In this issue
Prices and Registration
$159 Weekend registration -- including all dances and classes
$99 International rate/Junior rate 18 and under (ID required). These rates are available under the country code as either XX for international or Student Rate for 18 and under.
New Beginner Track
We are offering a special Beginner Track for people looking to start their journey into Lindy Hop during thr Lindyfest weekend. Registration is only $45 and includes 8 hours of instruction with Jason Esparza and Chansin Bird at the Sheraton Hotel. For more details visit our website.
DJs
We're pleased to announce the DJs for Lindyfest 2008 are Jesse Miner, Rayned Wiles, Ryan "Swifty" Swift, Dave Frutos, Peter Strom and Naomi Uyama.
Dance Pass
Dance passes are now available online! Dance passes will be also be sold at the door. The dance pass price is $75 for the entire weekend Thursday-Sunday. Below are the individual dance prices.
$10-Thursday 9pm-3am
$30-Friday 9pm-5am
$35-Saturday 9pm-5am
$10-Sunday 8:00pm-3am
Special Performances
Don't miss out on catching exciting performances by your favorite dancers at the Saturday evening dance. We're giving you a little treat with championship winning dancers including 23Skidoo, the Ladies of the Silver Shadows, and Max and Annie. They're putting on a special show just for Lindyfest! You gotta catch this one!
Discounts and Promotions
Look for discount codes on our promotional DVDs for a chance to receive 5-15% off your registration!
This year we are giving you a chance to win great prizes just for getting your friends to register. The referral program is a way for us to reward people who help spread the word about Lindyfest and get their friends to register. Once you've registered for Lindyfest you'll receive a special link to send to your friends. When someone registers with that link you'll receive an e-mail telling you how many referrals you currently have. You'll have the opportunity to win prizes for:
*Most referals overall
*Most referrals from out of Texas
*Most referrals from out of the US
These prizes may range from free T-shirts, refund on your Lindyfest registration, or even a paid private from an Instructor of your choice.
More Questions? Contact us at Lindyfest.
Houston Swing Dance Society is a 501(c)3 non-profit association.
Houston Swing Dance Society is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through The Houston Arts Alliance.
|
Lindyfest is March 13-16th, 2008
Greetings from the Houston Swing Dance Society and Lindyfest 2008 Planning Committee! We're getting really excited about our upcomming workshop and hope you are too! In this newsletter we'll be updating you on the workshop weekend details.
New in this newsletter:
- Book your hotel online
- Register online for your Dance Pass
- Beginner's Track to be offered
- Saturday Night Performance Line-up
- International Lindy Hop Championships
- Lindy Hoppers Fund Kick-Off
Instructor Line-Up
First off, we just want to remind you of our fabulous instructors: Frankie Manning, Chazz Young, Dawn Hampton, Sylvia Sykes, Jason Christodoulou, Steven Mitchell, Virginie Jensen, Peter Strom, Ramona Staffeld, Max Pitruzzella, Annie Trudeau, Nina Gilkenson, Andy Reid, Manu Smith, Ria Debiasi and Naomi Uyama.
Book your Hotel Room Online
All Lindyfest dances Thursday through Sunday night will be held at the Sheraton Brookhollow, and HSDS has secured a great hotel rate of $79/night. You can now make your reservations with the Lindyfest room rate three ways: 1) online 2) calling the number listed below 3) or by email. Be sure to let them know you want the Lindyfest room block when you make your reservations. As an extra bonus for staying at the hotel, we'll be offering a shuttle service between the hotel and workshop location at UH.
Sheraton Brookhollow
3000 North Loop West Frwy
Phone: (713) 688-0100
Be where the party's at all weekend long and reserve your room before they fill up! The room block will be held through March 6th.
Weekend Schedule
Below is a brief layout of our weekend schedule.
- Thursday
- Welcome dance at Sheraton Brookhollow 9pm-3am
- Advanced try-outs at 8:30-9:30pm in the Side Room
- Friday
- Workshop begins at 1-6:30pm the UH campus
- Advanced try-outs 10:30-11:15am at the Sheraton Brookhollow
- Dance at Sheraton Brookhollow 9pm-5am
- Saturday
- Workshop continues at the UH campus 1-6:30pm
- Final Advanced try-outs at Sheraton Brookhollow 10:30-11:15am
- Dance at Sheraton Brookhollow 9pm-5am
- Sunday
- Workshop continues at the UH campus
- Dance at Sheraton Brookhollow 8:00pm-3am
Advanced Try-Outs
During registration, everyone was given the opportunity to try-out for the Advanced track. Intermediate and Intermediate/Advanced levels levels are self assigned. You will be given only two chances to try-out during the weekend. Try-outs will consist of ~5-7 minutes of dancing with at least two different partners using a traditional Jack-and-Jill format.
Some pointers about try-outs.
- Most judges look for good, clean basics, rhythm, and dancing with the music
- Judges are not necessairly looking for "tricks" or flashy moves, and these may hurt your chances if they are not successfully attempted, e.g. out of time or character of the musc, or results in your basic foot-work to fall apart.
Try-out times and locations
Thursday: 8:30-9:30pm at Sheraton Brookhollow
Friday: 10-11am at Sheraton Brookhollow and at UH campus (time and location TBA)
Saturday: 10-11am at Sheraton Brookhollow and at UH campus (time and location TBA)
Venues
The Lindyfest workshop will be held on the beautiful University of Houston campus. The classrooms are located in Melcher Gymnasium and Wortham Theater Complex. Click here for maps of UH. All the evening dances and afterhours Thursday through Sunday will take place at the Sheraton Hotel Brookhollow. You will find two rooms for dancing, beautiful wood floor built by dancers, early morning breakfast buffets at the afterhours, a shuttle bus to and from UH campus, and the convenience of staying at the main event location for a really great deal of only $79 per night!
Workshop Friday - Sunday
University of Houston
Campus Map
All evening and afterhours dances Thursday - Sunday
Sheraton Brookhollow
3000 North Loop West (@ I-10 and US-290)
Lindy Hopper's Fund Kick-Off
The Lindy Hopper’s Fund of America is a nonprofit, national human services organization that helps our elder generation of Lindy Hoppers; those who danced at the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem, in theater, film, or on television. Through a broad spectrum of social, health and housing programs, The Lindy Hopper’s Fund will address their essential and critical needs providing financial assistance for essential living expenses such as rent, utilities or medical costs.
HSDS is proud to support The Lindy Hoppers Fund in its mission to provide assistance to those lindy hoppers who have paved the way for us to be able to dance and continue the legacy of lindy hop. During the Lindyfest weekend, you will have the opportunity to find out more about this program and to make financial contributions. Please consider donating to this special cause to help support the Lindy Hoppers Fund. Every little bit will help. HSDS is pleased to announce that they will match 100% any donations collected during the Lindyfest weekend.
Getting to Houston
Houston has two ariport that carry all the major airlines, the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and the William P. Hobby Airport (Hou). IAH is the hub for Continental Airlines and offers services to many major cities. Southwest Airlines predominantly serves the Hobby Airport. Both airports are a short drive into town with Hobby being the closer, yet smaller airport. IAH is located ~20 miles North of town on US-59, and Hobby is East of town on I-45S. Hobby Airport is located just a few miles from the UH campus and would be ideal if you are coming into town and headed directly to UH campus.
Public transportation is not the most efficient in Houston. Although you can take the Metro Bus from both airports for just a few dollars, we suggest you may want to coordinate a taxi among other participants (~$45-60 depending on the airport and final destination). Houston's local discussion forum is a great place to coordinate these rides.
|