2008

Thank you so much for my second Beantown which was awesome! Food was incredible, teachers were incredible, the campus was incredible, the parties incredible. Thanks again for everything. See you next year!

Erik Fogel
New York, NY

Let me first say thanks for a wonderful weekend (extended) and a job very well done. We were all impressed by the organization and smooth flow of everything, especially given the complexity of the schedules! It was simply a brilliant time for all!

Brad Ferrari
Niles, MI

I had a life changing experience this year. I am so glad I signed up for the whole week. I can't wait until next year. I enjoyed getting to know Norma, that was a real treat. She's amazing. The food is plentiful and wonderful! The music is out of this world.

Eliza Alderman
Greenville, SC

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tony and Aurelie! Where else but at Beantown can you get days of instruction by world class dancers, then share a meal with them and join them in the dance at night?! And where else can you have a barbecue in a "tent" -- a tent that has a lovely chandelier?!

Dave Samanen
Worcester, MA

I've been very happy with everything you offered. Classes were great, I'm always impressed by the highly qualified instructors, new and old. A relaxed barbecue and afterwards was well thought of. For me, the highlight of the week was the Blues night, and the Soul night as well....great great variety to add to the Lindy...Most of all, I truly would love to congratulate you on a job well done. Both of you are great organizers, the camp runs so smoothly, and if there were any glitches, as I'm sure there must be, we the campers are not aware of any! Both of you are around us all the time, tending to every little detail possible and very responsive...Thank you once again....see you next year.

Yildiz Grodowski
Salem, NH

The Beantown experience is a must for anyone who is serious about Lindy.

Lisa Caroselli
Greenbrook, NJ

First of all, this year was my all time favorite camp experience! It was hard to leave! I was pretty much happy with everything - the classes, the teachers, the dances, the group of people there, the food...As usual, I especially loved to see Ryan and Jenny as well as Sylvia...I had a great time and will definitely be back next year...Thanks for a great time!

Pam Forman
Providence, RI

My wife and I had an awesome time at Beantown. It was our first time and it exceeded our expectations in terms of the quality of the teaching, evening dances, cafeteria food and overall organization. We were bummed when it was time to leave. (We booked the long weekend package). I hope we can make it to Beantown 2009.

John Markowitz
Ossining, NY

I had a wonderful time, loved the location and hope to return next year. It was great to focus solely on dancing where my only worry was whether I was getting the steps right...The instructors were terrific and classes enjoyable with lots of laughs all around. I enjoyed the shows, practicing the dance routine, dancing every night and loved (loved!) the fabulous soul party. It was great to hear those tunes again and boogie to the mellow sounds of Motown. And before I forget, the Blues Party was fun too. Keep them both.

Finally, my sincere thanks to both of you for your hard work and planning. It was obvious that a lot of Herculean effort went into making the week's events as smooth and seamless as possible. I know for a fact that the more seamless things appear, the more hard work was done on the front end...So, thank you again for my first Beantown Camp experience. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, had lots of fun and look forward to returning next year.

Mary Santoro
Medford, MA

Congratulations on producing yet another great Beantown Camp!

John Paquette
Framingham, MA

Tony and Aurelie, thanks so much for another awesome Beantown camp. I was looking forward all year to coming back in 2008 and Beantown definitely delivered for me. The DJ's were great, the live bands fantastic, and all the students and staff and everyone had such a positive energy!! It really made for a great camp and some great memories. Thanks again guys!

Ben Yau
South Pasadena, CA

This was my first year at Beantown as well as my first "camp." I thought it was wonderful through and through. I am SO happy I decided to come and that I decided to stay for the entire week. I felt I made a lot of new contacts of people in the Boston Swing Network as well as swing networks all over the US and in other parts of the world...Again thanks so much for a wonderful week of Swing dancing!! I truly can't wait until next year!!

Jana Poukka
Boston, MA

Thanks for all your hard work which made 2008 another fantastic camp! Most of all, I just appreciate the opportunity to get away for a week, enjoy the (semi-) tranquility of the sea-side New England location, and be with people who have a common interest. Some things I liked....

