Capital Caper 2019 Wrap Up

Another very successful Capital Caper is in the history books. Unlike previous years there was an easier teach Friday night followed by dancing. We hope everybody liked this new format. The Saturday workshop included a delicious lunch, thanks to our Social Convenors Ziggy and Jenny. A big thank you to all who helped make this a successful event. Thanks also to our dancing friends who traveled from Montreal and Southern Ontario to attend and Steve & Irene for another excellent workshop.

If you want to see videos of Steve and Irene demoing each of the dances they are now on Dropbox. You can get to the videos here.  All of the dances are also featured in hi-resolution video on the “Glen & Helen” site here.  Please note that Glen & Helen’s website requires you log onto it. If you  don’t have authorization please email WebKeeper@capitalcarousels.ca and I’ll arrange to get you authorization.

Less than 2 weeks to Capital Caper!

If you haven’t registered for this excellent dance workshop there’s still time. Dance teaches will be a Ph4 Slow Two Step on Friday afternoon, a Ph3 Rumba Friday evening (followed by a dance), a Ph5 Foxtrot Saturday morning and finally a Ph4 Jive Saturday afternoon. A Ph3-5 dance will take place on Saturday night.
More information is available on this website. Go to “Capital Caper Weekend” in the top menu.
We hope to see you there!

April Update


Well spring is supposed to arrive any day now but I’m not holding my breath!

We are now into our Spring dance session which started Monday April 1st for the 3-5 group and Thurs. April 4th for the 3-4 group. The session will continue for 6 weeks for both groups, dance dates can be found under the “Club Calendar” menu on the website. For the Monday group please note there will be NO dancing on Apr.22 which is Easter Monday.

In other news the flyer and registration form for Capital Caper 2019 is now available. There is a section devoted to Capital Caper 2019 on the website under the “Capital Caper” heading. This years Caper will be held on Oct. 25th & 26th. It would be helpful to the organizers if you could get your completed registration form in as early as possible so they can get an idea on what attendance looks like. Past Capers have been well attended events with top notch instruction from clinicians Steve and Irene Bradt so don’t miss it.

“Swing Into Spring” is fast approaching. It is being held at South Grenville District High School, 1000 Edward Street North, Prescott, Ontario on May 3-5. The round dance program includes instruction at the phase 3 and 4 levels with dancing from easy rounds to phase 3 and 4 with a limited amount of phase 5 dances — as well as an “Introduction to Round Dancing” for those wishing to get started round dancing. The dance flyer can be seen at http://www.eodance.ca/flyers/190503SIS_Flyer.pdf

As always our regular dance programs are available on the club website several days ahead of the actual dance date so you have some time to do your homework on dances if you wish. Remember there are demos of numerous dances on our Dropbox site at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1cagnq30wix91y3/AAAXgiEtaP7syL7S3sE2MHQOa?dl=0

Enjoy!

Capital Caper 2018 Wrap-up

Another very successful Capital Caper was held this past weekend ( Oct 26 & 27 ).
Four dances were work-shopped by Steve and Irene Bradt; “In Times Like These”, a phase 4+2+2 West Coast Swing; “Life Is A Slow Dance”, a phase 4+2 Waltz; “Emotion”, a phase 5 Bolero and “Nostalgia”, a phase 4+2 Rumba.
Cue sheets for all these dances can be found on the club website’s Cuesheet page and demos of the dances performed by Steve and Irene at the Saturday evening dance are now on Dropbox at the link below.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/4blylyk5dewqqhj/AACNVd9Wh77C_v9xz0icUEi9a?dl=0

Thanks to all who worked so hard to make this event such a success. A special thanks to the out-of-town dancers who traveled considerable distances to attend and as always Steve and Irene Bradt for their excellent instruction.

Thursday dancers remember there is no dancing this week on Nov 1st.

Remember it’s Halloween this Wednesday night. Please be careful  when you’re trick-or-treating and don’t eat too much candy!

Capital Caper is just 3 weeks away.

We are just 3 weeks away from this years “Capital Caper” and if you’re planning to attend this excellent workshop given by Steve & Irene Bradt, please fill out your registration form and submit it ASAP to help with final planning for the event. More info and a registration form are available on this website; just click on “Capital Caper Weekend” found in the menu at the top of each page.

The club is approaching one month operating with it’s new pre-cued music format. Things seem to have gone pretty smoothly all-in-all. A few issues with music sound levels but work is being done which should resolve this problem.

Remember Monday dancers that there is no dancing this Thanksgiving Monday 8th October.

Wishing everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Another Capital Caper In The Books!

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!

Capital Carousels Ghostly Gala Etc.

