Snowy Days

Originally posted by Donna Stewart February/02/2018 08:40 PM

Yes, ’tis the season as they say! We have already had 2 snow days thus far in 2018! Our Wednesday group has missed a couple of dances already this year. This is just a note to members of both of our dance days, if the weather looks questionable, please check your email prior to leaving, just to save you some unnecessary travel. Members without email will be contacted by phone. Last Wednesday’s snow squalls came on quickly later in the day and with a wallop! We would rather be safe than sorry and it seems the consensus agreed it was a wise decision to cancel. Looks like we have some snowy days ahead come mid week next week. Let’s cross our fingers, it doesn’t affect us!
Speaking of snow, the Frosty Fling is on this Saturday between 2-4:30PM at St Patrick’s High School. This is a combined square and round dance designed for beginners and is a good opportunity to support and encourage new dancers. Jean Clingin will be on rounds and Wendy VanderMuelen and John Charman will be on squares. If the weather looks questionable, please check the eodance.ca website to check the status of the dance.
From a personal standpoint, a big thank you to Ziggy, Gavin, Mike and Doug for helping with sound equipment duties in my absence. Without them, you would not have had any music to dance to, so THANK YOU!
This coming week at the club, Pat and John will continue working on Carnival-RB4 for our Wednesday dancers. On Thursday, for the next few weeks, you will be working on foxtrot figures in a variety of dances.
Yes, we will be tripping the light fantastic this week at Parkdale….barring any more snow days I mean!

Using YouTube As A Round Dance Resource

Did you know there are numerous Round Dance videos posted on YouTube? Some feature demonstration dances from various major Round Dance events while others feature everyday dancers at their regular club sessions. There are also short teaching videos for particular Round Dance figures.

First it might be helpful to give a brief introduction to YouTube.
Anyone with a free Google account automatically has a YouTube account where they can upload videos and allow them to be viewed publicly. If they have a particular field of interest, like Round Dancing for example, they can also create a “Channel” on YouTube and upload their Round Dance videos to their Channel. To view these videos you don’t need a Google account but if you do have one, you can subscribe to a channel and you’ll be kept up-to date on new uploaded videos. Videos uploaded to a Channel can be organized into “Playlists”which are created by the Channel owner to put videos into groupings with a common theme. A Round Dance Channel might have several Playlists which group videos by their rhythm, choreographer, dance club or demonstration dance couple (Worlocks, Hurds) for example. Many YouTube channels can be searched individually for dance titles. This is in addition to the general YouTube search which searches all YouTube videos and unfortunately often doesn’t do the best job. If you want to try the YouTube general search to look for a particular dance title, try using the following link which I’ve customized to locate Round Dance videos YouTube Search
The search box will be partially filled waiting for you to enter the title of the dance you are interested in after the word “intitle:”. The dance title doesn’t need to be exact. Sometimes it’s better to use just two or three keywords from the title. Once you’ve hit return to execute the search take a look at the first few videos displayed and hopefully your dance is listed.
(A note of interest that both our current Wednesday and Thursday teaches, Carnival and Lady Marmalade can be found using this search.)

Now here’s a list of YouTube Round Dance Channels with a short description and a customized link which will take you directly to each one.
Note: To search within a channel for a dance title click on the small grey magnifying glass at the right hand end of the channel menu. (Shown inside the red box below.)

TNT Rounds
Created by Terri & Tim Wilaby who run a phase 2-4 Dance Club in Pensacola, Florida. This channel is an excellent source of high quality demonstration dances performed at the Florida State and National Square & Round Dance Conventions. It contains several well organized Playlists.

Jim Miller This channel has numerous videos from club dances in Pennsylvania with various cuers. A number of dances feature Steve Bradt cuing. (Please note that Mr Miller has combined a few of his other interests on his channel so you may come across videos not related to dancing.)

River City Rounds is a Phase 2 – 5 dance club in St. Louis, Missouri and has videos from club dances.

GB Rounds has videos from some of their club dances.