• Good (and entertaining) instructors,
• The workshop schedule seemed more relaxed than previous years. I think that was just right for me.
• The "class performance routines" is always a good idea. Gives a challenge for those goal oriented people.
• I like the campus. The atmosphere is just right.
• I like getting together with all the repeat campers.
• Boilermakers are awesome! Thanks for bring them in!!
• Opportunities to dance with the instructors.
• The lead/follow balance seemed good.
• Food selection was good.
• Townhouse accommodation was great.
• Number of days is just right for me.
• Class size was good.
• and much more

I really appreciate you guys organizing Beantown year after year. Beantown was a key starting point in my Lindy life. Beantown continues to be one of my favorite vacation opportunities. Thanks for all your hard work!

Steve Terry
Herndon, VA

I had a ball! It was the greatest!...A great, well-paced, exciting and fun weekend! I wish I could have stayed the whole week. Maybe next year.

Linda Roberts
Westford, MA

Overall, I really enjoyed my Beantown experience - I learned a lot, met a lot of really nice people, and had fun pretending I was a college kid again. If I can make it work, I'd really like to go again next year and will recommend it to the dancers in my local scene...it was an awesome time and I look forward to doing it again soon! Thank you for all your hard work!

Walter Keeley
Connersville, IN

I had a wonderful time at Beantown this year. You and Tony do such a tremendous job of putting on the show!...With the beach and ocean so close to the school, I was able to get in a swim nearly every day, wow! That was refreshing...One of the things I liked the most about camp this year was the opportunity to do a mini track in something different.

Mike Colafrancesco
Acton, MA

Beantown is my favorite week of the year!

Mike Sasso
Andover, MA

Weekend camp has become one of the cornerstones of my summer and this year was no exception. Geralyn and I had a great time...Thanks for another great camp.

Michael Contri
Northboro, MA

Beantown was awesome. This year was my second year and my expectations from last year were far surpassed. Andrew Sutton was amazing addition to the camp instructors. My Birthday jam was amazing with Ramona, Peter and Ryan all coming into my jam circle. Absolute heaven for me.

Nicholas J. Birchak
Albany, NY

I found Beantown to be very enjoyable this year, and I hope to stay longer next summer. The instructors were all very amiable, dynamic, and superb teachers. I also found the live bands and dj's to be very fun. In particular, the competitions were inspiring, and great to watch. I hope to be able to participate in them next year...Thanks for a great time.

Lawrence Hwang
Tarrytown, NY

I'd like you to pass along my thanks to not only yourselves, but all the folks who helped with Beantown this year. My daughters, Emily, Maggie and I had a wonderful time and feel like we came away with much that was valuable. You guys have created something that is truly special. There is a warmth and good vibe about the camp, the classes, the dances that is no accident. The level of instruction was excellent. We took away something from every class we attended. The folks who came were friendly, fun to dance with and fun to get to know. The music was great--thanks to all the DJ's. The camp was well organized with much thought given to the track levels and many other details. Every night, we had an amazing time dancing as there were many advanced dancers and they were friendly enough to enjoy dancing with those of us with less dance experience. My only regrets center around the fact we couldn't take every class (some were at the same time and it was hard to choose!) and I wish we'd planned on being there the whole week.

Shirley Martin
Fort Worth, TX

Thanks for hosting such a wonderful dance camp! I am relatively new to the Lindy Hop though felt very welcome and met lots of very nice dancers. The instruction was first rate with a good amount of variation of styles and topics. Look forward to going again next year!

Roger Wood
Watertown, MA

This was my first Beantown Camp and I had the best dance-event time EVER (and I have traveled to well over 25 exchanges and camps all across the US in my 2 3/4 years of dance history.)...I was super impressed with the smooth logistics, the very friendly and accessible staff and SIMPLY EVERYTHING else. My biggest compliments to all of you and thank you for creating an event that doubtlessly will have been one of the funnest weeks of my life.

I am not sure exactly what and how it happened, there is some mystery to it, but when I came back from Beantown to my local turf I was told by so many dancers that my dancing had transformed. I honestly wasn't even fully aware of it myself. Leads that have danced with me for over two years said that I feel more connected and a lot more fluid and follows told me that I look so much better, more relaxed and yet sharp on the floor. Whatever happened, it's the fastest progression I have ever made in my 2 3/4 years of dancing and that while I had more fun than anywhere else, or maybe that's exactly why it happened. I seriously still feel "home-sick" for Beantown and I will be back next year for sure!

Andra Dakota
Solana Beach, CA

My wife and I are still coming down from the excitement of the Beantown Camp. I was thoroughly impressed with the skill, dedication and enthusiasm especially of the instructors, but also for the Beantown staff. I cannot recall ever being around a more positive group of people...All in all, it was a great experience!