Yes, it is that time of year again and believe it or not, Capital Carousels 4th Anniversary! Time sure has flown by! This dance is certainly one of the highlights of Capital Carousels dance season and it just seems to get better every year! Lots of people in costume with lots of shocked looks and laughter as well. Despite whatever we are wearing though, we all seem to be able to dance. It must be in our blood!! Get it! Hee Hee! We have a lot of fun and a bit more of a relaxed atmosphere with all dancing and no teaching sessions. We get a chance to give our brains a bit of a rest….for a few days anyway. Pat has included a few halloween themed dances for the program and a few creeping doors and blood curdling screams may be heard as well. It is Halloween after all! As we have in the past we will dance throughout the entire evening and have our Halloween treats at the end of the night. There will be prizes for best costume and also a share the wealth. Imagine, you could end up as best dressed and the wealthiest person in town by the time the Gala is over! Always a fun time and nice break from our regular routine. Please come and help us celebrate our club’s Anniversary. You’ll have a howling good time!
In years past, our Thursday dance has not taken place due to other church activities, but this year we will be dancing on Oct 27-day after the Ghostly Gala, but we will not be dancing the following Thursday-Nov 3. Please take note, Thursday dancers!
Where the Ghostly Gala is, Capital Caper cannot be far behind. It will begin this Friday afternoon with the first of 4 teaches from the ever popular Steve and Irene Bradt! Lots of variety in rhythms this year and a nice chance to catch up and visit with our out-of-town guests! Looking forward to a great weekend with lots of great new learning opportunities, fun dancing and time with our dance friends! Life is good!
The dancing will be continuing on Sunday afternoon with the rebirth of EOSARDA’s Fall Fest! Bob Summers (Basic and Mainstream) and Andy Himberg-Larsen (Plus and A1) will be on squares and your cuer, Donna Stewart will be on rounds in between Andy’s square dance tips in the Plus-A1 Hall. A very special presentation will close out our very busy week of dance at Fall Fest when our own Gavin Currie will be receiving the Trillium Award for many years of dedicated service in square and round dancing! Looking forward to seeing many of our gang there as we cheer Gavin on!
Rest while you can gang and pace yourselves. This week we will be dancing at a feverish pace. I’ll be seeing you on the dance floor!

Capital Caper Coming Up!

Just 2 more weekends until Capital Caper! Steve and Irene Bradt will be returning to our Nation’s Capital with an interesting mix of dance rhythms to teach this year! We will be starting on Friday afternoon with an Intro to West Coast Swing! This will be an excellent opportunity to learn a new rhythm where everyone in our club is basically on the same playing field! No experience necessary for this session. We hope you will join us. In the evening, there will be a lovely phase 4 foxtrot presented which we think all will enjoy. On Saturday morning, a very popular phase 5 rumba will be taught which will be a wonderful addition to our dance experience. Based on what many round dancers worldwide are saying, we think you will like this one! On Saturday afternoon, Steve and Irene will be finishing off the teaching adding a phase 4 mambo! As we have a very limited amount of mambos in our dance portfolio, this will definitely be a welcome dance to our mambo selection! Capital Caper, as always, will be topped off with a night dance on Saturday night where Steve will be cueing all evening. Remember, not only does this weekend provide us with new dances to learn and a night of dancing on Saturday night, it also provides us a wonderful weekend to reacquaint ourselves with friends who visit us from outside our area. We also are treated to a wonderful lunch on Saturday where we get a chance to sit down and catch up on things.
Both Summer Caper and Capital Caper are Capital Carousels chance to provide enhanced learning experiences not only to our own dancers, but also to those who visit us from other areas. To host these events requires many helping hands and support from dancers to continue. If you have already registered, thank you for your support. If you have not, it is not too late. Pat Black will be accepting registrations at our club dances for the next couple of weeks. Please consider registering and helping us to continue to offer these dances weekends for the years to come. Thank you!

