Subj : NSDC Ratings To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Tue Jul 25 2023 00:04:08 I've been square dancing since December, 1985...and attended each National Square Dance Convention from 1986 to 2002. Since then, health and financial issues have prohibited me from attending any conventions. Anyway, others may feel differently about how a particular convention went, but this is how I felt they were...from best to worst. Rank: 1 Year: 1986 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana I don't know if it was not knowing what to expect, but not having been to a National Square Dance Convention (NSDC) before...to me, THIS was how a NSDC should be run. I was at the Hilton Airport, having registered just 2 months before the convention. I spent most of my "eatings" at a Hardee's a short distance from the Hoosier Dome (now the RCA Dome). The shuttle bus service, the facilities, the dance floor, the sound for the halls, the vendors, the food service, the caller selection...ALL were excellent, in my opinion. I could not find anything to quibble about...and it showed, with over 27,000 dancers registered to fun all under one roof. This became the first of my "annual religious pilgrimages". It was here again in 1999, but sadly, that NSDC was a far cry from this one. The RCA Dome was imploded for a new structure in 2009. Rank: 2 Year: 1994 Location: Portland, Oregon Since I began dancing, this convention had the second most dancers in attendance...close to 22,000. With the exception for some events at a nearby arena, served by trolley and shuttle bus service, this was a great convention. The Special Event concert Wednesday night at the arena with Ronnie Milsap was very enjoyable...and so was the weather...as well as the train ride out and back. Rank: 3 Year: 1993 Location: St. Louis, Missouri This was all under one roof, and dancing under the Arch on the Wednesday night before the convention. Ironically, one week later, the entire riverfront area where we were was under floodwaters from the Mississippi River. Thursday was the only day of thunderstorms there...Friday and Saturday's weather was nice. Dancing at the restored Union Station was nice, although one lady was injured when she fell from her high heels getting caught in some of the brick surfaces in the open area. Rank: 4 Year: 1991 Location: Salt Lake City, Utah Even though it was all under one roof, there was confusion upon arrival at the Amtrak station for several dancers...concerning hotel transportation. I somehow lost $500 in travelers cheques on the train, but was able to get them back...which proves NOT to carry large amounts of just cash on a long trip!! Rank: 5 Year: 1988 Location: Anaheim, California This convention has the distinction of the most dancers to ever attend a National Square Dance Convention (almost 40,000 dancers in 1976)...and it hosted the 50th NSDC in 2001. This was my first train trip to a NSDC, and it was fun!! Of the almost 27,000 dancers for this convention, 5000 were single...and 3500 were ladies. My feet swelled on the train, and I danced practically nonstop Wednesday night...then, limped back to the hotel in tears, due to terrific pain. I bought a pair of "Happy Feet" the next day. This was where I learned to dance the girls part (Dancing By Definition) to Lee Kopman, in a hurry!! The Parade Of States had to "parade through" a rather small arena...and unless you already had a seat in there, you missed things...I know the Fire Marshall was about to have a fit!! The weather was great...highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s (as it was over 100 back in Texas and Arkansas). The DisneyLand After Party Saturday Night was fabulous. The Sunday morning after the convention, we felt the fringes of an earthquake, centered 45 miles east of Los Angeles...but there was little damage that I could see. Unfortunately, the 2001 NSDC that was held here (noted below) was not as good. Rank: 6 Year: 1992 Location: Cincinatti, Ohio I don't recall a lot about this convention...rather "average"; but, just over 20,000 dancers. It was under one roof, for the most part. Rank: 7 Year: 1998 Location: Charlotte, North Carolina This convention, another "average" one...the worst thing was that since 1994, attendance had been dropping steadily. Rank: 8 Year: 1997 Location: Orlando, Florida This convention, had the potential to be a good one, with it being all under one roof. However, there were bad sound overlap problems, and poor shuttle bus scheduling. To top it all off, Saturday night, in the midst of a tropical thunderstorm, when the shuttle bus got back to my hotel, the security guard (for whatever reason) punched our bus driver in the face!! I was