AMERICAN DANCER MAGAZINE January-February 2015 Issue

January-February 2015

50 th Anniversary THROUGHOUT AMERICA,

USA DANCE COMMEMORATES

1965 – 2015 Defining moments ahead for social dancers and DanceSport athletes in America, as USA Dance celebrates its half-century history, launches new member programs and industry alliances.

Inspired Vision for the Next 50

Official publication of USA Dance Inc.

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15-day Rio de Janeiro to Valparaiso 2/2/16

DANC I

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with Vivian Beiswenger

January - February 2015 Mark Jernigan

DEPARTMENTS

5 6 11

President’s Message

Yang Chen, President of USA Dance

Milestones

20

Socially Yours

22

Grassroots

Action Report from USA Dance National

36

USA Dance 2015 DanceSport Calendar

46

By Jean Krupa, Social Dance VP Chapter Highlights & Achievements

Ask A Social Dancer

Raymond Smith, Tidewater (VA) Chapter

Legacies of Dance

Tribute to Mary Wethington (1920 – 2014)

FEATURES

12 Highly attended performances and workshops

by Damian Pataluna & Irina Morokova (KY), American Smooth 9-Dance National Champions, at the Tidewater (VA) Chapter’s New Year’s Eve weekend event helped the chapter make a $500 donation to national scholarships in 2014. Story p. 7.

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www.fotoSportEventos.com

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From sea to shining sea, dancers join USA Dance in looking ahead to the ‘Next 50.’

Cover Story

USA Dance Celebrates 50th Anniversary Ballroom Dancing:

34

Celebrating the 200th Year of the Viennese Waltz

Fitness, Health and the Fight Against Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease

35

Flash Mob Pays Homage to Viennese Waltz

The Miracle RX for Seniors?

Mississippi River Boat

Passport to Dancing at Mardi Gras

By Michael & Barbara Bivona, World Travelers

38

Ultimate Pep Rally:

Kinsley Lin & Michelle Yiu (CA) dancing Paso Doble in Guadalajara, Spain, placing 5th at the Junior II 10-Dance WDSF World Championships. Story p. 32-33.

January-February 2015

50 th Anniversary THROUGHOUT AMERICA,

USA DANCE COMMEMORATES

1965 – 2015 Defining moments ahead for social dancers and DanceSport athletes in America, as USA Dance celebrates its half-century history, launches new member programs and industry alliances.

Inspired Vision for the Next 50

Official publication of USA Dance Inc.

32

Snowball Classic in Vancouver

WDSF World Championships, Under 21 10-Dance, Senior II Standard

Collegiate DanceSport in America Perspective by Dan Calloway, FISTD

40

Halloween In The Windy City

National Collegiate DanceSport Championships in Ohio

41

Russian Federation Welcomes USA to Moscow

By Hannah Cole, Director, College Network

31

WDSF World Championship Adult Standard in Austria

New Traditions In Atlanta

George DanceSport Off To Good Start

WDSF World Championship Youth Latin

42

A Champion’s New Global Perspective:

Kinsley Lin & Michelle Yiu, Junior II Latin, 10-Dance

Chicago DanceSport Championships NQE

44

A 37-Country Playing Field

The Return to Latvia. WDSF World Championship 10-Dance, Youth & Adult

A California State of Mind NQE in San Jose

FRONT COVER: On the floor at the WDSF Adult Standard World Championship in Austria, Taras Savitskyy & Tatiana Seliverstova (NJ) have represented USA Dance at more consecutive WDSF World Championships than any other DanceSport couple to date. Photo Credit: Prof. Dr. Helmut Roland BACK COVER: The USA Dance 2015 National DanceSport Championships in Baltimore, Mar. 27-29, celebrates the 35th anniversary year of this prestigious event and the 50th anniversary of USA Dance. In the 2014 Nationals spotlight — Nikita Malakhov and Nadezda Vlasova (NJ). Photo Credit: Al Parker/Parkwest Photography.

CORRECTION: In the November-December issue, American Dancer incorrectly reported that Samuel Hacke & Katarina Hermanova placed 105 out of 106 in Open Youth 10-Dance at the WDSF GOC; the results belonged to Matthew Kheyfets & Vanesa Falisova.

January-February 2015

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regular contributors ANGELA PRINCE Public Relations Director

January-February 2015

Official Publication of USA Dance, Inc.

Angela Prince is the publisher/editor in chief of American Dancer Magazine. She has served as National Public Relations Director for USA Dance, Inc. since 2007.

Her responsibilities include integrated communications, publicity, social media relations, sponsorship development, promotional support and brand management.

2015/Issue 52

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: President – Yang Chen, NY Vice President – Shawn Fisher, ID Secretary – Greg Warner, MN Treasurer – Michael Brocks, PA VP, DanceSport – Ken Richards, DE VP, Social Dance – Jean Krupa, FL DanceSport Rep – Inna Brayer, NY DanceSport Rep – Roger Greenawalt, IN

JEAN KRUPA

Social Dance Vice President

EDITORIAL STAFF:

Jean Krupa is the Social Vice President for USA Dance, Inc., and is serving her second three-year term of office. She is responsible for the programs, communications and a 11-district representation for 160+ local chapters and its members.

Publisher/Editor In Chief Angela F. Prince Design and Production SPARK Publications sparkpublications.com Photography Advisor Carson Zullinger Advertising Angela F. Prince Printing Publishers Press, Inc. SUBSCRIPTION: American Dancer, the official publication of USA Dance, Inc., is published six times a year for the membership and is included in annual membership dues. Subscription cost to non-members within the USA: $25/year SUBMISSIONS: American Dancer welcomes submissions of unsolicited articles, photos and other graphics. All submissions become the property of American Dancer magazine and are not returned to the sender. American Dancer reserves the right to edit all materials for space, content, grammatical and preferential reasons. Preferred method of editorial submissions is by written proposal to the editor who will initially review the story ideas and materials and make a final decision whether to request more information and/or publish. Submissions should be sent to americandancer@usadance.org with AMERICAN DANCER submission/name of sender/story header on the email subject line.

Photo submissions must be high-resolution jpegs (minimum 300-600 dpi and preferably 2400 x 3600 pixels) and American Dancer retains all first-usage rights to submitted copy and photographs/digital images.

PUBLISHER’S OFFICE: AF Prince Associates 11101 Robert Bost Road Midland, NC 28107 704-888-3073

CENTRAL OFFICE: USA Dance, Inc. 800-447-9047 Fax 239-573-0946 Email: central-office@usadance.org

MEMBERSHIP: Online registration or renewals at www.usadance.org WEBSITE: www.USADANCE.org NATIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook: USA Dance, Inc. American Dancer Magazine Social Dancers USA Dance

Twitter: @usadanceinc LinkedIn: USA Dance Inc. YouTube: usadanceinc

USA Dance Chapter websites and Facebook pages are listed at www.usadance.org. © 2015 USA Dance Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

KEN RICHARDS

DanceSport Vice President Ken Richards is the DanceSport Vice President for USA Dance, Inc, and is serving his fourth three-year term of office. As head of the DanceSport Council, he is responsible for all DanceSport programs, including athlete relations and educational opportunities, Adjudicator Congresses, the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships, the National Collegiate DanceSport Championships, all Sanctioned and Qualifying Events, USA Dance University and all industry DanceSport relations. He also serves as an elected Presidium member of the World DanceSport Federation of which USA Dance is a member organization.

USA DANCE, Inc. is the National Governing Body for DanceSport in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee and the World DanceSport Federation. With nearly 160 local chapters, soon to reach 20,000 national members, from pre-teen to collegiate to seniors and an estimated outreach of more than 200,000, USA Dance is also the representative association for all social and recreational dancers in the country. Membership includes both social and DanceSport, pre-teen through senior, amateur and professional classifications.

MISSION STATEMENT:

To improve the quality and quantity of ballroom dancing in America.

P

resident’s Message

Alex Rowan DanceSport Photography

H

appy New Year! We hope 2014 was a good year for you and that 2015 has many wonderful things in store.

For USA Dance, 2015 marks our 50th anniversary.

For our members, we are excited and pleased that you can be with us during this milestone year. For those who are not members or have let your membership lapse, we hope that this is the year you join or renew. The heart and soul of USA Dance is our members; we can’t exist without you, and we exist because of you.

At this writing, the Thanksgiving holiday is upon us, and that reminds me of how grateful I am for our members. I am thankful also for the committed and dedicated volunteers we have across the country that help plan and put on many social dances, events, fundraisers and competitions for the benefit of our members and the community. I thank our chapter leaders, District Directors, Assistant District Directors, and our leadership in the Executive Committee, DanceSport Council, Social Dance Council and Governing Council. None of the things that we do would

be possible without you. Thank you, one and all.

In 2015, I look forward to working with all of our leaders and volunteers, from the national to the local level, to celebrate this landmark year. We will honor our past while blazing a trail into the future.

We hope to engage all our members across the country to mark this milestone and share in the pride of being part of our great organization, one created and run by dancers for the benefit of the entire dance community.

In this anniversary year, how do you plan to celebrate dance? How will your chapter represent USA Dance? Here are a few ideas: • Introduce ballroom dancing to at least 50 people who have never danced before.

• Invite at least 50 new people to join USA Dance.

• Organize a showcase or performance involving at least 50 dancers, of all ages and skill levels.

• Donate at least $50 to USA Dance to support its mission and its DanceSport athletes.

I think you get the idea. Let’s make 2015 the best year yet for USA Dance.

Happy 50th Anniversary, USA Dance, and thank you for being a part of it!

Yang Chen

National President USA Dance, Inc. January-February 2015

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AMERICAN DANCER

MAGAZINE WINS COVETED

2014 MARCOM GOLD AWARD Exactly one year ago, American Dancer Magazine, the official publication of USA Dance, launched its new lifestyle magazine design format and editorial direction with the January-February issue in 2014.

This new January-February issue for 2015 is the 7th issue under the direction of Angela Prince, publisher/ editor-in-chief. SPARK Publications created the redesign of this beautiful magazine as well as nominated and submitted for this award.

Exciting news for USA Dance, its chapters and members! American Dancer has been awarded a 2014 Gold MarCom Award for magazine excellence, one of the marketing communications industry’s most prestigious achievement awards.

About the MarCom Awards: MarCom Awards is described as a creative competition for any

individual or company involved in the concept, writing and design of print, visual, audio and web materials and programs. Each year, there are approximately 6,000 entries and in 2014 originated from all 50 states, 10 provinces and three territories of Canada, as well as 34 additional countries around the globe. Entries rally from major media conglomerates, Fortune 50 companies as well as freelancers and individuals representing corporate marketing and communication departments, advertising agencies, public relations fi rms, design shops and production companies.

Announced in December 2014, the MarCom Awards were judged over a two-month period by the senior-level members of the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, and the winners are considered a Who’s Who List of the industry.

INSPIRING THE NEXT GENERATION OF

USA DANCE KIDZ™ One year ago, USA Dance announced its new USA Dance Kidz initiative which now under the direction of Dr. Linda Succi, Director of K-12 Program, finds that 56% of the 45 USA Dance chapters responding to a recent survey want to either start a new dance program or improve or expand their existing one. Of the 45 chapters, more than 80% had an active dance program in place for school children.

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American Dancer on the podium! But as USA Dance DanceSport athletes know well, the journey is just beginning. USA Dance is appreciative of the many contributions, collaborations and assistance given to our publication staff throughout the year to ensure the highest quality magazine for our members. Special thank you to our many guest writers, photographers, contributing chapters and members, and advertisers whose support has made this achievement possible for all of us to share.

During the past year, American Dancer featured several of the successful, ongoing dance programs which easily serve as helpful models to these chapters – Antelope Valley (CA) Chapter 4037, Orlando (FL) Chapter 6002, Richmond (VA) Chapter 6006 and Mohawk Valley (NY) Chapter 3066. In addition, there are other effective instructional programs, dance camps, special group classes and private lessons, sponsored or offered by members, former USA Dance national champions and other non-profit organizations in alliance with USA Dance.

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

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As Linda emphasized, the goal of USA Dance’s K-12 initiative is “to have more student programs sponsored by USA Dance Chapters, offering children and teens the opportunity to improve social skills, exercise, increase self-confidence, develop teamwork and partnership skills, and most of all to have fun in life.”

As Linda also points out, there is K-12 program start-up information available to interested members and chapters. Yet, USA Dance realizes that even with a foundation

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NEW CHAPTER FUNDRAISING PROGRAMS

By Ann Durocher, USA Dance Director of Development

MAJOR PUSH TO SUPPORT USA WORLD TEAMS Each time our USA World Team Couples take to the competition floor at WDSF World Championships and Games outside the United States, they actually represent every member of the entire USA Dance organization.

To be a USA World Team representative is both an honor and a responsibility, and is acknowledged in numerous interviews of World Team athletes in every issue of American Dancer Magazine. For those of us who will likely never achieve this status, it is also an honor to know that we are members of an organization that is part of the Olympic Family and that we have athletes representing us.

World Team dancers work very hard to be the best that they can be as our representatives. In order to achieve, their journey requires dedication to the sport and a passion for it. Along the way, their work ethic, discipline and achievements inspire others to fulfi ll their own goals.

As members of USA Dance, whether social dancers, amateur athletes or professionals, we can personally share in our World Team athletes’ journeys by participating in the new USA Dance World Team Sponsorship Program. By being part of the USA World Team through sponsorship, we can share the pride and attain a similar sense of accomplishment.

The primary objective of the new Sponsorship Program is to underwrite the ever-increasing costs of sending plan, most dance instructional programs will evolve over time and are more often customized to the changing needs of the local school, community and students. Chapter leaders organizing school dance programs welcome inquiries and are a good resource for ideas, solutions and creative ways to get a new program started, everything from what to teach to fundraising.

Interested chapters or members should write to Linda Succi at K12programs-dir@ usadance.org or download the K-12 Program Guide and Registration documents found at www.usadance.org/K-12.

our World Team Athletes to represent the United States at the WDSF World Championships and Games, thus supporting the global movement to bring DanceSport to the Olympic Games and Olympism which impacts our daily lives.

How can chapters and members be part of this movement and share in the achievements of our athletes? The new development program encourages chapters to have team building exercises by holding fundraisers. It’s a great excuse to be creative and have more fun dancing! A few ideas -- a fundraising dance with lots of fun activities such as “Pay-to-Dance” dances and Jack and Jill’s may work. A silent auction with a Dance Showcase may be more in line with your group. Or two nearby chapters could host a big gala event that appeals to the general public.

There may also be a generous benefactor who could underwrite the chapter’s participation in the entire program. Regardless of the way, participating chapters can actually sponsor all or specific couples, and

be part of their personal road to success.

For chapters committing to raise $5,000 or more, the chapter qualifies to have a top-ranking DanceSport couple perform at an upcoming chapter event.

And all sponsoring chapters, regardless of their level of monetary participation, will also be recognized in American Dancer magazine, on the USA Dance website and in the Nationals’ souvenir program.

Members who make individual contributions will automatically join the USA World Team Patron/Benefactor VIP list. Donors will be recognized and, depending on the contribution level, will qualify for special VIP sponsor packages at Nationals.

“As members of USA Dance, school-age students, instructors, parents and schools gain an affordable educational program that can be tailored to support physical education and fitness goals for students and provide a wholesome after-school extracurricular activity that teaches skills and perspectives that can impact a lifetime.”

— Dr. Linda Succi, Director, USA Dance K-12 Programs January-February 2015

7

Milestones

USA DANCE 2015 NATIONAL DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS TO CELEBRATE 35TH ANNIVERSARY IN HISTORIC BALTIMORE Every year, DanceSport essentially has two starting gates: January 1 because calendars are traditionally 12 months, and the second being the Monday following the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships. Once the USA Dance national titles and placements are awarded, the National Qualifying Events for the next year’s Nationals begin. (see DanceSport Calendar p. 11) During the weekend of Mar. 27-29, USA Dance 2015 Nationals reaches an important milestone in Baltimore – its 35th Anniversary – and has an additional reason to celebrate – the 50th Anniversary of USA Dance as an organization.

