From Jackie Miranda:
Another Bonanza Bash has come and gone all too fast - hard to believe it's been 10 years! Despite the fact that I could not get out on the dance floor and dance (except for a few little styling notes...and the video teach with CJ on the last day :-), I had a great time visiting with the dancers, taking pictures and just feeling so fulfilled to see so many smiling faces. It was my turn to sit and watch the dancers - during the workshops, during the evening dances and at the Saturday Night Dinner Show. This time I was the spectator - now I know why people who don't know what line dancing is all about end up wanting to try it out after watching a class and then get instantly addicted after their first event! It was a very rewarding experience. We wanted to have the event at a special location for it's 10th anniversary...somewhere near and dear to our hearts: Disneyland! Thus we picked the Clarion Hotel which had great rooms and suites at reasonable rates, restaurants in the hotel, an abundance of restaurants within walking distance, and of course Disneyland 2 blocks away! Although I didn't get to slip out for a trip to Disneyland, I heard that quite a few of our dancers did make it there before and after the event! One other plus was the free parking which we negotiated with the Clarion - just for our dancers! We had our own parking validating machine - very cool! We started out with a Welcome Dance Thursday night which went till about 1:30 AM! We had an awesome staff of Instructors this year at The Clarion Hotel in Anaheim: Barry and Dari Anne Amato, Guyton Mundy, John Robinson, Mark Cosenza, Bob and Trish Boesel and of course my Doug Miranda, with Wildman Louie St. George as our ever energetic DJ. We were proud to have Bob and Trish Boesel present once again, having been part of every Bonanza Bash! We had a great group of dancing friends from Northern California! There were some terrific dances taught, all of which were repeated over the weekend (please refer to our website for the list of dances taught
at www.djdancing.com). Each Instructor brought their own style and a variety of dances, from high beginner dances to advanced dances with a funky flare! There were two workshop rooms next to each other which were opened up into one large ballroom for the evening dances. It was really hard to behave and stay off the floor : John's dance "Aquarius" was one right up my alley - flowing and beautiful; Mark's fun little dance "Java" had such a catchy tune that I was humming it all weekend long (thanks a lot Mark!); Barry and Dari Anne's "King Of The Road" fit the music so well - it did my heart good to see Doug out on the floor dancing and having fun with the last 8 counts of shoulder shrugs and finger snaps; Bob's new dance "Heart Break" is one I want to learn soon, as I enjoyed watching Bob and Trish dance it together; and of course Guyton's "Shake" looked to be a challenge, done only in great Guyton style and being a floor filler for the weekend. I have to say that it was like a great big family - we had 120 dancers present, from near and far. At the Instructors' demos Friday morning, Doug welcomed all the dancers and made his usual speech: if everyone was having a good time, be sure to let him know; if there were any problems or complaints, to let ME know! Well, we were quite impressed with the dancers because there were no complaints just tons of energy, smiles and lots of laughs (I even saw some money being shoved into Barry's jeans during classes AND at the Saturday evening dance amidst all the "cheers"...hmmmm...) Louie St. George was always there for open dancing in between workshops and certainly added to the energy in the room during the evening dances. He's a quite a guy - not only does he have every piece of music you might ask for, he can count you in for every dance and call the steps for the first wall or two! Plus no matter what ideas we threw at him for the Saturday Night Evening Show, he was on top of it. What a library of music he possesses! We had a 45 minute video which we played for our dinner guests during the Saturday Night Dinner. CJ put together a video highlighting excerpts from our event dinner shows from 2002 to the present. Boy have some of us changed - some of the hair colors and styles, the clothes, the ... well...you know... However many commented that the only person who managed not to change was Doug! I think the favorite were the different versions of YMCA! The Saturday Night Show consisted of a "Tonight Show" theme with host Doug Miranda! The show started out with a fashion show of my newest line of hand beaded stretch jeans, Jacaranda Fashions, the jeans being modeled by all our male instructors (except Doug - he was the host!) You'll have to check the picture on our website - they had coordinating purses plus belts courtesy of John Robinson. The crowd cheered for more as our models Barry, Bob, Mark, Guyton and John made their way off the run way! The rest of the show was devoted to introducing the guests (our instructors, including myself) one by one and doing an
