We loved Scotland!!  But we really wish we could have seen more of Glasgow!  It was a first time for both of us in Scotland.. and we really hope we can make it back next year to see more of the beautiful country!!

As for the event… it was the first year for the Scottish Swing Championships… and we think it was pretty successful for a first time event!  Next year, there will be WSDC points, and that is only going to help this event grow bigger and bigger!!  We were excited to meet new Scottish friends, but also very happy to see old friends from all over the UK and even some French friends 😉 The people of Scotland were so sweet and friendly…. Even if we couldn’t completely understand everything that was said to us the first time with the strong accents!! hahaha 😉 All kidding aside… we really enjoyed getting to know everyone, and hope to see more of the Scottish community very soon!!

The workshops were PACKED!!  So many people ready to learn that we actually had to add the private lesson floor to the edge of the main dance floor to make more room for everyone!!!  It was a greta ambiance in the classes and the competitions as well!!  We were happy to see everyone step up and help the event get enough competitors to gain WSDC points for next year!  Everyone cheered on everyone… and that is always a great thing to see!!

Once again, we got to run the Swing 16 contest on Sunday afternoon… and we had just enough competitors to run the final of the tournament 🙂  We were content with getting 16 couples… but next year we are really hoping we can double that number!!!  We really appreciate all the participation from the competitors, and the positive atmosphere it brings to the end of the event!  Congrats to the winners of the event… and we really hope everyone had a great time with us!

Thank you everyone for such a great weekend in Glasgow…. and we hope we see everyone again in the UK very soon!!! Keep growing the community… and we hope we will be back next year! 😉

-Maxime and Torri 😉

We had a great time teaching in our French hometown, Lyon!!  It was the first time we have taught together at the Evi’Dance studio… And it was a really awesome turn out for the classes!!  We had so many couples in both the Novice/Intermediate and the Intermediate/Advanced classes!!!

We worked on some fun things, and we really hope everyone had a good time with us!!

It was really nice to see how many people came out for the party after the workshops!  There was such a fun atmosphere during the party!

We really hope we can fit it in our schedule to come back to Evi’Dance for another quick night of workshops sometime…. It’s always nice to work near home with the local community!!

Thanks Stephane, Amandine, and Julien for having us!!

Up next…… FRENCH OPEN!!!

À jeudi les amis!!!

-Maxime and Torri 😉

This has been one of the most amazing experiences we have ever had together!  The people of Tahiti swing are absolutely WONDERFUL!!!  Not only has this been a teaching trip, but we have also had a great vacation here as well!  We could tell it was going to be an amazing trip the second we stepped into the arrivals area of the Papeete airport and were welcomed by so many people!!!

We started the trip off in Bora Bora…. which was more beautiful than we could have even imagined!!  It was a much needed relaxing couple days before we started our first workshops.. How could you not be completely relaxed with this view??

After we returned to Papeete, we began our weekend of workshops and privates!  We were so happy to meet everyone at the first dance on Friday night, and dance with almost everyone!  The community is so wonderful, and everyone is so nice and welcoming!!  We realized in the classes that even though everyone may be on Tahiti time and arrive a little lat etc classes, they are all ready to work and improve their dancing!  Everyone was very invested in the classes and worked very hard with all the material and technique we gave them…. We really love to see that!!!!

And on top of getting to work with everyone, we also got to see a lot of people’s houses… which are all so beautiful and have amazing views!!!  We feel so lucky to have been in such great company and be welcomed into everyone’s homes!!!! Thank you so much Bruno, Taraina, Titaua and Jim for your hospitality!!!

We woke up each morning feeling like it was a dream and we couldn’t possibly be in such a beautiful place!!  After the first weekend of work, we had a couple days off to go to another island, Moorea!  We rode in Bruno’s boat, actually, I rode in it while Maxime drove it!!  Eeeeeek!!  Bruno was close by of course to help him when waves got a little crazy 😉 It was amazing….. and right before we arrived in Moorea, we came across a group of about 15 dolphins!!  So Bruno drove us around and we played with them for 30 minutes!!!  They loved jumping around the boat and put on such a great show for us!!  That was an unforgettable experience for Maxime and I…. we had such an amazing time!!  While we were in Moorea, we stayed in another beautiful house on the ocean, swam with sharks and sting rays, and went exploring with a group of friends…. we loved every second of being there!!

After that relaxing trip, we went back over to Papeete for our last weekend of workshops and privates… Everyone was just as enthusiastic about the classes as the first weekend, and we were so happy with the progress we felt we made with everyone!!  It made us extremely happy to hear all the wonderful feedback from people, and we are really hoping we can fit it in our schedule to come back next year!!!!

We loved performing at the dance on Saturday night!  It was a WCS and Kizomba mixed party, so of course we danced on a Kizomba song…. which we both love very much!!  We had a fun time, and we hope we may have at least interested some of the Kizomba dancers in WCS so the dance will grow even more here 😉

Tahiti Swing dancers….. Each and every one of you are so special to us, and made us feel like part of the family!!!!  We really appreciate what you have all done for us over the last 2 weeks, and hope we can come back and visit you very soon!!!  But before then, we hope to see you somewhere in the US or France!!!!

