Thanks to all of you who attended the very first
2018 H.O.T. Heart of Texas Line Dance Event
We had a fabulous time and are grateful to so many people for helping us pull it off!
Our choreographers Michael Barr, Dustin Betts, Scott Blevins, Joanne Brady, Michele Burton, Maddison Glover, Juliet Lam, Julia Wetzel and Megan Wheeler were fabulous instructors, reviewers and…actors extraordinaire even though two were very top-heavy, one got killed, one stumbled into chairs, another was drugged out of his mind, and the last got put in jail!!
Our deejay, JP Potter, saved the day(s) in so many ways with his excellent sound, timely announcements, flashy screen, and managing to round up choreographers at the last minute to do voice-overs for the show. We don’t know how he did that! But we are grateful to JP!
We also want to thank Lynne Jones (Cheryl’s sister) who assisted us in a million different ways. We are serious when we say we couldn’t have done it without Lynne!
But the biggest and best personalities were the dancers who came, who saw, and who DANCED! Your support made it all possible.
We also thank the staff at our host hotel, the Westin D/FW Airport Hotel, who not only offered rooms at a great rate but also provided a very caring and helpful environment and bent over backwards to meet our every need. Next year, we plan to return to the same great Westin Hotel.
Again, thank you for helping to make our very first year so incredibly successful! We look forward to the 2019 H.O.T.
SAVE THE DATES: APRIL 25-28, 2019!!!
Luv y’all!!!
Then there was the 2nd:
2019 H.O.T. Heart of Texas Line Dance Event
Somehow everyone says our second annual was even better than the first. How that happened, we’re not sure…but we agree. 2019 was super FAB!
Our choreographers–Jill Babinec, Jose Miguel Belloque Vane, Dustin Betts, Scott Blevins, Wil Bos, Joanne Brady, Rhoda Lai, Guillaume Richard, Jo Thompson Syzmanski, Julia Wetzel, and Megan Wheeler–were fabulous on stage and off!!!
Jill played Crawmamma with Jo and Megan her craybabies. Poor Jose was the armadillo (he didn’t know what an armadillo was until he came to TX and we’re still not sure he understands). Dustin, Rhoda, and Joanne were fruit (Dustin a banana, Rhoda a strawberry, and Joanne an orange). Guillaume was the knife, Wil was Shiner Bach, Julia was the Aloha Spirit, Tom Huntley was the longhorn, Nikki was the bottle of BBQ sauce, and Scott was the narrator. Highlights included Jose somersaulting into his hat, Guillaume attempting to slice the Fruit, and Scott causing quite a scene in his risqué bikini.
The Show would not have met success without Mr. Potter (JP, that is) doing voiceovers ahead of time, making sure the sequence was correct, handling the music and perfecting sound effects. We owe much to JP not only for the Show bus also for the countless hours he sat and played music for open dance.
The Hotel staff were very helpful and accommodating. The elevators were slow but hey…that happens sometimes. All in all, 2019 was a roaring success. And now it’s on to 2020 (March 12-15)!!!
2020 H.O.T. was a different animal altogether!
2020 H.O.T. Heart of Texas Line Dance Event
When our 2020 event began on March 12, there was no COVID19 quarantine, all airports were open, and no businesses were closed. When our event ended on March 15, several airports had closed while others were limiting travel and beginning to shut down AND the quarantine was in effect.
On March 13, when the quarantine was first announced in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, only events with 500 or more participants were forced to close down. We had just 300 registered dancers so we ignored the quarantine and danced blissfully on.
On that same day, our airport (DFW) had not yet shut down but the airports in Denmark had closed and Niels Poulsen was unable to fly out of the country and sadly missed teaching at our event. Luckily Roy Verdonk, coming from the same part of the world, had decided to fly in a day early and had made it to the Dallas/Fort Worth airport in time.
As we danced, within our protected dance environment, local businesses on the outside began closing their doors…however, the Hotel remained open! No one realized the magnitude of the pandemic or how it would change our lives. It was only on Sunday–when we focused on traveling home–that reality set in.
Fortunately, everyone made it home although the journeys for some, especially those from different countries, were more difficult than usual. And most travellers were placed in quarantine for two weeks after arriving home.
Other than all that…the event went beautifully! Thirteen choreographers taught 34 new dances, 3 technique classes, and 4 classics, with the rest being solid popular dances. Our 2020 choreographers: Amy Glass Bailey, Dustin Betts, Scott Blevins, Cody Flowers, Christopher Gonzalez, Rhoda Lai, Rebecca Lee, Rosie Multari, John Robinson, Debbie Rushton, Jo Thompson Szymanski, Roy Verdonk, and Megan Wheeler. As we said above, Niels Poulsen could not make it to the event.