interview where the dancers actually learned things about their instructors they never knew. There was quite a few questions asked of Guyton - inlcuding what his next tattoo was going to be! Doug then had each one demo one of their popular dances, with Barry and Dari Anne singing a beautiful rendition of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers". As the finale, I came out and put all the instructors in position for their finale - a portion of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" which I had choreographed and taught to them at lunch time! Just goes to show the versatility of this talented group. Then we closed the show with a short video of all the things that happen when the instructors have a bad day, of course to the song "Bad Day". CJ did a great job of preparing all these videos for us and get this - he has already mailed out videos of the event so those of you who ordered videos, they are on the way! Sunday had full workshops, till the end! What a great group of die-hard dancers we had! On behalf of Doug and myself, we
thank the Instructors, the Wildman Louie, CJ, our vendors Skirts Plus (Toni and Jeff Posner were instrumental with helping us with the dinner show video set up), Schafer's Dance Shoes and Boots (Duane and Barbara Schafer), plus our volunteers and dear friends Peggy Hall, Ken and Dorothy Lubin, Craig Moran from Chicago, the loving folks from San Diego who helped me with my Jacaranda Fashions, and of course Doug's wonderful Mom Ruth who ran the hospitality suite for our instructors, helped me at the registration table and made sure I ate, rested and behaved for the weekend (she's still taking care of me!); cousin Sixta and of course Doug's Dad Horace for helping with the dance floor (and Dad running the last minute errands Thursday, all with a smile :-) Till next year - happy dancing!
Doug & Jackie Miranda
From Carol Craven's Newsletter:
We had a great time this weekend at Bonanza Bash!! One of the teachers that stuck out the most for us this time was Mark Cosenza. His classes were lots of fun, he was so considerate and went slow to make sure everyone got the dance right. All the instructors were great, and we like the way they attended each other's classes. and mingled at the nightly dances. The Saturday night show was special , done in the Tonight Show style, and we were able to ask questions of the teachers to discover some interesting details of their lives. If you have the chance, I would strongly recommend attending this event next year!! Jackie Miranda tried not to dance and did an great job of MCing and choreographing the Saturday Night Routine(THRILLER). The other class that stood out the most to us was Barry and DariAnn Amato's. They taught Doug and Jackie's, Maybe Not Tonight, and sang their song live from their new album, Soul To Soul.
Ken & Dorothy Lubin
From Carol Craven's Newsletter:
Last Thursday a group of 15 northern California dancers headed south to Anaheim to spend the Memorial Day weekend with 100 other “die hard” dancers at the Bonanza Bash X event. What a great weekend we had- I particularly enjoy dancing with our southern California friends. And we were only 2 blocks from Disney Land so quite a few took advantage of the “Magic Kingdom”. The hotel was so convenient: you could park right there in the hotel’s parking lot which was huge with plenty of parking, and it was free for all dancers attending the event. The registration desk was just a few feet from the elevators and the ball rooms were just down the hall. Both of the ballrooms were close to each other so you could easily pop in and out of the rooms. And there were 2 restaurants – one that was great for breakfast and lunch and then a more sophisticated restaurant for dinners. And both of these restaurants were right there down the hall from the ball rooms. In addition, there were tons of restaurants within walking
