Thank You!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart January/22/2017 08:14 PM

At this point, all of our club members should have received word of the results of our current club meetings and survey via email or through a phone call. A special thanks indeed goes out to all of our club members for your input. It was most helpful. In general terms, our club will be continuing on through the remainder of this season at our regular club dates on Wednesday nights, Thursday mornings and beginning in the spring session, also Monday afternoons. Our fee schedule will remain the same as before and if you wish to purchase a session fee, you may do so with Gavin this week or pay by the week-your choice. For those wishing the session fee, you will receive credit for any purchased dance days so far this session. With regard to dance teaches, you will begin to see a reduced schedule of teaches and in their place some full dance program days. Along with some new teaches, you will also begin to see some reviews of dances already taught as well as some workshops on figures we have been having some difficulty with. In some ways, things are the same, and in other ways a few changes. Remember please that these changes will be in effect until the end of this current season and we will be meeting again in April to plan for next season. Based on our recent success here, we look forward to including you again in the process. Stay tuned!
Besides all the meetings, surveys and general discussion, the executive seems to have been also buzzing about something else! Have you taken a look at your Square Time lately? You now have two ways to look at it-either in paper form or online at EoDance.ca. We have had a change this year at our “Capital Carousels Journalist” position in the name of Linda Shannon. She has done a terrific job writing articles on what our club has been doing in the last quarter! She has really taken this position to heart and we appreciate her dedication to it. Thanks for keeping Capital Carousels in the public eye Linda! You are doing a great job! Be sure to tell her the next time you see her.
We are very fortunate at Capital Carousels to have many fine members, who volunteer their time to help with many jobs like refreshments, registration desk and pitching in to help at special events. Jobs like table setup, decorations, helping in the kitchen are all important tasks that are so easily completed when we have so many helpful people offering their services. Also from a cuer point of view, I’d also like to thank those guys out there who help me take down the speakers after dances. Although it is certainly something I can do, it is nice to have help with that “cumbersome” equipment. You guys are all champs in my books!
Thanks to all of you for your club contributions. You really help make us what we are!!

Thanks For A Successful Meeting!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart January/14/2017 07:37 PM

Welcome to dancing in 2017!! This past week, we began our year with a dance session and no teaches as we knew our club meetings, held on Wednesday and Thursday would take up probably more of our day than our break time could cover. We thank all of those who came out, but recognize we had some of our members (and executive), out with illness and also our members who are away for the winter months.
You know, you can never be sure how these club meetings are going to be received. I would have to say (and I’m sure others would agree with me) that our meetings were very successful!! In large part due to our members!! I was very proud to be a part of Capital Carousels knowing we have members who truly care for their club! It was terrific to have so much input from our members at the meeting.
Gavin’s input and Arlo’s presentation style also had a great deal to do with the meetings success and subsequent input from the members. Thanks guys and great job!
We gathered quite a few ideas and comments on both days. By now, you should have received your online survey asking you to complete the short questionnaire which will help us to determine our course through the remainder of this season. There is also a place to write in further comments so don’t hesitate to add them! For our dancers away for the winter, you are also encouraged to fill in the survey as you are also Capital Carousels members. We look forward to hearing from everyone. You will have until next Wednesday to finish and submit the survey. Please do so soon if you haven’t already. Wednesday will be here before you know it! The board will be meeting on Thursday after our morning club to review the findings and make decisions. We will, of course, be keeping you all in the loop!
So what happens next Wednesday and Thursday at the club? Well, as many of you know, Pat has been suffering with a bad cold through most of the holidays and it has really been hanging on into the new year. Because she has continued to feel “under the weather”, we have decided to have an all dance program for both Wednesday and Thursday this week and postpone the teach until Jan 25+26. At that point, we will start reviewing the mambo taught at Capital Caper, “One More Tequila”. That was a good dance and we look forward to having it on the program after our review. To refresh your memories on the dance, please check out Lyn and Mike’s DropBox site for the video.
That was a busy week for us indeed, but next week, we will be returning to dancing. See you at Parkdale and don’t forget to complete and submit your surveys!! You will be helping to shape our future plans!

Back to Dance!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart January/08/2017 10:41 AM

Hi everyone! The holidays are over, January is upon us and it’s time to get back in the groove! Our Wednesday and Thursday clubs will be resuming this week on the 11th and 12th and we look forward to seeing you all there. For those of you who are spending your winters elsewhere, we hope you are enjoying your time away from all the cold and snow here in Ottawa and are still getting plenty of chances to dance.
From the letter sent out to our club members about a week or so ago, you will note that we will be having meeting to coincide with our break time to fill you in on what is happening here at Capital Carousels. As many of you have noted to us, we have had a decrease in members for various reasons mostly related to member illnesses. We will be having a general meeting to discuss this and then resume our dancing. For those of you who are elsewhere for the winter or unable to attend, you can expect to receive an email recapping what was discussed at the meetings. These meetings will be held on both Wednesday and Thursday this week.
Still lots of dancing here at Capital Carousels as we embark on 2017 so don’t forget your dance shoes!