standing out in the pouring rain, calling for help on my amateur radio handi-talkie. When I got back to the Convention Center that night, I was shaking so bad from the adrenaline rush, that I couldn't dance. The case eventually went to trial, with the guard convicted of the crime, fined, and imprisoned. The State Of Florida flew me down there to testify, but that was not my idea of a Florida vacation. The Disney World After Party was cancelled at the last minute. Rank: 9 Year: 2001 Location: Anaheim, California The 50th year of the National Square Dance Convention, had the potential to be a good one...but just like the 2000 NSDC in Baltimore, bus service was poor. Many dancers were not buying bus passes until the last minute, and by then, too few buses were running...even though there were just 4 total routes. The Anaheim Convention Center had several areas where there was sound bleedover, plus food and beverage prices were comparable to the high gasoline prices. Just over 13,000 dancers attended, with 2000 dancers taking part in a parade down Disneyland's Main Street. The best event of the entire convention was the Special Event with The Alley Cats "a cappella" (no accompaniment) do-wopp group...among others. Rank: 10 Year: 2002 Location: St. Paul, Minnesota This convention was spread out between the Radission Hotel (5 blocks from the River Center), and the combination River Center/Touchstone Energy Place Convention Center. The Radission had a majority of round dancing, with the rest of the activities at the River Center. Due to the low amount of registrations (8817), partially due to the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, the shuttle bus transportation was limited to only 3 routes...campground, and 2 others...and the routes were served by school buses!! There were problems with the sound, if you weren't near the front of the hall, or near the speakers. Plus, food costs in the Convention Center were rather pricey. Rank: 11 Year: 1999 Location: Indianapolis, Indiana Unlike the 1986 Convention, this years just barely broke 10,000 dancers. There were problems with the shuttle buses...and the food prices in the Convention Center were extremely high...$3.50 for a 32 ounce drink!! Rank: 12 Year: 1989 Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma The Single Square Dancers were "exiled" to the Fairgrounds, where the RV Campers were...and there were shuttle bus problems. They got the 2003 NSDC. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, due to health and financial constraints...it was the first convention I had missed in 17 years...and I have not attended any since the 2002 NSDC in Minneapolis. Rank: 13 Year: 1995 Location: Birmingham, Alabama The Singles again were in a location 2 blocks away from the main dancing activity. One caller who got up to call in the morning in the Singles Hall, promptly left the floor without calling his tips, when no one would square up for him!! Attendance was 50% lower than the previous years NSDC that was in Portland, Oregon. Rank: 14 Year: 1990 Location: Memphis, Tennessee Transporation was a big problem at this convention...as well as a very small space for the Parade Of States. Rank: 15 Year: 1996 Location: San Antonio, Texas The Singles were "exiled" to the Alamo Dome; and with poor shuttle bus service, and with the hot Texas summer sun, some dancers fell ill. Rank: 16 Year: 1987 Location: Houston, Texas From one extreme to the other, this was the worst convention of all I had attended...at least until the 2000 Convention in Baltimore (see below). The biggest part was that they tried to sound the square dance halls with Peavey Rock-N-Roll Speakers instead of the tradtional Yak-Staks. Unless you were right in front of the speaker, you couldn't hear. This fiasco practically caused a dancer/caller revolt...with 1/3 of the 20,000 dancers leaving town the first day of the convention!! There were also shuttle bus problems, and the after party coordination at Astro World was poorly handled. Rank 17 Year: 2000 Location: Baltimore, Maryland While sound wasn't a great problem at Baltimore, it was to some extent. However, there were other much more severe problems that led me to place Baltimore on the BOTTOM of the list of past conventions. These included very poor bus transportation...convention center food service and prices...dancing was spread out, and signs to direct dancers to the right halls were sorely lacking. Going between the halls meant walking through "walk-in cooler strips", plus the square dance halls were on concrete... with preferential treatment apparently given to round dancers and cloggers. --- SBBSecho 3.20-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (954:895/7) .