MrBob2039 has some teach videos of various Foxtrot and West Coast Swing figures. (Please note that Mr Bob has combined a few of his other interests on his channel so you may come across videos not related to dancing.)

Hilton Rounds has a few demo videos, some club dance videos and some basic waltz figure instructional videos.

Ahart Dancing created by Tony & Carolyn Ahart, cuers from Springfield, Missouri has a number of videos taken of club dances.

You’ll notice as you view various videos, YouTube will begin to suggest other dance videos and channels you might be interested in, learning from your viewing history. These suggestions are often helpful and can lead to even more Dance Channels.

I hope you’ll find this article useful and it will assist you in using YouTube as an additional dance resource.

Submitted by Mike Cosham

Back To Dance

Originally posted by Donna Stewart January/12/2018 09:34 AM

Well for our Wednesday night dancers we had a night off due to freezing rain. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as this or a flashback to 1998, but still mighty slick outside! Better to be safe than sorry! We had some of our members missing from our Thursday group, but everyone seemed to just enjoy getting back in the swing of things with a dance. Next week, we will be starting off our 2018 off to a great start with learning a couple of great dances. Pat has said she has had people ask her about a teach for the phase 4 rumba, Carnival and that is the plan for the next 3 weeks on Wednesday night. This dance is one of the most frequently played dances around and is a Hall of Fame Dance with ICBDA from 2010. Not an average phase 4, but once you learn it, it’ll be a favourite as it is for many. For Thursday, Pat and John will be teaching phase 4 cha called Lady Marmalade. This dance was also a very popular one in the days of Carnival (and perhaps a few years before it). Really fun dance! Great dances for both days! If you want to learn, or need a brush up on either of these dances, please come on out! I know there are videos of Carnival out there, and probably the best is on Glen and Helen’s site with the Rumbles dancing. I’m sure with a little digging, you can probably find a video of Lady Marmalade. We have many sources of dance video sites out there and some are even listed in this website! Please check our Dance Links link above and go to Dance Video Sites. The cuesheets are also already posted on the website for both of these teaches.
Speaking of website posting, the programs are posted for the next two weeks actually, so you’ve got lots of practice time!
We are starting 2018 off on a high note this year with two great teaches! Looking forward to seeing you back on the dance floor!

Welcome to 2018!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart January/07/2018 12:44 PM

Hello fellow dancers and welcome to 2018! Our winter dance session starts this coming Wednesday and Thursday and we look forward to seeing everyone! Luckily for us, it seems our cold snap will be giving us a reprieve this week so we can journey out. After all of our festivities over the past month, it’ll be nice to get back into a routine and our favourite form of exercise-DANCING! To get back into things this week after our month away, we will having a full dance only this week at the club. The programs are posted and you will see we have all of the dances we learned in the fall session on the program—just to keep you in practice!

Please remember, this is a new session and you have the opportunity to pay for the full session up front, or pay as you go. Please check out the “Dance Season” link at the top of this page for all the details.

We continue to have members will ongoing cold and flu issues as well as other ailments. We wish everyone continued strength and better health in 2018!

Thanks For Your Support!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart December/10/2017 12:27 AM