Baltimore was actually the host city for the very fi rst USA Dance Nationals in 1980. And since that time, this favorite city has hosted Nationals nine times, with Los Angeles and Minneapolis tied for second, hosting four times each. Throughout its 35-year history, Nationals has happened in 15 different states, primarily when Chapters were the organizing committees, but since 2008 when USA Dance created a National Organizing Team, the championship event has alternated between Baltimore/East Coast and Los Angeles/West Coast.

With Nationals 2015 less than three months away, athletes, coaches, parents and spectators need know all the information resources available: The USA Dance DanceSport Rulebook: www.usadance.org (everything governing competitions, officials & athletes) Event Information: www.usadancenationals.org (general & competitor info, registration, tickets, travel info, vendors, sponsors)

Hotel Accommodations: Marriott Renaissance Harborplace Hotel 410-547-1200 Competitor Registration (entries/divisions/ officials/results): www.o2cm.com Nationals Updates on Facebook: USA Dance Inc, USA Dance Competitions, USA Dance National DanceSport Championships

WDSF-LICENSED ADJUDICATORS BASED IN THE UNITED STATES The World DanceSport Federation (WDSF)-licensed Adjudicators based in the United States are professional members of USA Dance. Event organizers of USA Dance National Qualifying Events and other USA Dance-listed competitions are encouraged to utilize the professional services of the following 26 well-known WDSF-licensed Adjudicators and Chairs of Adjudicators (listed in alphabetical order by last name).

WDSF Adjudicator Licensing Levels: A (all WDSF events) B (Up to WDSF Open events) PD (WDSF Professional Division) Chair, as of 12-1-14

Didio Barrera

A

Daniel Calloway

A

Marie Crowder

A

Wayne Crowder

A, PD

Wendi Davies

A

Bill Davies

A

Randy Deats

B

Nadia Eftedal

A

Shawn Fisher

A, PD

Olga Foraponova

A

Stephen Hadley

A

Anya Klimova-Preston

A

THE NATIONALS ORGANIZING TEAM

Angela Prince, Media & Advertisement publicrelations-dir@usadance.org

Ken Richards, Event Organizer organizer@usadancenationals.org

Amy MacDougall, Anti-Doping Committee ds-antidoping@usadance.org

Mark Tabor, Pre-Registration registrar@usadancenationals.org

Todd Kirrane, Junior Athlete Parents Committee JA-Parents@usadance.org

Charlie Clement, Ticket Sales tickets@usadancenationals.org

Michael Brocks, Event Treasurer treasurer@usadancenationals.org

Renata Shvarts

A, PD, Chair

Kimberly Smith

A

Ann Durocher, Sponsors & Scholarship sponsor@usadancenationals.org

Nicole Barron, Vendor Relations vendor@usadancenationals.org

Kathy St. Jean

B

Zack Stevens

A

Dasha Sushko

A

Keith Todd

A

Sterling Sightler, Volunteer Coordinator volunteer@usadancenationals.org

8

Webmaster webmaster@usadancenationals.org

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

Stephan Krauel

A, PD

Trevor Luff

A

Claudia Marshall

A

Mark Nocera

A

Spencer Nyemchek

A

Peter Pover

A, Chair

Inez Sahlin

A

Glenn Weiss

A, PD

USA DANCE 50th ANNIVERSARY

ALL ABOARD QUEEN MARY II IN JULY USA DANCE just turned 50 and it’s time to celebrate! And what better way than aboard one of the most magnificent of all dance cruise ships, Cunard’s Queen Mary II. Join USA Dance members, family and friends for this second cruise in the “Dancing For America™ 50th Anniversary” Series, which departs from New York City on Thurs., July 30 for five nights and four days at sea, visits two historic ports of call -- Halifax, Nova Scotia and Boston, MA, and returns Tues., Aug. 4. (There’s even a threeday/two-night pre-cruise extension in NYC which includes a city tour and show ticket!)

2015 also marks the 175th Anniversary of the Cunard line’s inaugural voyage in

1840 – all the more reason to not miss this dance cruise ship experience!

Queen Mary II cruise rates start from $1,430 per person based on an inside/ double-occupancy cabin (includes all port charges and taxes). Initial reservation deposits are only $475 per person.

Aboard the Queen Mary 2, the famous Queens Room boasts the largest ballroom on any passenger ship at sea, and is used regularly for afternoon teas and ballroom dancing to a live orchestra in the evenings.

Ballroom and line-dance classes are held daily, and the Queen Mary 2 already has a successful Gentleman Host program for single lady dancers.

BIRMINGHAM BID FOR WORLD GAMES 2021 USA DANCE DELEGATE KIM SMITH ATTENDS WELCOMING RECEPTION FOR IWGA

Welcoming Reception for the IWGA Selection Committee. WDSF Adjudicator Kim Smith for USA Dance; Co Koren, one of three IWGA executive committee decision makers, and Dancer Ginger Marsh.

In October, USA Dance was represented at Birmingham, Alabama’s official welcoming of the International World Games Association (IWGA), that will decide in late January 2015

if the “Magic City” of Birmingham will host The World Games 2021.

Attending the official welcoming reception at the University of Alabama president’s home in Tuscaloosa, on behalf of USA Dance, was WDSF Adjudicator and USISTD Treasurer Kimberly Smith of AL. As the National Governing Body for DanceSport in the USA, USA Dance along with numerous other NGBs were in attendance, as the October IWGA visitation would be the only official site selection visit.

According to Max Bishop, vice president of the International World Games Association (IWGA) executive committee, who spoke at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, confirmed that Birmingham, AL is definitely in the running against rival cities, Lima, Peru, and Ufa, Russia, to host The World Games 2012. He also confirmed

For more information, contact USA Dance Cruise Director Jean Krupa at social-vp@usadance.org. www.DANCECRUISEUSADANCE.org 1-800-999-9302

that the final decision will come down to “small things.”

USA Dance members will recall American Dancer’s coverage of The World Games 2013. Three USA Dance DanceSport couples represented the USA in Cali, Colombia, competing in standard, latin and salsa, before crowds of 30,000 in a massive outdoor bull fighting arena.

If successful, Birmingham would be the first U.S. city to host The World Games since Santa Clara, CA hosted the inaugural games in 1981. The 2021 World Games would cost approximately $75 million, but the city estimates an economic impact of $256 million. Attendance at The World Games in Cali exceeded 500,000. The World Games is run under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Approximately 100 countries are expected to send an estimated 4,000 athletes for 2021.

Resource. www.al.com, USA Today

January-February 2015

9

Milestones

CROWNING CHAMPIONS 2015 USA DANCE NATIONAL DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS Mar 27 – 29, 2015

Renaissance HarborPlace Hotel - Baltimore, MD

By Ken Richards, USA Dance VP of DanceSport, Nationals Management Committee

The 35th Anniversary of the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships is in full planning mode by the 2015 Organizing Committee to bring the athletes and spectators another amazing event, this time in our 50th Anniversary year.

For 2015, the Baltimore Renaissance HarborPlace Hotel remains the official home of this three-day competition event, combining all the fun, excitement, food options and shopping of the historic Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Eddie Farcon

Carson Zullinger

The new Nationals organizational plan has been restructured with a new support team approach which includes the return of Daphna Locker, assisted by Amanda Ashcraft and Mark Tabor; a team from the Gumbo NQE — Ann Durocher, assisted

by Sterling Sightler and Charlie Clement; plus members of the national DanceSport Council, including Stan Andrews, Rog Greenawalt and myself. This new 10

Nationals Team collaboration will result in greater registration efficiences and more streamlined, enjoyable experience for all.

The official website www.usadance nationals.org is already live, providing more event and travel details than before, a new registration portal and more direct contact information. Registering competitors can now verify online their national qualifying status, based on their entries at any of the USA Dance National Qualifying Events for Nationals.

Each year, the USA Dance Nationals officially crowns the National Champions and recognizes the top fi nalists in all dance styles and levels, from Pre-Teen to Senior III. The top Championship level couples also qualify for a place on the USA World Teams that later represent the USA abroad

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

at the upcoming World DanceSport Federation’s World Championships. The Senior IV National Championships, in all styles and proficiency levels, are held in June at the Gumbo DanceSport Championships NQE in Baton Rouge, LA. Top fi nalists also qualify there for the USA World Team for Senior IV, the newest World Championship division in the WDSF. And for the second year, the USA Dance Nationals will host the highly competitive Under-21 Open WDSF World Ranking Tournaments in Standard, Latin and 10-Dance, open to competitors around the world.

USA Dance is pleased to announce that the 2015 Nationals judging panel will be comprised of the country’s top certified as well as WDSF-licensed adjudicators, all having an eye on fair-play and sporting principles. Invigilation for syllabus events and costume regulations will be followed using the 2014-2015B version of the DanceSport Rulebook, available online as a free download at www.usadance.org.

Whether you’re an avid social dancer and fan of DanceSport or an athlete vying for a Nationals title, Baltimore, Mar. 27-29, 2015 should be in your travel plans. When you’re not inside the ballroom watching all the exciting rounds or shopping at the many vendor booths, the Renaissance HarborPlace hotel is located across the street from the historic Baltimore Harbor with its docked vintage ships, ferry boat excursions, tours of the Baltimore Aquarium, not to mention being within walking distance to the harbor’s fi nest restaurants and boutique shops.

We look forward to seeing you in March!

DANCESPORT CALENDAR 2015-2016 January 2015 Islanders DanceSport Challenge ** (see note) January 10, 2015 Organized by Renata Shvarts Olympia Recreational Center - Staten Island, NY Manhattan Amateur Classic (The MAC) - 2015 NQE January 16-18, 2015 Hosted by Greater New York Chapter #3004 Empire Meadowlands Hotel - Secaucus, NJ WDSF Open Junior II Standard & Latin January 16 - 18, 2015 Events held at Manhattan Amateur Classic.

Empire Meadowlands Hotel - Secaucus, NJ Florida Fun Amateur Mini-Match ** (see note) January 18, 2015 Organized by Mary K. Thomas Circle Square Cultural Center - Ocala, FL PDX Classic - 2015 NQE January 24, 2015 Hosted by Portland Chapter #1006 The Ballroom Dance Company - Tigard, OR Winter Frolic ** (see note) January 31, 2015 Hosted by Royal Palm Chapter #6016 Gold Coast Ballroom - Coconut Creek, FL

February 2015 Quest For The Best ** (see note) February 28, 2015 Hosted by Seattle Chapter #1004 The Verve Ballroom – Lynnwood, WA Mid-Atlantic Championships – 2015 NQE February 14 - 15, 2015 Hosted by Mid-Eastern Chapter #6001 North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center - Bethesda, MD

March 2015 NJ DanceSport Classic – Spring Fling March 8, 2015 Organized by Wendi Davies Rogers Dance Center – Hackensack, NJ Phoenix USA DanceSport Challenge ** (see note) March 21, 2015 Hosted by Phoenix Chapter #4033 El Zaribah Shrine Hall - Phoenix, AZ WDSF Adjudicator’s Congress at Nationals March 26, 2015 Event held at USA Dance 2015 National DanceSport Championships Renaissance Harborplace Hotel – Baltimore, MD Registration form must be completed by March 15.

Contact: ds-certification@usadance.org CODING: All National Qualifying Events for the 2015 and 2016 USA Dance National DanceSport Championships are identified by (Year) NQE. COMPETITOR ELIGIBILITY: Please refer to USA Dance Rulebook (Eligibility Criteria 4.2 and 4.3) for complete qualification details to participate in the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships. All USA Dance active members are permitted to dance in any and all events listed above. Please note that events above designated ** do not

USA DANCE 2015 National DanceSport Championships Mar 27 – 29, 2015 Also Hosting WDSF World Ranking Tournaments: Open Under-21 Standard Open Under-21 10-Dance Open Under-21 Latin Renaissance Harborplace Hotel - Baltimore, MD

April 2015 Quest for the Best ** (see note) April 18, 2015 Hosted by Seattle Chapter #1004 The Verve Ballroom - Lynnwood, WA

May 2015 Rocky Mountain Spring Competition ** (see note) May 23, 2015 Hosted by USA Dance Denver Chapter #5006 Denver Turnverein - Denver, CO

June 2015 NJ DanceSport Classic - Summer Sizzler – 2016 NQE June 6-7, 2015 Organized by Mario Battista & Wendi Davies Rogers DanceSport Center - Hackensack NJ River City Ball ** (see note) Hosted by Portland Chapter #1006 Ballroom Dance Company – Portland, OR (Note: Date to be announced) Gumbo DanceSport Championships – 2016 NQE June 26-28, 2015 Hosted by Louisiana Gumbo Chapter #5031 Crowne Plaza - Baton Rouge LA WDSF Open Senior III & IV Standard & Latin June 26 - 28, 2015 Events held at the Gumbo DanceSport Championships Crowne Plaza - Baton Rouge, LA

July 2015 Mid-Summer Classic ** (see note) July 25, 2015 Hosted by Southern Star Chapter #6038 Rhapsody Ballroom – Tampa, FL

September 2015 Kansas City Dance Classic ** (see note) September 12, 2015 Organized by Matt & Ellen Pansing Camelot Ballroom - Overland Park, KS (Kansas City)

New England DanceSport Championships – 2016 NQE September 25-27, 2015 Hosted by MASSabda Chapter #3002 Westin Hotel - Waltham, MA Rocky Mountain Fall Competition ** (see note) September, 2015 Hosted by USA Dance Denver Chapter #5006 Denver Turnverein - Denver, CO (Note: Date to be announced) Coolanta/Georgia DanceSport Amateur Competition ** (see note) Fall 2015 TBA Hosted by Georgia DanceSport Atlanta Ballroom Center, Sandy Springs, GA

October 2015 Carolina Fall Classic – 2016 NQE October 2 - 4, 2015 Organized by Wayne & Marie Crowder University Hilton - Charlotte NC WDSF Open Senior I & II Standard & Latin October 2 - 4, 2015 Events held at Carolina Fall Classic University Hilton – Charlotte, NC NJ DanceSport Classic – Fall Frolic ** (see note) October 2015 Organized by Wendi Davies Rogers Dance Center - Hackensack, NJ (Note: Date to be announced) Chicago DanceSport Challenge – 2016 NQE October 30 - November 1, 2015 Hosted by Chicagoland Chapter #2001 Hyatt O’Hare Hotel - Chicago, IL

November 2015 California State DanceSport Championships – 2016 NQE November 2015 Hosted by NorCal Chapter #4004 (Note: Date to be announced) National Collegiate DanceSport Championships November 21-22, 2015 Hosted by USA Dance National Columbus Convention Center – Columbus, OH

Quest For The Best ** (see note) September 26, 2015 Hosted by Seattle Chapter #1004 The Verve Ballroom – Lynnwood, WA

Event organizers may add events to the calendar by contacting Rog Greenawalt at ds-competition@usadance.org.

accrue proficiency points and may not follow all rules in the Rulebook. http://usadance.org/dancesport/forms-andresources/rules-policies-and-bylaws/ SPECTATOR TICKETS: Please contact the individual competition websites/organizers listed on the USA Dance website visit www.usadance.org. For USA Dance Nationals tickets, please visit via www.usadancenationals.com.

CALENDAR DISCLAIMER: All USA Dance sanctioned and listed competition events and activities within this

calendar are subject to change of date, location and other details without prior notice. Please check with the actual event organizers via the event websites or by personal contact to confirm the accuracy of all event details before making plans as a competitor, spectator or sponsor.

ERRORS/CORRECTIONS: For any changes/updates, please contact DanceSport Council Representative Rog Greenawalt directly at ds-competition@usadance.org.

January-February 2015

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USA DANCE SILVER ANNIVERSARY (1965- 2015)

A TURNING POINT YEAR FOR THE

H

istorians have called the 1960s a turning point in American history.

