The Open 2004
By Joanie Fuller
The Open had some fabulous competitors this year, but the main improvement was in the facility itself. Care was taken to make it look warmer and add some elegance. That’s pretty hard to do to a basketball court.
The music was great and I heard that Mike Pyle was the genius behind the sound system. Some type of acoustic material was placed over certain sections of the upper seats to absorb sound and it really helped. Each chair in all of the center sections was covered with cloth seatback covers in colors matching the décor. I heard that many little elves sewed hundreds of them in appropriate colors to blend with the new stage which was another new feature created by Ron Martin.
Tables were added in front of the stage to seat special guests. This helped to shrink the size of the dance floor quite a bit so the competitors didn’t look lost out there in the middle. The scoreboard was draped and hidden in black cloth and there were splashes of color everywhere making the whole arena appear warmer and cozier. It was all very soothing to the eye and it seemed to work.
I always enjoy the comps at the Open and this year was no exception. However, there were few competitors in certain divisions like Showcase and Masters. Masters had about 5 or 6 couples. I compared it to times when I could count up to 14 or 15. There appeared to be less people in attendance this year in general. I guess folks are staying closer to home rather than contending with the personal abuse at our airports. On our return, we waited for over an hour in the security line that extended miles out of the San Jose Airport and into the freezing concrete parking structure. And that was on Monday after the holiday. Yawn!
As usual there was grumbling over judging. For instance, in Showcase David Appel (1st place) did many stunning lifts with his gorgeous skinny partner, but Parker & Jessica (2nd) outdanced them with more swing content. Ok – ya want lifts? Or dancing? What’ll it be?
All in all I had a great time and wish to congratulate all the competitors especially those who also work real jobs like Patti and Martin and Louise and Woody, and also to let the competitors know that we appreciate the time and effort it takes to put a routine out there. Without them, what would we do the day after Thanksgiving?
I hate leftovers!!
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