Shameless Plug

This post is a shameless plug for the Portland Adult High Dance Camp, coming in September. Since Tim and I are both on the steering committee I thought this would be a good place to "advertise." I think a large percentage of people who read this blog are also on the steering committee, but no matter.

I am excited about a training camp for adult dancers right in our home town. There are numerous dance weekends, including Portland's Sweetheart Ball, which bring dancers together and promote ice dancing as a fun and social event. With so many Portland-based adult dance teams competing and medaling at Adult Nationals in recent years, the organizers thought a high performance camp, which goes beyond the social dance weekend model, was warranted.

No doubt about it, the camp will be strenuous, with 8 hours of on-ice clinics, multiple off-ice clinics, and 3 hours of program dance time in one weekend. Our guest professionals are Jonathon O'Daugherty and Pam O'Connor, former British national champions. Meals are provided at the rink, and also include a Saturday night dinner at a local skater's home.

The camp's format allows campers to come away with new skills and exercises which will help teams and individuals take their skating to the next level. A lot can be accomplished in a weekend, although of course the skaters will have to practice what they've learned in order to see lasting results. Another bonus is to build comraderie among the adult dancers, especially competitive teams. There are so few of us that sometimes we practice in a void; having a venue to meet and get to know others who are as obsessed as we are will go a long way toward validating what we are doing.

I for one am looking forward to the on- and off-ice lift clinics (Tim may not be quite so happy about those) as well as learning exercises we can do to increase our skating skills.

If you are over 18 and comfortable dancing at the silver level or above, please consider joining us. The number of participants will be limited. For more information, including an application form, please go to www.pdxicedance.net. Click on "Events" and then "Adult Training Camp."