Capital Carousels Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart December/17/2016 08:55 PM

How nice it was to get together as a club on December 9th! Capital Carousels held our annual “In From The Cold” Christmas Dance and we had a bit of everything there! Feasting, Singing, Storytelling and yes….Dancing!! We began the evening with a vast array of food made by our members. Yes-potlucks are the very best!! Lots of main dishes to choose from as well as many types of desserts to satisfy the sweet tooth at the end of the meal. After dinner we heard different members stories of the holidays. Everything from a Redneck Christmas, the story of Christmas trees in Aruba and the meaning of Hannukah! After that, we had a very interesting version of the 12 Days of Christmas-complete with audience participation!! Yes, we did come for some dancing and we had plenty of it to end out the rest of the evening. We also had a lot of Christmas dances to keep the atmosphere festive!! Along with all the fun, we also were there for a special benefit for Parkdale’s “In From The Cold” program. As we know, Parkdale feeds about 200 less fortunate people in the Parkdale area and we are proud to announce we collected $620 for the cause! A very special thank you for our 29 attendees as without you, we would not have been able to reach this goal! Many thanks everyone!
Lastly, the night would not have been the same if it had not been for Pat and Jill Ivay and their amazing decorations-including some new ones they made. Thanks so much for making the hall so festive for us all. Also, thanks to Ziggy and Jenny who keep everything under control in the kitchen. They run it like a well oiled machine! Also thanks to all of you for your assistance with table and chair setup, food table setup and help with setting up decorations with the Ivays. Thanks to Gavin as well for his keeping track of donations for our special benefit. Last but not least, thanks to Pat Black for her involvement with the Christmas party as a whole! Pat was instrumental in moving our party to Friday night, the idea for the potluck and also the storytelling and singing!
Thanks to all of you who came out and at Capital Carousels we wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Enjoy your break and we will see you in January 2017!!

Christmas Dance This Coming Friday!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart December/04/2016 06:39 PM

Looks like Santa has got himself in a heap of trouble this year!! Too bad he has been so busy up at the North Pole or he could have participated in our dance sessions! Always an opportunity to get on the good side of the Big Guy! Sorry for your dilemma Santa!
This week is the final week of our Fall Session for 2016. Our Monday club is finished with its dance teaches this session and we will be enjoying an all dance session complete with Christmas dances and special Christmas treats! Very much looking forward to this one! Our Wednesday and Thursday clubs will be working on the West Coast Swing Dance, “You’re Something Special to Me”. As John and I have been mentioning, if you are the practicing type, please try and dance the dance and also practice some whip family figures if you’d like! Very good news this week as Lyn and Mike have already uploaded the West Coast Swing dance figures which John and I had done last Thursday and are now available on DropBox! If you need the DropBox link, you can go to the Links section at the top of the page here and in the dropdown menu, you will see Dance Video Sites. The DropBox link is found at the bottom of that page. We do hope you find them helpful and special thanks again to Lyn and Mike for all of their hard work on the videos and the DropBox site. I will still be running practice sessions to hash cues this week prior to the start of both Wed and Thurs clubs, so if you’d like some extra practice time, please feel free to join us.
Alrighty then! When the regular sessions are done this week, there is only one dance left for us this year—our “In From The Cold” Christmas Benefit Dance this coming FRIDAY NIGHT!! All of the festivities will be starting at 5:30PM for a Meet & Greet at Parkdale. Our Potluck Dinner will begin at 6PM so be sure to bring your favourite dish-either a main dish or dessert. Capital Carousels will be supplying the dinner rolls and butter so we are covered there. If you have not already signed up for food, you may do so this week. The list will be located at the registration desk. We will be allotting sometime around an hour for the meal as well as a Christmas song with group participation which Pat promises will be funny and memorable for everyone and I am sure it will be that. You are in for a real treat! Also if anyone has any Christmas or holiday memories they would like to share with the group (it doesn’t have to be too long), please let Pat know so she can fit your memories into the evening. After the meal and entertainment have taken place, the dancing will begin! Pat has put together a wonderful program for Friday night which includes not only dances we have learned so far this year, but also many Christmas dance to really get us in the spirit! Donna will be cueing some of your favourites so be prepared for lots of floor time this Friday night! As you know, our Christmas Party has not just been a time to come together as a club and enjoy and celebrate good times and good friends. We are also here on a more serious note and that is to help those in need this holiday season and beyond! Parkdale United Church has an “In From The Cold” Program in which they feed about 200 less fortunate in the Parkdale area per week. As a gesture of our thanks and goodwill to Parkdale, we allot our proceeds from our Christmas dance to go to the program. Capital Carousels covers the cost of the hall for the evening and Donna donates her services for the evening. All proceeds taken in at the door go directly to the program. We ask for a donation of $15/couple and any donations received for $20 or more will receive tax receipts. Christmas is a time of giving for many and any donations received will be happily accepted.
Won’t you come join us for this fun evening?? A night of many celebrations is in store this Friday evening. See you there!!

