GuruReuben wrote:
The only caveat Greg is that the organizers may have had no intention of creating the event as a means to please everyone. It's not lazy nor lame to have certain ideals for your event and want to follow through on them, especially if you've made it clear that such ideals will be attempted.
Agreed. Show me the money and I am right with you. Those fools shouldn't have gone to the exchange ...if they were clearly forwarned.
I was wise enough to know that Seattle is a fast dance town, so I didn't go. Not everyone has as much experience though, so that's not really fair.
I don't recall it as being advertised as a "faster" exchange or there being any real hype about the music like there is for say, the Binge. Before I stopped reading the yehoodi thread, there was much talk of the quality of blues dancing in Seattle. I don't think the website provided any info on the DJs. But then again, I didn't study the promotional material since I had already decided not to go.
Clearly,
many people were not prepared for what happened
including one of the organizers who posted that she suspects one of the DJs was trying to make some kind of point. Hell, if someone pulled that kind of -sabatage?- at my event, they'd be booted right out of the DJ both.
How do you blame the dancers for that?
Most people wouldn't expect much "groove" at a "Bal Swing championship", would they? I mean that's pretty honest advertising going on in the title of the event, right?
As for Austin, they have been very strauight forward about the musical style.
So, I don't think the examples you use are very good ones. Because like you said, it's an advertising issue, isn't it?
Seattle and Austin are kick-ass exchanges that (from what I can tell) are pretty sure to sell out every year ...so why be shy?
I liked what you said about people sticking to their guns Reuben, but you gotta show what kind of guns you're sticking to.
Now, hoestly, if I'm wrong about this, I am sorry to use Seattle as an example. I only know a few people from there and I like every one of them. The Seattle exchange has got a great rep and my beef is not with it per se. But so far, what I've heard and what I've read does not sit well with me at all.