CWF'22 - Event Info
Charlotte WestieFest will be a Vaccine-Only event in 2022
At this time, we will only be offering full weekend passes and limiting our attendance to 500 attendees.
UPDATE: As of Tuesday, 1/27/2022, we have reached our cap of 500 Attendees!
If you are interested in attending, please contact us at “[email protected]” to inquire about availability or to be put on our waitlist.
Charlotte WestieFest has worked hard to create an event that has always welcomed people from diverse and varied backgrounds – demographics as well as types of dance. We continue to be committed to creating an event environment based on treating people equitably with dignity, respect and courtesy. As such, we strive to ensure the SAFETY of every attendee through a shared responsibility with every member of our dance community.
To this end, we have historically employed a Code of Conduct that every attendee is required to follow. In addition, for 2022 we will be implementing a Health Safety Policy in response to the challenges brought on by the pandemic.
Charlotte WestieFest welcomes every community member regardless of their race, age, sexual orientation, gender/gender identity, disability, physical appearance, and/or religion. For 2022, we believe the prudent course of action to resume partner dancing while mitigating risk in an event environment is to require all attendees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
We recognize that this approach will preclude some members of our dance community from being able to attend CWF’22, and we look forward to welcoming those impacted back in 2023.
Please use the following links to access our complete Health Safety Policy (HSP), the updates to our HSP as of 12/24/21, and our Code of Conduct.
North Carolina's Dance Party
Our focus is Learning and Social Dancing for all levels!
WSDC Points
We are a WSDC registry event!
We offer Jack & Jill Competitions in the following Divisions:
- Newcomer
- Novice
- Intermediate
- Advanced
- All-Star
- Masters
All WSDC Jack & Jill Competitions (Prelims and Finals) are conducted on Saturday. No WSDC J&J Comps on Sunday!!!!!
Strictly Swings
All “Leveled” Strictly Swing Competitions will take place on Friday Evening in the following Divisions:
- Newcomer
- Novice
- Intermediate
- Advanced
- All-Star
- Masters
And, NEW for 2022, we will be having a:
- Generation Gap Strictly Swing
This competition will require a minimum 22 year age gap (we’re making it the same as the year, so everyone can easily remember it – LOL) – and, only 1 partner of a couple can be Advanced or above (per WSDC Point Registry status as of the start of the event weekend).
Prelims for this contest will be on Saturday afternoon, immediately following all J&J Prelims. Finals will be on Saturday night, just prior to the All-Star J&J Finals.
Tournament-Style "All-American" Contest
Unfortunately, Swing 16 is currently on hiatus – so, no Swing 16 for 2022.
However, based on the interest we have historically seen for this type of competition at CWF …. we are planning to run a tournament-style contest on Sunday afternoon.
Prelims for this competition will be at 1:00 pm on Sunday.
Finals will be at 2:00 pm on Sunday.
Couples will be paired randomly for Prelims, with the top 16 couples advancing to the Finals. Prior to the Finals, partners will be redrawn, and then seeded into a Tournament-Style bracket with the Finals being conducted in a “Head-to-Head” format two couples at a time.
Complete details are available in the Competition Rules link.
Note: We are continuing to monitor and evaluate things with regard to a Mask Policy for competitions and will determine and announce it prior to Competition Registration cut-off. Regardless of any mandates that may or may not be in place at the time of the event, we support and encourage competitors to wear masks in consideration of their fellow competitors.
Lots of Social Dancing
What makes CWF so amazing? Our emphasis on social dancing, learning, and the ability to explore other dance styles in addition to West Coast Swing. At our core, we value the inclusion of all levels, both within West Coast Swing, as well across complementary dance styles.
To this end, as in previous years, in addition to our Main Room which will remain primarily focused on West Coast Swing ……. we will be featuring our “Carolina Mix Room” for social dancing on both Friday and Saturday nights!
The specifics are:
On Friday and Saturday Nights our Secondary (Lakeshore) Ballroom will become a “Carolina Mix Room” – we will be playing a mix of WCS, Shag, Hustle, Country-Western Two-Step (CW2) and Night Club Two-step (NC2) for social dancing. This will provide a great option for those not interested in competing to social dance to all the styles of dance that we will be teaching over the weekend, to warm up prior to competing, and then complement the Main Room social dancing throughout each evening.