On Friday night, Capital Carousels held its annual “In From The Cold” Christmas Party. As we get ready to break for the holidays, we get a chance to enjoy good times with friends with a great meal and lots of dancing! A favourite pass time of ours! With our potluck dinner, we had lots of food and lots of variety to choose from! Ian and Ann kept things under control in the kitchen and we thank them for keeping things streamlined where the food was concerned. Many of us made more than one trip up to the buffet table! It was delicious, but then we already know what great cooks we have at Capital Carousels. After our meal and social time, we had time to burn off a few of those calories with some dancing. We had a lot of variety of rhythms and something for everyone to dance to. We also had a number of holiday dances to get us wrapped up in the season thanks to Pat’s innovative program! If the songs of the season were not enough, Pat and Jill did a fabulous job on the decorations! You’ve taken Christmas lights to a new level! Thanks for all your hard work! Also thanks to everyone for your help with putting up and taking down tables, kitchen cleanup, floor cleanup, equipment put up and take down. We all make things easier with helping hands.
As we all know at the club, we have had a number of people out with illnesses this past fall, and this current flu/cold strain has really hit a number of us. We missed all of you who could not attend, and we wish everyone a HEALTHY new year!
Support happens in so many ways and dancers are known for their generosity. Parkdale United Church means so much to us as a club, it only makes sense for us to want to give back. With Parkdale’s “In From The Cold” program, we have the opportunity to do just that. With our donations, we help the church to feed needy people in our area on a weekly basis! I have often said this is the time of giving and this is such a special way that we can do that. I am thrilled to tell you that this year, Capital Carousels raised $813.50 for the “In From The Cold” program! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! This amount is more than what we have contributed the past couple of years and $200 more than last year. Thanks so much for your generosity! This party is an event where can celebrate the season with friends, food and dancing. We also have an opportunity to give back! The best of feelings!! Way to go Capital Carousels!
Well our dancing for 2017 is over now at Capital Carousels and we look forward to our new year in 2018! Our Wednesday group will start back on Jan 10 and our Thursday dancers, on Jan 11. More opportunities to dance those dances we’ve just learned, review some others and learn some new ones. Along with the club, there are also some outside dance opportunities available. Just check our Coming Events section.
Have a great holiday season everyone and cheers to a fabulous time on the dance floor in 2018!

It’s Our Final Week of the Session!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart December/01/2017 07:39 PM

Yes, we are at the final week of the session and also the final dance for us for 2017!! As a wind down for our fall session, we will just be dancing at the regular club sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. You will notice dances we’ve learned this session and also Christmas dances as we get into the Christmas Party mood for our annual “In From The Cold” Program on Friday!! The doors will open at 5:30 and as we set up, we will start our Potluck buffet at around 6:00. We will have a nice leisurely hour to eat and chat with our friends (and maybe a trip or two to the buffet line-all you can eat!) But not to worry about the extra pounds you think you may have put on, as we will be starting the dance right around 7:00. Just to reiterate, although everyone already knows, this dance is open to both our Wednesday and Thursday dancers. We have lots of dances for everyone to dance and out of 25 dances, I see 18 of those which our Thursday group can dance as well. Lots of dancing and fun times for all. Remember this dance is in support of Parkdale’s “In From The Cold” program which helps feed about 150-200 local people in need weekly. Every dollar coming to Gavin on Friday will be going directly to Parkdale. We are asking for a donation of $15 per couple. For anyone who would like to donate $20 or more, you will receive a tax receipt from the church. Gavin requests that if you will be paying by cheque, to please make the cheque out to Parkdale United Church.
Looking toward next year, just a note that we will be starting up again on Wednesday, Jan 10 and Thursday, Jan 11 for the winter session. The winter session will be 12 weeks in length with identical fee structure as the fall session-$84/single or $168/couple for the session fee or you can pay $10/person weekly. Just a heads up to our next session.
Lots of dancing ahead for us all and we will be capping it off with a wonderful evening of dancing and socializing with special friends, all in benefit for a great cause. We hope to see everyone this week and at the party! Get your dance shoes ready!

‘Tis The Season Of Giving

Originally posted by Donna Stewart November/24/2017 08:45 PM

Our dance season has just flown by hasn’t it! It is hard to believe we are about to embark on the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. For the 5 years we have run as Capital Carousels, we have chosen to give back to Parkdale United Church by donating to their “In From The Cold Program”. This program feeds between 150-200 people per week who are in need of a healthy meal. We are always delighted to take our Christmas Party as a chance to have a wonderful evening with a dinner and dance, and enjoy each others company. Through our donation at the door, we are also able to directly contribute to the “In From The Cold” Program. All the money received at the door goes DIRECTLY to this worthy cause. We are asking for a donation of $15 per couple, but for anyone who donates $20 or more, you will also receive a tax receipt. Thanks so much in advance for your contributions!
So what will happen at our “In From The Cold” Christmas Party? The party takes place on Friday, December 8. The doors will open at 5:30PM and we can expect to be eating by around 6:00PM. As everyone should know by now, this is a potluck dinner. We have some wonderful cooks in our midst here at Capital Carousels and nothing like a potluck dinner for us to be able to sample some of these excellent dishes! As in years past, we are signing up for either “sweet” or “savoury”. Ian and Ann have created a signup sheet which will be on Gavin’s table for your convenience. Plates and utensils will be supplied. You might be best to bring any utensils you might require to serve up your potluck dish.
We will take about an hour for our meal and then we will have our dance after that. As in years past, we will have some Christmas dances on the program and you will notice in the next couple of weeks, Pat will have some posted on our programs to give us a chance to practice.
This dance will be our last one of the year before we take our Christmas break. We always have a great time as we celebrate the holidays and also experience the joy of giving. Happy Holidays to all!

