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February 18, 2010 Destination Paris
Wow, has it really been three months since the last newsletter? The saying must be true: time flies!
In recent months we very much enjoyed traveling and calling in:
November: Longview TX, Warner Robins GA, Toccoa GA, Charlotte NC, Chattanooga TN
December: Slidell LA
January: Maui and Honolulu, Hawaii
February: Birmingham AL
February 14th was Grand Opening Day for the brand-new FunDancers club. WOW we were very pleasantly surprised with over 110 dancers. About half were brand-new beginners. Thanks to a super bunch of founding club members, and a super bunch of beginners, square and line dancing is off to a great start in 2010.
FunDancers meet every week in Schertz (just north of San Antonio). Please drop by when you're in the area on a Sunday.
Beginners -- 5 to 7 pm
Experienced (Mainstream and Plus) -- 7 to 9 pm
Website: www.nshukayr.com/fundancers.htm
Upcoming travel dates:
February 27 - Paris. This is not a typo. We really are calling in Paris. No joke. Honest. Paris. For real.
March 19-21 - Bakersfield CA
April 18 - Denver CO
We're mostly staying close to home for a few months, to help give our beginner group a good start.
Did you guess that we will call this month in Paris ... Texas?
Plan in advance for the following events:
July 9-10, 2010 - Freedom Weekend in Albuquerque (with Richard Lane)
July 16-17 - weekend in Show Low, Arizona
July 23-24 - weekend in Diamond Lake, Oregon
August 20-22 - weekend in Salzburg, Austria
September 5-10, 2010 - week in Fun Valley, Colorado (with Lem Gravelle)
For square dance info in central Texas, visit www.DanceWithSam.com
Wishing you happy dancing!
Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
San Antonio, Texas
www.NShukayr.com
May 8, 2010 Fun in the Middle of the Night
The most fun Nasser ever had while square dancing was in a restaurant in Orlando. The 1997 National Convention had just ended. A group of friends was sad because we would not see each other until next year's National. Someone came up with a bright idea: "Let's find a random caller and just MAKE him call one last dance for us". The caller we randomly found was a really good sport about the whole thing. He called a fantastic square dance tip for us, at two in the morning in that all-night restaurant.
A few years later at the National in Indianapolis, the same group of friends decided to earn a lot of "Fun Badges" all at once. For example, there's a Fun Badge for dancing in the dark, and another for dancing on a bed. If you dance on a bed in the dark, you would earn two Fun Badges at the same time. There's a Fun Badge for dancing in an elevator, and another for sucking on a lemon while dancing. If you drag a mattress into an elevator, get some lemons, remove the elevator's light bulb ... that's four badges.
And so forth. We devised a plan to earn TEN Fun Badges at the same time. Then someone remembered that there's a Fun Badge for waking up a caller in the middle of the night and making him call for you. We could earn an unprecedented ELEVEN Fun Badges, all at the same time. The only problem is: where do you find a caller at two in the morning? Well ... DUH ... we were staying in the CALLER hotel at a National Square Dance Convention. We could just knock on random doors until we found a caller.
We were lucky. We found a willing caller on the very first knock. It never dawned on us that, instead of a caller, we might have randomly aroused someone on vacation from their Anger Management class. Anyway, our carefully (okay ... randomly) chosen caller graciously agreed to call for us. We earned our eleven Fun Badges.
Several years have now elapsed. Just last week, for the very first time ever, I realized an amazing fact. The caller in the middle of the night in the Indiana hotel, and the caller in the middle of the night in the Florida restaurant ... several years apart ... were both the same exact person. What a coincidence! I don't know why it took several years for this realization to surface.
If you ever run across the famous caller John Saunders from Florida, ask him to call for you in the middle of the night. He's had lots of experience. :)
Since our previous newsletter we enjoyed traveling and calling in:
February: Paris TX - we return in August
March: Bakersfield CA - it was a huge honor to call at one of the world's premiere square dance festivals
April: Denver CO - we got to visit with many wonderful friends
We call for FunDancers in Schertz (just outside San Antonio) most Sundays. Please consider yourself personally invited to dance with us whenever you're nearby on a Sunday. Website: www.FunDancers.org
Upcoming travel dates:
Plan ahead for Fun Valley, Colorado (September 5-10). This week usually sells out, so you will want to reserve your place early. Phone 800-548-1684
For square dance info in central Texas, visit www.DanceWithSam.com
Nasser and Jeanna consider ourselves fortunate to have met so many nice people through square dancing. We treasure those friendships. We wish you happy dancing all the time, but especially during the middle of the night!
Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
June 26, 2010 Cruising in December 2010
We are overjoyed to announce a Caribbean square dance cruise in December 2011. Callers are Mike Sikorsky and Nasser Shukayr. The Enstens from California are on rounds.
The ship sails from New Orleans on Saturday, December 3, 2011 and returns December 10. Ports are Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We'll dance onboard. We also hope to set up a dance in New Orleans after the cruise. The short story is there will be LOTS of dancing, great memories and fun!
Check out www.thecruise.biz or call Cruise Holidays at 800-873-6033. Tell them you're interested in the Square Dance Cruise of December 2011.
Royal Caribbean has an extra-special offer this month only. If you have ever cruised on Royal Caribbean before, you can get a $100 per person credit. Wow, that's $200 per couple! Contact Cruise Holidays for details. To get the credit you must reserve your place BY JUNE 30, 2010. This spectacular offer expires in just a few days. If you are a past Royal Caribbean guest we hope you can book before the end of June to get your $200 per couple credit.
Even without the special offer from Royal Caribbean, this cruise is VERY attractively priced. Everyone in our square dance group gets a ship credit of $50 per cabin. You can spend your entire $50 on shopping. Or you can make a private dinner reservation in one of the ship's formal restaurants (and still have credit left over for shopping).
Meanwhile back on shore, we call for FunDancers near San Antonio most Sundays. Website: www.FunDancers.org
Upcoming travel dates:
Plan ahead for Fun Valley, Colorado (September 5-10). This week usually sells out. If it's sold out already, ask to be added to the waiting list. They'll call you when space opens up. Phone 800-548-1684
For square dance info in central Texas, visit www.DanceWithSam.com
We wish all our friends happy dancing and great memories this summer and beyond!
Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
August 27, 2010 Hecklers Welcome
According to the dictionary, a heckler tries to annoy a speaker or performer. Hecklers are rare in the square dance world but they're also fun (because they're so rare). We happen to know one of the world's most accomplished square dance hecklers. He always dances in the very front, so the caller (and everyone else) can easily hear his remarks.
It's common for a caller to encourage people to get up and dance. Nasser sometimes encourages people by saying "Have you ever been to a dance where there was only one good tip? It -could- be this next tip that's about to start." It's -supposed- to be funny.
(Please be aware that our favorite heckler has been to Fun Valley many times and danced an entire week with us.)
At a dance near The Heckler's home area, immediately after Nasser said "have you ever been to a dance where there was only one good tip?" the heckler interjected, "I've been to a whole -WEEK- when there were -NO- good tips!".
It's not very often that Nasser is rendered surprised and speechless. If you know of a witty reply for the heckler, please forward your suggestion immediately. We just can't wait until the next time The Heckler is at a dance. You never know what he'll say but you know it will always be amusing.
We call for FunDancers near San Antonio most Sundays. Hecklers welcome. Website: www.FunDancers.org
Upcoming travel dates:
Please remember next year's Caribbean cruise with Mike Sikorsky. We sail from New Orleans on December 3, 2011 and visit Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We'll square and round dance during the cruise and also after the cruise in the New Orleans area on Saturday night December 10. We look forward to memorable experiences with long-term, as well as recent, friends and/or hecklers.
Check out www.thecruise.biz or call Cruise Holidays at 800-873-6033. Even if you can't go on the cruise, check out the website anyway to see a talking cartoon version of Mike Sikorsky. :)
For square dance info in central Texas, visit www.DanceWithSam.com
We wish all our friends happy dancing, great memories and friendly hecklers!
Nasser and Jeanna Shukayr
May 15 - Tool TX
May 25 - Austin TX
June 4 - Vista CA
June 5 - Vista CA
June 21 - Gonzales TX
July 16-17 - Show Low, AZ weekend
July 23-24 - Diamond Lake, OR weekend
July 31 - Gulfport MS
San Antonio, Texas
www.NShukayr.com
July 16-17 - Show Low, AZ
July 23-24 - Diamond Lake, OR
July 31 - Gulfport MS
August 12 - Tucson AZ
August 13 - Burbank CA
August 14 - Santa Ana CA
August 20-22 - Salzburg, Austria
August 27 - Dallas TX
August 28 - Paris TX
San Antonio, Texas
www.NShukayr.com
August 27 - Irving TX
August 28 - Paris TX
September 3-4 - Oxnard CA
September 5-10 - Fun Valley (South Fork) CO
September 11 - Santa Rosa CA
September 24 - San Marcos CA
September 25 - Thousand Oaks CA
September 26 - San Luis Obispo CA
October 8-10 - San Jose CA
October 29-30 - Bismarck ND
San Antonio, Texas
www.NShukayr.com