Until next time friends!!!

Merci beaucoup!!!!!!

-Maxime and Torri 😉

Woohoooo…. This is an event we really look forward to ALL YEAR LONG!!!!!

As all of you should know…. WIL is Maxime’s event… that he has been running for 8 years alongside Virginie Massart, Arnaud Perga, & David Riquelme!  They have really cared for this event over the last 8 years…. and put their full hearts into this event to make it magical for every single person who attends!  If you have never attended a West in Lyon….. you must seriously consider it for 2017.  Let me give you some of my personal favorite parts of the weekend… 😉

The staff….. I’m not just talking about the top of the line Pro teaching staff….. I’m talking about the volunteers as well!!  The pros of course do a great job with classes and judging and emceeing and putting on a great show for the attendees…. but the volunteers really make sure everything runs smoothly…. from the T-shirt sales, to the food & drinks sales, and to the lining up of competitors for the contests that really makes everything go so fast!!  Every person there works so hard… this event is amazing because of the people who work their butts off all weekend!!!

The venue….. walking into that gymnasium with amphitheater seating on Saturday night is one of the most unreal feelings I have ever experienced!  This is my 3rd year in a row at WIL…. and it still takes my breath away each time!!!  The backdrop was AMAZING this year…. the LYON was incredible!!!  Looking down onto the PACKED dance floor to see everyone dancing and having a great time is such a wonderful sight to see!!  And is if that giant floor isn’t enough…. around the corner there is another packed dance floor!!!  These people just can’t get enough of the dancing at WIL!

The contests…. I was lucky enough this year to be trusted with the huge job of Head Judge for the weekend!!  I was so stressed going into the weekend already…. it didn’t help that I came down with the flu on Thursday!!!!!  I was so sick… but I knew I needed to push through to make the weekend happen!!  Thank you so much John Lindo for your amazing scoring over the weekend…. and making my job easier…. and my sweet Henriette!!!  I couldn’t have made it through the contests without you keeping my head on straight and helping organize people on the floor!!  Judges…. you were all awesome and helped move things along quickly…. 🙂 Oli… your emceeing really helped keep everyone entertained while we would work out problems on the floor… and I really appreciate all you did to keep things moving… even if you messed up my order of leaders sometimes 😉 hahaha and to the amazing hard workers in the contest line up room… Peter, Noelia, Valerie….. you are my lifesavers!!! WIL wouldn’t be the same without you!!

SWING 16…. this was the first time in Europe we debuted the swing 16 tournament concept… and we got a lot of great feedback!!!  So much fun… we are so excited to take this tour all around Europe… hitting Russian Open next 😉  Check out all the info on www.swing16.com 😉

The show….. Always a great show…. Maxime and I were so sad that we were both so sick with the flu on Saturday that we couldn’t do our routine….. but we were happy to be a part of a really fun social demo with John & Emeline and Oli & Hennie… while the magnificent Farid Ferchach put on a singing show  for us to dance to!!  It was the fun we needed to feel better…. Thats for sure!  everyone else did great with their routines… and we loved watching 😉

Lastly….. the cleanup….. it is always such a really great experience to see everyone helping to pick up the floor, while others keep dancing…. it took a total of 30 minutes to get all the floor and carpets up and put onto their carts…. thats how many people help out!  Everyone comes together and gets it done so fast!  I am always honored to be a part of the help… and its one of my favorite parts of the weekend 🙂

Click here to watch a fun video Tatiana took of the cleanup!

Thank you to everyone for making it another special WIL for me….. I really hope next year I’m not as sick….. Sorry for this post being so long….. But trust me…. I wanted to write so much more!!!!

Until next year WIL….. 😉

-Maxime and Torri 😉

We had a very quick but fun weekend in Montpellier!  We arrived Friday late afternoon, and left Sunday morning!  On Friday, we had a separate mens and ladies class for an hour, and then put it together to see how it all worked with a partner.  We really love this concept, as it feels like the guys and girls each get some in depth time with Maxime and myself, and then also get to see how it works when we throw a partner into the equation!  We have had a lot of success with this concept and think its great for everyone!  After the classes, we had a little pre party before the workshops… and we got to see a lot of friends from around the area who came out to dance with all of us!

Saturday was the long day…. 6 hours of workshops…. 2 hours with each level! (Intermediate, Advanced, and Competition) We felt like the levels were really great… and we had a fun time challenging the competition level!!  The time flew right by us because we were having a great time with all the levels!!

After the workshops, we had a little break to rest before the big party 🙂

There were so many familiar faces who came just for the dance that night… and it was really great to catch up with everyone.  We kept going from the dance floor, to hanging out and back and forth all night until we finally crashed around 2:30 in the morning!!

We really had a wonderful time in Montpellier with all the dancers…. Thank you so much Alexandre Hulo for having us and taking care of us over the weekend!!

We hope we will be back soon… and if not… We hope to see most of you at WIL!!!!! 😉

-Maxime and Torri 😉