Welcome!

The venue for the DanceGourmet events is within the East Hartford Community Cultural Center, just a couple of minutes by car from downtown Hartford. The venue has a sizable, smooth wooden dance floor and a sizable seating area for dining or relaxing. Everyone is charmed by the atmosphere of the place.

DanceGourmet weekend events occur about four times a year. Each workshop weekend we bring in a talented dancer to teach some of the secrets of his or her dance. Each instructor has a unique style and personal path to becoming a dancer who can beautifully interpret music.

DanceGourmet events feature four worshops on Saturday and three on Sunday, with a dance on Saturday night after the last workshop of the day.

SATURDAY DINNER: Also, for Saturday dinner break, we have negotiated dinner at a fixed total price (which includes everything) for the dancers at the Angry Olive, a new restaurant in Rocky Hill so good that the Hartford area has not experienced such a thing in quite some time. We did a lot of hunting for great food, then negotiated a great price. Based on our experience with over thirty-five dancers (out of about 50 who attended for all of Saturday) who ate with us at the Angry Olive during the Michael Kielbasa weekend, the search was worth the effort. Those who prefer can relax and/or dine elsewhere (or bring their own meal).

LODGING: For those coming from afar who need lodging on Saturday night, we have found a great hotel at a great price about 5 miles (almost all highway) from where the event will be held. Each room has a living area with television, a dining area with a fully set table, and a separate sleeping area. Each room also has a cooking area, a full refrigerator, a full range, and a microwave, among other things. All for amazingly low prices. It is the Clarion Inn at 191 Spencer St in Manchester CT. The smaller suites accomodate 2-4 people and cost $74.99 per night. The larger suites accomodate 4-6 and cost $139.99 per night. Call 860-643-5811 to make your reservation and be sure to mention that you are reserving for the "DanceGourmet" dance event!

Each workshop weekend creates a new dance experience for the area dancers (and beyond).

The DanceGourmet events are a marriage between great dance (which presupposes inspiring music) and great food (accompanied by non-dance, dinner music).

DanceGourmet events are a great bargain in West Coast Swing. For $95 (preregistered), you get seven great workshops with a phenomenal instructor from out of town and a dance with great music and usually a demo by the visiting instructor(s).

With regard to the dance aspect, instructors are chosen with several things in mind. The instructors are generally (but not always!) drawn from the competitive level one step down from the champion level. Such dancers are often on their way to the champion level and are often more “hungry” and “eager to please,” either because they are fresh faces or because dance instruction has become their personal calling.

The correlation between champion level competitive dancing and champion level teaching is not a perfect one. Some champion competitors do not teach as well as they dance, and some advanced competitors teach at a champion level. It is the latter whom we strive to bring in for DanceGourmet events.

Dancers who teach may be better with groups than in privates and vice-versa. For the DanceGourmet events, we try to choose instructors who are very strong with groups. Many of them are also excellent in private lessons, but the focus in their selection is on their abilities with groups.

There is a “performance” aspect to teaching which can spell the difference between technical soundness and just plain fun. Dance is about fun, and learning it can be fun if the instructor puts on a show while teaching good stuff.

Finally, we try to select instructors who understand the plight of struggling dancers at all levels and treat each one with gentleness and understanding. This means, among other things, that the instructor dances with one and all after the classes are over.

In closing, I quote from an unsolicited email I received a few months ago. Such emails make all my efforts seem worthwhile.

”I wanted to offer some feedback regarding the Gourmet events you sponsor.

"Firstly, The food has been fabulous. I applaud you and have been talking up your events to my dance friends.

"I am also impressed with the quality of instructors you are able to bring in. More than that, all of the instructors you've had have not only been exceptionally talented dancers, they have been really good people. I say this knowing that the dance community has a lot of diversity when it comes to individual instructor personalities and temperament. Not all of the top dancers/instructors are approachable nor do they seem to respect the newbies attempts at skill proficiency. I guess what I'm saying is that while there is plenty of arrogance to go around in the dance world, your choice of instructors has been superb.

"Specifically, none have any of your instructors talked badly about other instructors or their teaching methods. This is good. I don't know if this is something you pre-screen for or not but the contrast is pretty dramatic between what you have at your events and what some of your competitors offer.”

Lastly, we work very hard at playing music which makes it hard to sit still. We play a mixture of new and old and of tempos fast and slow. Always with an ear to music that has interesting rhythms, accents, and moods to which one feels urges to respond in one’s dance.

If you have never attended a DanceGourmet event, please give one a try sometime. If you have, I hope you enjoyed it and will continue to come. I also hope you will tell your friends and neighbors!