distance of the hotel. Doug expects to have the event again in this same location next year. I would highly recommend this event – Doug always makes his events fun. Doug had an awesome group of instructors and the inimitable Wildman Louie who kept the floor hopping 3 nights in a row. In addition to playing all the workshop dances each night, the playlist included a great mix of dances: On the Water, Simplemente, Trippin’, Irish Stew, Pumpin’ for Love, Keep It Burning, Dizzy, Get It While It’s Hot, Syncopated Love, Drop the Heat, Fantabulous, Just Breathe, It’s Up to You, Walk Back to Me, Ever Last, Street Soul, Red Dress, All the Way, You’re My World, Be Strong, Smooth Criminal, Come Tomorrow, Fool No More, Mildred My Friend, DHSS, Dirty Cash, The Way, Holding a Dream, I’m Moving On, I Am Afraid, Birmingham, Caught in the Act, Bubble Love, Toy Soldier, Crash, Explicit, Side by Side, Love Comes First, X, Soul to Soul, Champagne on Ice, Poetry in Motion, Wat da Fuss, Whatever Happens, Last Man Standing, etc. The instructors included: Guyton Mundy, Barry and Dari Anne Amato, Doug Miranda (Jackie still isn’t allowed to dance although she was always present), John Robinson, and Mark Consenza along with Bob and me. All the dances were popular from the comments I heard. And as always, Doug had each workshop repeated so that if you had to miss a workshop you wanted to take while taking another one, you had a 2nd chance to learn it at another time. All the workshps had full floors, and if there were more in the small room than in the larger ball room, we changed rooms – it was really a great way to accommodate all the dancers. It would be hard to pick just one favorite dance from this event. We particularly enjoyed learning Shake from Guyton – we had learned it from the video prior to the event not knowing that he would be teaching it. He had a packed room as this dance is just too cool. And even the dancers that don’t want to learn the entire dance learn the last 64 counts (the “rounds” part of the dance), so
that they can get out with us and dance in “rounds” (hard to explain, check out the step sheet). Guyton is awesome, such a talented person with such cool new moves and he’s a fantastic instructor. His new dance Promiscuous was great – rather easy, except for the speed. Late Friday night (about 1 o’clock or so) he also taught People (I think that was what it was called), one of the new dances that he will be teaching at JG2 – very cool dance – very fast. I taught Come Into My World (Peter Metelnick and Alison Biggs) that filled the floor as well. They really enjoyed this 32 count, 4 wall dance – it does have tags and restarts, but they got them all by the end of the class as well as on the social dance floor each night. I also taught 2 beginner dances that were very well received: Dance Zone – there are 2 dances listed on the step sheet which the classes enjoyed, but Vivienne had suggested Sweet Nothings by the Deans (not the Brenda Lee version that already has an intermediate dance by Gina Mello). The
Sweet Nothings track was the most popular – the dance hits the lyrics just right – I recommend you take a look at this one). The other beginner dance I taught was Mississippi Moon by Kathy Brown that my classes here at home love. This is a beginner dance to Two Bottles of Beer. This is a great dance – it just feels good, and the classes really liked it and people were jumping out on the floor at the night time socials to try to pick it up. Mark had some great dances too: Where R U, Java and The Truth Hurts (this beginner dance was really fun – the music upbeat and fun to dance to). All the comments I heard on Where R U and Java were very positive too. These were popular dances. He also taught All the Way by Robbie McGowan Hickie that was a hit – they decided they liked the rap version of the song best. Barry and Dari Anne Amato are two of the most talented people I’ve seen. Their dance with Jill Babinec, Save Us, is so much fun, and we also got to hear them sing one of their songs on their new CD – You
Don’t Bring Me Flowers Any More – it was awesome. And we also got to watch them put on a really, really cute skit at the dinner show that included clogging. And you should see Barry model Jackie’s new set of designer jeans – Jacaranda jeans – he really knows how to strike that “pose” ;-) Their dances Devil and the Deep Blue Sea also seemed to be very popular – to a Chris Rea track (the same artist as Texas), as well as their beginner dance King of the Road. John Robinson entertained us all weekend, even when he wasn’t teaching – he is such a fun, high energy person to have around. His dances were also very popular: Aquarius, Cold Hard Cash and Kowboy Krazy. Doug and Jackie’s dances also filled the floor: Love Will Keep Us Alive, Maybe Not Tonight, and To the Limit. I’m sure I’ve missed something – but the floor was filled with all the dances each night. I mentioned Barry modeling Jackie’s new designer jeans – all the male instructors did – you need to take a peak at the video that CJ has and see Guyton,
Mark, John and Bob (in bright pink jeans no less!!!) modeling these fantastic jeans. Put this event on your schedule for next year on Memorial Day weekend (it’s always on the same weekend). Plan your vacation with this holiday weekend, go to the event and get to see Disney Land, the California Experience and Magic Mountain theme parks. You’ll have fun – Bob and I have been to them all and have fun every year.
