What Is This Iggle Wiggle Thing?
by Dave Hayes

The International Association of Gay/Lesbian Country Western Dance Clubs (IAGLCWDC) is an umbrella organization of many other clubs around the world.  The purpose of the IAGLCWDC was to foster communication and networking. Other purposes were to establish an annual convention and create bylaws. As the group grew, dance competition entered into the scene.  Texas Twisters is a proud associate member of the IAGLCWDC and will become a full member club in October at Shoreline Milwaukee. Host of the Semi-Annual Convention.  

  The IAGLCWDC came to be when seven clubs got together and had a meeting and decided that an organization like this would be beneficial to clubs around the world. That meeting was held in 1992. In 1993, the IAGLCWDC was formed.    Since then, the association has had annual and semi-annual conventions where they discuss operating business. Member clubs of the organization host these conventions. Past conventions have been held in, Louisville, Atlanta, Nashville, Los Angeles, Austin, Boston, Virginia Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, Toronto, Columbus, Houston, and Provincetown. The IAGLCWDC has conventions scheduled for Ft. Lauderdale, Milwaukee, Norfolk, New York, and its 10th anniversary convention in Montreal in 2003.   The conventions are a great way to meet new people interested in country music and dancing. Various workshops and meetings are held at these conventions and for the last couple of years dance competitions. It is a great avenue to meet new friends and see old friends you have met over the years.   The next convention will be in Ft. Lauderdale, hosted by Southern Country South Florida. This convention; called "SunDance, The Next Wave", is scheduled for May 24 - 28 (Memorial Day weekend). This is an annual convention and dance competitions will be held.   More information can be found at the Southern Country South Florida website (www.southerncountrysouthflorida.com). Or, visit the Texas Twisters website at www.texastwisters.org, or the IAGLCWDC website at www.iaglcwdc.com. And if all those don’t help, you can call us, leave a message and we’ll call you back with all the information we have.

Visit the Free Clinic
by Dan Sigale

  Isn't it about time you went to the free clinic? No, not THAT kind of free clinic (although one never knows)! We're talking about a free DANCE clinic that's open to everyone!! Texas Twisters' next dance clinic will be held at Club 651 in Fort Worth on Sunday, February 25 at 7pm. For those of you who haven't been to one of our monthly clinics before, here is some information.

  We try to alternate the location of these clinics between the Round Up and the 651. This is partially because we recognize the importance of supporting both of the major gay c/w dance clubs in the metroplex and also because we want to attract people from all over the area. The clinics have NOTHING to do with the routines the team is currently working on. They are an opportunity for team members, non-team members and others to get together and learn dances that are not otherwise taught in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. However, the style of these two-hour clinics is similar to that of the lessons taught at the Round Up and the 651: We begin by learning a couples dance for an hour and follow it up with learning one or more line dances during the second hour. In between, we have some time set aside for open dancing (both couples and line dancing).

  In the month of February, Rowdy (our dance coach) will be teaching Nightclub Two-step, a variation of the classic two-step that is gaining popularity across the country. Then Dave (our chair) will teach the line dance, "Bump in the Dark," which is danced to Wynona Ryder’s "No One Else on Earth." This dance will be one of the advanced line dances in the IAGLCWDC dance competition in Fort Lauderdale Memorial Day weekend. If there is any extra time we will learn one of the beginning line dances that will be used in the dance competition in Fort Worth in March.

  We hope that you will be able to join us on the 25th and in future months, as well. This is one free clinic that you won't dread going to.

Notes From The Chair
by Dave Hayes

  This is the first Texas Twister newsletter of the new millenium. Yes, I am a computer tech, and I know that the millennium actually started Jan 1, 2001. So now that we are in the 21st Century, where do we go from here?

  Texas Twisters was founded on the idea that there are plenty of people in the country dance community with some real talent, and that we could bring this talent together and entertain. So far we are off to a really good start. We have had 3 performances to date and they have been successful -- so successful that we have already been asked to perform in February in Ft. Worth and again in March for the Texas Bear Round Up.

  This club could not have gotten off to such a great start without those who dedicated their time and energy to get it off the ground. If it were not for the talents of the current dance troupe and those who were there from the beginning, Texas Twisters would still just be an idea.

   The question at hand is, "What now?" The current goal is to increase membership in the club as a whole, including dancing and non-dancing members. As it has been stated in the past, one does not have to be on the performance team to be a Twister. All it takes is a love for c/w music and/or dancing.

  If you are reading this and you are not a member, we would like you to consider becoming a member of Texas Twisters. We are starting some new dances to perform in the future, and will always be open to new members at any time. Don't dance? That's okay, because most people have something they can contribute to a club such as this: time, space, etc. Every little bit helps us, which will, in turn, help the community.

  So as the year continues, I hope you find new dreams to come true, and more FUN then you can imagine to come your way. And if you are like me, you'll make dancing a part of that fun.

A Sport for the Non-Athlete
by Dan Sigale

Every month, Texas Twisters sponsors a social event which is open to everyone. This month's social is pretty unique, because we will be playing ...WHIRLYBALL!

  "What the ... is Whirlyball?!?" you're probably asking yourself right now. Well, imagine a combination of basketball, hockey and Jai Alai (pronounced hi lie). Now imagine doing all of that while riding around in what looks like little bumper cars, and you're on your way to figuring out what Whirlyball is all about. (If this description isn't enough for you, log on to www.whirlyball.net for more information.) But the best part is that in spite of the elements of all these sports that are included, you really don't need to have any sort of athletic ability whatsoever!! (This should come as a relief to those of you like me who dreaded gym class in high school.)

  On Saturday, February 24 at 12:30pm we will meet for lunch at Norma's Cafe, 3647 West Northwest Hwy. and Webb Chapel Rd. in Dallas (across the street from KC Dance Studios). Then we will head over to Whirlyball Texas, located at 3641 West Northwest Hwy. (just behind Norma's), where we have a court reserved from 2-3pm (which may not seem like a lot of time, but trust me, it is).

  Only ten people are allowed on the court at a time, but each game is only 8-12 minutes so even if we have a large turnout, everyone will get to play at least a few times. And while you wait for your turn, you can watch the game being played, visit the video arcade or get a drink (alcoholic or nonalcoholic) at the bar.

  The cost for use of the court is $150 plus tax for an hour, so the individual cost should be anywhere from $13-17 per person, depending on the number of people playing. We will collect money from everyone when we get to Whirlyball Texas and do some quick division (someone please bring a calculator).

  Even though we won't do an official count until the day of the event, we would appreciate it if everyone who is planning on attending would RSVP to let us know. You can do this through our website (www.texastwisters.org) or by phone (972) 993-2024, ext. 1463.

Join us and find out firsthand what this Whirlyball thang is all about!!     *editor's note:  this event was postponed*

FEBRUARY 2001 CALENDAR