End of Season “Officially” Here!

Well, it is officially “a wrap” for Capital Carousels 2015-2016 season. We closed out our season last Wednesday evening with a Black and White Ball. I guess you would never have guessed that from the picture! Thanks to all who came out and enjoyed a full evening of dancing and then some! Pat included many of the dances we learned this year and Donna even added a few in between tips for those who cared to dance. Jenny and Ziggy outdid themselves with our Ice Cream Bar at the end of the evening. A nice treat indeed to end the evening! Our Annual General Meeting also occurred about midpoint where a few changes were approved for our Bylaws and where our Executive was decided upon for the coming season 2016-2017. The following will be a part of your Executive for next year:

Ziggy Segstro-President
Vice President-Vacant
Secretary-Arlo Speer
Treasurer-Gavin Currie
Programmer-Pat Black
Webmaster-Donna Stewart
Member At Large-Pat and Jill Ivay
Member At Large-Charlie Stuart
Social Convenor-Vacant

Ian and Ann Webb have agreed to do refreshments for Wednesday’s group and Brian and Ann Gibbs have agreed to continue to run refreshments for Thursdays group. Ian and Ann have also agreed to cover refreshments and lunch for Summer Caper. Those responsibilities have yet to be determined for Capital Caper. Please consider helping us out and thanks to the Webbs and Gibbs for their contributions!
As you may notice, there are 4 lovely hanging planters in our picture. These were not just there for ambience or decoration, but were provided by the dancers for 4 entities in the club which are believed to go above and beyond the “call of duty” for the club. Those happy recipients were Ziggy and Jenny, Pat Black, John Mowle and Donna Stewart. I am sure I speak on behalf of all of these worthy people, and thank you all for the lovely flowers. I know we were all “tickled” to receive them!
We had a few paparazzi about again at our Black and White Ball! I would personally like to thank Ziggy, Pat Ivay and Charlie Stuart for helping me out with the photos for this event as well as our special event the previous week with JL and Linda Pelton! Pictures really do sometimes say more than words and add so much more interest to our website. I could not do it without you guys! Thank you! Speaking of pictures…the ones from JL and Linda’s visit are now in our photo gallery on our website here, including a few contributed by JL and Linda themselves. Thanks for the memories! I am still awaiting another source of pictures from our Black and White Ball. When they come in and are posted on the website, I will let you know.
As we go on a bit of a “hiatus” this summer, our website updates will not be of the weekly variety, but more of “on a need to know” basis. As per usual, I will let you know of any updates occurring. We will be having a club executive meeting fairly soon to talk about our upcoming season, lessons and the future of 4-6 dancing in our club and other things I am sure. We shall keep you notified via our website updates so check your email periodically this summer! Ha! Ha!
Enjoy your summer everyone! I know some of us will be doing some dancing in one way or another and I hope we will have a chance to meet up some this summer! Enjoy your summer, whatever you are doing!

Capital Carousels Welcomes JL and Linda Pelton

Although our dance season ended on the 4th and 5th, Capital Carousels continued dancing this week with a very special dance event featuring JL and Linda Pelton from Dallas, Texas! Combined with a vacation to our Nation’s Capital, JL and Linda added a stop to Capital Carousels on both Wednesday night and Thursday morning, teaching “Jumptown Jive” on Wednesday night and “Island Rumba” on Thursday morning. Both of these dances are choreographies of the Peltons. “Jumptown Jive” was actually originally taught at ICBDA in Greensboro last summer and “Island Rumba” was their first choreographed dance! Along with the teaches, Pat also put together a great dance program for both days which Donna cued, giving JL and Linda a chance to enjoy themselves a bit and dance. Also something special for this event was our potluck lunch after Thursday’s dance! What a wonderful bunch of cooks we have in our midst here at Capital Carousels! Thanks for your contributions gang! If you left the hall hungry, I’ll never understand it! Special thanks to Ziggy and Jenny, Brian and Ann for handling the refreshments over the couple of days and working the kitchen for the potluck. Also to those who pitched in helping with the food and tables. Thanks for the Welcome sign, Pat and Jill! Nice touch!
I have heard many positive comments from you all about the dances taught, the Pelton’s teaching style and how much fun they put into it. They also really enjoyed meeting everyone and getting to know some of you if only for a little while. They will remember the “hoss” vs “horse” story for a LONG TIME, that is for sure!!
These newly taught dances will definitely be in our dancing future! They will be on this coming Wednesday night at our Black and White Ball, Donna’s Summer Dances and in our dance seasons to come. A full compliment of pictures from both days will be added to our Photo Gallery section of our website here when I have received the pictures from our hard working paparazzi-Ziggy, Patrick and Charlie. You guys were the greatest! Thanks for the teaches and memories JL and Linda! We have sure enjoyed having you here!

