This past weekend both of us traveled to Richmond, Virginia for their first Rueda exchange. As always we partied, laughed, ate, and caught up with old friends. Major thanks to River City Rueda for the weekend. Here is our review on the event.
What was Included?
Per the standard Rueda Exchange philosophy, this event aimed to be affordable to attendees. The only cost was the Saturday social, which had early bird pricing for ample time.
- Friday pre-party 7-10pm by Havana Social and River City Rueda
- 4 1-hour workshops (1:15pm-6pm, w/ 15 min breaks)
- Dinner open to all after workshops
- Saturday Social 8pm-12am ($10 early bird, $15 normal)
- Sunday Picnic and pop-up rueda 11am
We attended the pre-party, 3 workshops, and the Saturday social.
What classes did I take?
- Active Following and Mini Figures w/ Markus
- Musicality and Rueda Figures w/ Andrea
- Rueda con Rumba w/ Ethan
My favorite part?
Andrea
I love how thoughtful the organizers were. Little details go a long way. They gave me an adorable friendship bracelet as an instructor gift. There were snacks for people during the workshops and social. People asked if we needed anything, which are details that matter.
Alexa
My favorite part was Ethan’s class. He’s an instructor focused on active learning, and it was engaging and inspiring to see how he incorporated that into his class.
An Area of Improvement
Andrea
I wanted more artist variety in the music. Because of that, the music stayed in the same range for me. There were some repeats from Friday to Saturday. To spice up the socials, I think variety would do that in the future.
Alexa
I loved that socials started later in the day, which gave people time to drive in. However, the time in-between the classes and the social was very short. Perhaps, either one less class, an hour earlier start time, or a later social would have given people more time to freshen up, eat, and rest.
Overall Takeaways
Huge thanks to River City Rueda for hosting, and inviting me (Andrea) to teach. You all were beyond thoughtful and approachable throughout the weekend. The event as a whole was geared toward intermediate to advanced dancers. We estimated 35-45 dancers who attended classes. Thus, this event was on the smaller side targeting more people in the immediate area. We feel it was great exposure for their local community to experience other dancers, as well as good for putting Richmond on the map.
Locations for this weekend were lovely. The pre-party was in a really cool neighborhood roof-top brewery. Sound system was good. It definitely matched the smaller intimate feel the party was aiming for. The water station did not go unnoticed. The Dance Space venue was stellar with great ventilation, water fountain, spacious, good floor…we loved it.
We enjoyed all the classes we took. Overall, it was a weekend about community focused on attendees having fun without worries. As always, catching up with friends around the country makes the event all the more amazing.
Bueno…ya tu sabes.
Ya Tu Sabes 