And, don’t forget …… we also have social dances on both Thursday night (starting with a pre-dance lesson at 8 pm and then dancing until the sun comes up) as well as Sunday night into early Monday morning.
Unfortunately, for 2022, we will not be able to conduct the secondary dance rooms that have previously been hosted by Charlotte Latin Dance, Dancing in Charlotte w/ Queen City Moves, Carolina Ballroom Dance Club, and Queen City Blues/Fusion. We look forward to welcoming these groups back in 2023.
Learn West Coast Swing - along with a taste of Shag, Country Two-Step, Nightclub 2 Step, & Hustle!!!
With our amazing staff we are able to offer workshops not only for West Coast Swing but also provide the opportunity to “dip your toes” into: Shag, Country Two-Step, Nightclub 2 Step, and Hustle!
If you have been looking for a chance to check out other dance styles – or, re-visit some dance styles other than WCS ……. CharlotteWestieFest is the place for you to do so!
Complete details will be available on the event schedule.
Special Sessions & Mini-Intensives
In addition to the many workshops, there will be three “Add-On Sessions” that will be offered at CWF’22. These “Mini-Intensives” can help you “raise your game” as you look to grow your dance abilities. They are:
- Hustle Intensive w/Stephanie Risser-Loveira – This 2-hour session on Saturday from 5-7 pm will focus on showing the participants how to increase their repertoire of moves while having some fun going through variations of the basics, styling & technique. Complete details can be found on the Facebook Event Page for this Special Session
- Solo Movement Intensive w/ Tara Trafzer – This “Late Night w/Tara” session will be at Midnight on Saturday for 1 hour. Tara will leverage her routine, performance and competitive insights into providing some fun and unique ways to improve your individual movements to up your level of dance. Complete details can be found on the Facebook Event Page for this Special Session:
- GPDIA Teachers Certification Course – Michael Kiehm, the founder of the Global Professional Dance Instructors Association (GPDIA), will be offering the WCS Basic Certification Course. This course will take place in two parts during the event: Friday 4-7 pm and Saturday 5:30-7:30 pm. Complete details are available on the GDIA website at: Upcoming Course Dates – Global Professional Dance Instructors Association (globalpdia.com)
Other Special Sessions include:
- Two Sessions of “10-for-$10’s” – sign-up for a “quick tune-up” with many of our staff. For only $10, you get 10 minutes of one-on-one time with a staff member to work on 1 or 2 things that can help better your dancing, address something you have been struggling with, or just fine-tune an aspect of your dancing. These 2-hour sessions will be scheduled throughout the weekend – see the schedule for specific times.
- Our unique “Grow Your Dance Session” – this free two-hour session is where we invite the Newcomer and Novice level dancers to come and interact in small group settings with some of our staff, select All-Star dancers, and recognized community instructors in an effort to help answer questions, provide insights, learn new things, and foster the development of everyone’s level of dance.
Workshops
DAYS
Sq Ft of Ballroom
Professional Staff
Instructional, Competition, Emcee & Judging Staff
While we continue to work on finalizing our 2022 Staff – here are those who are confirmed at this time!
Our “Carolina-based” Team of:
Michael Kiehm * Patty Vo * Robin Smith * Debbie Ramsey-Boz * Jason Barnes
Jason & Annmarie Marker * Ryan Boz * Stephanie Risser-Loveira * Nicole Zwerlein
Our “Regional Core Team” of:
Bonnie & Jerome Subey * PJ Turner * Kay Newhouse * Robert Cordoba
Erica Smith * Debbie Tuttle-Steffanina * Lara Deni & Steve Wilder * Alyssa Lundgren
Hailey Toro * Jeff Mumford * Derek Leyva & Jennifer Norris * Margie Tuttle
Alan Annicella * Abi & Stephane Schneider * Sharole Lashe Negrete * Bryan Jordan
Doug Rousar * Demery Leyva * Alex Brand * Vivian Glucksman-Weiss * Susan Brown
Nikki Kontoulas and Scott Campbell (Shag)
Also joining us this year are:
Tara Trafzer * Malia (San Nicolas) Jameson * Stephen White
Alexander Stavola * Karla Anita Catana * Austin Kois
Rob Glover * Ariel Peck * Jesse Lopez
Our Registration, Front Desk, Vaccine Verification & Support Team of:
Tammy Davis * Allison Bennett * Tracy Wang * Beth & Bruce Perrotta
Our Photographer Team of:
Carl Lind * Dan Sweet * Jeannette Senn
and …. Stay Tuned, We May Have More Yet to Come!!!!!!!