Trish Boesel
From Carol Craven's Newsletter:
I loooooved this event!!! It seems most of my favorite instructors were there with Wildman Louie keeping everyone on the floor til all hours. Location, location, location. Where else can you have 2 major theme parks, Downtown Disney, all the restaurants you can think of, free parking, and a fabulous fresh fruit stand all within walking distance? I know Trish Boesel wrote a very detailed review yesterday, so I won't go into such great detail, but the event is one of the best and you shouldn't miss it. I will tell you my favorite dances. I loved Shake, Drop the Heat, Promiscuous, Cold Hard Cash, All the Way, The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Boogie Fever, and Dance Zone done to Sweet Nothin's. The instructors were all very visible and accessible to help us with missed steps or just dance with us all night. I could actually do Shake. I had seen it at another event and told myself, no way. But because they double up on the teaches,(every dance is taught twice during the weekend, a REALLY good idea) I was able to actually figure it out and not lose it like I usually do. Guyton is so patient with those of us edging upward in years. Since this was the 10th anniversary of the event, Doug and Jackie did some special things for us. For those of us who went to the dinner, CJ had done a wonderful video of past events. He took highlights from some of the shows and lots of us sitting there got to see ourselves as others had seen us. Some of it was embarrassing, but most were wonderful memories. There was so much laughter. The evening show was a different format with instructors being interviewed and then answering questions from the audience. My favorite part, aside from watching the men, especially Barry, model Jacaranda jeans, was seeing how many of them could remember and dance the first dance they every choreographed. Anyway I had a wonderful time and plan to go next year. I danced so hard I lost weight, yay, and I'm sore, BUT IT'S A GOOD SORE!!!
Carolyn Kenney Tucson Arizona
From Carol Craven's Newsletter:
On Thursday night, the 25th of May, a happy fun crowd of line dancers hit the dance floor with Louie St. George in charge for Doug & Jackie Miranda's directed 10th BONANZA BASH event with the chosen location being the Clarion Hotel Anaheim Resort in California located next to Disneyland. The good times for us line dancers continued for three more days with workshops and open dancing accompanied by lunch, dinner and Saturday Show break times until the last workshop on Sunday afternoon. Thanks Doug & Jackie for directing another fantastic weekend for us line dancers. I'm already looking forward to next year. Jackie looks great and seems well on her way to recovery, but she is not completely following her doctors orders to stay off the dance floor as she hit the floor two times. Once, to perfect the routine for her and doug's dance MAYBE NOT TONIGHT while doing a critique of instructor's Barry & Dari Anne Amato who were kind enough to present the dance, in place of Jackie, with an almost correct version.