Capital Carousels “In From The Cold” Christmas Dance

Originally posted by Donna Stewart November/26/2016 07:58 PM

Isn’t it hard to believe we have only two weeks left in our fall session? We’ve had fun dancing and learning dances, celebrating our Anniversary and attending Capital Caper. Soon we will be having our Christmas Dance. A time for fun and fellowship with our dance friends.
Our Annual Christmas Dance benefitting Parkdale’s “In From The Cold” Program will be taking place this year on Friday, December 9 beginning at 5:30PM. We have a few new things planned this year. Not only the date has been switched to Friday night, we will also be starting the evening with a Potluck Dinner! Potlucks are always such a hit! Please bring your favourite dish and we know we will all have a wide variety of dishes to try. Not so new however is the fact that all money taken in at the door will be donated to Parkdale’s “In From The Cold Program”. This program feeds approximately 200 people a week, helping those in need. We ask for a donation of $15 per couple and for donations of $20 or more, tax receipts will be provided. After dinner, we will have all dancing and you can expect a few holidays dances will be on the program. Ziggy will be providing some more details in a separate email so stay tuned!

Please Note!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart November/26/2016 08:19 PM

Just a couple of quick notes. I had an email from Jerry Callen today that the location for the WOW Weekend 2017 has changed. It is located in another school in London as the school they normally use was unavailable. They have released new flyers for WOW Weekend and I have the newest flyer posted on the website now. I have also sent Arlo the newest flyer which he will be converting into paper form and available at the club. If you have an older flyer, please discard. Next year’s festival will be a really good one with Randy and Marie Preskitt as clinicians. They are excellent instructors and we have done several of their dances including Right Here Waiting For You, When You’re in Love With A Beautiful Woman, Beat Of Your Heart and Laurann to name some. Please consider attending what will be an excellent weekend of dance!
Secondly, John and I will continue to put the West Coast Swing hash cues on before the start of the regular session for those wanting a practice opportunity. This will take place on both Wednesday and Thursday. We do appreciate everyone’s interest and extra effort in learning this new rhythm. It can only help and you all are to be commended! See you next week!

West Coast Swingin’ at Capital Carousels

Originally posted by Donna Stewart November/18/2016 09:09 PM

In the past few weeks, we have been West Coast Swingin’ at Capital Carousels! Building on what we learned at Capital Caper with Steve and Irene Bradt, we are working from the ground up learning everything from good starting position in West Coast Swing, the families of figures in WCS-sugar, passing and whip families and lastly the figures themselves! With many of our members with little to no previous experience in this rhythm, we are all working with a learning curve for sure, but the swing is coming along nicely! It is nice to see so many of our dancers really working hard at our workshops! This past Thursday morning, after putting on some practice hash cues before our morning started, it was so nice to see many of our dancers taking the initiative and just getting up and using the practice time!! Bravo to you all! John and I were so impressed, we have decided to put these practice hash cues on prior to both our Wednesday and Thursday sessions. These are purely voluntary for anyone taking our WCS workshops, but it is an excellent opportunity to gain more practice time. We do have some ground to cover in the next few weeks to get through the workshop and dance that goes with it, so please consider taking the extra time provided. Speaking of time…if you are the type of person who practices away from the club, you are in luck as very little room is required! Remember, we dance in a slot with this rhythm and some floor space in your kitchen, hallway or living room would work just fine. You also have the video demo of the Bradt’s doing the dance on Lyn and Mike’s DropBox site for reference. Every little bit helps!
West Coast Swing is a rhythm which has been gaining momentum in the round dance world in the past 5-10 years and we are happy to be bringing it to Capital Carousels. We appreciate everyone’s initiative to try it and I promise once you feel more comfortable with the figures, you will definitely find your groove for West Coast Swing!!