DJ Staff
Meet our amazing DJ staff
We are continuing to work to finalize our DJ Staff for 2022.
**** Confirmed so far ****
Victor Loveira (Head DJ)
Ruby Lair (Texas) * Louis St. George (“Everywhere”)
Kristen Shaw (Northeast) * Margie Tuttle (Chattanooga via DC)
Josh Angel (Florida) * Ann Reynolds (Charlotte) * Ryan Boz (Raleigh)
**** Also joining us this year are: ****
Virgil Breeden (Atlanta) * Beth Bellamy (Chicago-area) * Joe Mahoney (Boston)
Khayree Jones (California) * Larisa Tingle (California) * Brad Blashko (Canada)
We are excited to be bringing in some familiar names from both near and far again this year!!
Stay tuned – we might still have a couple more recognizable names that may be coming and join us in the DJ booth over the weekend!
Event Directors
We look forward to welcoming you to Charlotte WestieFest 2022
Rick Dauss (Executive Event Director)
Cindy Dauss (Rick’s Boss)
Gary Jobst (Co-Event Director)
Charlotte WestieFest is a production of Carolina Westie Productions (CWP), LLC
Schedule
***** The “Final” 2022 Schedule and Workshop Details are Now Available via the above Buttons *****
If we have any changes to the detailed schedule due to unforeseen circumstances, this online version will be updated up to and during the the event weekend!
For travel and planning purposes, here are some Key Highlights for 2022:
- Thursday Night
- Kick-Off workshop at 8:00 pm
- Social Dancing to begin at 9:00 pm
- Friday
- Workshops will begin at Noon
- Strictly Swing Competitions scheduled for 9:00 – 11:00 pm
- Social Dancing in Secondary Ballroom during Strictlies
- Saturday
- Workshops will begin at 10:00 am
- Jack & Jill Prelims & Semi’s will start at Noon
- Generation Gap Strictly – Prelims following J&J heats
- Jack & Jill Finals scheduled to begin at 8:00 pm
- Generation Gap Strictly – Finals prior to All-Star J&J Finals
- Sunday
- Workshops will begin at 10:00 am
- “Tournament-Style All-American” contest
- Prelims at 1:00
- Bracketed “Head-to-Head” Finals at 2:00
- Evening Workshop at 7:00 pm
- “After-Party” Dance 8:00 pm – 3:00 am
Note: We will announce details on any “Specialty Sessions” & Intensives as soon as possible.
Please keep these time frames in mind when making your travel plans!
As a reminder, with the addition of a 17th regular game to the NFL schedule ……… we are no longer on Super Bowl weekend.
Event tickets
Weekend Passes are Now Available via the World Dance Registry Registration System
***** REMINDER *****
CWF’22 will be capped at 500 attendees for 2022
UPDATE: As of Tuesday, 1/27/2022 we have reached our cap of 500 attendees.
If you are interested in attending, please use the “Contact Us” link to inquire about availability or to be put on our waitlist.
Competition Registration Now Open.
Affiliations
These awesome companies support us
Sponsors
Special Thanks to the following current and past Sponsors who have helped make CWF successful!
Debbie & Dean Maheras * Adela Su & Eddie Karoliussen * Steve & Teresa Sagraves
Sharole Lashe Negrete * Debi & Buz McCreary * Bill Waltz & Anne Brade * Others who wish to remain anonymous
David & Jiffy Sarver * Dori Eden * Patrick Moise
(If you are interested in becoming a Sponsor for 2022 – please contact Rick Dauss via Facebook or by email at “[email protected]”)
Location
- 8629 JM Keynes Dr. Charlotte, NC
- [email protected]
- (704) 547-7444
- Feb 3 -6, 2022
- Book Hotel