Happy Mother’s Day Etc…

Our 2015-2016 dance season has concluded……well…..almost!! We have 2 more weeks of dancing with Capital Carousels this spring. This coming week is our long anticipated week with JL and Linda Pelton! JL and Linda are cuer/instructors from Dallas, Texas and in conjunction with a vacation they have been planning to our area, they will also be spending part of it with us at our dance club! We are fortunate to have them teach a couple of dances for us, and we will also remember they are in “vacation mode” and allow them a chance to dance as well. Donna will cue the regular dance program both days. We invite both our Wednesday and Thursday dancers to attend both days (Wed-7-9:30PM and Thurs 10-12PM) for the low cost of $5/person for both days! Please remember after Thursday’s session, we will have a wonderful spring potluck at the church! We will all look forward to some scrumptious potluck dishes from our infamous cooks at Capital Carousels and also a chance to socialize after our two days of dancing. I can’t wait! Please remember to wear your name badges to our Wednesday and Thursday sessions. I realize we all know each other, but it’ll be helpful to JL and Linda as they are new in town. It should be a great couple of days on the dance floor this week!
The following week will be our final dance, “The Black and White Ball”. Please come dressed in something black, white or both. It will be all dancing and no teaches with, I believe, all of the dances we have learned this year including a couple of others. We will also be having a short annual meeting including the election of some new officers for the upcoming year. We need you! Please consider putting your hat in the ring for those positions which will be “up for grabs” this year. To finish off the night, Capital Carousels will be providing the refreshments. Cost will be $5/person or $10/couple. Sounds like a fun night! The paparazzi will be out the next couple of weeks, so please smile for the cameras and sign autographs as needed! Ha! Ha!
It’s been a great season gang!! Thanks for supporting Capital Carousels throughout the year! We couldn’t do it without your loyalty and support! As a thank you from Capital Carousels, we are providing these “windup” events at a reduced price with a lot of bang for your buck! We look forward to seeing you in the next few weeks yet!
And lastly…….Happy Mother’s Day to all of our Moms out there! You are a treasure to us all!

Last Week of Our Regular Season

Our 2015-2016 dance season is almost over! We have one more week of regular sessions at both our Wednesday and Thursday clubs. On Wednesday, we will be finishing with “Pink Panther”, a foxtrot/jive combo choreographed by our own John Mowle. On Thursday, Donna will be continuing her bolero clinic with continued emphasis on rise and fall and a new figure for a new dance which should be a “cue and do” for our Thursday crew.
Beyond this week, we will still have 2 more weeks of dancing with JL and Linda Pelton, cuer/instructors from Dallas, Texas coming in on May 11 and 12 for teaches on both days! The teaches have been chosen as something which can be done at both clubs. Everyone is invited and encouraged to attend both days. At $5/person for both days, what is not to like! Remember, after Thursdays session, we will be having a group potluck lunch. Sign up to bring your special potluck creation. What a great way to end out those two days! We look forward to JL and Linda’s arrival to our beautiful city and also to join us at our club. This type of opportunity is a rarity, so please take advantage of it!
Our Black and White Ball will be on Wednesday, May 18 which is the official last dance of our dance season. All dancing and no teaches. Come and mark the occasion in your top hat and tails men, or your little black dress ladies. Something black and white at any rate. We will dance, socialize, enjoy refreshments and have a very short business meeting to clear up year end loose ends.
There is still more dancing in the works for these next 3 weeks. We hope you can make it out!

Just Around The Corner

Yes, we have a few events which are just around the corner indeed! Coming up first will occur a week from this coming Monday in fact-Monday, April 11! Our 4-6 Interest Group learning some popular international dances being done worldwide through the Hurd’s Instructional Library! We will be learning a dance via video instruction with George and Pam Hurd. This will be shown via a large wall mounted TV in a room large enough for dancing. We will start with some warmup rounds and then run the video, starting and stopping it as we go to practice. The Hurd’s will be demonstrating the entire dance and walking us through the dance in sections as well with good demonstration of the figures. We will also have a break time and some dancing to finish off the program. We will be starting with a 4+2 Rumba which I think you will enjoy. It is a new concept for us, but we will not know how it will work if we don’t try it out! If you feel fairly comfortable dancing at our Wednesday club this might be something you might like to try out! We hope to see you there. Check out our Coming Events section on our website here for the flyer.
Come the end of April, Swing Into Spring will be on the agenda in Prescott! Square and round dancing will be featured with separate halls for both. David Goss and Ulla Figwer will be back with some more excellent dances to teach us! Get your registration in and specify your dance levels you would prefer. All that’ll be left is the dancing! Check out our Coming Events section for the registration form if you still need it!
Our Spring Session is just 4 weeks in length this spring. It will run from the week of Apr 13+14 to May 4+5. On May 11+12 we have a special treat with JL and Linda Pelton, cuer/instructor couple from Dallas, Texas coming to spend a couple of days with us at our clubs. They will be teaching a dance on both days and both of these dances will be able to danced at both clubs. We encourage our dancers to come out to both days, meet JL and Linda and learn some new dances! We will also be having a potluck lunch on Thursday immediately after our dance day at Parkdale. Please bring your favourite potluck dish and let’s enjoy a lovely lunch together! Best news is, although this is not a part of our regular session, it is actually cheaper! We ask for $5 per person for both days! What’s not to like!
And lastly, our 2015-2016 Dance Season closes on Wednesday, May 18 with our final dance of the season-open to both our Wednesday and Thursday club members. All dancing and a short meeting in between. More talk of this dance to come!
As you can see, we have lots still to come in our season. Please check the front stage area for flyers of upcoming events. We have lots that will be happening after our dance season ends even. Keep your dance shoes handy! You will be needing them!

