by: Leslie Huber

Yet again, I am writing a review of an event which is new to me, so, although I have no point of reference for this particular event, I do have the perspective of a newcomer. I heard a number of varied responses about this event, but I found it to be very enjoyable. While Sacramento (and especially the area where the hotel is located) isn’t the most exciting city, it provides a venue which encourages its participants to stay in the hotel, thus creating a strong sense of community and offering many opportunities to reconnect with friends.

Competition at this event is run in one large block of time, where Prelims, Semis and Finals occur in a single day, in one scheduled time block. What I find appealing about this arrangement is that the dancers can better plan out their weekend if they know that their competition will conclude in the same day, and not run into a time slot later in the weekend. I also find that it allows me to take the energy I have built up for competition and use it all the way up through Finals, to give my best performance possible. This is how the Strictly and Jack and Jill competitions were run throughout the weekend, and it seemed to go very smoothly, especially because the event coordinators did a great job staying on schedule; I don’t think we were ever more than a few minutes behind schedule. The only minor problem that occurred in this area was with scoring; because competition rounds were run back-to-back, there was an increased chance of error, and a few minor scoring errors did occur. I think this impresses the importance of always double-checking scoring. Contestant meetings (as annoying as these can be) actually proved to be quite brief and entertaining. Steve Zener (the MC) and Jim Tiggis were very effective in getting people in and out of the meeting while also taking care of any problems that may have impeded competition throughout the weekend. What was most amusing about these meetings was watching Steve try to pronounce everyone’s name correctly!

With the exception of early Friday night dancing, the consensus on the music and sound system is that is was great. A well-attended event combined with great music makes for some very late nights dancing! I was up Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for late night dancing and there was a very impressive number of people still dancing their hearts out; this went on until at least 6am each night/morning. For those of us seeking a little variety, there was also late night dancing in the hotel bar, which is known for its slightly slanted steel dance floor, black lights, and beautiful waterfront view. With this much dancing going on, there were a lot of hungry people, but one of the awesome accommodations of this event (with the purchase of an event ticket) is three buffet meals on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively. For a buffet, the food was actually quite good, and very bountiful; many went back for seconds!

So, although the weather left a little to be desired, Capital proved to be a memorable event. The caliber of dancing is almost unmatched (with the exception of the U.S. Open); the event coordinators pick the best MC and DJ’s in the dance community; and the event organization and social dancing were of the highest quality. As first-timer at Capital Swing, I can honestly say that this is an event that lives up to its prestige, and I look forward to going again next time around.