Desert City Swing is a weekend long West Coast Swing event, all day workshops and then competing and dancing all evening and night. Tim, Freddy, Daniel and Susanna participated along with their cousins, Lilli, Heidi and Gwen, and friends, Branden Strong and James, Thane and Sam Buhanan. Pat and George, their teachers, are wonderful!
Their dance teacher, Pat, made it clear to them that they were not to dance with each other very much, but to get out there and dance with all the great dancers so they could learn from them. Susanna was so nervous about asking grown men to dance. After the workshop with Benji Schwimmer, she decided she wanted to ask him to dance. She was still quite intimidated because he was surrounded by grown women asking for dance advice. She hemmed and hawed for a bit and then I told her I would give her $5 if she did it. It was just enough encouragement. She found a break in the conversation and asked him. He was so sweet with her! It was her first dance of the weekend and being so star-struck she pretty much forgot how to dance, but he was great with her. Afterward, she was on fire and asked stranger after stranger to dance. That night she counted 17 dances with people she didn't know. They were all so patient and kind with her being a beginner.
Here's the video of her dancing with Benji.
My pictures aren't amazing but you can get the gist of the weekend
.
Tim and Heidi in the background, Daniel in the center and Freddy on the right.
Freddy
The guys, or rather leaders, for the first heat of the Junior's Jack and Jill competition. In Jack and Jill partners are selected randomly and you dance with 3 different partners to 3 different songs for both preliminaries and semifinals. Finals you have a random partner, but you keep them for all 3 songs. It keeps you on your toes and shows how well you can dance with anyone in an impromptu dance.
Tim is behind the announcer, then to the right is Freddy, then Branden and the three on the far right are Sam, Thane and James Buhanan.
Daniel on the far left, then Tim and then Susie just right of center.
Daniel and Susanna taking a spin together, with our friends Hannah and Ben Meyer hamming it up behind them.
Freddy center and Tim on the right
Tim
Junior's Preliminaries Heat 1
With some of the girls after the heat 1 Junio'rs Preliminaries
Lilli and her partner on the left, then Tim and his partner, then Freddy and Heidi, then Branden.
The 2nd heat of Juniors Preliminaries,
Some of the boys danced again since there are more girls than guys.
Daniel is in the rust colored pants in the center, then Branden. Freddy and Susie are on the far right.
Daniel
Junior's Finals
Tim and his partner Brynn doing the Charleston in the middle, then to the right Lilli and Freddy, then Bella and Daniel.
Zannazoo dancing the night away with her new dance boots!
Tori did some social dancing too!
Tim and his partner Brynn got Third Place in Juniors!
Tim also made it into the finals for the Novice division which is mostly adults! Only 15 of the 70 some people competing made it to the Finals, so Tim was really pleased.
Here are some his dances for Novice.
In this one he is in the middle with a girl in a white shirt.
Tim, again in the middle with a different girl in a white shirt
With a girl in a red shirt
And with a girl in burgundy
Pat and George with their kids!
Tim got a plaque and $65 check for getting 3rd in Juniors.
Pat and George were so proud of Tim that they got him some fancy dance shoes!
They were all exhausted by the end of the weekend, but they loved every minute!!!
I was so proud of all of them for giving it their all and being fearless.
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