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The afternoon passed so quickly, a group from Houston invited me along for a nice dinner and we were back at
7PM for the Pre Jam Dance Party. Various instructors gave a quick one wall walk through of the dances before the music started and most had a split floor beginner dance walked through also. I'm sure it took quite a bit of work to organize the split floor list...how wonderful to make sure all levels could stay on the floor for most of the evening!
We left at 9PM and headed for downtown Austin and a country bar, The Rusty Spur. The bar has only been open about 2 months. After getting a little lost, we arrived as Aldo was teaching "Bayou City Twister". I taught this dance about 10 years ago and it was great to meet the choreographer and dance it with him. He was so friendly and I had a blast trying to remember dances I hadn't done in years, including My Maria and Walk the Line.
What a wonderful event! We arrived at the exposition center in Austin right before 3PM on Friday for the special afternoon dance party. Registration was quick and we soon had our packets, which included not only the event information and playlists, but also an Austin map, local information, a "Don't Miss with Texas" sticker, and Austin lapel pin. Name badges were worn by everyone( I might remember how your feet move, but never your name..this sure helped me!). Everyone was given a special gift upon arrival, a straw cowboy hat with a beaded band.
Two days of fun
with all your
dance
friends!
The DJ kept the music
playing and the
dance floor full.........
We got back to our hotel and finally relaxed at about 1AM...we were at the Embassy Suites and it was gorgeous! Glass elevators, water features in the main lobby with koi, beautiful plants, happy hour with free drinks for the guests, and Sat. morning the complimentary breakfast had everything (you could even have omelets and eggs made to order). After getting too full, we headed back to the expo center for the Sat. Jam. There were over 400 dancers attending and so many little touches to make it a special event. Free bottled water, free soft drinks, a box lunch with sandwich on a croissant roll, chips, fruit cup, cookie and drink. (Lunch was so well organized that the lines never stopped moving and everyone was eating in no time), an afternoon snack of various cookies, lemon bars and drinks, and of course dancing, dancing, and more dancing! Walk throughs were done throughout the day...really helped everyone remember the various dances.
Special thanks to Joan for all her hard work and including me for the weekend.....
To Elsa and Leroy for the ride, sharing your room with me, and so much more....you are such special people!
To all the Houston dancers for pulling me into the pics and including me as one of your group...you've offered not only invitations to classes but even to pick me up at my hotel, and have already included me to walk through a dance next Sat at your monthly social dance.......what a great group!
And a BIG thanks to all the friendly Texas dancers who made me feel right at home.
I just might have to find my way back here next year. I hope you do too!
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Vending Corner
2008 Jamboree Instructors
Elsa and Leroy
Lisa leading Jamboree Polka
on the floor
Event
Director
Joan Cox
Collecting surveys for the 2009 Jamboree....your opinion counts.
Crank It Up....and Dance!!!
Mae grabbing a quick drink between dances