A Couple Of Our Own Win A Big Honour!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart November/12/2016 08:06 PM

On October 30 at this year’s EOSARDA FallFest, a couple of our own were bestowed a great honour! Gavin and Pat Currie received the Trillium Award of Merit from the Ontario Square and Round Dance Federation for “exemplary service to the square and round dance community” in Eastern Ontario. Having served in many capacities, not only at the club(s) level, but also at the Association level for numerous years they have more than met the criteria for this award. Our own Pat Black presented Pat Currie with a lovely bouquet of flowers on behalf of Capital Carousels. Pat says she never felt she deserved any recognition for this as Gavin did it all, but beside Gavin stands a woman who has supported his endeavours for many years. Very deserving of recognition as well and she really was thrilled with the bouquet!
Our Gavin has held posts in various square and round dance clubs for many years balancing the books in many of these clubs. He has also been involved in EOSARDA with roles which include booking halls and leaders for dance events, working with Square Time delivery and again offering sound advice on financial issues involving the Association.
It felt a bit like a family affair with Pat presenting the bouquet on behalf of Capital Carousels, and also our own Peter Courdin and Karen Remy, representing the Ontario Square and Round Dance Federation, presenting the Trillium Award for Merit to Gavin.
Well done you two! We at Capital Carousels have always known the depth of dedication you have held for not only this club, but with every endeavour you are involved in with square and round dancing. A very hearty congratulations from all of us at Capital Carousels!

Another Capital Caper In The Books!

Originally posted by Donna Stewart November/06/2016 08:18 AM

Another Capital Caper is in the books and what a fun weekend we had!! It all started out with our Intro to West Coast Swing with the dance called “You’re Something Special To Me”. It was a good beginning dance as it has figures that repeat often which is what we need—and nice music as well! On Friday evening, we learned the phase 4 foxtrot, “Kiss To Build A Dream On” with once again, beautiful music and good reinforcements of figures. On Saturday morning, the vastly popular dance right now, “Right Here Waiting For You” was taught. It is a phase 5 rumba and this dance was a real crowd pleaser and beautiful to dance to. We ended off our teaching sessions on Saturday afternoon with a phase 4 mambo called “One More Tequila” which will be a very nice addition to any club’s mambo dance collection! Steve and Irene did a fabulous job on all the teaches and we had many positive responses regarding the dances taught. In between the Saturday morning and afternoon dance teaches we had a delicious lunch comprised of sandwiches, cheese, veggie and fruit platters. To satisfy our sweet tooth we also had some scrumptious squares, tarts and cookies of various types at our lunch meal and also provided with coffee breaks! Ian and Ann were scheduled to put out the lunch spread but due to unforeseen circumstances, Ian could not attend. Ann was good enough to come and help out irregardless and Brian and Ann stepped in to not only look after coffee for the weekend, but also for the lunch meal. Thank you Brian and Ann for your many contributions to Capital Carousels cause!
Our final night dance on Saturday night was a nice mix of dances and also dance demos and dance thru of the teaches. As Halloween was just around the corner, our Montreal dancers decided to come dressed for the occasion. Crazy bunch they were and a nice backdrop to our Halloween decorations. I will be posting pictures of Capital Caper in the near future, so be on the lookout!
Once again, we had members of our own Capital Carousels club in attendance, but also our loyal Capital Caper attendees from Montreal and also the southern Ontario region! We appreciate everyone’s support of Capital Caper and it would not have come together had it not been for the people in the picture. Gavin, for many years has been managing the registrations and money for the Capers and doing a fabulous job. Thank you Gavin! Pat has not only created and ran our newest Caper-Summer Caper, but has taken over the reigns in running our Capital Caper. Great job all around Pat not only your input of teaching selections and creating the dance program, but also keeping the strings tied around everything else involved. Thanks so much for your hard work. We couldn’t really do this weekend if it were not for Steve and Irene Bradt! We treasure having them with us to increase our dancing knowledge, cueing a wonderful night dance, but also just their longstanding friendship with this dance event. Thank you! Also a big thank you to Ian and Ann who although, not pictured, were involved in our Saturday lunch. We wish Ian a quick recovery and thank Ann for coming out to assist in any case. Again, a big thank you to Brian and Ann for running the weekend refreshments and also stepping in to help out with Saturday’s lunch! Also a big thank you to all of our Capital Carousel dancers and also our visitors to helping out with setup and takedown of tables and chairs and to Pat and Jill for our Halloween decorations.
Another fun year has gone by for Capital Caper and here’s looking forward to seeing you next year!