“DCSex” (formerly VSO) 2011 Update #1
Two days back from Tampa and here we are at DCSex (you might know it as VSO). Then we’re home for two days before we fly out to … the Open!
So!
It’s Friday night at this event created by Hutch (Craig Hutchinson) so very many years ago. It was Hutch’s idea for VSO (the Virginia State Open) to be a celebration of swing, all types of swing. You may not know that Hutch wrote two books attempting to describe, define, and codify swing; made a terrific short film, and drew up a manual with squinchy little squinkie creatures, arrows, and feet stepping and dancing all across the pages.
Wonderful Hutch. What an odd duck, so beloved here and across the country. A founder of NASDE, with Barry Durand and maybe a few others (anyone know who else?)
Hutch loved Swing.
We have VHS (or Beta) tapes of the first years of this event!
So here we are all these years later, at the newest rendition of VSO, this year with a new name and at a new hotel. Standard Hyatt, nothing special really, but which will work well for out-of-towners as it’s close to the airport. Our room’s a bit old and seedy, smells funky, but adequate.
This is the new hotel for MadJam too (in March) so we’ve been curious to see what it’s like and now that we have we are hoping the ballroom for MadJam will be bigger – much bigger – cause this one is, well, one of the smaller ballrooms we’ve seen. We counted floor squares (each maybe 3 sq ft?) and there are 14 front to back, 12 side to side. That about tells you the total size of the room since the floor runs wall to wall so not much space left for actual sitting. 16 chairs line each side of the floor, four of the skinny-type 6-seat tables along the front, and behind these three rows of 14 chairs each. It’s small! No room to walk from one side of the room to the other without trouncing on people, and nowhere to sit in an actual chair – basically standing-room only. It’s crowded, for sure.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Some people like that “packed dance-club” feel. And maybe it’s because more people came than were expected? Which is always good.
So tonight was Strictly’s.
First Lindy (didn’t get here in time to see) then Novice WCS (maybe ten couples? Didn’t get here in time for that either – Friday traffic was awful!), Intermediate (eight couples total), and Adv/Allstar/Pro combined Strictly (20 couples).
Three songs for Adv/Allstar/Pro prelims: Moves Like Jagger, Ability to Swing, Man in the Mirror.
- John Lindo with Nicola Royston
- Alyssa and Jesse Vo
- Genieboy and Jody Katz
- Jody Moscaritolo and Kelly Hull
- Xavier and Tammy Brown
- Dean Garrish and Lemery
- Rob and Deonna
- Kay Newhouse and Alfred Lee
- Robin Smith and Debbie Tuttle
- Mike Glasgow and Robin Grimsby
- Brian Kidd and Heidi Batdorf
- Steve Hunt and Rachel Martin
- Jerome Louis and Abbi Leggett
- Sam and Denise Miller
- Marcus and Erica Smith
- Greg Scott and Jennifer Lyons
- Regginald Beason and oops! don’t remember!
- Abby Stone and Don Herron
- and last but not least … Akil and Tren
Finals for this were done Jam/Spotlight style, and the three songs were Cause I Said So, OMG, and S&M.
Finalists:
- Akil and Tren
- Rob and Deonna
- Steve and Rachel
- Alfred and Kay
- Lindo and Nicola
- Dean and Lemery
- Greg and Jennifer Lyons
- Marcus and Erica
- Xavier and Tammy
- Sam and Denise
- Alyssa and Jesse
- 1st alt Jody Moscaritolo and Kelly Hull
- 2nd alt Mike Glasgow and Robin Grimsby
- Akil and Tren
- Rob and Deonna
- Dean and Lemery
- Roy Legaspi and Julie Parrish
- Brandon LeFrance and Sally Charles
- Jeff Moscaritolo and Danielle Lindblom
- Sam Easley and ??
- CJ Tate and ???
- Nicole Stottlemeyer and ??
- (sorry! hard to hear and I don’t recognize some of the newer names – difficult acoustics in the room, hard to make out a lot of what is said on the mic)
That was it for tonight!
Jack and Jill’s tomorrow.