Swingcouver happened the last weekend of January and boy, what a way to start the year! Here’s some thoughts by another Dutch Westie on tour Jennifer Liu:

⭐ 3 words: Super. Stacked. Staff. The very long list of pros at Swingcouver was astounding. It made the Champion Strictlies definitely one of the highlights of the envoy. I think I about it and am STILL blown away. Wow!
? Amazing social dancing all weekend long! Breakfast club closed in around 5am, 7am, and 7:30am respectively over the weekend and awesome DJ sets carried us through the nights. Great music, great people, and great dancing—the vibe was perfect, and the Club Couver set up (with super comfy couches, bar in the corner, and table tops set up to make a club-like atmosphere) playing 90s/hiphop/R&B was a fun change of pace.
? Favourite workshop was the Show & Tell, where three pro couples showed us how to execute some of the legendary moves that inspired them—Courtney & Sean, Myles & Tessa, and Ben & Cameo taught us something each from the dancers that inspired them. It was a lot of fun to see what the staff would pick and even more fun (attempting to) master them!
? Scheduling was different from most of the events I’ve attended in Europe. Most of the levelled workshops happened on Friday, while Saturday and Sunday featured more all-level workshops and competitions. Pro: this is a great to learn to dance with others regardless of ability. Con: if you’re interested in workshops focused on your level, don’t miss out on the Friday! �A lot of rooms and time slots were allocated for privates instead.
⏰ Time management was a little funky: we were an hour ahead of schedule for J&Js, but social dancing that night also started an hour late. Perhaps the comps sped by due to the fact they would run two divisions side by side (newcomer and masters, novice and intermediate) so you had to pick which one you wanted to watch.
??‍♀ Floor space was a serious issue, as it got packed very often (between comps and early in the social dancing hours). Luckily they opened up an adjacent ballroom, but psst heard that they will expand the ballroom floor next year, so that would accommodate more people!
? Location is prime, in central Richmond (same city as the airport). I’m native to here but even if you’re not from here, food, a mall, and the overflow hotels were super accessible and there were many options for late night snacks.
⚠ Heads up, they sold tables at some point (I never saw the announcement) so people could reserve them and sit at them. Otherwise, there were chairs on top of risers that were first come, first serve (or you could stand).

Verdict: if you’re into some fantastic social dancing, being surrounded by incredibly skilled dancers, and prefer privates to levelled workshops, then Swingcouver is an event you have to go at some point. Oh, and of course, Vancouver beautiful. Totally work an extra week before or after to explore the local mountains and head downtown! ??