It was often a tumultuous time and historical events during the decade redefi ned people’s lives, from the War in Vietnam, the Civil Rights and Women’s Movement and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to the fi rst U.S. space walk, the Beatles invasion and the start of Social Security benefits.

It was during this decade that USA Dance found its humble beginning as the

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United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association (USABDA). The year was 1965 and the USABDA leadership believed that competitive ballroom dancing (today referred to as DanceSport) could one day become an Olympic sport. Although the Olympic dream was the founding mission, the leaders also believed that ballroom dancers – whether social or competitive – and a network of social dance chapters could make a measurable difference in people’s lives and their communities.

THE VISION OF ONE DANCER, NOW THE PASSAGE OF A GLOBAL MOVEMENT. USABDA — USA DANCE THE FOUNDATION YEARS (1965-1999)

By Archie Hazelwood, Past President, USABDA [now USA Dance, Inc.] “The United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association, Inc., known nationwide as USABDA [now USA Dance, Inc.], was formed in 1965 to promote the acceptance of ballroom dancing into the Olympics.

At that time the late Normand Martin, a leading social and competitive dancer and ballroom dance champion, organized a group of interested amateur dancers to petition the Olympic Committee for inclusion of Ballroom Dancing into the Olympics.

Those early efforts to get into the Olympics failed but in developing the USABDA bylaws, it was realized that the dance world of the American Amateur went far past accommodating the “International Style” competitors who were interested in the Olympics. As the founders of

THE FIRST 6 TERMS

USA DANCE PRESIDENTS –

1965-1966

1979- 1984

USABDA in 1965. Served as first President. Established structural outline for the organization.

diplomacy process to unify all amateur dance organization in the U.S.

NORMAND MARTIN. Founded

1966-1967

SIG SCHWARTZ. Former NY Chapter

President. Continued work of Martin.

1967-1975

GEORGE GRUBER. Served during period when USABDA’s western chapters separated from eastern chapters to form separate amateur organization. Upon George’s 1975 death, wife Joan kept organization together until 1979.

12

RICHARD MASON. Began the

1984 - 1987

MARY WETHINGTON. Established

New Vision for USABDA, finalized the unification of amateurs required

by USOC for Class C membership and added focus on youth and regional structure for chapters.

1987 - 1993

PETER POVER. Played major role in unification of amateurs in the U.S. and was part of IDSF Presidium leadership that gained IOC recognition for DanceSport in 1997 and paved way for DanceSport into the Olympics.

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

Fifty years later in 2015, USA Dance recognizes the dedicated leaders and volunteers who have made this 501c3 charitable organization what it is today.

The USA Dance 50th Anniversary is a time of great celebration. And chapters have every opportunity to promote their programs, grow their membership and create the support alliances they need for continued success in their communities.

Happy National Ballroom Dance Year.

The celebration starts now!

AMATEUR DANCER TO AMERICAN USA Dance history is well documented in its publication, today called American Dancer Magazine. The first two issues of the official magazine – then called Amateur Dancer — were published in 1979. It wasn’t the glossy magazine it is today, but a very detailed newsprint publication. The USA Dance organization was then registered as the United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association, and an “s” was soon added to the magazine name to become Amateur Dancers.

A sampling of various archived print covers below gives indication of the evolution of USA Dance history and its publication. Beginning in 1980, the first year of the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships, held in Baltimore, Amateur Dancers became a bimonthly publication (6 issues a year).

August/September 1981 Headlines: Medal Tests, Elections, Nationals 82/83 President Dick S. Mason

USABDA worked on defi ning the dancing guidelines and needs to be considered in developing the Bylaws, the American Style competitors and a vast number of serious and dedicated Social Dancers suddenly came into view. The resultant Bylaws of USABDA Carson Zullinger addressed three very important areas of association – the International Style competitors, the American Style competitors and the Social dancers.

Those early-on plans of USABDA, while helping the competitors to compete nationally and internationally, also helped set the stage for the availability of floors, music and venue for the Social dancers which then were and still are, the backbone and strength of USABDA. During its early years USDABDA consisted primarily of a small number of members in the greater New York area, a few in the Washington, DC section of the country, plus a small number on the West Coast. In 1978, the MidEastern Chapter was formed and actions were initiated to take USABDA into other parts of the country and to commence creating a national organization. National elections were held in 1979 and the next few years saw the beginning of the present organization, with chapters being formed in several states.

During the 1980s efforts were made to bring all other amateur ballroom dance organizations into USABDA. In 1985, USABDA reorganized and was granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service.

Junior I Standard Champions at the USA Dance 2014 National DanceSport Championships.

The goal of the Olympic Movement is to contribute to building a peaceful and better world by educating youth through sport practiced in accordance with Olympism and its values.

Resource: www.TeamUSA.org

New Bylaws were formulated providing for a national organization with a regional and chapter structure. In 1987, a unification election was held that brought all amateurs into one national organization which then was recognized by the international world governing body, now known as the International DanceSport Federation (IDSF). Since then USABDA has functioned as the national governing body for all forms of amateur ballroom dancing in the United States.

USABDA organizes and supports educational programs among the public about the healthful aspects of recreational ballroom dancing and DanceSport, the competitive form of ballroom dancing.

These programs emphasize the physical, mental and social benefits of dancing, and include the expansion of dancing skills among those of all ages and capabilities.

During the last 12 years, USABDA

DANCER A CHRONICLE OF HISTORY: THE

focused on promoting the growth of all styles and forms of ballroom dancing, both competitive and recreational social dancing. This included a program to establish a network of chapters in each state. These efforts were very successful with major growth each year in the number of dancers, chapters and related activities such as competitions, workshops and social dances. Much labor and resources were devoted to promoting ballroom dance and DanceSport in colleges and secondary schools, a long term project that will extend over many years.

The last few years produced significant progress in DanceSport’s journey into the Olympics. In 1997 the IDSF was granted full recognition by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the world-wide governing body for DanceSport. Then in 1999, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) granted Affiliate membership to USABDA, including recognition as the National Governing Body of DanceSport in the United States. The next step in DanceSport’s journey into the Olympics will be for the IOC to grant Program Status to DanceSport. That’s when DanceSport will be added to the Olympic Program. It is our hope that this will occur soon.

Annually, USABDA conducts national, regional and local DanceSport Championships.

National DanceSport Champions are selected and USABDA then finances their participation in the IDSF** World DanceSport

FIRST 2 DECADES

February/March 1985

July/August 1987

November/December 1989

Headlines: 20th Anniversary Ball, Arthritis Charity Event President Mary Wethington

Headlines: Amateur Champions, ICAD Membership President Mary Wethington

Headlines: USA/USSR Summit/ ICAD, USABDA Outreach President Peter Pover

September/October 1991 Headlines: Nationals in LA, 501c3 status, NDCA Relations, Chapter Activities President Peter Pover

January-February 2015

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Helmut Roland

World Games 2013 Standard Yuriy Nartov & Yulia Blagova

The Olympic Journey — World Games 2013 in Cali, Colombia. 30,000 fans and the best of Standard, Latin and Salsa.

DanceBeat/Keith Todd

Helmut Roland

World Games 2013 Latin Edward Golbert & Maryann Krasko

Championships. United States representatives also are sent to the World Games which are held for Olympic recognized sports that are not yet in the Olympic Program.

In 1999 a separate division was established to promote and guide the growth of social ballroom dancing in the United States. The goal is to promote social dancing as a healthful lifetime recreational activity, with progression to competitions encouraged for those who are so inclined.

Also in 1999, the Youth College Network was restructured and the staff of volunteers was greatly expanded to provide a promotional and management organization that will be capable of meeting the immense challenge of taking social ballroom dancing and DanceSport into every college and secondary school in this nation. That is one of USABDA’S major goals for the next decade. It is the foundation of USABDA’s program to create here in the United States a pool of world class DanceSport Athletes that will dominate the international world of dance in the years ahead.

The project to gain for DanceSport full status as an Olympic Program Sport

will continue. However the main focus of USABDA activities will be on actions to enable members to achieve their dance goals and to grow the sport, regardless of what may happen some day regarding the Olympics.”

As Archie Hazlewood summarized: “USABDA [now known as USA Dance] has developed into a nationwide nonprofit organization of thousands of volunteers, who love ballroom dancing and appreciate the excitement and romance, as well as the social and health benefits, that ballroom dancing brings into their lives. At grass roots level in communities, colleges and secondary schools all over the country USABDA provides opportunities for the public to engage in affordable ballroom dancing and DanceSport. Beginners are welcomed, helped to get started and then assisted in achieving their goals. USABDA’s goal is for everyone to ballroom dance.” * USABDA changed name to USA Dance, Inc. in 2005. ** The IDSF (International DanceSport Federation) changed name to WDSF (World DanceSport Federation) in 2011.

The late Archie Hazelwood, serving then as president of USABDA*, was a tireless leader and visionary in support of amateur and social dancing in America. In 1999, his chronicle of USABDA history attests to the tremendous foundation of work accomplished in USA Dance’s first 35 years and brings into perspective, the prevailing mission of USA Dance especially as USA Dance begins its Next 50 Years.

May/June 1993

November/December 1994

July/August 1996

Headlines: Nationals, USA/UK Dance Festival, Music, World Championships, Elections President Peter Pover

Headlines: Major Dance Competitions, Children, Ballroom TV, Chapter Rebates & Growth President Archie Hazelwood

Headlines: Chapter Growth/ Finances, Social Dancing, Media Relations, Nationals President Archie Hazelwood

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American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

November/December 1997 Headlines: Nationals Results, Fundraising, ByLaw Changes, President Archie Hazelwood

A DANCE US

DANCESPORT MILESTONE: INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) APPROVES OLYMPIC AGENDA 2020, CREATES CLOSER TIES WITH INTERNATIONAL WORLD World DanceSport Federation GAMES ASSOCIATION (IWGA) Resource: website www.worlddancesport.org The World Games 2013 DanceSport - Cali, Colombia

Ken Richards

On Monday, Dec. 8, the full membership of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) unanimously approved the 40 recommendations that make up Olympic Agenda 2020, a strategic roadmap for the future of the Olympic Movement, at the 127th IOC Session in Monaco.

The recommendation # 6 describes the closer ties that will be established between the IOC and the International World Games Association (IWGA). The two organizations shall “… closely cooperate regarding the sports program composition and their respective evaluations.”

The recommendation will affect the development of The World Games, the multi-sport event that was already held under the patronage of the IOC, in a most positive way. Commenting on the approval of the Agenda 2020, IWGA President and IOC Member José Perurena described the impact on the games and its sports.

“This decision enhances tremendously the status of The World Games,” Perurena said. “Working in cooperation with the IOC is essential for us to raise the level of competition and organization of our Games.

“We want to demonstrate that our sports are on the same level as the Olympic sports and we aim to deliver superb Games,” he added.

To get this message across visually, IWGA selected a photograph of the DanceSport competition at The World Games 2013 in Cali, Colombia.

In 2013, USA Dance sent three DanceSport couples to Cali to represent the USA in Standard, Latin and Salsa. The World Games DanceSport was held in a historic bullfighting arena, where 30,000 fans cheered the best of DanceSport in action.

WHAT DOES THE IOC’S OLYMPIC AGENDA 2020 MEAN FOR DANCESPORT? The crucial recommendation for DanceSport as well as all the other IOC recognized sports aspiring to a place on the Olympic Program should be the changes to the procedure for the composition of the latter. The Agenda presents proposals for a more flexible approach by adopting an event-based rather than a sportbased approach to the composition of the program, while retaining the limit on the number of athletes participating.

Another recommendation that could affect DanceSport addresses the collaboration between the IOC and other multi-sport organizations - such as the International World Games Association - in the composition of the sports program. DanceSport has been on the program of The World Games since 1997 and has excelled in many during the most recent editions.

Resource: World DanceSport Federation

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT USA DANCE The First Chapter

MidEastern Chapter 6001 (formed in 1978)

Newest Chapter

Nancy Welch

Treasure Coast FL 6004 16 years

Terry Jennrich

Ohio 2024

Becky Comer

Mtn Empire VA 6050

Clarence Smith Jr.

Bellingham WA 1013

15 years

San Antonio Chapter 5055 (joined May 2014)

Longest Serving National President: Additional Long-Serving Chapter Presidents:

Archie Hazelwood

Jack Reinhold

MidEastern MD 6001

Longest Serving National Treasurer:

Phil Sisk

Richmond VA 6006

Lee Andrew

Ray Smith

Tidewater VA 6008

Longest Serving GC Member:

John Davis

Orlando FL 6002

Jerry Bonmer (35 years, retired 2014)

23 years

Jim DiCecca

MASSabda MA 3002

James Kleinrath Nor Cal (CA) 4004

17 years

Glenn Okazaki

Honolulu, HI 4007

Sandi Elam

19 years

Susan Ryan

Youngstown OH 2015

Total Number of Chapters

158

Longest Serving Active Chapter Presidents (by end of 2014): Francine Stein

Southern Tier NY 3011 Charleston WV 6014

January-February 2015

15

Clinical Research

Breakthrough: HEALTHFUL LIFESTYLE MAY DELAY OR PREVENT ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE All The More Reason To Keep On Dancing

Donna True

“Alzheimer’s disease is a chronic, slowly progressive, gradual in onset, irreversible condition that destroys brain nerve cells and other structures in the central nervous system. People with Alzheimer’s disease slowly develop dementia – a loss of memory and intellectual and social skills that result in confusion, disorientation, and the inability to think, reason, and understand.”

– Michelle Badash, MS, for Lifescript.com

A

ccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are five million Americans with Alzheimer’s Disease and 34 million worldwide, and those numbers are expected to more than triple by 2050. With no known cure for Alzheimer’s disease, according to Diane Wedner, Lifescript Health Writer (July 2014), the prevailing question is “Can Lifestyle Changes Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease?”

The newest study from Finland – now considered the gold-standard clinical trial -- has found that adults at risk for Alzheimer’s “could slow cognitive decline with regular exercise, healthful eating, mentally engaging activities, and keeping Top Left: Treasure Coast Walk to End Alzheimer’s – Martin-St. Lucie Chapter (FL) 6047 “Team Dance” participants: Donna Norton, Alice Delevante, Sue Giffen, Tom Newton, Cathy Migliore. Donna True (photographer).

Left: Las Vegas (NV) Chapter 4038 and Elite Dance Studio joint-fundraiser for Desert Southwest Chapter of Alzheimer’s Association. Lesson/Spotlight by Mariusz Sakrewksi & Lynnsay Ray.

diabetes and high blood pressure under control.” This new approach to prevention was presented to the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Denmark, July 2014.

This is important news for the dance industry – at last a major research breakthrough and confirmation that a healthful lifestyle can help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Social and competitive dancers have always experienced first-hand the physical and mental therapeutic benefits of dance. So the real question now is “Can Dancing as the ‘Lifestyle Change’ Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease?”

For years, numerous USA Dance Chapters have volunteered their time and resources to fundraising for their local Alzheimer’s Associations. Others have created successful collaborations to bring dance classes to early-onset Alzheimer’s patients. (See Orlando, Martin-St. Lucie, Las Vegas, pp 16, 18) Members working with their Chapter have taken the mission one step further – to fund research to prove dance is preventive medicine for Alzheimer’s. (See DanCE by Bruce McCombs, Orange County Chapter, p. 17)

Thomas Stark

Dr. Joe Verghese, MBBS, MS

“….The cost of Alzheimer care is truly alarming.

A 2010 report from the Alzheimer’s Disease International estimated that the total worldwide cost of dementia exceeded USD $600 billion in 2010, including informal care provided by family and others, social care provided by community care professionals, and direct costs of medical care.

While there is intense ongoing research to develop pharmacological therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, the results have been disappointing to date. While there are medications available to treat symptoms, there is as yet no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Hence, there is a need to explore alternative intervention

16

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

strategies. Leisure activities, cognitive and physical, have emerged as a potential non-pharmacological option to prevent dementia.”

