[Squaredancing] Anyone at the NSDC in Louisville?

[Dave]

I'll try to give you a short rundown.  The final count on registration was
around 6300.  Up from last year, but not the 7000 they were hoping for.  All
in all, I think it was a good and fun convention - at least for me.  The
sound in all the halls I danced in was good.  I usually dance down front,
but I didn't hear of any issues from those further back in the halls.  The
flooring was concrete in most halls.  The carpeted halls all have composite
flooring.  Ron Holland has some newer plastic that is smoother, and dance
better, than his old floors.  The phase V & VI rounds were in a tile floored
hall.  It was hot, but since it was above average temps outside, I think it
was the best they anyone could hope for.  I didn't eat from the food service
people, but I didn't hear any really bad comments.  It was just plain
cafeteria style food, plus the usual fast food vendors.  The vendors were
expensive, but I think the buffet was priced OK at $12.95.  

No fashion police that I heard of.  I saw a lot of outfits that might have
been tossed in previous years, especially in the afternoons.  The heat may
have made the committee more lenient.  

I didn't attend the competition, but I happened to talk with the winner
while waiting on the shuttle.  He won with a "pickup" square, all people
that he met at the convention.  To me, that validates the idea of the
competition.  It's not a group that practiced with each other.  

Transportation for me was excellent, but I was using the hotel shuttle.  The
Crowne Plaza ran a non-stop shuttle all day and all night, as long as there
were dancers to ride it.  It also dropped some people at the adjoining
hotels.  I saw the shuttles from all the other adjacent hotels running a
lot, too.  Of course the drivers loved the tips!  I can't speak to the
official bus routes, but saw 3 of them lined up when I left the Expo Center
at 11:45.  

Little Rock, Arkansas, won the bid for 2014, and the Peabody hotel is the
headquarters!  I'm not sure if there were any other bids.  A few years ago
Single Square Dancers USA talked to Little Rock about hosting the 2007
Single's Dance-A-Rama.  Little Rock itself didn't offer any support, but
North Little Rock did.  After they'd signed a contract with a hotel in North
Little Rock, the Convention and Visitor's bureau in Little Rock changed
their mind and wanted SSDUSA to reconsider.  They didn't and had a great
dance.  I can't help but wonder if somehow that greased some wheels in
Little Rock for the National.  I think there's a couple people on the
committee that also worked on the SSDUSA DAR committee, and I'm sure Little
Rock saw how much of a financial impact just 650 dancers had on both cities.


There a good YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJgpTpXeabw
There's at least a couple younger dancers in it.  I think it really shows
the fun and modern music.  Deborah Carroll-Jonesl and Jon Jones singing
"Who's Your Daddy" to the Ghost Rider's band.  

Hope to see more of you in Detroit!

Dave Hinde
--------------------------------------------------------------------
dave at daveswebplace.net
http://www.evadsti.net


-----Original Message-----
From: squaredancing-bounces at rbnsn.com
[mailto:squaredancing-bounces at rbnsn.com] On Behalf Of Ken Robinson
Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2010 6:36 PM
To: squaredancing at rbnsn.com
Subject: [Squaredancing] Anyone at the NSDC in Louisville?

Hi,

I didn't make it to the convention this year due to lack of 
employment. Maybe we can wake up this list with some first hand 
reports on how the convention is doing.

Sound in the halls? Flooring? Dress code enforcement or lack there 
of? Hall location? Temperature of the halls (it's quite hot in 
Louisville this week)? Transportation? Food services? Who's bidding 
for the 2014 convention & who won the bid -- go to the bid session on 
Friday morning. How well did the competition work on Saturday? Anything
else.

Let's try not to make this into a flame-fest on the dress code... :-)

BTW, here's a good article from a local radio station on the opening: 
http://www.wfpl.org/2010/06/24/national-square-dance-convention-opens-in-lou
isville/ 
-- notice the picture -- it shows young dancers!

It looks like the registration people are keeping the registration 
numbers up to date on the web site. As of a few minutes ago they are 
up to 6179 -- more than last year & the year before. You can get the 
numbers at either 
http://www.59thnsdc.com/program/report/rpt_cnt_regbystate.asp?pagetitle=Regi
stration 
(official site) or http://rbnsn.com/nsdc/geo_reg.php (my site showing 
the number on a map).

Ken Robinson
Hillsborough, NJ


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