Swingin New England 2013 - Review and Placements
Swingin New England celebrated their 15th anniversary with good vibes from the event directors that embraced a ballroom full of dancers. It’s these good vibes which become the “Magic Sauce” of this event.
Swingin New England 2013 - Review and Placements
Swingin New England celebrated their 15th anniversary with good vibes from the event directors that embraced a ballroom full of dancers. It’s these good vibes which become the “Magic Sauce” of this event.
The Magic Sauce
If you’re a newcomer to the dance scene you might think if you turn on some music and add a dance floor, you’ll have an awesome night. But after a while, you realize that those two components are a constant at any dance event.
Both Neal Klein and Willow Colson-Wall create an event that is genuinely friendly to newcomers and professionally organized for the staff. They are able to create laughter and levity even during the the most active moments.
As much as the event directors start the good dance vibes, it’s important to recognize Marc and Stephanie Levetin who organize all aspects of the event; Angel Figueroa who head-judges; all the DJs for the great music; Christienne Clark Palmieri for scoring everything; and all the the teaching and judging staff.
The Magic Sauce formula is so simple - if a dancer brought negativity, their roll was minimized, if a dancer brought positivity, their roll was maximized. It was like a volume knob that was turned up so everyone could feel a little bit better.
The Novoa Bump
This event will be memorable for Anna and me because it was the first event we attended while knowing that Anna was pregnant.
Knowing that we were going to be in front of 700 of our dance friends, we decided to let everyone (Facebook) know two days before. We figured that would at least get the information out and prevent Anna from having to inexplicably decline drinks or 10 dances in a row.
We were thankful for all shout-outs from the amazing MC, Rob Glover. He was also part of the positive “magic sauce” of the event. His kindness and support radiated every moment he was on the mic, from competitive divisions to assisting children toss the die for Jack & Jill rotations.
Although we did not plan it, Swingin New England was a wonderful place to announce our pending parenthood. It is an event that welcomes some of our dearest dance family from the Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts area.
Personally, I’m excited to one day tell my child that we placed 4th in the Adv/All Star Strictly Swing our first time out as a family.
Our West Coast Swing group from Connecticut
We had a great group of West Coast Swing dancers from Connecticut. Some came to learn, some came to compete, some came to get a new pair of dance shoes (you should have bought them), but everyone who came had a great time. Some of our dancers made finals, some didn't, but everyone enjoyed a great weekend of dancing and, of course, all laughed at the Bookends! Thank you for being part of our group and making Swingin New England a better collective experience.
Pictures
There are over 700 pictures of all the good times of Swingin New England 2013 and they barely begin to capture the good time that was had by all. Prints and downloads are available for purchase (please help support the cause)
Here are all the pictures that I took of Swingin New England 2013.
Group Placements
Congratulations to everyone who was brave enough to dance in the Strictly Swings or Jack & Jills.
Strictly Swing
West Coast Swing - Strictly Swing - Novice:
Chris Vartuli & Melissa Zeitz - 4th Place
West Coast Swing - Strictly Swing - Adv/All-Star:
Erik Novoa & Anna Novoa - 4th Place
Jack & Jills
West Coast Swing - Jack & Jill - Newcomer:
Sandrine Menoret - 8th Place
West Coast Swing - Jack & Jill - Novice:
Lisa Mamanno - 4th Place
Chris Vartuli - 7th Place
Chris Johnson - 8th Place
Andrew Hayden - 11th Place
West Coast Swing - Jack & Jill - Advanced:
Anna Novoa - 8th Place
West Coast Swing - Jack & Jill - All-Star:
Erik Novoa - 4th Place
