DCLX to ATLX

dclx was a lot of fun. as predicted, the music was fantabulous. kathy, our host for the weekend, was great... beyond the usual sleep-space and showers, she fed us home-cooked meals, took us around to see the cherry blossoms and monuments, and was generally just outstandingly nice to talk to.

i quickly learned that while i may lead a bit around here, i really don't have the traffic control skills to lead on a crowded exchange floor. that's ok, it's something to work towards. the crowds weren't nearly as intimidating as they were two years ago... knowing lots of dancers from other exchanges does a lot to transform an undifferentiated mass of people who're (in my head!) too amazing to want to have anything to do with me back into the friendly, lovely people they actually are.

all the bands were excellent, but saturday late-night was when i really hit my stride and had some of my best dances for the weekend. i really, really hope the cangelosi cards get a CD out sometime soon, because i desperately want to share them with people who haven't gotten a chance to travel around as much. besides being generally fun and danceable, they do some especially exquisite trading back and forth between vocals and instruments with blends that sometimes sound like entirely new instruments... love it.

the floor sunday night was really sticky -- i hate that for the organizers, because i'm sure it wasn't when they checked it out. (having more warm bodies in the room, a recent rebuffing or lack thereof, warm temperatures, drinks being served... it can severely alter floor conditions.) it's hard not to dance when the boilermakers are playing, so i did anyway, but i wish i'd remembered sooner that i had a pair of peds in my purse for just such occasions... if suede won't slide, sometimes putting peds on over the shoes is the solution. in this case, it didn't result in super-slick, but it was enough to seriously improve my mood for the last four or five songs the boilermakers did (including the only jam i saw all weekend! dclx with all the silver shadows out of town is a little different...) and for the rest of the night. i caught a ride from dance to diner to airport with the atlanta folks for our early-morning flights... i got home around 10 a.m. and slept through most of what was left of monday.

and... tonight it's off to atlx!