Baby, It’s Cold Outside!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart November/10/2017 07:11 PM

Boy Howdy! It’s sooooo cold! Although we always anticipate this time of year, we are privileged to have a warm home to go to and a warm meal to nourish the soul. Some people don’t have that privilege. In a month, we at Capital Carousels will be celebrating our Christmas Dance where in the past several years we have been supporting Parkdale United Church’s “In From The Cold” Program where they provide warm and nourishing meals for some less fortunate people in our area. How have we done this? By coming out to our Christmas Dance and providing a donation at the door! All proceeds received at the door go directly to the “In From The Cold Program”. We ask for a donation of at least $15/couple. If we receive a donation of $20 or more, you will receive a tax receipt. This is a most worthy cause and we also have the opportunity to enjoy a night of fun and fellowship to celebrate the holidays!
This year our, “In From The Cold” Christmas Dance will be held on Friday, December 8. We will start with a potluck dinner where we get a chance to enjoy all of our dancers cooking specialities!! We will have a signup sheet shortly for this, but in the mean time, pick out your favourite dish (either sweet or savoury). This was a huge hit last year and if you went home hungry, well….it was your own fault! ) We will start serving around 5:30-6:00 so mark your calendars. We will have time to socialize with our friends during the meal and after we return the tables and get straightened out in the hall, dancing will start at 7:30. As in past years, many festive dances will also be on the program.
Many Christmas parties out there are just about celebrating and enjoying time with friends. We also have the opportunity to help out those in real need! Please plan to attend. As with all our special events, this is open to both our Wednesday and Thursday dancers. Lots of dancing and good times for all!

This week, Pat and John began the Caper foxtrot teach on Wednesday which will be continuing in the coming weeks. Ziggy and Jenny did a quick review of the Caper cha on Thursday and as the dancers did quite well with that, we will move forward. As the cha was expected to go on for a few more weeks, this coming Thursday will be a “Dance only” week as Ziggy and Jenny prepare the quickstep teach.
As Pat indicated at both clubs, the Caper teaches will be on the dance program right from the get go! In other words, we will not be waiting to put them on the program until we have done the reviews, but will have them on the program right away. The rationale is that we learned them at the Caper and we might as well keep them fresh by dancing them. If there are trouble spots, we can work on those during the review to come. As Pat also indicated, the most recent teach(es) taught, will be on the dance program back to back twice for a while to continue to give us all practice. This has been a real hit from the dancers and it will be continued.
Well that is about all for this week! Keep warm!

What A Week!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart November/03/2017 06:45 PM

