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Welcome to the very first newsletter of 2008. I can't believe the first week of the New Year has already zipped by. And there's already lots going on.

She stepped on to the dance floor, in a lacy black ballroom gown that caught the light with each step she took. He followed a few steps behind, cutting a fine silhouette in a classic black tailsuit. No music played, but from his deliberate stalking movements and serious countenance, there could be no mistake that a tango was in the offing. She moved to the edge of the ballroom, and he was just beyond her field of vision, but she could not have been unaware of his presence. But just in case she did not know he was right behind her, he expelled a sharp "Hey!" with a breath as controlled as each step he took to get to her. The room was silent with anticipation. Then, the opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth symphony filled the air, as the two of them took dance position. The spotlight followed the couple, as they displayed a dramatic tango full of sharp staccato action and blinding fast footwork. The strains of Beethoven's symphony were punctuated with enthusiastic applause as the couple took their tango into the sides and corners of the floor, allowing everyone in the audience to glimpse the sheer excellence and virtuosity that this young couple possessed. At the end of their performance, the audience enthusiatically rose to their feet, to give them a well-earned standing ovation.

The couple was Anna Mikhed and Victor Fung, one of the top Professional Standard couples in the United States. Victor was formerly a national USA Dance standard champion, and with his current partner Anna, has made the finals at Blackpool earlier this year. You may have seen them perform on "Dancing with the Stars" but as great as that was, it does not compare to seeing them dance live, so close that you can almost touch them. And they danced last night at the Roosevelt Hotel, at the NDCA 60th Anniversary Gala, during the performance portion of the evening, in which thirteen other professional couples took to the floor to showcase the best Professional International, American and Cabaret dancing this country has to offer. Those in the audience last night were treated to some incredible demonstrations, and if they were meant to provide a sort of "State of Union" address to the dance world, then I would be confident in saying that the State of the Union in dance is strong. The complete list of the other performers appears here on the Forum. Congratulations to Taliat Tarsinov for directing the show. And congratulations to the NDCA on its 60th anniversary!

Thanks to all who came out to the NY USA Dance New Year's Eve Gala at Sandra Cameron Dance Center. We had over 100 people in attendance and had two rooms from which the dancers could choose to do their dancing. We had a wonderful standard performance presented by Alex Spencer and Katarzyna Herink. (Click here to see some photos.) Keep a look out for them on PBS, where they will be dancing in a show by composer Tim Janis. (And if you walked out with Robbin's coat, please contact her and re-unite her with it.) Congratulations to all our raffle winners, almost all of whom will be able to join us in some capacity at the MAC in less than two weeks' time.

Speaking of the MAC: All the entries are now in and we are busily preparing a more detailed tentative schedule. All those competitors who have been writing in asking what time they will be dancing, please continue to be patient. We have received registrations from over 1000 competitors, and we are now looking at having more than 500 couples competing at MAC 2008. In case you're wondering, yes, this is going to be our biggest MAC to date, and we are very excited . . . and a little nervous. We are aiming to release the tentative detailed schedule in the next couple of days; so stay tuned. [img:mc_grandBR]

In the meantime, we hope all the competitors are busily practicing right now, because to make it to the final at MAC 2008 is going to take some work -- get to it! And all these great dancers can certainly use your support and encouragement in the audience so buy your tickets now. Seating will be limited, and if you do not want to miss out on MAC 2008/Northeast Regional Championships, we strongly urge that you purchase tickets in advance.

On the social front, I see that Hot Latin Tuesdays out on Famingdale, LI returns on Tuesday, January 8. It's the same great deal, with a lesson, buffet, lots of salsa and latin dancing, and a terrific crowd. If you're out by Club 56 on Tuesday night, be sure to stop in. For other social dance options, be sure to consult Wayne's Dance Commentary or NJoyDancing News & Notes.

On the tube: Fans of DWTS judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli may want to tune in tonight, January 7, for the premiere of "Dance War." The auditions took place last fall, but the scuttlebutt was that they were not looking for ballroom dancers, so I doubt that we will see any on the show. The premise is that Carrie Ann and Bruno will each pick a team of dancers, then Carrie Ann and Bruno will choreograph their teams, the teams will dance off against each other and the audience gets to vote on which one is better. If that catches your fancy, by all means, tune in. If, however, you are in the mood for "Dancing with the Stars" re-runs, I see that BBC-America will be showing what looks like season 2 of the American series. The strange thing here is that the concept for the show came from the BBC hit "Strictly Come Dancing," but I am guessing that they are not showing those episodes here because no one would recognize the z-list celebrities dancing on the British version. In case you are already nostalgic for Master P fumbling through various ballroom dances with Ashley DelGrosso, tune in to BBC-America on Sunday nights.

Now that we are in the New Year, I am pleased to report that our new Board, elected October 27, has now taken office. Welcome to new Board members Stefany Coulter, Scott Perlman and Jana Veliskova. Welcome back to former Board members Hong Cheng and Daphna Locker. Staying on the Board are Karen Hsu, Steve Malanga, Michael Phillip, Robert Scibelli and me. If you would like to reach us for any reason, send an e-mail to board@nyusabda.org.

That does it for this first newsletter of 2008. Make this a great year for dancing, everybody!

Yang Chen
President
Greater NY
USA Dance
(NYUSABDA)
www.nyusabda.org
www.nyusabda.org/forums-df
yang.chen@nyusabda.org