— Dr. Joe Verghese, Professor of Neurology and Medicine.

Chief, Integrated Division of Cognitive & Motor Aging and Geriatrics.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine In a study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2003 by Professor Verghese and colleagues, older adults in the Bronx Aging Study, who reported participating more in cognitively stimulating activities such as reading, playing musical instruments or playing card or board games had a reduced risk of developing dementia. Of note, participants who danced three or four times a week had a 76 percent reduced risk of dementia compared to people who didn’t dance at all or danced very rarely.

The Promise of Dance

TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THOSE AFFECTED BY ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

By Bruce McCombs

It is reported that every 67 seconds in the United States, an adult is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and that by 2050, the frequency will have accelerated to one every 33 seconds.

Cognitive decline doesn’t only affect the individuals diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, but it has an equal toll on families and society as a whole. And currently, there is no cure.

In comparison, in 1988, poliomyelitis was a critical problem in 125 countries around the world.

In response, one organization Rotary International, stepped up to the goal to wipe out polio from the planet. And today, their mission was virtually accomplished, as polio has been 99% eradicated from those countries.

Why are these statistics and comparisons important? My wife and I competed in ballroom. We enjoyed all the benefits the sport offered and wanted to see it grow.

And importantly, my mother for nine years until her passing had Alzheimer’s disease. As a family, we saw up close and personal the emotional and financial cost of this all-consuming disease.

Although we danced at times with heavy hearts, we seemed to always laugh and smile at least when we were on the dance floor.

Ballroom dancing is a mental, physical and social sport. It involves quick decision — the man leads the woman, and the woman follows the man, performing dance steps while keeping time to music.

It also requires

coordination, agility, flexibility, strength and stamina, balance and concentration. And couples who dance learn skills that challenge them to improve their conversation, intimacy and confl ict resolution, while at the same time, creating a safe place to socially bond with other people.

At the start of 2014, my wife and I established a nonprofit organization called DanCE — Dance for Cognitive Enhancement – essentially, seeking to fund a research study that will establish the beneficial role of social ballroom dancing in maintaining cognitive, motor and emotional health in aging.

DanCE was initially inspired by the 21-year “Leisure Study and the Risk of Dementia,” published in the New England Journal of Medicine by our now collaborator Professor Joe Verghese of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Verghese’s study established one critically important fi nding — that engaging in cognitively stimulating activities reduces the risk of dementia in older adults.

In a subsequent study, Dr. Verghese later reported that older social dancers had better balance and walking abilities than older non-dancers; and given dancing’s multi-modal effects, it is likely not only to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s, but also could have effects on other important age-related outcomes, such as reducing the risk of falls and depression.

Prevention programs like the Finger research in Finland, that studied the effects of lifestyle changes on memory impairment, conclude that disease-related changes in the brain actually begin decades before memory problems become obvious.

The belief of DanCE is that the best antidote for memory loss is social ballroom dancing in union with a healthy diet, other social activities and proper control of physical risks such as high blood pressure and cholesterol.

It is my mission that DanCE play a significant role to establish Alzheimer’s prevention programs to help people avoid the crippling effects of this disease; and in the meantime, bringing awareness of the therapeutic benefits of dancing for everyone.

January-February 2015

17

By John Davis, President, Orlando FL Chapter 6002

Ballroom For the Brain IN ORLANDO

John Davis

Since 1998, dancers from the Orlando Chapter have performed outreach dance shows for “Memory Care” residents at senior living facilities throughout Central Florida. And when the local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association held their Alzheimer’s awareness “Brain Fest” in March 2014, Chapter volunteers gave a presentation on the mental, physical and social benefits of ballroom dancing, and the youth and senior members performed dance exhibitions.

John Davis

Orlando Chapter’s “Ballroom For The Brain” Programs and March 2014 Brain Fest exhibitions are on John Davis’ YouTube Channel twelvedancer.

After our positive experience at Brain Fest, we decided to partner with the Alzheimer’s Association to conduct a pilot ballroom dance-class program called 18

“Ballroom For the Brain.” The Alzheimer’s Association provided six couples, each an early-stage Alzheimer’s-diagnosed individual and their caregiver.

Our Chapter provided the dance instructor and volunteer dancers to assist each couple. Our volunteers received training about Alzheimer’s disease, and classes were held on Saturdays in June and July in the fitness room at Crosby YMCA in Winter Park – an ideal location.

The participants loved learning waltz, merengue, rumba and swing dance steps with their partners. The music and movement brought back fond memories and opened up pathways of communication and confidence. Our volunteers were there to assist each couple, if and when needed, but made sure there was no pressure. End-of-session questionnaires indicated the participants thoroughly enjoyed the classes.

After the fi rst program’s success, we arranged for a second program seven weeks long in October/November, but this time the Alzheimer’s Association signed up 12 couples. It went very smoothly. As the seven weeks passed, our volunteers could see improvements in coordination, balance and endurance.

The couples grew closer and felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment. The

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

extra physical and psychological connection that ballroom dancing provides was a significant benefit.

Each class had three dance-lesson segments, divided by rest breaks when our volunteers demonstrated various moves as “teasers” for upcoming lessons.

We also provided information about USA Dance and venues where the participants could social dance on their own.

The last class of the series was a festive party, with refreshments and special dance exhibitions. Many new friendships were formed among the couples and the volunteers. It was an emotionally rewarding and uplifting experience that our volunteers will never forget.

Our chapter would like to thank the following people for special involvement -- Julie Shatzer and Martha Purdy of the Alzheimer’s Association; Crosby YMCA/Winter Park; and dance instructor Carl Free.

Orlando Chapter volunteers included: Karen Benner, Paul Budesheim, Agnes Chia, Sara Connell, Sally Curry, John Davis, Gail Henderson, Buddy Johnson, Matthew Kovschak, Trena McKay, Joseph Manlunas, Jarrett Pellicane, Michaela Robbins, Susanne Sabatino, Tom Simmons, Gisela Smith, Debra Sutton, Sarah Thompson, Mary Jane Williams and Jurate Wolfe.

E

very year welcomes the New Orleans Mardi Gras Carnival, which always begins on January 6th and ends this year on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (Fat Tuesday), February 17, 2015. The carnival brings back fond memories of when my wife Barbara and I were part of the magical event, which I wrote about in my book Dancing Around the World with Mike & Barbara Bivona.

What attracted us to the Mardi Gras Carnival was a flyer we read detailing sailing on the Mississippi Queen Paddlewheel for seven days and staying in New Orleans the last six days of the carnival. Both adventures had Mardi Gras and big band themes with lots of ballroom dancing promised.

After dancing to the music of Les Elgart and the Guy Lombardo orchestra on the Queen every evening, we disembarked in New Orleans and began our once-in-a-life-time adventure at Mardi Gras.

Our destination was the lobby of the Hotel Monteleone, where it is said “the French Quarter begins.”

The rather long walk to our hotel put us in a carnival mood. Music was coming from every direction; Dixieland, jazz and blues. The

By Michael & Barbara Bivona sounds, combined with the aromas coming from sidewalk food stands that were selling oysters on the half shells, crab cakes, and grilled shrimp, and the enthusiastic merrymakers enjoying their Hurricane drinks as they moseyed along the Bourbon Street area, gave us the feeling that we were looking for; it was carnival time and we were right in the middle of the festivities.

During carnival there were over 50 parades, 1000-plus floats and up to 600 marching bands. Of the few we watched the one we enjoyed the most was “Zulu.” Hundreds of tall

coconut shells) to the cheering crowds. The variety of face paint, the exciting music and the enormous size of the parade and floats made “Zulu” our most memorable Fat Tuesday daytime event.

That evening we headed to the King Rex Masquerade Ball commemorating the “500th Centennial, Columbus-Age of Discovery,” at the grand ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel. It was a formal affair, so I donned my tuxedo and Barbara put together a Spanish senorita outfit that included a decorative fan and castanets. To round out

DANCING ABOARD THE MISSISSIPPI QUEEN RIVERBOAT. . .

Mardi Gras

And Onto in ‘Nawlings’!

costumed fierce looking men and colorfully dressed dancing Zulu women performed their native dances to lively African and jazz music. Tall natives on rainbow colored floats threw Golden Nuggets (small painted

our attire, we wore beautifully designed Venetian masks that we purchased locally.

We were greeted by the court’s announcer: “Mr. & Mrs. Michael Bivona from New York,” and then were presented to costumed Queen Isabella, King Ferdinand, Columbus and Amerigo. After the guest presentations, the court’s trumpets sounded the arrival of the royalty and the beginning of the masquerade ball. Of the 300 guests, King Ferdinand selected my wife Barbara for the fi rst dance of the evening, a slow beautiful waltz.

The big band played till the wee hours of the morning which gave us an opportunity to practice many of our ballroom dance routines. We ended the evening and our Mardi Gras experience with lots of hugs and kisses from our new friends and the “royalty” that we met on the last day of our dream vacation.

Information on Mardi Gras 2015: www.mardigrasneworleans.com.

Award-winning author Mike Bivona is a tango aficionado, book collector, philanthropist and CPA. He and his wife, Barbara, have been dancers for more than 20 years and longtime members of USA Dance Florida Royal Palm Chapter 6016. Their book “Dancing Around The World” (599 pages, published 2010) is a delightful, detailed memoir of their two passions – traveling and finding new places to dance.

January-February 2015

19

S

ocially Yours

By Jean Krupa, Social VP

2015 DANCE NC

RESOLUTION

1 2

Set Realistic Dance Goals. And be specific when you make this list. What do you really want to get out of your dancing? Better timing? More musicality? Having more options for following a cross body lead with an open break or perhaps ways to lead different turns? Whatever your goals, write them down, and when you’ve practiced all to the point that you don’t even think about goals, then you can go out on the dance floor and everything will feel natural.

RESOLUTION

Watch Yourself On The Floor. Pretty much everyone has at least a video camera on their phone. You truly need to ask someone to record your dancing with different people, then watch the video, alone, with friends, or with an instructor. But you do need to watch yourself.

There’s no better inspiration than looking as good on the dance floor as it feels to you.

r esolutions for

NEW YEA YEAR R

the

RESOLUTION

3

Stop and Listen More Often. Actually listen to what people say about other dancers and dance experiences, and then see if or how their comments might apply to you. Very few people will say, “I don’t like dancing with you” or “I don’t like the way you lead.” What they might say is: “I’m going to take a break for a while; we‘ll dance later” or any number of polite comments to “weasel out of a dance.” So listen to what people say about other dancers. And leaders should listen to what followers say after they’ve finished dancing with others. You may hear comments like: “It wasn’t bad.” “He was a little rough.” “I hate when he does that move.” “He just kept spinning me.”

Listening is an important step to learning proper dance etiquette. Sometimes, you’ll hear comments on the sidelines about someone’s bad breath or sweaty hands or even cologne.

So, there’re three important things to check on immediately.

You can learn from other’s mistakes. But then on the fl ip side, listen to what dancers are and are not saying about your own dancing.

If you don’t ultimately hear: “I really enjoyed our dance, you’re a great follower! Let’s dance again.” Then read between the lines.

20

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

RESOLUTION

4

Find Quality Help. A quality instructor can be the difference between doing the wrong thing for two years or learning the right thing in less than two hours.

Dance is a language, and there is a methodology to learning it. A quality instructor will quickly identify your weaknesses, strengths, and help you reach your goals.

RESOLUTION

5

And Go Dancing. While this may seem obvious, students often say, “I’ll go dancing when I get better.” The only way to get good at dancing is to dance. The art of social dancing comes from the experience. It’s the only way you learn how to adapt to different floor conditions. You have to immerse yourself into the social dance scene to improve.

So leaders, you need to dance with dancers that are not necessarily good. In doing so, you learn what it takes to lead, how to make adjustments, and the difference between a move learned in class and a move executed on the dance floor. Look at every dance partner as someone who can also teach you something by simply trying to understand what you are trying to do for the next 3-5 minutes. Understand that what makes a good leader is not how many moves

are led, but how clearly they are led.

Followers, you need to dance with good leaders — not the ones that talk about how great they are, but the ones that other followers want to dance with. You will soon learn that leaders don’t have to be strong to be effective. See how quickly they adapt to your dance level. And you really don’t have to tell them your level before you get started; they will fi gure it out in the fi rst few seconds.

Just relax and enjoy it.

So, happy dancing in the new year.

Dance with many and dance often.

January-February 2015

21

OCALA (FL) CHAPTER

GOES COUNTRY Grassroots WESTERN TO SUPPORT LOCAL FROM HUB TO OUTER RIM: BOYS & GIRLS CLUB FLOWER CITY CHAPTER’S NEW ‘ROCHESTER DANCES!’ UNITES COMMUNITY, SUPPORTS LOCAL CHARITY

Exciting dance night for the Ocala (FL) Chapter 6027 as members donned their country western attire

The Flower City Chapter 3005 in Rochester, NY wrote: “In the September-October article ‘From Hub to Outer Rim, The PR Dance Wheel,’ American Dancer spoke of how the chapters are the spokes that must reach out to the public. On Oct. 12, the Flower City Chapter 3005 in Rochester, NY did just that.”

The Chapter is pleased to report that its first-ever Rochester Dances! charity event was a huge success with more than 100 participants.

Area dance instructors – 13 in all — donated their time to teach an afternoon of dance workshops, that offered all forms of social dancing active in the community, from ballroom to Argentine tango to salsa rueda.

The Chapter’s new event was designed to bring the dance community together, offering new opportunities for all the experienced dancers, and levels perfect for encouraging the beginning dancers and non-dancers.

The many afternoon workshops were followed with a dynamic evening of social dancing. Participants who

had taken at least two workshops were admitted to the dance at no charge.

The music that night gave dancers the chance to practice what they had learned, and many of the instructors graciously performed exhibitions to demonstrate the workshop dances.

To appeal to the widest public audience possible and maximize media publicity, Rochester Dances! chosen charity was a well-known local food cupboard charity called Foodlink. The Chapter donated the venue space, all instructors donated their time, and workshop and dance proceeds were donated to the cause.

The Flower City Chapter’s goal to raise $1,000 was exceeded by 40%.

Media publicity appeared on radio, in newspapers and on television.

And members from sister USA Dance chapters in nearby Syracuse and Buffalo also attended.

The Hub At Work. Flower City Chapter’s Rochester Dances! united the local dance community for a worthy cause.

Presenting $1,420 check is Chapter Treasurer Rob Nuttall to Terra Kellery of Foodlink, Inc.

to support the Boys and Girls Club of Marion County in October.

The charity theme dance proved a fundraising success as country western music was added to the traditional dance mix and award-winning dancers Aimee Allen and Dr. Justin Ferns, a local cardiologist, performed two of their competition routines to kick off the night boosting ticket sales for various prize drawings and other donations.

Dancers enjoyed adding funds into two cowboy “donation” hats for the chance to dance with the country western champions, turned “taxi dancers” for the night.

Instructors Tom and Judy Amspacher also taught a country western two-step lesson, and there was plenty of pulled pork sandwiches and cole slaw to go around.

A check was presented to Jerry R. Lane, CPO of the Boys & Girls Club of Ocala later that evening by Chapter President Pat Vollmann.

Aimee Allen and Dr. Justin Ferns performed two competition routines during the Country/ Western Night fundraiser.

Kimberly Montinarello

mann Chapter President Pat Voll R. ry Jer to ck che ting sen pre ls Lane, CPO of the Boys & Gir Club of Marion County.

Courtesy of Pat Vollmann

Kimberly Montinarello

22

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

FEB 14 – 15

FOR LOVERS (OF DANCE) MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS 2015 NQE Unquestionably, the Mid-Atlantic Championships is for Lovers (Of Dance) and the Mid-Eastern Chapter 6001, event organizers since 2009, are expecting 800 competitors and a packed audience for its Valentine’s Day weekend National Qualifying Event for the USA Dance 2015 National DanceSport Championships in Baltimore, Mar. 27-29. The Mid-Atlantic will be held Sat., Feb. 14 and Sun., Feb. 15 at the Marriott Bethesda (MD) North Hotel and Conference Center, just 12.5 miles from Washington, D.C. This 7th annual Mid-Atlantic, the last-stop in the NQE queue of events, attracts competitors from all styles, divisions and proficiency

levels, primarily from the east coast, the South and Midwest regions. Many couples are vying to place in the top 65% of their divisions and qualify for Nationals; others are seeking to test their skills on the floor one more time against good competition.