As usual, Lynne Jones (Cheryl’s sister) did an extraordinary job of decorating the stage in a bridal theme (which cause no end of questions as to its relevance) and gave 100%+ time and effort in helping us everywhere (along with her daughter, Scottie)!
The Saturday night show, Texas Rose, was a big hit! A little bit Wizard of Oz and a little bit Nutcracker, the story gave a definite Texan twist. Megan Wheeler as Rose was the star of the show! She and her dog, Mojo, traveled in time to the Texas Rose Saloon where a bunch of loud raucous characters introduced themselves through dance. There was a Long Tall Texan, a Bootdaddy, two Bobbi’s with an I, sexy Sisters, two hotties who Walk(ed) in Shame, a Yankee Doodle Dandy, a wild erotic contortionist who “Shake(d)” the Room with her back-bending splits, a frustrated cowboy whose Exes all lived in Texas, and a pair of newlyweds who Waltzed Across Texas bumping elbows, not to mention a bumbling horse who ran across stage causing havoc. JP Potter was a true master of music by not only recording and editing all the dance music, but also recording and dubbing in all speaking parts PLUS all sounds effects including the Wizard of Oz tornado!!!
Likewise, Christopher Gonzalez brought new meaning to the term “Beginner Open Dance” as he dee-jayed the Beginner Ballroom into the wee hours of the morning.
We are thankful for choreographers, deejays, and dancers who did not panic but made the most out of being together, promoting a calmness and a sense of well-being that outsiders did not have. No one got sick! Everyone had a good time! Everyone made it home! For that, we feel truly blessed!
2022 H.O.T. Heart of Texas Line Dance Event
We want to thank everyone who attended H.O.T. Heart of Texas in our 5th year which turned out to be the most amazing year ever! We nearly doubled our attendance records! We had two sets of choreographer families.
Guess you could say the dinner/show was one highlight of the event. Lacey Jo Thompson started it out by singing the national anthem. The entire staff followed, riding in on stick horses and dancing a raucous “Don’t Fence Me In” (Wil Bos). Britt Beresik and Megan Barsuglia danced a sexy “Texan Rose” (Britt Beresik) paired with the dance “Loco-motion” (Britt Beresik) involving a large number of attendees who acted as wheels to a large locomotive constructed by Britt.
Unfortunately, two gunfighters (Poulsen & Blevins) showed up wielding high smoking bananas but were literally dragged from the area by the crew (Thornton & Babinec).
Roy Verdonk and his wife, Nisrine, danced an incredible fast-paced boogie/swing/jazz number (“Born to Boogie”) with so many twists, turns, jumps, hops, Elvis knees, Elvis legs, Elvis arms (?) … it was unbelievable! Two little faces beamed from the audience as they watched their parents perform—twin sisters, Amber and Noel Verdonk.
Jo Thompson Szymanski and daughter, Anna, danced together to a beautiful country song “Wildflowers” with many a leap and a spin, topped off with flower petals scattered as they spun in a circle…absolutely gorgeous.
But no sooner did mother and daughter exit the stage area, then a grumpy disheveled character emerged, ignored the emcee’s protests, and climbed to the stage… followed by two equally scruffy mules. With whip crackin’, mule kickin’ and many hee haws, “Mule Train” was performed by Christopher Gonzalez and his two mules, Cody Flowers and Dustin Betts. We all laughed until we cried!
The gunfighters returned to threaten each other, the emcee, and the crew. Upon learning they only had bananas, they were escorted and laughed off the stage.
An all-cast rendition of Picnic Polka followed embellished substantially with partner and square dance moves and a country jig (Maggie Gallagher & Jill Babinec). After the “polka” came an old-fashioned carnival duck shoot where the “Duckringer” (Amy Glass Bailey) blew them away at the end with her stickhorse.
Glenn Ball had to dance without his blue suede shoes (stolen by Christopher) but he and his Renegades (attendees) did a wild fifties-style rendition to “Don’t Step On My Blue Suede Shoes” (choreographed by Glenn). The thief was tackled by ladies and then shot by a banana, part of which was eaten. Happily, the shoes were recovered.
After that, Jill Babinec and Maggie Gallagher danced a high-flutin’ high kickin’ Irish dance-off, each one trying to outdo the other. No winner was declared; however, Maggie did pull out her high-stepping Irish dance shoes.
You can’t keep a good gal down as Jill Babinec moved on to “duel” with Joanne Brady in “Dueling Banjos.” OMG things got wild, ugly, and more than a little racey!!!
H.O.T. Line Dance Show_Full Show.mp4 on Vimeo
https://vimeo.com/user3413779/download/704232398/08442b0829
