My house now feels very quiet!! My guests have all left!!   What a wonderful time we had with them.   From the CN Tower to Niagara Falls they were the most enthusiastic tourists you could ever wish to have visit!

But too soon Saturday morning arrived and I left my husband Michael to make a big breakfast for the guys and bring them along to the Hall. We had the biggest crowd ever this year and there were 280 dancers on the dance floor.

Thanks so much to Donna Marino and Chris Harris for handling the check-in so patiently and efficiently with help from Amina Odabashian, all of whom also worked non-stop helping out during the day. Also to all my other friends who came early in the morning to help set up and worked tirelessly the whole day making sure there was plenty of cold water, tea and coffee always available for the dancers …. Caroline Smardenkas who made those wonderful flowers you will see in the photos, Geri Amyot, Sharlene, Lorraine Cobden, Dale McNeil who also made the Raffle Gift Baskets, Brenda Colclough and to Cynthia Skublak who was everywhere! And to everyone else who lent a hand whenever it was needed.

And, of course, to our wonderful guests, Roy Verdonk and Guillaume Richard. They did the most amazing job, what talented guys they are and hilarious at the same time, we all laughed so much that I know my sides ached!! It was such a honour to have them with us. They did not stop moving from beginning to end. When they weren’t teaching they were dancing with everyone or chatting and socializing. They taught a terrific mix of dances as follows:

Roy: Sepanjang Jalen, The Ghost of You, Clown
Guillaume: Bollywood, Honest, Run Me Like A River

Event Dance written by Roy, Guillaume, Fred and myself.  Click on title for Step Sheet and Videos:
Numero Una

Roy’s dances filled the floor, in particular ‘Blue Ain’t Your Color’ and ‘Take Me To The River’. Dancers also packed the floor for Guillaume’s ‘So Just Dance, Dance, Dance’ and ‘The Queen’, but there were many more of both these choreographers’ dances on the play list by request. It was such a thrill and honour to dance our favourite dances with the actual choreographers, I know I was in awe.

Last year we were afraid that we would run out of dances towards the end of the evening so we added more this year and by the time 11:30 rolled around there were still quite a few we weren’t able to play. However, what both Roy and Guillaume remarked on was that literally the whole evening the floor was full. On some occasions the floor was split with a very easy dance, for example there were dancers enjoying an energetic ‘Tush Push’ as an option for ‘Keep It Groovin’!! Thanks to Fred and his backup Eddie! for keeping the energy level high, they did a great job.

A highlight of the evening were performances by our two stars. Roy’s ad hoc funky and humorous routine was thoroughly enjoyed by the dancers. It was followed by Guillaume’s breathtaking championship performance that was acknowledged by cheers at the end. Thanks so very much to them both for coming so far to join us and for their non-stop energy and good fellowship. They definitely have added a Toronto chapter to their fan clubs!

I should add that we all had a great time at ‘Brunch With The Stars’ on the Sunday. With just under 50 of us all together, we ate well and laughed a lot!! Roy and Guillaume had a terrific time. The Brunch has proven very successful and we will do it again next year for sure!

Special thanks to all the dancers who came from near and far, it was so gratifying to see so many smiling faces filling the Hall. We most definitely couldn’t do it without you and appreciate your support so very much.

Note:   Many thanks to the generous dancers who raised $800 in the Raffle. $550 has gone to the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children and $250 will go to the Line Dance Foundation. Our thanks to Valarie Keller (Dancin’ For Miracles), Michele Carver (Fun On The Dance Floor), Marthe Thibeault, Carol Laroque, Colette Godon-Proulx and Pierette Vincent Schroder (NCLDC) for their donations of Complimentary passes to their upcoming events. Also to Carolyn Beer and Caroline Smardenkas for donating their refunds to the Raffle pot. Dale’s wonderful baskets were popular prizes and I added into the pot two complimentary passes to ‘The Spring Workshop 2018’.

PHOTOS:

Niagara-on-the-Lake/Niagara Falls/CN Tower  —  The Spring Workshop — Brunch With the Stars