Last year, the Mid-Atlantic Championships awarded nearly $12,000 in scholarships to DanceSport couples, who represented 28 states.

Chairman of Judges is Dan Calloway, a Bethesda, MD resident. Emcee will be Yang Chen. Music Director is Phil Collins.

Spectator tickets for adults are $20 or $30 and students $15 or $20, depending upon

Latin & Rhythm Events at the Mid-Atlantic Timeline Media

session. Weekend packages are Adults $65 and Students $45.

More information: www.usadancedc.org .

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January-February 2015

23

Grassroots

VALENTINES & MASQUERADES Dance Cards: From Romantic to Alluring Deception VALENTINE’S DAY: February 14, Saturday For ballroom dancers, Valentine’s Day is simply another great opportunity to dance and celebrate our love of music, dance and friends in grand style, with members donning their favorite red dresses and ties, enjoying decadent desserts and candies, and dancing waltz, and rumba to romantic songs through the ages.

Did you know that the U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 190 million

printed valentines are sent each year in America alone? Half of those valentines are given to family members, usually to children. And traditional valentine exchanges in schools pushes the number to 1 billion. Then since the Millennium, internet valentine exchanges (e-cards, love coupons and printable cards) has soared. In 2010 alone, another 15 million e-Valentines were emailed.

Source: Wikipedia The Hearts Have It! The Dallas Chapter 5044 Valentine’s Day Dance, midst the waltzes, rumbas and two-step, takes on some fun masquerading.

Craig Kunkel

Got Red Shoes!

Richmond Chapter 6006 traditionally celebrates Valentine’s Day with dynamic dance performances and social dancing.

MARDI GRAS: February 17, Tuesday (Best Weekend Feb. 13-17; Parades start Feb. 6) Mardi Gras (French for Fat Tuesday) is one of America’s greatest cultural celebrations, occurring the day before Lent’s Ash Wednesday. It is the last day of Carnival (derived from ‘carnevale’, meaning ‘goodbye meat.”). It can occur anytime between Feb. 3 and Mar. 9 and is always 47 days before Easter (40 days of Lent plus seven Sundays).

Mardi Gras is celebrated throughout America, but a million-plus visitors migrate to New Orleans to party, listen to jazz, over-indulge and dance in the streets and at the city’s many grand masquerade and tableau balls, sponsored by the non-profit organizations (called krewes).

More info: www.mardigrasneworleans.com

(Read USA Dance members Michael and Barbara Bivona’s Mardi Gras dance excursion, p. 19.)

Wild Card in Las Vegas!

Las Vegas Chapter 4038 President (Court Jester) Bill Esposito awards first prize to Dallys Loftis for best ladies Halloween costume.

Thomas Stark

24

And Who Is That Masked Man? Halloween is a tradition for the Greater Daytona Chapter 6026, as dancers Jean Bell (left) and Kevin Guerra go all out with costuming and masquerade.

Photos by Geoff Davis

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American Dancer.indd 1

10/10/14 4:13 PM

THE ULTIMATE

PEP RALLY

Yang Chen

COLLEGIATE DANCESPORT IN AMERICA 26

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

T

here is nothing in the world like being a part of the energetic, challenging and supremely rewarding world of collegiate ballroom dancing in America.

When these bright students take a break from The New Mexico their academic schedules to State University Ballroom Team attend ballroom classes, they Hannah Cole, Coach bring their scholarly focus and approach. Their ballroom classes, practices and The Ultimate Pep Rally. Each year, 800-1,000 Collegiate DanceSport couples and teams parties provide them with social interaccompete at the 2014 National Collegiate tion, movement therapy and competitive DanceSport Championships in Columbus, OH, challenge in grand college style – meaning, organized by USA Dance in collaboration with anything can happen.

Ohio Star Ball organizer Sam Sodano.

I began dancing in 1977 as a freshman closed classes for their students. computer science and statistics major at the The collegiate system exploded University of Delaware. From a one-credit, during the 90s, particularly through the physical education course on social dancing, pioneering efforts of Kay Teague, one of I was hooked for life. One month after comUSA Dance’s original great visionaries pleting the course, I answered a newspaper and a tireless worker and genius problem ad to join a teacher training class at a local solver. Teague organized and encouraged dance studio, and within six months, had professionals and college students across completely left college (returning a decade the country to get programs started. The later to get my degrees). results have been spectacular.

There is not a more diverse ballroom There are now at least three, clearly community than collegiate dancing. identifiable, competitive ballroom streams Colleges and universities do not select in the United States: the NDCA pro and their students simply according to their pro/am circuit, USA Dance programs and academic ability. The college environment events, and the collegiate programs. Due to is greatly enhanced by the greatest possithe explosion of collegiate events, one of the ble cultural diversity achievable. biggest challenges every college or univerLikewise, every school runs its ballroom sity faces is finding an open date on the program differently, ranging from large collegiate calendar to hold their competition. physical education, for-credit courses and Most weekends, there are several options. education department courses for a ballThe differences between collegiate room degree to extra-curricular ballroom DanceSport and the larger ballroom clubs. Some universities boost their profits community start with the obvious fact by admitting the general public to their that this is always a select group of elite ballroom classes, while others offer only students: the world’s finest minds. When they are taking a break from their regular academic classes, they are ready to cut loose emotionally, physically and artistically.

After almost 40 years of teaching ballroom dancing, I still experience something novel almost every day in the collegiate environment. No two classes are ever the same.

The next biggest distinction in the collegiate approach is the time limitation inherent in the student’s collegiate lifespan. A fourLights, cameras, action!

Yang Chen year expiration date is typical, but many of

the most elite collegiate dancers come from the graduate levels of academia. Initiating this sense of urgency in the collegiate learning environment is the first collegiate competition of the year, typically in late October, one or two months after their first dance class.

With feelings ranging from great trepidation to fearless gusto, these newbies put their budding artistry on public display within just a few months after they discover, usually accidentally, the wonderful world of DanceSport.

Collegiate dancers are innovative and unconventional. No problem is insurmountable. Universities pioneered the use of the huge projection screen now considered essential in competition ballrooms.

MIT’s unique dual-floor system which enables double the competitors to be judged simultaneously was born out of necessity and brilliance. Collegiate events now offer the opportunity for the largest number of competitors to compete economically in the ballroom world, usually welcoming anyone from the greater DanceSport community to participate with them.

I believe it is in the world of Collegiate DanceSport that USA Dance has made the most profound difference in ballroom dancing in this country. Most of these dancers are in it for life, many as teachers and/or elite dancers. They proselytize just by loving and doing their art.

If you haven’t attended a collegiate event, do it as soon as possible. Every Collegiate DanceSport event is the ultimate pep rally for our favorite pastime.

Dan Calloway of Maryland is the DanceSport coach for Georgetown University and University of Maryland. He has competed professionally, coached and judged for 37 years, earning numerous Top Teacher and Professional of the Year awards. He was the youngest ISTD Dual Fellow in the world. He has chaired judging panels at the USA Dance National DanceSport Championships and the North American.

“…it is in the world of Collegiate DanceSport that USA Dance has made the most profound difference in ballroom dancing in this country.”

– Dan Calloway

January-February 2015

27

NATIONAL COLLEGIATE DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS Columbus, OH

Utah Valley University (UVU) Ballroom Dance Co. Back-Up Tour Team 1st Place, Standard & Latin Formations Coach Christopher Witt Yang Chen

Nov 22 – 23, 2014

By Hannah Cole, USA Dance, Director of College Network

RESULTS

OVERALL TOP SCHOOL AWARDS: Top Six Schools (NCDC Points Only) SCHOOL

POINTS

NO. COMPETITORS

1. University of Michigan

4810

136

2. Purdue University

2260

64

3. Ohio State University

1456

40

4. New Mexico State University

1020

18

5. Carnegie Mellon University

1012

48

6. University of Minnesota

979

35

Additional School Point Results: Rutgers University 753, University of Maryland 595, Michigan State University 576, Valparaiso University 457, Indiana University 441, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign 416, George Washington University 409, University of Akron 407, Kenyon College 324, University of Iowa 314, Team Match 255, University of Tennessee - Knoxville 247, University of Wisconsin - Madison 238, Case Western Reserve University 217, New York University 192, University of Texas at Austin 181, Cornell University 176, University of Toledo 160, Georgetown University 152.

International Team Match 1. Rutgers University 2. University of Michigan 3. Purdue University 4. Carnegie Mellon University 5. University of Akron 6. University of Maryland

American Team Match 1. Ohio State University 2. University of Michigan 3. New Mexico State University 4. Purdue University 5. Carnegie Melon University 6. University of Minnesota

28

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

A WORLD J

ust a few steps from the grand stages of the Ohio Star Ball, one ventures into a world unto its own – the National Collegiate DanceSport Championships – with all the glitz and glamour of a high-level amateur or professional competition, combined with the energy of a football pep rally and the uncapped spunk of 800 collegiate dancers.

Every November, college dance teams around the nation gather for this great event. Traveling as far as 2,000 miles by plane as did the University of Southern California, with as many as 136 competitors sent by the University of Michigan and fundraising goals as high as $16,000 just to bring in 18 competitors from New Mexico State University, the event, as NMSU DanceSport competitor Aaron Prescott proclaimed, is simply “worth it.”

The National Collegiate DanceSport Championship, organized approximately 20 years ago by USA Dance in long-standing collaboration with Sam Sodano, organizer of the Ohio Star Ball, is a competition for everyone.

From the newcomer category (those who have never competed), to the “TBA” group of dancers who arrive without partners and find an available partner on the first day of the event, to the experienced championship-level dancers ready to take on the world – all are given equal competitive opportunity. And a competition it is!

Round one of the competitions peaked at 128 couples, resulting in five rounds and more than four hours in International Standard, Waltz the ballroom before the six top-scoring Yang Chen couples arrived at the fi nals.

UNTO ITS OWN Alex Rowan DanceSport Photography

The school team matches are perhaps the most-energizing of all the competitions amongst the athletes. Imagine 800 collegiate dancers lining all four sides of the competition floor, yelling at the top of their voices, while for each style, four couples per team dance their hearts out amidst the excitement.

Unique to this collegiate competition are the “Fun Dances,” a time for everyone to push the limits on creativity and a bit of anything-goes University of Michigan Wins Top School Overall (136 competitors, 4,810 NCDC points) wildness. Although prizes are still given to winners, there are no rules Yang Chen The largest school represented at and there are no words to NCDC this year was the University of describe the choreography or Michigan (136 competitors) and was the surprises. once again awarded the Top UniverCollegiate athletes are sity scholarship award made availvocal in many ways. They call able by Sam Sodano. The winning the USA Dance NCDC “well Formation Team honors went to Utah organized” and “a high-level Valley University for their technically competition.” And for them, brilliant Ballroom and Latin routines. it’s the ultimate road trip Also worth noting was the New -- the “best place to meet Mexico State University DanceSport other collegiate dancers from team, which with only 18 competitors around the country” and Lights, Cameras, Action! This year, the NCDC was filmed as part of a proposed documentary on Collegiate DanceSport. Production teams took 4th place top school, 3rd place “inspire new dancers.” followed the dancers while they warmed up, when they powered through American style team match, 2nd In addition to high-level the exhaustion of the day, when they won and when they felt the disappointment of defeat. Through individual interviews, the crews worked place Ballroom Formation team, as competition during the dayto capture the spirit that is distinctively USA Dance National Collegiate well as 1st place awards in newcomer time, Ohio Star Ball organizers DanceSport. [More details should this film project go live tv.] through pre-championship.

Sam Sodano and Bill Sparks And a special welcome to newly represented schools: University of generously offer each Collegiate dancer complimentary tickets to the Southern California, Washington University and University of Alabama evening sessions of the Ohio Star Ball. For student competitors, this is in Huntsville. With small teams, they were tremendous in their accomthe icing on the cake, and all are inspired as they witness the counplishments, and USA Dance hopes to see them again very soon. try’s best dancers compete.

January-February 2015

29

ARE YOU READY to dance?

Whether you like to Ballroom, Latin or Swing Dance, you can enjoy Dancing with the Stars: At Sea activities on these Holland America Line cruises.

On these cruises guests will have the opportunity to: Participate in complimentary dance classes to learn the basics or new steps.

Compete in the Dancing with the Stars: At Sea competition, where finalisits will take the main stage with the ship’s dance professionals to vie for Cruise Champion! * Dancing with the Stars at sea plus enjoy Group Rates and Group Amenities on the following itineraries

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†7-Day Eastern Caribbean

ms Westerdam Roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale 01/03/2015

‡50-Day Tales of the South Pacific

ms Veendam Roundtrip Boston 06/06/2015

*7-Day Canada & New England

†7-Day Eastern Caribbean

‡33-Day Australian Circumnavigation

ms Veendam Boston to Quebec City 06/13/2015

*7-Day Eastern Caribbean ms Nieuw Amsterdam Roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale 01/03/2016

*7-Day Western Caribbean ms Nieuw Amsterdam Roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale 01/10/2016

ms Westerdam Roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale 01/10/2015 ‡Enjoy Group Rates and Group Amenities on the following itineraries

‡7-Day Mediterranean Glamour ms Eurodam Roundtrip Barcelona 04/19/2015

ms Volendam Vancouver to Sydney 09/23/2015

ms Volendam Roundtrip Sydney 10/19/2015

‡50-Day Atlantic Adventurer ms Maasdam Roundtrip Ft. Lauderdale 10/30/2015

BALLROOM, LATIN & SWING DANCE CENTER AROUND THE NG

RLD WO

‡58-Day South Pacific & Australia Circumnavigation Collector

ms Amsterdam Seattle to San Diego 9/27/2015

DANC I

*7-Day Bermuda

with Vivian Beiswenger

Vivian Beiswenger, Director Administrative Office 255 Hawthorne Circle North Wales, PA 19454 215.855.2711 or 215.530.3482 844.921.2144 (Toll free) Email: info@blsdc.com www.BLSDC.com

GEORGIA DANCESPORT BRINGS BACK AMATEUR MATEUR COMPETITIONS TO Resource: Mark Garber All Photos by Moondance Studios/ Bobby Campbell

ATLANTA ATLANTA

W

ith the goal to become a USA Dance National Qualifying Event by 2017, the new Georgia DanceSport Amateur Competition, organized by members of two Atlanta-area Chapters, took a step in the right direction on Sat., Sept.

21 at the Atlanta Ballroom Center in Sandy Springs, GA. This one-day, all-amateur competition shared studio venue, volunteers and was mutually promoted in union with Ranier Rics’ Coolanta Mini-Match, which took place the day prior.

Attracting dancers for more than 20 years, the USABDA/USA Dance Southeast Regional Competition in Atlanta heralded a long tradition of amateur DanceSport national qualifying events. And even now, most of USA Dance’s veteran competitors will say the SRC, organized by the legendary Ann Smith

at the Georgia World Congress Center, was simply one competition you didn’t miss.

And since Smith's retirement, there had not been a major amateur competition in the Greater Atlanta area. USA Dance Atlanta Chapter members Mark Garber and Holly Iyer, and Terri Lyndall believed it was time to bring back the Atlanta tradition of a high-level amateur competition to Georgia.

But the plans must be to start successful, even if small, and build a following.

At this fi rst Georgia DanceSport competition, there were numerous adult and senior couples, but most of the event’s competitors were area children, primarily students of two instructors Katya Cooper and Katrina Volgina, who had previously organized their own mini-competitions.

