All-inclusive swing dance convention!! - Come Rain Come Shine 2009 May 15, 2009

What does one do when the economy is down in the slumps? You go out dancing and get the endorphins kicking for less than $3 an hour!
The third annual swing dance convention Come Rain Come Shine happens in Portland for three days, on May 15th to 17th, Friday to Sunday. The convention is a convergence of different dance styles to learn and self express, including swing dances such as Lindy Hop, West Coast swing, and balboa, along with hip hop and African movement. All levels are welcome! -- Learn a new dance, smooth what you do know, get cool new moves to add to your vocabulary.

The dance convention also encourages blending and/or modifying different styles of dance so you can dance to any song in any way you feel like.

Saturday night is a highlight of live soul/funk music provided by the versatile local musician Chris Mayther. The Chris Mayther Band will get the groove going while you dance whatever style you want to let out.

There is also a worthy charity side to this special event: Part of the proceeds go to the American Heart Association.

This year's Come Rain Come Shine is dedicated to Frankie "Muscle Head" Manning, one of the pioneers of the Lindy Hop swing dance who helped popularize this style across the world for the past 30 years. He recently passed away on April 27th at age 94.

What Come Rain Come Shine is about:
* Letting your body express what you feel through the music. Who cares if the dance style is not conventionally danced to that particular song. You want to swing dance to Christina Aguilera? -- Go for it!
* Exposing yourself to the different styles out there to create your own language of self expression.
* Having fun, meeting new people, getting a workout for a low, low cost!

The story behind Come Rain Come Shine: Come Rain Come Shine is organized by Watch Your Step Productions LLC, which specializes in the performing arts. Andrew and Ida Jefsen Slac run the company. In a MySpace blog, Andrew writes: "What started as a minor workshop centered around giving friends publicity, has now become a weekend-long event. I've had this crazy idea that people should always be able to dance, no matter if they know the 'correct' dance form to a specific music or not." Previous Come Rain Come Shine events have included blues and tango. This year's annual event includes partnerships with national events such as Reno & Chico Dance Sensation, Camp Jitterbug in Seattle, Swingtime in the Rockies in Colorado, Swing City Chicago, San Francisco Bal Fest and Swingin' the New Year in Tampa Bay, FL.

What: Come Rain Come Shine 2009
When: May 15 - 17, Friday - Sunday
How much: $115 for the entire weekend; $60 for all day (one day only) (does NOT include evening dances); $15 per workshop (does NOT include evening dances); $15 for single evening (includes drop-in lessons)
Where: The Chelsea Ballroom, 1510 S.E. 9th, Portland OR 97214
Who should go: Anyone at any level who's interested in learning swing, hip hop, or African movement.

For more info (including photos from last year's event, video links, and instructor bios):
Come Rain Come Shine homepage:
www.comeraincomeshinepdx.com

Schedule for the weekend:
http://www.comeraincomeshinepdx.com/schedule.html

Come Rain Come Shine instructor bios with video links:
www.comeraincomeshinepdx.com/staff_andy.html

The Chris Mayther Band:
http://chrismayther.com/cmband.html

Photos from last year's Come Rain Come Shine 2008:
http://dennisgoetz.com/2008/crcs/

Watch Your Step LLC:
www.watchyourstepproductions.com

Official Website: http://www.comeraincomeshinepdx.com/index.html