Robert Tartell
Houston, TX

THANKS for another wonderful camp. As always, I return well-fed, tired, inspired, and enthusiastic to move my dance forward. I know it's a tremendous amount of work to organize a camp and you and Tony remain nose to the grindstone months before and throughout the week to make it a great experience for us. Thank you!

Betty Stone
Arlington, MA

This was my first camp and I was absolutely delighted - so much fun and I will be back next year! I enjoyed every minute and everything that was going on - I left happily exhausted!...The instructors were fantastic, selection of food excellent and accommodation - very comfortable. The evenings - dancing, talent night, the bands - super. The Performance night was amazing even though I was terrified taking part in it...An amazing experience!...and thank you so much for all the organizing...See you next year!

Judith Winstanley
Ontario, Canada

I felt so free! The camp experience, besides being wonderful fun as always, has made my dancing smoother, more relaxed, and more expressive. I have learned how to get much more out of even the simplest moves...Thanks for a truly wonderful week.

Ben Fox
Boston, MA

Thanks for a fabulous time at Beantown. I really had a blast doing many of the things I love so much to do. I genuinely appreciate your hospitality, enthusiasm, talent, skill, perseverance, and the opportunity to be involved with such a great program. I have no doubt you are the Best in the USA -- Truly, an Inter-Galactic-Class Act!

Jamie Norman
St. Petersburg, FL

Thank YOU for the BEST camp ever!!!...Once again a fantastic time! Thank you for all your hard work! See you next year…you are my favorite camp!

Debbie Moran
West Harrison, NY

How happy I was to be a part of camp again!!!! What a wonderful time!!!

Jodi Fleischman
Seattle, WA

I truly enjoyed my first Beantown Camp - it was outstanding. The accommodations were very good, the teaching was phenomenal, the bands, the DJing, the dancing were all "more than you can expect"...Thank you for putting this wonderful event together.

Louise Beauparlant
Ontario, Canada

Hi, thanks for a wonderful time, As a truly new beginner (never having danced a step in my life), I found it rather formidable at first but quickly felt at ease (even in frustrated by my lack of rhythm)! It was a fabulous time and I met lots of wonderful people...Again thanks for a phenomenal job of putting this camp together. My first year was a great one and I am sure to be back!

Linda Dawson
Chapel Hill, NC

Thanks for your hard work and a good week of dancing. I look forward to returning next year.

Aris Pikeas
Chicago, IL

Beantown is the one Lindy Hop camp that I keep coming back to. Tony and Aurelie Tye and their support staff have always worked very hard to make it a first rate experience.  The instructors are world class, and the attention to detail that the organizers give shows in the food, location, activities, optional tracks, etc., and is truly remarkable. Finally, the attendees are always a fun and friendly group. A splendid time is practically guaranteed!

Morry El-Badry
Kittery, ME

Thanks for all the work that you put into Beantown. It's a national resource for sharing and preserving Swing dancing.

Scott Rice
Ann Arbor, MI

Many thanks for a fantastic week at camp. It was my first Beantown experience and I had a wonderful time.

Deb Pelton
Bozeman, MT

I had a wonderful time at your Beantown camp. I feel sorry for the folks who couldn't make it. The instructors were excellent, the food was excellent, the atmosphere was excellent. I was so sad to have to leave on Monday evening. The format of your camp allowed a careful balance of engagement and downtime for me. Thanks so much for all the effort you made to make this a positive experience for me.

Paula Markowitz
Ossining, NY

Everything at Beantown this year was great. Especially enjoyed the Sunday night venue at the Lodge. It really was a nice ending to the weekend...See you next year.

Judy Ambrosio
Morris Plains, NJ

I had a terrific time at Beantown Camp; it was friendly and fun and a great time all around!

Sarah
Boston, MA

I want to thank you and Tony so much for another fabulous dance camp. I continue to be amazed at all that you do to put on this great event. People come from all over the world. I met so many interesting people and learned so much from the many great instructors. Thank you, thank you.

Catherine Crocket
Plymouth, MA

Thank you so much for camp. I had a great time. I wish I had stayed for the Whole Shebang. I am hoping to attend the whole camp next year. The location is great, the accommodations are great, the food is great, the other attendees were great to dance with and spend time with. The teachers were great. The performances were great.

Sami Pincus
Burlington, VT