[Squaredancing] Discussion on the National in Charlotte

[Heinz D. Trost]

Ken et al,


thank you for your report about the 56th Nationals.

My report:

When I arrived at the airport it was nice to find a table who offered 
transportation information to the 56th.
Also a good thing was that the airport bus to Uptown was


Again the required dress code led to problems and closed a lot of 
dancers out. They required "proper" square dance attire, but forced 
dancers to wear "Traditional" attire or leave.

They should accept the definitions for the three attire styles Callerlab 
have recommended. Better they should use some more liberal like e.g. 
they do recommend dance attire for the dances in the evenings... (and 
nor require neither Proper nor Traditional all day).

The International hospitality room was on ground floor, easy to find 
from the International attendees like me. And it was the only place I 
found where was a water dispenser with purified water. (Almost all water 
dispensers in the halls only contain water from the tap whic doesn't 
taste well).

Vendors area was smaller than ever.
Dance halls:
Plus with rounds was attended real well.
Plus was attendes well, too.
Mainstream with the live band was overcrowded in the evenings and the 
sound was to noisy for my poor ears.
There was a small hall for Line dancing, one for clogging
  and one for Contra.

Mainstream with rounds were pretty well attended.
A1 was in a smaller room with often 4-6 squares
A2 was in a larger room for up to 30 squares. A2 room was the 2nd best 
attended hall at the Nationals (except the live band).
C1-2-3 was in one small room, usually had up to 4 squares.

Round dance halls were most time full of dancers.

Mainstream with live band was too loud.

Seminars an panels were interesting. Sadly the foldable wall which 
separated room -A from room -B doesn't insolate that much from sound 
from the room beside.

Heinz