Sundance – Morning Party
Posted 16-Aug-2010 to Dance Parties, ReviewsRating: 4 out of 5 bottles of water
by Jim Hauck
The main event of the Sundance weekend is the T-dance, held on the private estate that is home to other such events as Sunday Furry Sunday. The space is almost perfect for this type of event. Secluded off the main road, a pool, a hot tub, a huge grassy area, and just enough sun and shade to meet the needs of all.
Once again, Gus and his production team custom built a wooden dance floor that sprawled out across the open lawn, in bright day-glow orange and green colors. Very bright, very fun! The gates were a bit late to open, and it appeared that Ericka Jayne was still rehearsing on the stage as the crowd started streaming in. There was no music yet, and it took a bit longer for everything to be ready and the music to start, causing the party to be almost an hour delayed to start. The delay did not seem to phase those of us that were early arrivals and we went about being social, saying hello and catching up with friends before the music came on.
Phil B, the master of the t-dance, kicked things into gear once all was cleared and began a nice steady climb into a set of fun and easy to dance to music. Plenty of vocals with standards and classics and a few more interesting mixes as well, including If You Could Read My Mind, Let the Sunshine, Love Takes Over, Brokeback Mountain and so many more. Phil’s music started bringing the crowds to the floor and through the day it was pleasantly packed and loads of fun. The weather provided a perfectly blue sky and loads of sunshine, a welcome sign for those of us living in the coldest summer in San Francisco since 1971.
The first performance of the day was Alexis Jordan, with a deep sultry sexy voice. She came on singing an acapella version of Umbrella and then went into a series of tunes including her hit Happiness. She is a small girl, but packs a punch of sound and I expect that this 18 year old will be showing us her stuff for some time to come. The second performance, later in the day was Ericka Jayne, and while she was flanked by an entire set of dancers, she personally looked a little beat on the stage and my personal take was that her costuming and act were a little heavy for a daytime party. Additionally, the screaming of who wants a t-shirt over the music once the performance was over was a bit annoying, and not something I personally like to see happen over any DJ’s music set. So, the winning performance in my review goes to Alexis.
The crowd was full of familiar faces this weekend and the Past Curfew party buses brought a good number of people up to the event. However it seemed attendance was slightly down, which I am guessing has to do with economics of the times. Either way, the crowd had fun, was very social and lively, and full of lots of eye candy. This is still a gem of an outdoor party, one of the best around, and with the right amount of sun and blue skies the perfect retreat for a weekend of great dancing. Thank you to the team of Gus Presents who work so hard to bring this party back for a second year of revival and what I hope is a long term fit on the circuit and dance calendar!
