The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,800 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Phoenix LDC Christmas Party
Phoenix LDC held their Christmas Party Social at the Mountain View Hotel on Friday, 23rd December 2011.
Members and guests, some decked out in festive wear, enjoyed a night of line dancing and fun with the added attraction of Christmas music instead of the normal tracks used for many of the dances.
The evening was arranged in two parts with an interval after fifteen dances to enable everyone to recharge their energy not forgetting their glasses!
After the interval Steve & Denise thanked Sue and Bob Rigg, Pam and Clive Hills, for their work in organising the monthly quiz which raised an outstanding 2000 Lira and was recently presented to the Cheshire Homes organisation.
Before the dancing could begin again Steve and Denise were presented with a hamper from the members as a thank you for all their hard work, time, effort, and patience in running the most successful linedance club on the Island.
With the speeches completed and glasses replenished Mariah Carey`s version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” brought everyone back to the floor to dance Little Red Book.
All too soon, the last “Texas” Waltz was played and the evening had ended.
With everyone in a festive mood and looking forward to having a great Christmas and New Year, season’s greetings were exchanged in an atmosphere of friendship and love.
Author: Mel Dale
Pictures: Helen Burt
Phoenix LDC Pre-Christmas Shopping Expedition in Ankara
On Thursday, 17th November, a group of fourteen Phoenix members and friends travelled to Ankara to experience the shopping opportunities offered in Turkey’s capital city. In addition to shopping, the four day, three-night visit, gave some members of the group the chance to visit the magnificent Atatürk Mausoleum and museums in the Castle district.
The Teb Dora Hotel, situated in the Ümitköy district, was very near the Gordion Shopping Mall, which proved to be an enlightening experience for the group with its 50,000m2 of floor space. On two occasions, room 104 in the hotel turned out to be the place to finish the evening’s entertainment where the group gathered for a small “soiree”!
Line dance workshops were held on two mornings in the hotel in preparation for the Line Dance Party organised by “Oscar the Cowboy” at the Uptown Cafe on Saturday night. It was great fun to dance alongside the youngsters from Oscar’s Country Club.
On Sunday, the day of our departure, the group checked out of the hotel at 12 o’clock and made their way to Oscar’s dance studio. It was here that the group feasted on delicious cakes made by Oscar’s sister, Deniz. The group then went on a last minute shopping spree in the Bahçeli district of the city. After a final meal, the bus returned the group to the airport for the late night flight back to North Cyprus.
Thanks to all those that made this trip a happy and memorable experience.
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Phoenix LDC Halloween Party 2011
The 3rd annual Phoenix Halloween Party took place at the Green Valley Restaurant on Monday, 31st October with over 50 members and guests’ attending what is now a staple part of Phoenix’s social calendar.
Characters from Stage and Screen were there along with Witches and Wizards who were casting their spells on the unsuspecting innocents. Vampires and monsters were let loose and had a field day satisfying their desires on unsuspecting victims.
A Halloween quiz took place just for fun and it was interesting to find out how much or in some cases how little we knew of the history and connections to Halloween.
The now familiar parade of costumes took place shortly afterwards and after a long deliberation by judges selected from the audience the winners and runners up were announced.
In first place for the Male category was Dave Cameron appearing as “Dr Death” with the runner up being Clive Hills as a very convincing “Sweeny Todd.”
In the Female category, first place was awarded to Carole Dovey for her portrayal of a “Living Gravestone” and with the runner up Lilian White as the “The Gothic Bride.”
The others worth a special mention were Bob Rigg as “Beetlejuice,” Sue Rig as “Edwina Scissorhands,” Jean Cameron as “Dr Death’s Missus,” Helen Burt as “Bridesmaid to the Gothic Bride,” Mick Bone as a “Pumpkin from Hell,” and Mel Dale as a very suave “Phantom of the Opera,” plus everyone else who entered into the spirit of the occasion.
The linedancing was liberally mixed with Jive sessions and the partygoers had a great time dancing for the rest of the night.
The best Jive Performers were too close to call. Two couples tied for first place and they were presented with a bottle of bubbly to quench their undoubted thirst. Well done to Janet & Brian Chapman and Vicki & George Sheppard.