Then a second time on Saturday evening during open dancing when Barry decided to circle the line dancers twice with Jackie as his two step partner while Doug and Dari Anne zipped around behind them. Every one was in shock since a ten year film history presentation of BONANZA BASH episodes ended with pictures of Jackie just after surgery. MAYBE NOT TONIGHT(Nite Club Rhythm) which was a popular dance at this event, and the already popular Michael Barr & Michele Burton's SOUL TO SOUL(Nite Club) dance have the music on the same Barry & Dari Anne Amato Soul To Soul CD which can be purchased via www.barryamato.com During the class mentioned above we had the added thrill of dancing MAYBE NOT TONIGHT on our final practice run without directions while Barry and Dari Anne took a break from teaching and sang the song for us live while we danced. The event hotel had both excellent restaurants and bar along with two workshop ball room locations that were joined into one for evening open dancing. The ample seating and dance floor were perfect for the crowd size. Plus, being located on Convention way, near the main Convention center, allowed my wife Kathryn and I to take a short stroll to the Hilton and Marriot hotels for a a nice Buffet Lunch at the Hilton on Friday and Saturday Buffet Breakfast at the Marriot to accompany the other meals that we had at the Clarion. THE INSTRUCTORS: John Robinson, Guyton Mundy, Mark Cosenza, Bob & Trish Boesel, Barry & Dari Anne Amato, Doug & Jackie Miranda DJ; The Magnificent "WIld Man" Louie CHOREOGRAPHERS THAT HAD THEIR WORK PRESENTED: Robbie McGowan Hickie, Peter Metelnick & Alison Biggs, Vivienne Scott, Ann Wood, Junior Willis, Nelson Clarke, Jo Thompson Szymanski, Jill Babinec, Joy Huggins WORKSHOP DANCES: (Taught Twice) Doug & Jackie Miranda --- Love will Keep Us Alive, Just Dream, Boogie Fever, Oh Venus, To The Limit, A Kind of Hush Bob & Trish Boesel --- Heart Break(Bob), Dance-Zone(Vivienne), Come In To My World(Peter & Alison) Barry & Dari Anne Amato --- Maybe Not Tonight (Doug & Jackie), San Antonio Stroll(Jo), King Of The Road, Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Save Us(Jill, The Amato's) Mark Cosenza --- All The Way(Robbie), The Truth Hurts, Java, Where R U John Robinson --- Aquarius, Talk About it(Joy), Cold Hard Cash, Easier Touch(Ann), Kowboy Krazy Guyton Mundy --- Drop The Heat, Happy Hour(Guyton & Junior), Promiscuous(Guyton & Nelson), Shake, Plus a new dance that Guyton wrote at this event which he tried out with John Robinson before teaching it to us. The name is either "Hey People", "Hey There" or something else by the time everyone dances it at the upcoming JG2 Marathon. A great dance that really moves out. APPOXIMATE PLAY LIST: From Carol's May 29 Survey(Top to Bottom) (78) Bosa Nova, Heartbreaker, Simplimente, Keep On Dancing, Kill The Spiders, Geek In The Pink, Come Tomorrow, Walk Back To Me, It's Up To You, After Party, Be Strong, The Way, Soul to Soul, Bicycle Waltz, Sycopated Love, Soluna, Keep it Burning, Red Dress, The Reel Thing, Fantabulous, All The Way, Poetry In Motion, Drop The Heat, I'm Moving On, Meltdown, Pumpin For Love, Trust Me, Badonkadonk, Bubble Love, Caught In The Act, No Regrets, Push The Button, X, Come Dance With Me, Irish Stew, Driving Me Crazy, Last Man Standing, Over The Rainbow, Black Horse, Friction Addiction, Toy Soldier, Trippin, I Am Afraid, Syncapated Kiss, Sinfull, Fool No More, Islands In The Stream, Push, Raindrops For Perfida, Sending Signals, Shake, Feels So Good, Crash, Kowboy Crazy, Replay, Save Us, Talk About It, Wat Da Fuss, Watch Me Cha Cha, Champagne On Ice, Come Into My World, Easier Touch, Get It While It's Hot, Happy Hour, Have Fun Go Mad, Just Dream, On The Water, Basha, Beautifull Boy, Cold Hard Cash, DHSS, Hot N' Sweaty, Love Comes First, Side by Side, Street Soul, Wave on Wave, You Can Dace, You're My World Some Others Not Currently On Survey (14) Just Breath, Dizzy, Playa, Whatever Happens, Birmingham, I Can't Be Bothered, Mildred My Friend, Swing City, Cha Cha Tonight, Two Time Trick, Smooth Criminal, Time to Rush, Dirty Cash, Cadillack Ride Thanks again Doug, Jackie for hosting such a fun event, and to all of the instructors and dancers that made the weekend so enjoyable for me. Have a great day!!!