It certainly has been a busy week at Capital Carousels!! Last weekend, our annual Capital Caper Weekend took place where we welcomed back our longtime instructors, Steve and Irene Bradt! We also had many Capital Carousels members, along with visitors from the Montreal area as well as some from Southwestern Ontario. Thanks to everyone who came. We hope you enjoyed your weekend! Things started off on Friday afternoon with a phase 3 quickstep called, Puttin’ On The Ritz where we had plenty of practice on our quarter turn and progressive chasse and also the strolling vine. On Friday evening, we learned a very nice phase 4 tango called After Midnight Tango where we had a lot of emphasis on technique. After a good night’s sleep, we got into foxtrot mode on Saturday morning with a phase 5 dance, Mommy’s Shoes where many of us were exposed to the continuous hover cross. After a nourishing lunch where we had a nice variety of sandwiches, cheeses, veggies and fruit along with some squares and cookies for dessert. Also a nice opportunity to catch up with some people we haven’t seen in awhile. On Saturday afternoon, we finished off the teaches with one which Steve and Irene wrote, a phase 4 cha called That’s What I Like About You. We finished off our weekend with a night dance where we got to enjoy dancing to Steve’s cueing. We also had a chance to view the Bradts doing the dance demos and then we got to dance them all twice. A busy weekend for sure! Capital Caper wouldn’t be possible without the tireless work of Pat Black on the basic structure of the teaches and dance program and syllabus, Gavin Currie for his work with registration and Ian and Ann Webb for their work on planning refreshments and the Saturday lunch. Also thanks to Brian and Ann Gibbs for their work on Friday’s refreshments, Arlo Speer for equipment setup and takedown and all of those who helped out with setup and takedown at Saturday’s lunch-including some of our visitors. Now, we go back to our club and review the dances for our future dancing pleasure. Thanks again to all who attended!
Not to be finished this week, Capital Carousels had a special milestone on Wednesday! Not only was it our Annual Ghostly Gala, but it was also our 5th Anniversary Dance. As you can see by the picture posted here with this blog, we continue to have some very creative people coming in costume! With the help of the song, Purple People Eater, dancers paraded around the dance floor showing off their costumes. I was judge this year and although the decision was tough, the prize winners were as follows: 2nd Runner Up-Joe and Gail Larabie (flower and weed), 1st Runner Up-Ziggy and Jenny Segstro (patient and nurse) and Winner, Pat Black and Charlie Stuart (hotdog and coke). After a frenzy at the 50/50 table, Robert Read won the prize. Congratulations to all! As always Pat and Jill Ivay did a fabulous job on decorations and Ian and Ann Webb did a superb job on refreshments along with two cakes-one for Halloween and one for our Anniversary. Be on the lookout for pictures which I will post in the gallery here when I get them. It was a smaller crowd then we would have thought, but the weather was not on our side with rain and wind. We thank all of those who came out and “braved the elements”!
Thursday was a quiet day as we had no dancing due to other events at the church, so it gave us all a chance to recoup! Starting this week, the Caper reviews will begin. On Wednesday, Pat and John will start the foxtrot review of Mommy’s Shoes. On Thursday, Ziggy and Jenny will be back with us in teaching mode beginning the review of the cha, That’s What I Like About You! Lots of good dancing ahead! See you on the dance floor!

Capital Caper is One Week Away!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart October/20/2017 07:55 PM

Are you ready for a fun dance weekend? Well, we just happen to have one coming up next weekend with our Annual Capital Caper Weekend. Be prepared for a busy Friday and Saturday when Steve and Irene Bradt will be back with us! Are you looking for a review of some standard quickstep figures? Friday afternoon will be just the ticket for you. Are you feeling fairly comfortable with phase 3 tango, and want to step up to some phase 4 tango? We will have a really nice tango which would be a nice introduction or refresher for phase 4 tango. Do we have any foxtrot lovers out there? Me! Me! Our most advanced dance this weekend will be a phase 5 foxtrot. Steve and Irene will be guiding us through it all and we will be “tripping the light fantastic” before our Saturday morning teach is over! Lastly, Steve and Irene will be presenting their own phase 4 choreography on Saturday afternoon as the last teach which will be a phase 4 cha. Life is always good with a little cha cha!
Hard to believe that Capital Caper is almost here! The anticipation is building! We hope to see you there!

For those who participated in the West Coast Swing teach this week, Lyn has recorded the dance and some teaching segments as well. Mike will be posting those on DropBox hopefully sometime this week. I will let you know when they are posted. Arlo and I will be available to help with anyone who wishes to practice the Man’s Underarm Turn (or other part we learned last week) before the regular session begins. Time for this will be tight on Wednesday night, but we should have sufficient time on Thursday morning. This is not mandatory—just for anyone who might be interested. Have a good week all!