Yet, Georgia DanceSport believes it’s well on its way to putting Atlanta amateur DanceSport back on the map.

Scholarship donations totaled $950 for the younger divisions, made possible by the Atlanta Metro DanceSport Chapter 6093, the Greater Atlanta Chapter 6005 and private donors.

The next Georgia DanceSport Amateur Competition will be in Fall 2015 (see DanceSport Calendar p. 11 and www.georgiadancesport.org).

January-February 2015

31

KINSLEY LIN & WDSF World Championship Latin, 2014 - 5th Place World Finalists WDSF World Championship 10-Dance, 2014 – 5th Place World Finalists USA Dance Junior II Latin, Standard & 10-Dance National Champions 2014

THE RISE TO 5th PLACE IN THE WORLD:

A CHAMPION’S PERSPECTIVE

I

t’s been a whirlwind two years for Junior II competitors Kinsley Lin and Michelle Yiu from San Francisco (NorCal Chapter). It all started at the USA Dance Nationals in 2013 when they won the Junior II Standard and 10-Dance Championships. Kinsley and Michelle were then invited by USA Dance to represent the USA at the upcoming 2013 WDSF World Championships. And while competing against the best dancers in the world, they gained a respectful placement in Standard (30th out of 58), but took a surprise 12th position out of 31 couples in 10-Dance. Then by March 2014, with a new training program and support of families, Kinsley & Michelle went on to secure 5th place in the WDSF World Championship Junior II Latin, then in June at Nationals in Baton Rouge won all three USA Dance Junior II National Championships, and went on to take 5th place at the WDSF Junior II 10-Dance World Championships in October 2014.

WDSF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS (*CUP) Reflecting Progressive Results During 12 Months JUNIOR II STANDARD

October 2013

Moscow, Russian Federation

30 out of 58

JUNIOR II 10-DANCE*(CUP)

October 2013

Moscow, Russian Federation

12 out of 31

March 2014

Moscow, Russian Federation

5 out of 67

October 2014

Guadalajara, Spain

5 out of 30

JUNIOR II LATIN JUNIOR II 10-DANCE

USA DANCE NATIONAL DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS JUNIOR II LATIN

June 2014

Baton Rouge, LA

1st

JUNIOR II STANDARD

June 2014

Baton Rouge, LA

1st

JUNIOR II 10-DANCE

June 2014

Baton Rouge, LA

1st

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AMERICAN

DANCER

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AMERICAN DANCER: You have had an amazing climb in 2014 to 5th place WDSF World Champions in the Junior II Division, both in Latin and 10-Dance. What has this truly meant to you?

Michelle: This year has been the best year of my life, of my whole dance career! It has been the most fun, most successful, and most inspiring year. We have traveled the most and accomplished great international achievements. This year will never be forgotten, and it will always be held dear in my heart.

Kinsley: This year has meant everything to me. But it would absolutely not have been possible without my coaches and parents. Each and everyone of them have been extremely supportive to both my partner and I.

WDSF World Championships Junior II Latin Mar 30, 2014 - Moscow, Russian Federation Lisa Dubinsky

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AD: What in DanceSport has been the greatest single moment for you?

M: …when we got into the fi nals in the Junior II WDSF World Latin Championship. It was the moment when I understood that all my hard

work up to that point paid off, and that I was good enough to be a World Finalist. It was surreal!

K: The most inspiring moment for me was also when we made the fi nals in both Junior II Latin Worlds and Junior II Ten Dance.

AD: Some may not have believed USA could place in the Junior II World Finals. It had been a long time since Val Chmerkovskiy and Diana Olonetskaia had won the IDSF World Championship Junior II Latin in Italy in 2001. Your thoughts about this?

M: My thoughts are fi rst of all, kudos to Val and Diana, as this is a wonderful accomplishment. Second, in the USA, ballroom dancing is not as big as in Europe….When we competed in Russia, there was a Junior 1 competition going on, and the fi rst round had 21 heats. In America, the usual for most competitions is a fi nal, and maybe a semi- or quarterfi nal, even in big competitions. This is especially true for the Standard division, as there usually is just a fi nal….It is more expensive, more

This year has meant everything to me. But it would absolutely not have been possible without my coaches and parents. Each and everyone of them have been extremely supportive to both my partner and I. —Kinsley

MICHELLE YIU WDSF World Championships Junior II 10-Dance (Standard) Oct 18, 2014 - Guadalajara, Spain fotoSportEventos.com

time consuming, and more exhausting for a couple from the USA to fly over to Europe and compete, than for a European couple flying only several hours to a country nearby. Although… it doesn't mean that we cannot place well and be successful.

AD: What is a typical dance week for you and how do you balance everything else in your lives?

M: We usually practice six days a week, at least four hours a day, which leaves us one day to let our bodies rest and rejuvenate.

On Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, there are usually group classes and/or rounds. It is difficult to balance everything else in life, which means we have to be very good at managing our time. In school, I work really hard to keep my grades up, and ace tests, quizzes, and exams. I usually try my best to finish my homework during my free period at school or in the car as we commute

to our dance studio….It is very difficult though to find time for family time. I usually am the last one to get home, and by that time the rest of my family has already eaten their dinners and sometimes gone to sleep.

However, this means that I genuinely cherish any family time I can get.

K: A typical dance week for me is at least 4 hours (6-7 hours max) and 6 days a week in the studio.

Usually I do homework after school and if I have any left, I would do it at home after dance. In terms of friends, I don't really have time to hang-out with them. For my family, I only see them before I go to school and sometimes after dance because by the time I get home from dance, it's usually around 10:30 at night.

AD: What are your challenges now and how are you preparing for your next steps?

M & K: Our challenge now is to perform well in the Youth

division. We have already been national champions and world finalists in Junior II, but Youth is an entire different ball game.

Youth requires more maturity and better technique, which we are currently working hard to achieve. Also, specifically in Standard, we are working on strengthening our frame and our base, maximizing our movement and shapes, being more musical, and creating greater dynamics more efficiently. In Latin, we are working on strengthening our feet, creating softer body movement and maximizing it, and better musicality.

AD: When did you realize that you were becoming role models for younger dancers and how do you handle that?

M: I realized that I was becoming a role model when other kids started asking me for pictures with them at competitions.

Also, it occurred to me when others started to compliment my dancing after I competed or

really cheered me on, even in international competitions. I try to handle it by doing my best of course, because if they do try to dance like me, they should dance like my best dancing.

K: Just recently, some teachers that come occasionally to our studio told Michelle and I that the younger generation dancers look up to us. I think that we should keep that in the back of our minds and continue working.

AD: What are your goals now as a DanceSport couple?

M & K: Our goal as a couple long-term is of course to be World Champions and improve our dancing greatly! Shortterm goals are to improve our technique - posture and the usage of feet and dynamics in standard and stronger feet and softer body action in Latin.

Also, we want to dance our best and be successful at the WDSF Junior II Standard World Championships in December.

January-February 2015

33

200th ANNIVERSARY

A GLORIOUS CELEBRATION OF VIENNESE WALTZ

All Photos Courtesy & Copyright of Austrian Tourist Office

The Vienna Ball Calendar in Austria * select dance events in January/ February More Info: http://www.austria.info/ us/culture-art/vienna-s-glorious-ballseason-1129109.html

If your “dance bucket list” includes attending a traditional (and glorious) Vienna Ball in Austria. Check out the 2015 Vienna Ball Calendar online at www.austria.info. The City of Vienna holds more than 500 Vienna Balls every year!

W

hen the Viennese Waltz emerged in the second half of the 18th century in Austria, it was as controversial as it was popular.

Today, it is so much part of Austrian culture that Austrians waltz into each New Year to the sound of the Blue Danube Waltz broadcast on public radio.

The rapid, twirling elegance of the Viennese Waltz is no thing of the past.

As Dancing with the Stars and So You

Think You Can Dance continue to play on America’s small screens, Austria continues to perfect the art of the formal ball, and evolve the elegant forms and undeniable skill of its most famous dance.

34

The Viennese Waltz is a rotary dance where the dancers are constantly turning either toward their right or toward their left, interspersed with change steps to switch the direction of rotation. A true Viennese Waltz only consists of turns and change steps. What makes it different from the English Waltz is the speed and the degree of each turn. In a properly danced Viennese Waltz, couples do not pass, but turn continuously left and right while travelling counterclockwise around the floor following each other.

Made even more popular by the music of Johann Strauss, who became something of a pop-star in his time, the waltz continued to be an integral part of social events in Austria and all over Europe. Today, the Viennese Waltz is the oldest and most romantic of the current ballroom dances; the music of Johann Strauss is broadcast to over 70 countries during the New Year’s Day concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

The city of Vienna alone holds 500 or so balls a year, which traditionally take place during ‘carnival’ season, from early November until ‘Shrove’ Tuesday.

Excerpt with permission of Austrian Tourist Offi ce. www.austria.info

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

January 22, 2015

Ball of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Ball der Wiener Philharmoniker (Musikverein) • Tickets: Wiener Philharmoniker Boesendorferstrasse 12, A-1010 Vienna • Tel: 011 43 1 505 65 25

January 24, 2015

Gala of the Viennese Industry in the Imperial Palace

• Tickets: Österreichischer Wirtschaftsbund Lothringer Straße 16/5, 1030 Wien • Tel: 011 43 1 512 76 31 11 office@hofburg-ball.at

February 12, 2015 Opera Ball

Opernball (State Opera) • Tickets: Opernball-Buero Goethegasse 1, A-1010 Vienna • Tel: 011 43 1 514 44 2606

February 16, 2015

Rudolfina Masked Ball in the Imperial Palace • Tickets: KÖSTV Rudolfina Lenaugasse 3, 1080 Wien • Tel: 011 43 1 405 48 11

WDSF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ADULT STANDARD – NOVEMBER 15, 2014 Vienna, Austria RESULTS:

Savitskyy & Seliverstov 44 out of 87 (Round 2 of 48 couples)

T

he IDSF/WDSF World Championship Standard amateur events date back to 1959 in Vienna. Winners of the first-ever Championship were Peter Eggleton & Diane Gradwell. Others through the years have included well known adjudicators and coaches Glen Weiss & Gillian Thickett, Andrew Sinkinson & Lorraine Barry, John Wood & Heather Stuart and upcoming presenter at the 2015 WDSF Adjudicator’s Congress Paolo Bosco, who danced with Silvia Pitton.

Two DanceSport couples represented the USA in November at the 2014 WDSF Adult Standard World Championship in Vienna, where 3,000 dancers from 50 countries and 8,000 spectators attended. For Taras Savitskyy & Tatiana Seliverstova (NJ), it was their ninth world

championship; for Ruslan Kaliuzhnyi & Kseniya Sovenko (WA), Golbert Krasko their first. The WDSF website www.worlddancesport.org had& video 72 out of 87 coverage of this event, including the Austrian couples’ Viennese (Round 1 of 87 couples) Waltz celebratory “flash dance”.

WDSF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ADULT STANDARD

Ruslan Kaliuzhnyi & Kseniya Sovenko

Tied 51-52 out of 80

Taras Savitskyy & Tatiana Seliverstova

53 out of 80

Dr. Helmut Roland

started dancing together. We had a little bit different kind of style, but later we found our own style.

AD: What was it like dancing

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DANCER

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RUSLAN KALIUZHNYI & KSENIYA SOVENKO (WA) USA Dance Titles: Adult Championship Standard National Vice-Champions 2014 Chapter: Seattle 1004 Competing Together: Since July 2013 Occupations: Ruslan – Dance Instructor; Kseniya: Dance Instructor, Product Manager, Student UW AMERICAN DANCER: How did you partnership start and how has it grown?

Ruslan: I broke up with my previous dance partner and I posted an ad in the internet to find a new one. Then Kseniya found me and invited me to the USA to dance with her. I came to Seattle to try-out. I liked how we danced together, and I decided to stay here. Our dancing has been growing gradually since we

in Vienna at the WDSF World Championship?

Ruslan & Kseniya: Our dancing in Vienna was quite good, but it was difficult to dance there because of the aggressive dancing of other couples. The organization was super good. We were really surprised. It was a very interesting experience because we have never been at such a big WDSF competition. We usually dance WDC competitions. The styles of the WDSF couples were absolutely different compared with WDC. For us, it was a different world of dancing all together. I saw a lot of interesting variants of dancing, some figures and crazy shapes.

AD: Looking back, would you have done anything differently to prepare?

R: I would have to change my style of dancing in order to fit in.

AD: The adult division has to be one of the most competitive in the world. What was it that the top 6 couples had that took them to the top?

R&K: They stand out from the others. They had very good lines and good quality of movement.

Everything looked in harmony.

TARAS SAVITSKYY & TATIANA SELIVERSTOVA (NJ)

USA Dance Titles: National Champions, 10-Dance and Standard.

Chapter: Greater New York 3004 Competing Together: 3 Years WDSF World Championships to date: 9 Occupations: Both – dancing AMERICAN DANCER: How did your partnership start and how has it grown? What does the future hold for you?

Taras: Our partnership started about two years ago. We met simply by contacting each other through the internet asking if we would like to try-out. At the time Tanya was in Canada so she was able to come down to the states to dance. I would say our dancing has grown simply because we danced for so long, and we both matured and grew up together.

Dr. Helmut Roland

AD: What does the future hold?

Taras: We believe that it is full

of surprises and it can always be different. We believe, just enjoy the ride.

AD: How do you feel about your

performances on the floor in Vienna compared to your last world standard event?

Taras: I would say it felt rather the same if not better to us simply because we’ve been to Vienna multiple times attending the same hotel, competition, and seeing the same couples; therefore, it felt like déjà vu.

AD: Dancing in Vienna has

such a reputation of grandeur.

Describe your experience. Did it live up to its reputation?

T&T: Dancing aside, Vienna is a gorgeous city and we would recommend anyone looking for an amazing experience to go there. The palaces, museums, and operas are a few of the things that makes Vienna a must go-to place. The food is simply delicious in every restaurant we went. And shopping? Forget it! Amazing.

AD: Looking back, anything you

would have done differently?

T&T: There are always things that can be improved, but we do not look on the past, but we focus on the present and future.

January-February 2015

35

E

AMERICAN

DANCER

xclusive

RAYMOND SMITH

Residency: Virginia Beach, VA Career: Business Continuity Analyst for Navy Exchange Service Command NEXCOM USA Dance Chapter: Tidewater (VA) 6008 Tidewater Chapter Roles: President, 2004-Present Board Member, 2000-2004 Vice President, 1996-1998 Volunteer: Co-Chair, Chapter’s annual New Year’s Eve event, Website, Workshops, Advertising, Publicity, Event Policy & Procedures

• Dance Beginnings: In Massachusetts: 1949 – tap dancing

• Ballroom Dancing Years: 21 • Preferred Style: American • Dance List: Waltz, Foxtrot, Quickstep, Cha Cha, Rumba, Bolero, Samba, Mambo, Merengue, Shag, West Coast Swing, Hustle, Argentine Tango, Salsa, Night Club 2 Step, Some Line Dances, Freestyle.

• Typical Weekly Schedule: Wednesdays – Shag; Fridays -- Dance

as pre-teen; 1953 – first dance in 7th grade (learned box step from his father and older sister); 1954 – Saturday night dances at local high schools (learned cha cha, swing, freestyle and “Y” dancing (slow, closed position, freestyle).

• Competitive Experience: Three years competing as USA Dance amateur with wife Annette Murden Smith (1995-1997); performed as amateur couple on “Dancing WithThe Stars Road Show” in Richmond, VA (2007, 2008).

• Dance Awards: Senior Division, American Style, placing consistently 1st, 2nd and 3rd places; semi-finalist at DWTS Road Show.

Studios or local WCS/Shag events; Saturdays (Tidewater Chapter 4th Saturday, Williamsburg Chapter 1st Saturday, Richmond Chapter 3rd Saturday or studio showcases); Sundays - Ballroom/Shag/Country Western at local nightclubs.

to allow social interfacing, a good variety and skill level of partners, some exhibitions/showcases, reasonable price, smoke free, and at least two hours of dancing.

