane Scott, who helps with everything, went above and beyond signing up all competitors and supplying the scorekeepers with detailed names, numbers, levels etc. And, last but not least there are those whom contribute in a WIDE variety of ways and without their help there would be noticeable deficiencies in organization. Bill Bray and Maria Hardy are these people, like many mentioned here they help with SeaPlay Cruises and monthly dances throughout the year as well. I sincerely thank you all for your tremendous efforts and to those who may have helped that I have unwittingly omitted here.
A final HUGE THANK YOU to all of “you” who attended the event this year. As always you are a great, friendly, fun crowd who make up a terrific atmosphere and contribute to making Swing Vacation “The Place to Party’ on New Years Eve! You ALL ROCK!
We will continue to do our best to bring you the Best New Years Party possible and hope you will plan to join us again for Swing Vacation 2012 – ’13.
“Being the 10th Anniversary of the Florida State Swing Championships we are planning a few wrinkles to help focus on the Florida WC Dance scene which has become such a major player on the National WC Dance Circuit”
SEE YOU THEN!
Sincerely,
Mark Traynor
FloorPlay Club Founder