The night ended with everyone having had a haunting experience and with all looking forward to the next Phoenix extravaganza.
Huge thanks must go to Steve & Denise for organising yet another exceptionally entertaining evening.
Author: Mel Dale
Pictures: Sue Rigg & Helen Burt
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Phoenix Line Dance Club at Korineum Golf & Country Club
Wednesday, 5th October 2011 saw the start of a new era for Phoenix LDC with a new Beginner/Improver class being established at Korineum Golf & Country Club, Esentepe. Some 33 dancers turned up being a mixture of old and new members – some from previous Phoenix classes at Koca Reis (Salamis), some from former classes in Esentepe, and a number of existing members from Doğanköy, Çatalköy, and Arapköy.
The setting has to be one the best in Northern Cyprus with a magnificent club house set in rolling hills to the sides and rear, mountains beyond and views to the front of the Mediterranean.
During this first session, a total of seven dances were performed – Come Dance With Me, Tennessee Shuffle, Singing The Blues, Tired Of Toein’ The Line, Baby Kate, Cumbia Semana and Little Red Book. The dancers equipped themselves very well with most promising to return for future lessons!
Olive Festival Zeytinlik 2011
Thursday 6th October saw Phoenix Display Team open the evenings show for the 10th International Olive Festival held in the village of Zeytinlik T.R.N.C.
The scheduled time to start was 19:00 hrs and as in most festivals, the timing was not as per programme the reason, being the start was delayed to wait for the audience to appear. This had a few of us thinking where“rent a crowd” have their office in Girne!
Sure enough, the people started to arrive and by the time the team took to the stage, a large number of people had filled the seats and areas around the stage.
The team completed four dances to a great reception from the audience or should I say “Rent a Crowd .Com” and were presented with a memento of this year’s festival.
It was as always good to see people at the festival taking in the sights and smells of the various stalls around the village square. Well done to the organisers of the festival for creating a very pleasant atmosphere for people to enjoy.
Check out Phoenix http://www.youtube.com/steveandenise for a compilation video of the team’s performance at this festival and much more.
Author: Mel Dale
Pictures: Helen Burt
Phoenix LDC at the Girne Festival 11 – 17th September 2011
Phoenix LDC display Team was invited to perform on the first night of the Girne Festival 11 held in Ramadan Cemil Square.
On a very warm evening, the team decked out in the new team outfits took to the floor to entertain the crowd.
With the assistance of two children to wave our flags the show got underway with the first three dances, Askin’ Questions, Black Coffee and Sweet Liza. A welcome break followed to let the Ottoman Marching Band back on the floor to complete their performance giving the team a chance to dry off and take on some much needed fluids.
Around an hour later, the team were back on the floor to dance Louisiana Swing, Closer and ending with Chilly Pepper Hot. The audience gave the team a great ovation, from later comments enjoyed the two performances very much, and thought the outfits were terrific.
It was great to see the young boys and girls who kindly waved our flags looking very happy and enjoyed waving them as much as the team did performing. The atmosphere in the square was excellent all the cafes were full and people were having a great time.
The entertainment carried on with various artists all of which added to the fun of the night.
A surprise was in store for Phoenix members when George (surname omitted for privacy but his wife is nicknamed Fluffy) took to the floor with the Festival Queen to dance with her. George not known for his dancing feet amazed everyone with his Fred Astaire impersonation not least the Festival Queen, who reported, she could not get the smile off her face.
Author: Mel Dale
Pictures: Gordon Swindles & Helen Burt
Phoenix Line Dance Club at Park Garden Café & Restaurant, Girne
Friday, 9th September 2011
After a three-year absence, the Park Café in Girne saw the return of linedancing with Phoenix LDC holding their monthly social with around 60 members and guests attending.
The revamped café proved to be an enjoyable venue with ample space for dancing and with most of the seating giving a view of the dance floor people could sit and enjoy watching the dancers or just have a chat with friends.
Members of the public were more than a little interested in what was going on and most of them stopped outside the café to see the dancing, some staying a while before continuing on their way and also the people in the café having a meal appeared to be enjoying the proceedings as well as their meal.