How would you define the ideal Social Dancer?

A person who enjoys dancing and wants the dance to be as enjoyable for both self and partner; is attentive to his/her partner; is someone with some class training and knows a variety of dances; respects the line of dance and is considerate of those dancers around him/ her; is willing to dance to the level of the partner; is never critical of the partner.

What attracted you to social dancing?

I’ve always enjoyed dancing at any level.

When I was single, the number of available partners, now friendships, developed over the years -- really fun way to exercise.

What has inspired you to social dance all these 21 years?

I enjoy the physical activity and social interfacing. Having a sharing wife and being able to dance with a lot of partners, especially unaccompanied ladies during a dance event is defi nitely a plus. That allows me to practice dancing with ladies of all skill levels which improves my dancing.

"Social dancers are able to dance for fun and not worry about “mistakes” or who is watching and critiquing their dancing skills."

What comprises the perfect Social Dance?

Good wood floor, properly maintained, strict tempo and good variety of music, good lighting, good climate control, set up 36

What are the real truths about Social Dancers or Social Dancing?

I don’t know that there are any. However, casual social dancers who have no training tend not to be attentive to those around them.

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

Ray Smith and Dance Partner/ Wife Annette Murden Smith

“Many meetings at dances result in long-term friendships that expand beyond the dance floor.”

How important is Social Dancing in America and your community?

Social Dancing provides a wholesome activity where you can relax, have fun and interact with a large variety of individuals with an exhaustive set of backgrounds and experiences to be shared. For the community, it is an opportunity for individuals and couples to try something different, meet new people and share experiences. Many meetings at dances result in long term friendships that expand beyond the dance floor.

open to a wider variety of participants. Social dancers are able to dance for fun and not worry about “mistakes” or who is watching and critiquing their dancing skills.

What does it take to have a successful USA Dance Chapter?

Enthusiastic and caring Board members that want to make each event an enjoyable

cooperation and support of the local area ballroom dance studios.

How do USA Dance chapters make a difference in their communities?

Chapters provide a wholesome, healthy physical activity for those of all ages. The health benefits of dancing are well-known and verifiable.

"Chapters provide a wholesome, healthy physical activity for those of all ages. The health benefits of dancing are well-known and verifiable."

What is the importance of Social Dancing and Dancers to the USA Dance organization?

Social Dancing/Social Dancers is the backbone of the organization as it can be, and is

dance experience. This needs the support of its members and supporting dancers.

Willingness of the members and supporters to support the Chapter and provide constructive feedback that allows the Chapter to create that great dance experience at every event. It also takes the active

WORD DANCES Joe Sepesy began ballroom dancing in 2009 as a way of dealing with his PTSD. Now, in Word Dances, the author shares his thoughts, offering reflections on and explorations of his many, dancing experiences, hoping to evoke similar memories in others.

Aimed at beginners as well as seasoned dancers, this collection speaks to the joy of ballroom dancing and the impact it can have on our lives and well-being.

Now available at Lulu.com, local book sellers, and on-line retailers.

Watch for Word Dances 2 and 3 in 2015: Visit www.WORDDANCES.com

17

What would you like improved for Social Dancing within USA Dance?

Assistance in fi nding low cost venues to hold Chapter dances. Perhaps a way to provide fi nancial incentives to venues, perhaps some way to use our Non-Profit status to allow tax incentives to those venues to reduce costs for the Chapter, while still providing a benefit to the venue.

SPECIALIZED WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR DANCING

THE ULTIMATE DANCE TRAINING PROGRAM WITH

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HOST YOUR 1, 2 OR 4 DAY PROGRAM 601.297.2185 OR sherriwimberly@gmail.com www.percelldance.com 2014 DanceKinesis and Angelisms are trademarks of Percell St.Thomass. All rights reserved.

January-February 2015

37

WDSF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

RESULTS:

Savitskyy & Seliverstova 44 out of 87

UNDER 21 10-DANCE, SENIOR II STANDARD OCTOBER 14, 15. 2014 Vancouver, Canada

S

ocial dancers are very familiar with “snowball dances” – one couple starts a solo dance, then splits to invite two more partners, and so on, until everyone is on the floor. The 2014 Snowball Classic in Vancouver, Canada, hosting the WDSF World Championship Senior II Standard and Under-21 10-Dance, was true to this concept, as more and more senior couples from USA Dance are traveling to Canada to join the action. Officially representing USA were Seniors II Standard couples Hans Stork & Ans Stork and Vincent Feingold & Irina Feingold; Under 21 10-Dance couple was Samuel Hacke & Katarina Hermanova.

WDSF STANDARD RESULTS: Represented USA Dance 8 times at Senior II, III World Championships. In 2014, placed 39 out of 152 couples at Senior III World Championship in Madrid.

CHAPTER: Phoenix 4033.

DANCING TOGETHER: 20+ Years.

AMERICAN DANCER: How was your performance in Vancouver?

Hans & Ans: We seem to alternate between really good and really not so good results at Senior II or III World Championship events.

This [one] was the latter. We fi nished 28th.

Nelson Wong/DanceSportImages.com

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HANS STORK & ANS STORK (AZ) SENIOR II STANDARD USA DANCE NATIONAL STANDARD TITLES: Senior II Standard, 2nd in 2010 & 2011; Senior III, 1st in 2012; Senior II, III Standard, 1st in 2013; Senior II Standard, 2nd & Senior III Standard, 1st in 2014.

38

(Round 2 of 48 couples)

WDSF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Golbert & Krasko 72 out of 87

(Round 1 of 87 couples)

UNDER 21 10-DANCE

Samuel Hacke & Katarina Hermanova

12 out of 21

SENIOR II STANDARD

Vincent Feingold & Irina Feingold

Tied 21-22 out of 52

Hans Stork & Ans Stork

Tied 28-30 out of 52

in beautiful harmony to the full extent of our capabilities.

Ans: It always fi lls me with great

pride to walk the parade and represent the USA. There were five great couples from our country and the camaraderie was to be proud of.

AD: How has your dancing matured since Nationals 2014?

H&A: We have longer body connection and more consistent shaping. Growing and maturing in dancing seems to be a never ending process. There is always room for improvement.

AD: What are the challenges of dancing Senior II Standard not obvious to non-competitors?

Ans: Getting older presents a continued challenge to physical and mental preparation. Big events add to the pressure.

Overcoming these hurdles at any level is satisfying.

Hans: Body and mind, both hurt.

AD: What is the most

meaningful part at the WDSF World Championships?

Hans: It's an honor and a blessing to have the skills, the resources and the time to represent your country at the top level in the world. I wish to dance with Ans

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org Nelson Wong/DanceSportImages.com

VINCENT FEINGOLD & IRINA FEINGOLD (NY) SENIOR II STANDARD USA DANCE NATIONAL STANDARD TITLES: Senior II Champions, Senior III Vice Champions.

WDSF STANDARD RESULTS: 2013 Ontario Open WDSF Senior III Silver Medalist; 2014 Southwest Dance Championship WDSF Senior III Bronze Medalist, Senior II Silver Medalist; 2014 Canadian Open WDSF Senior III Champions; 2014 Carolina Fall Classic WDSF Senior II Silver Medalist, Senior I Bronze Medalist; 2014 Snowball Classic Senior III Champion, Senior I Quarter-Finalist.

CHAPTER: Greater New York 3004.

DANCING TOGETHER: 7 Years.

AMERICAN DANCER: How do you feel about your performance in Vancouver?

V&I: We were very happy with the results. We competed against couples from western Canada for the first time and won the WDSF Senior III event and reached quarterfinal of the WDSF Senior II World Championship for the first time. We were well prepared and danced our best as of this moment.

AD: What are the challenges and rewards of dancing Senior II Standard that aren’t obvious to non-competitors?

V&I: Challenges – old bones and squeaky joints. Rewards are many. First, we are not just husband and wife, but a team with a common passion and goals. We spend much more time together practicing, traveling, and preparing for competitions and are much closer to each other than we otherwise would have been.

Second, dancing makes us much more tolerant and patient as we become well aware of our own shortcomings and have become much more forgiving.

Third, constantly of being judged by trainers, audiences and adjudicators helps to develop self-confidence.

AD: What is most meaningful when representing the USA at World Championships?

V&I: As many people said before us, marching at the parade of nations is a very special experience that makes us proud for our country. We are really competitive and want to win, but more importantly, we just love to dance.

AD: How has your dancing matured since Nationals 2014?

V&I: We spent a lot of time practicing our leg action, sways, musicality, phrasing, floor craft, and development of these skills is starting to affect our dancing and results.

AD: What are your personal

DanceSport goals?

V&I: We want to defend our championship in 2015 and try to reach quarterfi nal at the Senior III World Championship.

In terms of dancing, we want to improve the continuity of movement, footwork and match top European couples in power of motion.

SAMUEL HACKE & KATARINA HERMANOVA (NJ) UNDER 21 10-DANCE

USA DANCE NATIONAL TITLES: 2014: Under 21 10-Dance Vice Champions, Youth 10-Dance Vice

USA ATHLETES TURN ON THE HEAT

Nelson Wong/DanceSportImages.com

Champions, Youth Standard 3rd Place Champions.

WDSF PLACEMENTS: GOC: Youth Standard: 104th out of 186, Youth Latin: 94th out of 216; Russian Open 2014 Dance Accord: Youth Standard: 42nd out of 265, Youth Latin: 73rd out of 296, WDSF World Youth Latin: 44th out of 68; Latvia Open 2014: Youth Standard: 7th out of 35, Youth Latin: 5th out of 42, WDSF World Youth 10 Dance: 14th out of 31; Snowball Classic: Under 21 Standard: 3rd out of 6, Under 21 Latin: 2nd out of 7, WDSF Under 21 10 Dance: 12th out of 21.

DANCING TOGETHER: 1 Year.

AMERICAN DANCER: What is your greatest challenge as a competitive couple?

S&K: Our greatest challenge is improving at the same rate as the high level couples competing

at

SNOWBALL CLASSIC IN VANCOUVER WDSF World Championship Senior II Standard: Thomas

Yu & Yuko Naululani Yu (25 out of 52), Andy Nordberg & Janie Nordberg (36 out of 52); Gene Brockert & Jill Bradford (24 out of 52); Vincent Feingold & Irina Feingold (tied 21-22 out of 52); Hans Stork & Ans Stork (tied 28-30 out of 52).

Cheerleader Front Center: USA Dance DanceSport VP Ken Richards.

against us. In order to be successful at competition and as dancers, we must work really hard and not waste any time in the studio. Also keeping up with schoolwork is a challenge since all of our time is pretty much dedicated to dance.

AD: What is your competitive edge?

S&K: In Standard, our competitive edge is our unique style and emotional expression.

As we compete in both WDC and WDSF, we try to make our style fit both categories. This is one of the main things we are focusing on now: to have the proper structure for all our movements but to keep that unique flair. In Latin, our emotions and energy give us our competitive edge.

Also we are very determined and focused when we compete. This gives us that extra boost as well.

AD: What is your driving force to compete?

S&K: Our driving force to compete is our love of dance and our goals of becoming World Champions. Competitions give us a sense of where we stand relative to the other dancers. They are also sources of inspiration for improvement, choreography, and even costumes. Competitions are where you get to show off what you’ve been perfecting for hours in the studio.

January-February 2015

39

HALLOWEEN F AT CHICAGO NQE FROM MUMMY WRAP TO WINNER’S PODIUM

The Chicago Mummy Wrap Game Gabriel Buncsak

Alan Burns & Kelly Batchelor (IL), Adult Championship Standard finalists

inding the perfect date for a dance competition has its challenges. Not only are many weekends already taken by dance events, but scheduling on top of holiday weekends could be somewhat risky…except for two holidays – Halloween and St. Patty’s Day! But for the 10th annual Chicago DanceSport Challenge, Oct. 31 – Nov. 2, 2014, at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare in Rosemont, IL, it proved a real attraction as Halloween was the ideal kickoff for the Chicago Chapter’s National Qualifying Event.

Halloween Friday became a costume affair for all, with DanceSport couples donning their fi nest dancewear, and certain competition staff and officials “lurking” around the floor in their best disguises.

Fun for the audiences, in between the “more-serious” competition rounds, were the Halloween contests and challenges. The Chicago NQE 2014 will also be remembered for its now-famous Mummy Wrap Game, its Halloween Trivia Contest and the Bone Yard Relay.

TR Photography

Some of the event highlights were:

• Top Teacher Award – Barbara Finn (who also organized a Thriller Mini Lesson and Fun Dance) • Top Studio Awards – 1st: Jaana Lillemagi, owner of My Dance Hub, Naperville, IL 2nd: Ballroom East, Louisville, Kentucky 3rd: Northwestern University, IL • Best Halloween Costume Awards – Event Organizers Alan Burns (aka Captain America) and Kelly Batchelor (aka Nurse)

Daniel Lougin & Sofi a Lougin (IL), Junior II Latin Champions TR Photography

Ted Ramirez & Chery Lambert (IL), Champions, Open Showdance, Adult Cabaret, Senior II, III American Rhythm, Senior III Latin Josh Torres

Special recognitions went to four DanceSport couples and teams: Florin Vlad and Natalia O’Connor (VT), who performed the Adult Champions Honor Dance; Damian Pataluna and Irina Morozova (KY), who performed the Adult Champions Rhythm Honor Dance; Open Showcase winner Devotion to Motion Studio (Quickstep/Swing Formation); and Open Championship Showdance winners Ted Ramirez and Chery Lambert (IL) of Susan Cole Dance.

As Chapter Volunteer Jeffrey Forbes proudly stated, “The Chicago DanceSport Challenge was a huge success again this year. The attending 250 competitors deserve congratulations for their hard work, passion and being goodwill ambassadors for dance throughout the U.S. The chapter is pleased to have donated $7,500 in scholarships to them.”

CHAIR of ADJUDICATORS: Jennifer Ford McCalla MUSIC DIRECTOR: James Finn EMCEE: Terry Cavanaugh WORKSHOPS: Bill Davies, Bonita Brockert, Linda Jackson & Charles Jones

40

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

WDSF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP YOUTH LATIN – OCT. 25, 2014 Moscow, Russian Federation

T

he World DanceSport Federation’s invitational World Championship for Youth Latin was held in Moscow on Oct. 25, 2014 and attracted the top two couples from 37 countries. USA Dance sent two couples to this World Championship – Samuel Hacke & Katarina Hermanova (NJ), who got an earlier taste of the WDSF playing field, by attending the German Open Championships in August.

For Eric Rosenberg & Yelena Vayn (CA), this was their first WDSF World Championship together.

I

AMERICAN

WDSF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP YOUTH LATIN

Samuel Hacke & Katarina Hermanova

Tied 44-45 out of 68

Eric Rosenberg & Yelena Vayn

Tied 61-63 out of 68

DANCER

are the best dancers not only in America, but one of the best dancers in the world.

SAMUEL HACKE & KATARINA HERMANOVA (NJ)

AD: What was most meaningful to you about the WDSF Youth Latin World Championships in Moscow?

S: It was our fi rst World championship together and my fi rst World championship in general. Probably the most meaningful part was when we fi rst came on to the dance floor and felt the atmosphere.

nterview

USA DANCE TITLES: Nationals 2014: Youth 10-Dance Vice Champions; Under-21 10-Dance Vice Champions.

Courtesy of Andrej Hacke

AMERICAN DANCER: What is your greatest challenge as a competitive couple?

Samuel & Katarina: Constantly taking our dancing to the next level and improving.

AD: What are you goals together

as a competitive couple?

S&K: Our goals include getting to the fi nal of a WDSF World Championship and proving we

AD: What progress have you made as a couple since your last WDSF World event?

S&K: We have grown a lot since our fi rst WDSF event in GOC 2014. We tried to improve our dancing to be more up to par with the rest of the couples in Europe who have a much different, stronger dance style.

We believe we achieved this to an extent, however we are still and always working to improve.