Jim Harvey(Tennessee)
From Carol Craven's Newsletter:
As always, the Mirandas put on an excellent event. We appreciate all the hard work that makes their events run so smoothly. Jackie wasn't dancing, but happy that she was there and feeling so much better. Loved those repeat workshops - great to review and/or learn a dance that you may have missed. Great team of instructors who taught dances from beginner to advanced, which allowed all of us to participate. During the Dinner Show, there were video clips from previous events. There was laughter from the routines shown and memories of line dance friends we have not seen for awhile, or who have since passed away. For me, I was able to spend my Birthday with friends, dine in Downtown Disneyland and could have asked for no more than to have a weekend of dancing with no other than Wild Man Louie! He kept the floors filled all night long, plus the instructors were ever so visible dancing with us! Mark your calendars for next year! This is a fun, relaxing event.
Carol and Lesley
From Carol Craven's Newsletter:
Before it becomes too much like ancient history, I wanted to get in a few words on Doug & Jackie's Bonanza Bash - 10th Anniversary. Ten years, can you believe it??? As with all D&J events, it was well planned and organized to a "T". This is not a large event like the Vegas Dance Explosion; Bonanza Bash has a closer, more intimate feel. But simultaneous workshops and all repeats allowed getting in on each dance taught, unless, like me, refresher sessions are called for. We were happy to see Jackie up and around and looking great (and when doesn't she?). Although she wasn't ready to hit the dance floor, she was making sure all the dancers were happy. Sue and I were among the 100+ attending the event, and were able to build in a 3-day side trip to Disneyland (2 blocks away) prior to the Bash. Location, location, location…. couldn't have been better! Accommodations at the Clarion were fine. The ballrooms were right next to each other, and if the smaller teaching roo! m was overflowing, the instructors were
happy to switch rooms. And what a fun group they were, Guyton, Mr. Showcase John Robinson, Bob & Trish Boesel, Mark Cosenza, the Amatos, and of course, Doug (with Jackie coaching from the sidelines as needed!). It's difficult to name a favorite dance, most of them ended up being "favorites", but two we really liked were "Save Us" by Jill Babinec and the Amatos, and Robbie McGowan Hickie's "All The Way." Guyton's dances were fun, "Shake," "Drop The Heat," "Promiscuous," and "Hey People." Another favorite was Doug & Jackie's beautiful new NC2 "Maybe Not Tonight" done to Barry & Dari Anne's song of the same name and appropriately enough, taught by Barry & Dari Anne. Louie handled the DJ chores nicely, great sound in both rooms, and I'm happy to say that I didn't hear any comments about too loud music… yeaaa! For my ears, it was just right. Others have described the fun video recap of highlights from previous D&J events, as well as the entertaining floorshow after dinner. Even though male model Bob Boesel
looked Pretty in Pink, it was Mr. Barry Amato (add this to his impressive resume: Professional Model) who stole the runway, modeling Jackie's Jacaranda denims. With Doug MC'ing the floor show, we learned from Jackie when it was exactly that Doug's dancing improved (I think it had to do with Jackie's influence). This made for a fun running joke the rest of the weekend. The dance lesson videos… you've always heard what a great job CJ does, and how fast he is, but this is ridiculous. The dance festival ended on Sunday, and the DVD arrived in our mailbox on Thursday… Thursday! That's 4 days!!! Unbelievable! Thanks, CJ. You are the best! We're already writing in Memorial Day weekend, 2007 for Bonanza Bash 11. You'll have fun if you do too.
See ya on the dance floor, Bill in the 'Couv (bbrown451f@aol.com)