A good mix of dances suited all levels of experience and requests for favourites made for a great evening of dancing and having fun.
This venue was a one off event but with the success of this social do not be surprised if there is a return and it will be a lot sooner than three years!
Thanks to Steve and Denise for their hard work in putting on this social and their commitment to the club and members.
Author: Mel Dale
Pictures: Susan Kasap & Karen Öznedim
Phoenix LDC at Yeni Erenköy Karpaz Beach Festival 2011
The Phoenix Display Team hit the road again on the 14th July to perform for the people and visitors of Yeni Erenköy.
Due to the distance involved, it was decided to stay overnight and travel back from the Karpaz the following morning. The convoy of four cars left Girne with thirteen people – nine team members and four “groupies.” Two and a half hours later, we reached our hotel and it was a pleasant surprise to find our accommodation was designed to represent an Indonesian type of dwelling creating a feeling of being in the Far East of Asia and not Far East up the Karpaz!
Bags were dropped in the rooms and tables gathered for our picnic lunch comprising of different dishes made by the members of the party, all equally delicious, and very welcome after the long drive. A short practice session took place for the team members who could raise enough energy in the heat followed by a well-deserved siesta for everyone. Relaxed and refreshed we all headed to town for the parade and to meet fellow performers in the festival. Stilt Walkers, a Turkish Folk dance troupe, a Fire Eater, Various Clowns, Rock group, and children from the local school were some of the people taking part.
The mayor welcomed everyone in the arena and after the speeches, the festival got underway with a firework display. During a short delay, while waiting for the TV station to go “live,” the stilt walkers and clowns entertained the audience and children.
After the Turkish Folk Dance Troupe had completed their routine Phoenix took to the floor with four dances to an enthusiastic audience in the arena and it was anyone’s guess how many had tuned into the local TV station. The Fire Eater closed the show with a spectacular display of flames and sparks that covered most of the arena floor.
The team were invited by the mayor for a meal and after show drinks at the Belediyesi restaurant. While at the restaurant, we had another chance to get to know some of our fellow performers, namely the stilt walkers, Özgür and Emrah Mengükan, brothers from Istanbul and had been walking on stilts since they were children. The fire-eater, Yusuf Cihan Süslu, also from Istanbul, and had a Latin-dance school and that gave the opportunity for two of the team to have a one to one lesson for the salsa. In return, he was shown how line dancing is done to Chilli Pepper Hot!
After thanking the mayor for his generous hospitality, the short journey to the hotel was made by tired but happy people ready for bed but not before the traditional nightcap to round the enjoyable day off.
Author: Mel Dale
Phoenix LDC at the Beyamudu (Pergama) Potato Festival July 2011
The Phoenix display team’s performance at the İskele International Folk Dance Festival was the catalyst for a last minute booking to take part in the Pergama Potato Festival on July 9th 2011. The Pergama organisers had seen the team perform at İskele and wanted us for their own festival.
A coach was arranged by the festival organisers to pick the team up from Girne town car park and take us to Pergama near Pile. During the wait for the coach, the team had a practice session in the car par much to the delight of the people parking their cars.
With no sign of the coach we were beginning to wonder what had happened and it turned out that the driver had been given the wrong information where to pick the team up and understandably this made him quite late. The coach eventually arrived and the team, by this time resigned to the fact we would be performing much later than planned, boarded the coach. However, the driver (a jet pilot in his former life) got us to Pergama in record time and we were on stage sooner than we thought.
After performing four dances, the team were asked to stay on stage and teach any of the audience who were brave enough to volunteer, how to do “Sweet Liza.” For their first time doing linedancing, the volunteers did very well and the audience appreciated their efforts and they left the stage to a rousing applause. The team were then presented with a plaque to commemorate the festival and left the stage to a further rousing applause.
Food and drink was provided for everyone and it was very pleasing while we were waiting for the food people came to say how much they had enjoyed our performance. The team was made very welcome and the hospitality of the Pergama people was much appreciated.
We boarded the coach for the return journey and our pilot flew us back to Girne yet again in record time.
Author: Mel Dale
