Archive for March 4th, 2010

Well folks, It was that time of year. The time to put on some funny clothes and get ready to rock the Ren Faire.

I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with some of my costuming choices but I’m a big fan of scotland and more so of havin some fun. In the past I’ve gone a little roguish and let myself go back to wild man status – see EX 01

I’ve even taken to wearing my kilt out to social events (always a hit)

So it should come as no surprise that when given the chance, my brother Alex and I teamed up with a group of our friends for some real Ren Fair fun.

With some blue paint, a few yards of cloth, 3 hours figuring out how to pleat, and a ton of spirit, we headed to the ren fair, and by the time we left, we’d already secured some lucrative job offers.

From Swords to painted leather masks, the renaissance fair is a place that exemplifies the best of the renaissance while leaving out the horrors of living in the middle ages. Its a great community of artisans and folk who just like working with their hands and crafting. People longing to return to times when they could create and sell something original and not manufactured by the millions.

If you get a chance give it a go. There are a plethora of great acts, both comedy and straight athletic performance. From acrobatics to musical instruments, you can find it there!

From Claremont to Phoenix Challenge!

Well, In december Devil Dancesport hit up Clairemont college and left a swath of dance destruction and good will behind us:

Waltz

Latin

Devil Dancesport

Well, after competing in December at the Claremont collegiate Ballroom Dance competition and medaling in every category, My Latin dance parter Chelsie and I furthered our relationship and took on the Phoenix Challenge on February 20th! Needless to say, we were stoked!

It is so darn difficult to find a non blurry dance foto!

As a general guide
S=Samba (Brazilian dance)
C= Cha cha cha
R= Rumba
J=Jive (YouTube this and you’ll understand why its evil)
W= Waltz
T=Tango
F= Foxtrot
VW= Viennese waltz (also a YouTube Candidate for vicious leg killing dance)
SW=East coast Swing.

Competing in back to back dance categories (each of those letters are a style of dance done in succession for that category (maybe 30 sec. in between) we placed as follows.

Heat 14 [12:35PM] Semi-final Round Silver Intl. Latin (S/C/R)

_6_ AC-A 192 Kyler Yi Katie Yin
_5_ AC-A 303 Alex Diekmann Kalie Heideman
_4_ AC-A 302 Jeff Liao Chelsea Knutson
_3_ AC-A 307 Justin Alexander Yang Lacie Forde
_2_ AC-A 332 Britt Braden Cindy Vana
_1_ AC-A 324 David Berger Chelsie Hancock

Heat 19 [01:07PM] Gold Intl. Latin (C/S/R/J)

_4_ AC-A 302 Jeff Liao Chelsea Knutson
_3_ AC-A 327 Anthony Schubert Phoenicia Falcon
_2_ AC-A 324 David Berger Chelsie Hancock
_1_ AC-A 332 Britt Braden Cindy Vana

Heat 23 [01:43PM] Quarter-final Round Silver American Smooth (W/T/F)

_5_ AC-A 324 David Berger Chelsie Hancock
_4_ AC-A 173 Sebastian Meyjes India Chilton
_3_ AC-A 190 Patrick Wilcox Karen Wagley
_2_ AC-A 332 Britt Braden Cindy Vana
_1_ AC-A 317 Adrian Lomeli Michelle Graell

Heat 31 [02:50PM] Gold American Smooth (W/T/F/VW)
_4_ AC-A 324 David Berger Chelsie Hancock
_3_ AC-A 190 Patrick Wilcox Karen Wagley
_2_ AC-A 310 Aaron Steele Corrie Vandervlugt
_1_ AC-A 332 Britt Braden Cindy Vana

Heat 36 [03:56PM] Quarter-final Round Silver American Rhythm (C/R/SW)
_8_ AC-A 173 Sebastian Meyjes India Chilton
_7_ AC-A 327 Anthony Schubert Tricia Dawson
_6_ AC-A 302 Jeff Liao Megan Gjersvig
_5_ AC-A 318 Antonio Lomeli Alyssa Garcia
_4_ AC-A 307 Justin Alexander Yang Lacie Forde
_3_ AC-A 324 David Berger Chelsie Hancock
_2_ AC-A 332 Britt Braden Cindy Vana
_1_ AC-A 200 Elijah Armstead Marla Gonzales

Heat 43 [05:09PM] Quarter-final Round Open Salsa – Adult/Senior
_6_ AC-A 330 Rennie Rosen Cecilia Torres
_5_ AC-A 332 Britt Braden Cindy Vana
_4_ AC-A 200 Elijah Armstead Marla Gonzales
_3_ AC-A 324 David Berger Chelsie Hancock
_2_ AC-A 184 Bret Navarre Alexandra Grunwald
_1_ AC-A 317 Adrian Lomeli Michelle Graell

Heat 51 [05:53PM] Gold American Rhythm (C/R/SW/M)
_5_ AC-A 315 Osvaldo Altamirano Kendra Lomeli
_4_ AC-A 302 Jeff Liao Megan Gjersvig
_3_ AC-A 327 Anthony Schubert Phoenicia Falcon
_2_ AC-A 324 David Berger Chelsie Hancock
_1_ AC-A 332 Britt Braden Cindy Vana

Now You’ll see the names in these placements of Anthony, Jeff, Britt, Elijah, and I and our partners. We’re all ASU dance students who practice and compete together as a team to represent, each competition we have different amounts of ASU dancers who can participate. ASU’s Devil Dancesport team is a coalition of hundreds of students and dancers who come together with our own passion for ballroom to accomplish something great. We wouldn’t have been able to place in this competition without the support of the rest of DDS!

Now, You’ll be hard pressed to find an event where we didn’t dominate either in placement or in pure cheering power. We’re the team, supportive and you’re darn sure to hear us chanting our fellow competitors numbers, and remember our characteristic enthusiasm. We cheer off the floor and heck we cheer each other on when we’re on the floor. These competitions are about fun and skill, but also pure enjoyment of the music and experience. We compete to show how much we enjoy dancing together in a common athletic activity.

For each of these categories you’ll see LATIN, STANDARD, SMOOTH, RHYTHM. Standard and Latin are international styles of dance. They’re different school figures and dance patterns as well as a different understanding of the beat and movement with the flow of the music. Smooth and Rhythm are their American style counterparts.
Congratulations to our fellow dancers!

Next up San Diego March 6th! UCSD!