Dancing at GAFilk (GAfilk Part 2)

(Update: Do check out Allison's LJ entry about dancing and GAfilk!)

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GAfilk was very much a relaxacon for me this year. I don't think I've had as many leisurely (more than the usual 60-second conversations that you usually get at filk cons) one-on-one conversations as I had this past weekend. I did end up missing the mini-concerts in the afternoon, but the trade-off was that I got to catch up with my friend Mark Osier, and also got in a desperately needed nap.

For anyone who has never attended a GAFilk, I highly recommend this convention. Each filk convention has its own personality, I find, with different pros and cons. For me, things I especially like about GAfilk include the following:

- Only one track of programming at a time, so chances are much better that you'll get to have conversations with people.



- Frequent breaks of 10-15 minutes between major programming items, giving people a chance to get up and walk around, use the restrooms, etc. This encourages people to actually WANT to attend the next item of programming.

- Programming rarely (never? more experienced GAfilk attendees can confirm this) occurs in the morning. This gives everyone a chance to sleep in OR have leisurely breakfasts, more conversation and hanging out.

- Local laws mean that the hotel bar and attached lounge are now non-smoking.



- A fantastic songbook (courtesy Mary Crowell) that you get with your membership.

- The GAFilk Interfilk quilt project. Even non-needlework people like me can have fun contributing. This year, Quilt Queen Margaret Middleton provided quilting materials to play with. If you wanted to contribute at the con, for example, you could work on your square while sitting in the audience listening to concerts.

And of course now I must rave about the Saturday night banquet. This is always one of my highlights at GAfilk. The GAfilk house band is amazing, and the dancing is fun. As I've mentioned in previous Blatherings, I used to hate high school dances...partly because I knew I wasn't a good dancer, and partly because I knew the "cool" kids were on the sidelines critiquing everyone's technique. I'm still not a good dancer but I don't care, as long as I'm having fun...and I've found that's always the case at the GAfilk banquet.



There's also never pressure to dance if you don't want to; another thing I always hated about high school dances was the "come on and DANCE and have some FUN" attitude, with the ridiculous implication that you weren't enjoying yourself if you weren't out on the dance floor. In keeping with its relaxacon philosophy, the GAfilk banquet/dance is for both dancers and non-dancers. And unlike most dances, the music is never too loud for conversation, both on and off the dance floor.

Plus it doesn't matter if your partner or partners are male or female, whatever type of music. Bottom line: if you enjoy dancing, you'll be able to find people who will dance with you. And if you don't want to dance, there's no pressure to do so.

I know I'm going on about the dance part of GAfilk, but I know that there are those out there who might avoid this part of the convention because of nervousness about the whole dance thing. Please don't! If you do, you'll miss out on a lot of great music and conversation. :-) But be sure to sign up for a banquet membership early; it always tends to sell out!



This year, Mark Osier offered a swing dancing workshop on Saturday before the banquet. It was so popular that MarkO had to start turning away people at a certain point. It didn't matter if you came without a partner (I didn't have one, for example); we all rotated partners every dance. This also had the advantage of breaking the ice for asking workshop partners to dance during the evening.

On the dance floor later that night, of course, I forgot most of what I had been taught. BUT I did remember enough to use at least some of my newfound knowledge, especially if my dance partner had also attended the workshop. Thanks, MarkO!

This year's GAfilk house band consisted of:

Liz - George Powell's daughter did a wonderful version of "Jabba's Good To You" (photo link courtesy John Hall)

Andrew - George's son, played sax and keyboard

Teresa - Teresa Powell of Three Weird Sisters, sang and played bass. I loved her rendition of "Trust In Me" with Jan di Masi's live snake draped around her neck (!) (photo link courtesy John Hall)



George - Teresa's husband, plays bass and sax

Dave Rood - Toastmaster at GAfilk this year, plays trumpet (also plays numerous other instruments outside of the GAfilk house band)

Brian Richardson - drums and percussion

Jodi Krangle - my music partner, described as the "Canadian chanteuse" in the GAfilk program book :-)

Mary Crowell - vocals and keyboard, sets the pace

To members of the house band: if I have any details or names wrong above, please let me know!

More GAfilk highlights soon...

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