Dancing-Go Figure!

Valentine’s Day is but a sweet memory and it is back to business at Capital Carousels. We have been learning plenty of dances these past few years. For a change of pace, we are in the midst of looking at specific figures and all requested from the club members. We had spent about 3 weeks on foxtrot and this past week we started on some rumba figures! It is always a good thing to take a step back every once in awhile and revisit how some of these figures are done. Not only does it take some of the hiccoughs out of some dances, but we can actually dance better as a result. It is not a see one-do one-teach one activity. It takes practice and that is what these series of figures clinics is all about!
Just a reminder to you about a big event happening right here at Capital Carousels May 11 and 12th! JL and Linda Pelton, Round Dance Cuer and Instructors from Dallas, Texas will be with us to give us the benefit of their expertise with 2 teaches-one on each day! These teaches may be slightly longer than our typical format, but we will have warmup rounds and dances after the teach as time permits by our own cuer, Donna. Our guests are on vacation after all, and we would like to also give them an opportunity to dance and socialize and make some new friends “north of the border”. After the dance session is over on Thursday, May 12, we will all have a chance to enjoy a delicious potluck lunch. We all enjoy food, and we know we have fabulous cooks in our midst at Capital Carousels, so get your favourite recipe and let’s all enjoy a wonderful lunch and what I suspect will be a great way to wind up our special event with JL and Linda. This is a special event and will not be a part of our regular spring session. However, as a thank you to all of our Capital Carousel club members for your continued loyalty and support, the price will be just $5/person or $10/couple and that includes BOTH days. If you choose to attend just one day, the price remains the same so make the most of it and plan to attend both days. There will be a phase 3 and a phase 4 dance taught during the Pelton’s visit so definitely something for both our Wednesday and Thursday groups. If you would like a flyer, there is one posted in our Coming Events page, which you will be able to download as you wish. I will also have some copies at our regular dance sessions.
Beyond this event, there are plenty of dances listed on our Coming Events page. Lots of dances to put all of these figures clinics to good use. Practice those figures. Your dancing will be better for it!

Special Event This Spring!

Original Post by Donna Stewart January/25/2016 07:33 PM

Our 2015-2016 dance season will finish on a real high note this year! We are thrilled to announce that JL and Linda Pelton, round dance cuer/instructors and choreographers from Dallas, Texas will be with us, May 11 and 12!! With this special event, JL and Linda will be teaching two dances (one on Wednesday night and one on Thursday morning) which will be open for all of our Capital Carousel dancers on both days. This week, not included in our regular spring session fee, will be offered at a VERY special price of $5/person or $10/couple which will include BOTH DAYS! If you choose to attend just one day, it will be the same cost. Excellent value for an amazing experience! You won’t want to miss out on this great opportunity!
JL and Linda’s story starts when they met at a square dance convention in 2004. They continued to dance together at both square and round dance events, even having a square and round dance reception at their wedding in 2007! JL began cueing in 2008 and their lives continue to grow through their love of round dancing! You can read their full story through this biography link.
We are very pleased that the Peltons’ will be combining some sightseeing and some dance experiences at Capital Carousels while they are here! We will keep you posted through our blog here and our club day announcements for details as they are released. Looking forward to your visit JL and Linda!

UPDATE!!
Thursday, May 12 will be our last day of teaches this season. Typically on our last dance day on Thursday, we have a luncheon afterward. Expecting a higher attendance this last day from both our Wednesday and Thursday dancers, we will be having a potluck at the church immediately following our dance day! What’s not to like? We don’t have far to travel for lunch and we get to sample many excellent dishes brought by our group members. We also get this special time together as a club and with our special guests, JL and Linda. This last week of dancing this season just gets better and better! Stay tuned!