What’s Happening

Now that the website is working more in our favour, it’s time to get back to our communication blog here on the information superhighway! October is just a day away and we’ve already had a full teach in each of our clubs and working on the 2nd one. Monday’s have been off to a good start with a nice phase 5 waltz which has been helping us brush up on some figures. We have been learning this season with Curt and Tammy Worlock’s Instructional Videos and everyone seems to be enjoying that form of learning as well as the dance programs! Our Wednesday and Thursday clubs have been learning some dances that were taught at Summer Caper by Wayne and Barbara Blackford and are “jiving” their way along on the 2nd teach at both clubs, “Cat Daddy”. With all of the club’s do diligence, unfortunately we were unable to sustain a new set of beginner lessons. Special thanks to Doug and Susan Connors as instructors, as well as Pat Black and other members of the Capital Carousels Executive for their work to publicize round dancing to area groups and in an online presence. Perhaps we will find the magic potion to recruit dancers in the future.
Speaking of magic potions…..Capital Carousels Ghostly Gala will be held on Wednesday, October 26! What creative costumes will be in store for us this year?? You have a little less than a month to think up a costume for our Gala. This will be our 4th Anniversary Ghostly Gala. We’ve had some very inventive costumes in the past and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for this year. Remember, this event is not a part of our scheduled session. Cost is $16/couple and $8/person. It is an all dancing and no teach night. Share The Wealth, Best Costume Prizes, Ghoulish delights and some delicious potions to go along with it at the end of the evening. Don’t miss out!
Following the Ghostly Gala will be Capital Carousels own, Capital Caper Weekend featuring Steve and Irene Bradt! This will take place on Oct 28+29 and will feature 4 teaches-an introduction to West Coast Swing teach on Friday afternoon, Friday evening will be a phase 4 foxtrot, Saturday morning will be a phase 5 rumba and Saturday afternoon will be a phase 4 mambo! Saturday evening will be a dance to top off the whole weekend with Steve cueing the entire evening! We look forward to adding a new rhythm to our portfolio at Capital Carousels and another mambo will also be a great addition. We all know that rumbas and foxtrots are such mainstays in our activity! We are glad for more of those as well. Lunch is included as well and has been a big hit addition to our Capital Caper Weekends. Please register soon. You can download a registration form from our website here and provide payment at the club or by mail. Couldn’t be easier! Looking forward to a fabulous Caper! See you there!
The dancing is not over yet however. On Sunday, Oct 30 from 2-4:30PM, you can attend EOSARDA’s Fall Fest being held at St. Matthew High School in Orleans. There will be 2 square dance halls-Basic/Mainstream and Plus/A1/Rounds. The Rounds in the Plus and A1 Hall will be phase 2-4 and your cuer, Donna Stewart will be cueing that afternoon. Also….a little bird has told us that Gavin and Pat Currie are in for some kind of surprise that afternoon….! I know you will not want to miss out on that!
I know the last full week of October will be a full one with lots of dancing! It’ll be great seeing our friends, learning lots and enjoying each other’s company. There will be more ahead through the end of the year including our “In From The Cold” Christmas Dance which this year will be held on Friday, December 9! This will allow more of our members to attend and enjoy the holidays. This year will include a potluck dinner before the evening dance! Bring your favourite Christmas dish and we will enjoy our Christmas meal with our dancing family followed by a night of dancing. Also please remember that ALL proceeds collected at the door that evening will be donated to Parkdale’s “In From The Cold” Program which serves meals to around 200 people in need. Such a worthy cause to support a church that has supported us for many years. More details to come on this so stay tuned….Till next time, signing off!

Website Back Up!

Error Code 404, 505, 303, whatever….I guess the list goes on. The website is not quite what it was, but I seem to have “maneuvered” my way around it to make our programs and cuesheets show up again!! Hurray!! There is a kicker though. The “Dance Season” link above no longer has a drop down list to other pages such as “programs” and “cuesheets”. You have to press on the “Dance Season” link above and it’ll take you to that page. At the top left hand side of the page, you will notice a “Links” list and you can find the programs and cuesheets there. Just press on those links. An extra step, but I’m sure we will all figure it out.
So this week, you will be able to get your programs and cuesheets by going through the “Dance Season” link at the top of this page. I have also added the Fall Fest Flyer to the website under the Coming Events link. You should be able to print out all of these items as you had before.
Speaking of Coming Events, our Ghostly Gala-Capital Carousels 4th Anniversary Dance will be held on Wednesday, October 26. As you know, costumes are always welcome, some ghoulish delights will be available for our treats and of course, we will have non-stop dancing all evening with Donna’s ghostly cueing. This is always a fun event for all of us, so start working on those costumes! A couple of days after that, Steve and Irene Bradt will be back with us for another Capital Caper Weekend-Oct 28+29! Teaches on Friday afternoon and evening, Saturday morning and afternoon followed by an evening dance. Lots of learning and dance fun ahead! If by then you are just on dance automatic pilot, perhaps you might like to attend EOSARDA’s FallFest 2016 being held on Sunday, October 30 from 2:00-4:30PM at St. Matthew High School in Orleans! There will be a Basic/Mainstream Hall and a Plus/A1 hall with Round dance tips in-between. Bob Summers and Andy Himberg-Larsen on Squares and your cuer, Donna Stewart on Rounds.
Sounds like a rather full week of dancing coming up Oct 24-30th! Hope to see you all there!