AD: The World Championship is a different playing field than Nationals. Can you explain for others?

S&K: Everyone is amazing.

At the world championships there are only the best two couples from every country instead of pretty much anyone that wants to attend, thus making the competition level much, much higher.

Courtesy of Andrej Hacke

AD: What was your “competitive edge” when you were on the floor in Latin?

Y: Eric and I are both very energetic, dancing and personality wise. We like to use that energy to our advantage when competing or just practicing.

Courtesy of Boris Vayn

ERIC ROSENBERG & YELENA VAYN

USA DANCE TITLES: Nationals 2014: Youth Latin 3rd-Place Champions; Under-21 Latin 5thPlace Champions Dancing Together: 1 Year AMERICAN DANCER: What was the most meaningful part about participating at the WDSF Youth Latin World Championships in Moscow?

Yelena: Being able to compete with some of the best couples around the world. It was amazing to see the different styles of international dancers.

It was also amazing to be able to represent the U.S. in a World Championship. Even though we all came from different countries, Latin dance was a language we all spoke, and that is what brought all the dancers on the floor together.

AD: The WDSF World Championship is a different playing field than Nationals. What are the differences that people need to understand better?

Y: In the World Championship, you are up against the selected best two couples of each country making it a lot more competitive, and you don’t necessarily know what or who to expect.

Despite the fact that dancers from all over the world have very different dancing styles, technique and dancing style are timeless and international.

AD: What was the most memorable moment for you in Moscow?

Y: Participating in a Championship as big and exciting as this one was amazing. There were so many dancers competing and the venue was great. On a more personal experience, I was able to see my family and friends who live in Russia, and they all flew out to Moscow to watch me compete. It was an unforgettable experience.

January-February 2015

41

WDSF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

YOUTH 10-DANCE, ADULT 10-DANCE — OCTOBER 31, 2014 he WDSF World Championships for 10-Dance and Youth 10-Dance were All Photos by Dr. Helmut Roland Riga, Latvia

T

hosted in Riga, the capital of Latvia in the Baltic States, also named in 2014 a European Capital of Culture. Known particularly for its Art Nouveau architecture and long history dating back to 1201, the city of Riga is truly a dancer’s destination and boasts a notable community of accomplished men and women of the arts and science, from poets and philosophers to Nobel Prize laureates, musicians and dancers like Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Representing the USA at these two WDSF Championships were Taras Savitskyy and Tatiana Seliverstova and Samuel Hacke and Katarina Hermanova, all from New Jersey.

I

WDSF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS YOUTH 10-DANCE

Samuel Hacke & Katarina Hermanova

14 out of 31

10-DANCE

Taras Savitskyy & Tatiana Seliverstova

16 out of 33

AMERICAN

DANCER

nterview

SAMUEL HACKE & KATARINA HERMANOVA (NJ)

USA Dance Titles: Nationals 2014 - Youth 10-Dance National Vice Champions; Under-21 10-Dance National Vice Champions. MAC – 1st Youth Standard; 2nd Youth Latin. NJ DanceSport Classic – 1st Youth Standard & Latin WDSF Placements: Youth Standard: 104th out of 186; Youth Latin: 94th out of 216. Russian Open 2014 Dance Accord: Youth Standard: 42nd out of 265; Youth Latin: 73rd out of 296; WDSF World Youth Latin: 44th out of 68. Latvia Open 2014: Youth Standard: 7th out of 35; Youth Latin : 5th out of 42; WDSF World Youth 10 Dance: 14th out of 31 Competing Together: 1 year AMERICAN DANCER: How do you feel about your results in Latvia?

S&K: We feel we danced our best and were successful in our results. We were very happy to have been only a few points from the semifi nal. Our coaches said we danced standard better than ever before and our Latin was strong as well.

AD: This is not your first

world event and probably 42

Samuel & Katarina, Youth Latin

not your last one. Are you feeling more comfortable and competitive at the WDSF events now?

S&K: We defi nitely feel more comfortable at WDSF events.

We were able to maneuver around the other couples and use available space much better than in Moscow. We’ve learned that we can’t hide among the other couples.

Instead, we have to maintain our presentation and stand out for the judges to see.

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

Samuel & Katarina, Youth Standard

AD: How did this event

compare to the last WDSF competition event?

S&K: Since this was a 10-dance event, and each country was only represented by one couple, it was smaller than Moscow and Germany, yet it felt even more difficult to do well. This is because it is harder to beat the top one couple from each country than the top two. The atmosphere was also a little different since it was in a hockey arena. It was cool to see the

competition being streamed on video screens around the arena.

AD: Do you feel that you’re

being seen and appreciated more on the floor?

S&K: We do. The judges noticed us enough to put us through multiple rounds, and the cameraman also seemed to like us. There are two videos of us on the World DanceSport YouTube channel, and various pictures from different photographers. It made us feel appreciated on the floor.

TARAS SAVITSKYY & TATIANA SELIVERSTOVA (NJ)

USA Dance Titles: Nationals 2014: 10-Dance Champions, 2014 (and 2013); Adult Standard Champions Dancing Together: 3 Years AMERICAN DANCER: What is your greatest challenge as a competitive couple?

T&T: Sometimes the greatest challenge is simply covering the expenses that dancing requires like lessons travel and costumes.

AD: What are your goals together as a competitive couple?

T&T: Our goals are not so much as to get the best placement, but to be the best that we can be.

AD: What was the most meaningful part about participating at the WDSF Adult 10-Dance World Championships in Latvia?

T&T: The most meaningful part is simply dancing both styles on the same day in the same event.

AD: What progress have you made as a couple since your last WDSF World event?

Taras: I would say dancing the second time around showed that we are older and mature; therefore, our dancing and

Taras & Tatiana, Youth Latin

result had gone up. We look older and are more danced together, therefore we got a much better placement.

AD: What is your unique

“competitive edge” when you’re on the floor competing?

T&T: Our Personalities and each other.

AD: You’ve competed in more WDSF World Championships than any other current USA Dance couple. Has this experience changed

Taras & Tatiana, Youth Standard

your perspective, your expectations or the way you approach your dancing?

T&T: It hasn’t really changed our views on anything. We try to see every competition as a new experience in which we can learn from later on. It is almost a surprise every time making us excited for every journey.

AD: No doubt, the World Championships are a different playing field that Nationals – what are the

differences that people need to understand better? How do you stay competitive against the other countries?

Taras: I would say that in the world championships you are much more pressured than in Nationals. Everyone wants to make it and everyone is hungry for it. I would say all of the couples bring their A-game, and you never know what to expect, simply because you may not know many of the couples you’re competing against.

A USA JUDGE’S PERSPECTIVE – CLAUDIA MARSHALL It was my great honor and privilege to judge the World 10-Dance Championships and World 10-Dance Youth Championships in Riga, Latvia this past November. From a judge’s perspective, the event was well organized and run. I personally find the OC2 program in the final rounds to be especially effective. I can

surmise it is extremely beneficial to the competitors to know the areas they should focus on in training, from different perspectives. The United States was well represented by two fine couples -- Taras Savitskyy and Tatiana Seliverstova have great potential and in the youth division, Samuel Hacke and Katarina Hermanova, I thought should have placed higher at this event. I also attended the Grand Slams and Showdance Competition in China, where my husband Zack Stevens was an adjudicator. It is overwhelming the amount of support other countries give their athletes. I

find it disheartening that here in the U.S., the land of opportunity, that there is no financial support for our dance athletes from government programming for the arts or sports.

Claudia Marshall is a WDSF-licensed adjudicator, NDCA and AMI adjudicator, and Master Dual examiner for more than 27 years. She coaches American and International styles, all levels, is a featured lecturer and author of training manuals. As a former DanceSport competitor, she was a Rising Star Champion and U.S. Professional Finalist.

January-February 2015

43

CALIFORNIA STATE DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS & NQE

HISTORIC CIVIC CENTER in SAN JOSE ATTRACTS

FULL SPECTRUM of DANCESPORT COMPETITORS

By Lydia Scardina, Nor Cal Chapter Media Chair, National Past President All Photos by George Chen

T

he San Jose City National Civic was the new venue for the California State DanceSport Championships and NQE on Nov. 15, 2014. This historic and venerable 1930’s building recently underwent a $15 million restoration, including a renovated permanent hardwood floor, all new fi xed seating and upgraded dressing rooms and lighting.

Over the decades, the National Civic has hosted big-name celebrities as disparate as Frank Sinatra, Bob Dylan, The Grateful Dead and Barbara Streisand.

This time the “celebrities” who fi lled

the arena were the more than 150 athlete couples who took to the spacious competition floor to compete in all age categories from Pre-Teen to Senior IV, dancing Syllabus through Championship levels in both International and American Styles.

While a number of events had at least two rounds, some Syllabus and Newcomer events had more than 50 couples, requiring numerous rounds of dancing to determine the eventual winners.

At California State, there was a particularly high attendance by college athletes from UC Berkeley and Stanford

Kinsley Lin & Michelle Yiu

Director/Coach - Sergey Malko; Students: Jamie Ho & Mark Otrostyuk (PreTeen 1 - Br & Sl Latin), Christina Nikiforov & Benjamin Absey (Pre Teen 2 - Br & Sl Latin), Vickanat Govorun &Ilya Ignatyev (Pre Teen 2 - Br & Sl Latin), Sofia Derevyanchuk & Elliot Evans (Pre Teen 2 - Br & Sl Latin).

44

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

Dan Manea & Mia Hu, Standard

The state of California has inspired more lyrics and musical tributes than any other place in the country. From Glenn Miller’s 1946 hit “I’m Headin’ For California” and “California Dreaming” by the Mommas and Poppas, to “Going to California” by Led Zeppelin and even “California Love” by Tupac Shakur, the reasons for “going to California” as a dancer today are as diverse and exciting as the lyrics and the artists that have immortalized the state since it acquired its name the Golden State.

University, and a formation team performance by students from nearby San Jose State University. These enthusiastic athletes and their supporters added much to the excitement in the arena.

While the largest contingency of athletes came from California, others came from as far away as Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Oregon, New Mexico, Texas and Illinois. There was even one couple, Earle Williamson and Charlotte Christiansen, who have trained and competed extensively in Europe, but chose to make their American NQE debut at the Cal State, and won the Adult Standard Championship to much well deserved applause.

There were in fact many outstanding performances throughout the day and

Sean Conroy & Christina Lee, Latin

evening. At the conclusion of the evening and after all awards were presented, the organizers provided a special $500

scholarship to Nor Cal Chapter members Kinsley Lin and Michelle Yiu to help offset their expenses at the WDSF Junior II World Championships they have been attending. (See their story p 32-33.)

The Nor Cal Chapter board, organizer for the Cal State, was assisted during the competition by dedicated volunteers, some of whom arrived as early as 6 a.m. to help ensure that the competition floor, practice floor, dressing rooms, ticket booth and registration area were all properly set up for the day’s activities.

The Cal State has grown from year to year, and the organizers look forward to making next year’s Cal State bigger and better yet!

January-February 2015

45

L of

egacies Dance

In once sense, Mary Wethington is one of those "little known facts". Her passion for dance and for our organization lasted her entire lifetime, and after serving terms as Vice President and President of USA Dance (then USABDA), her volunteer efforts continued on for nearly 40 years.

In looking through archives as USA Dance prepares for its 50th Anniversary, I have seen her name on USABDA documents dating as far back as 1979. There’s no doubt that she cared about the entire industry of ballroom dance and never missed an opportunity to work "across the lines".

USA Dance was fortunate to have her on their side. She continued to recruit quality volunteers at all levels, she served on committees at all levels and traveled at her own expense to events and meetings where she made a difference by helping to fold the past into the present.

Mary was one of those people who would look you straight in the eye and ask the tough question. She was persistent and didn't take "no" for an answer. Besides being a diligent worker, she had her fun side and was always ready for a new experience.

All of us who had the privilege of working with her will remember her energy and love for anything dance.

As I was picking up speed as a volunteer for USA Dance, she then in her 80s, was slowing down. Although we could have missed each other, I am very glad we didn't.

– Esther Freeman, Past President, USA Dance 46

TRIBUTE TO

MARY WETHINGTON (1920 – 2014) USA Dance Past President, 1984 - 1987

A Pioneer and Leader of Distinction

U

SA Dance is deeply saddened that Past President Mary Wethington, who spent a lifetime serving our organization, passed away in October 2014.

There are no words of condolences to fully describe the depth of our loss or how much she will be personally missed by all of us who had the privilege to know and work with her, and call her a friend.

Mary Wethington has always been a true Legacy of Dance. She was one of the founders of our organization (then called the U.S. Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association, USABDA) and as a member of the Executive Committee, served as National Vice President in 1981 through 1984 and afterwards as National President from 1984 through 1987. And since that time, for decades, she continued to work with the Governing Coun-

In cover of the May/June 1987 issue of Amateur Dancers* declared “Wethington Elected President.

USABDA Takes New Direction.” And her offi cial President’s message outlined the New Vision for amateur dancing in America, noting that now “The functions of the chapters will be expanded to serve the members,” that “through lines of communication and the strong linkage of chapters to the Regions, the organized programs for the membership must be expanded to attain specifi c goals, “ that one priority is to promote amateur dancing among the youth” and “a second priority is the emphasis on exploring all avenues of funds for the USABDA Foundation” Mary also proudly announced that “the unifi cation of amateurs has fulfilled the first step requirement in achieving Class C membership in USOC. We will continue to seek membership and strive to convince USOC that dancing has a potential as an Olympic sport.” Mission accomplished; for in 1997, the United States Olympic Committee approved USA Dance, Inc. as the National Governing Body of DanceSport in the USA upon the IOC acceptance of DanceSport as a recognized sport.

In the early days, Mary Wethington was a student of Sam Sodano and competed successfully in pro-am competitions for years.

American Dancer | www.americandancer.org

Courtesy of cils, contributing her Esther Free man vast knowledge and volunteering on special projects, committees and councils.

As a USA Dance member, Mary lived a life forever changed by dance and was inspired to give back, making a measurable difference in so many people's lives. She was a pioneer and a savvy business woman, dedicated to the USA Dance mission, and through her unique leadership skills, as in dance, she has left her legacy for others to follow.

Courtesy of Esther Freeman

* USABDA (United States Amateur Ballroom Dancers Association was the organization’s name before becoming USA Dance, Inc. Amateur Dancers was the former name of American Dancer Magazine.

National Qualifying Events USA Dance 2015 2016 National DanceSport Championships

&

FOR 2015 (next four): Jan 16 – 18, 2015 MANHATTAN AMATEUR CLASSIC Secaucus, NJ Jan 24, 2015 PDX CLASSIC Tigard, OR Feb 14 – 15, 2015 MID-ATLANTIC CHAMPIONSHIPS Bethesda, MD Mar 27 – 29, 2015 NATIONAL DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS Baltimore, MD For more information visit: www.USADANCE.org

FOR 2016 (first three): Jun 6-7 2015 NJ DANCESPORT CLASSIC SUMMER SIZZLER Hackensack, NJ Jun 26 – 28, 2015 GUMBO DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS Baton Rouge, LA Sep 25-27 NEW ENGLAND DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS Waltham, MA

Timeline Media

Nels Petersen & Theresa Kimler (MN) Adult American Smooth Division 2014 Mid-Atlantic DanceSport Championships

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USA DANCE 2015 NATIONAL DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS Renaissance Harborplace Hotel Baltimore, MD March 27, 28, 29, 2015

Hosting the WDSF World Ranking Tournaments: March 27 WDSF OPEN UNDER-21 STANDARD March 28 WDSF OPEN UNDER-21 10-DANCE

USA DANCE

March 29 WDSF OPEN UNDER-21 LATIN

NATIONALS www.USADANCENATIONALS.org PHOTO CREDIT: Al Parker/ParkWest Photography

Nikita Malakhov & Nadezda Vlasova (NJ) Adult Latin Championship Division USA Dance 2014 National DanceSport Championships