NYUSABDA > news012708

Hard to believe that the first month of the New Year is almost over already. Where did it go? Before it ends, though, be sure to tune in to your local PBS station (Channel 13 or 21 for us here in the Greater New York area) where the Ohio Star Ball from last November will be re-packaged and brought to your living room TV screen as "America's Ballroom Challenge." Tune in on Wednesday, January 30, at 8:00 pm, for the first of five weekly broadcasts, starting with the Open Smooth Championships. Then tune in each Wednesday thereafter, until the Grand Finale on February 27, when America's Best Ballroom Couple will be crowned. Along the way, there should be many good exhibitions interspersed throughout each episode, so there should be plenty of good ballroom viewing to be had the next few weeks. Mark your calendars and set your recording devices; you don’t want to miss a beat of this show.

Wondering if there are any photos from the MAC? [img:mac2k8stg]

The answer is that there are plenty. Those of you on Facebook who are buddies with people who competed or spectated at MAC must by now have had an eyeful of photos and videos of the dancing at MAC last weekend. For those not on Facebook, the earliest photos posted are from Andrew Carpenter. You can find the link from his Forum post. Also, Igor Ofenbakh, our official MAC photographer, took hundreds upon hundreds of photos from all sessions at the MAC, and he is sorting through them now and we expect to announce in about two weeks a site where Igor will be making all those wonderful shots available for public viewing. You can also order prints from Igor. He always gets some great pictures, so we will look forward to seeing them in the not too distant future.

Regular readers of this newsletter know that I am a big proponent of collegiate dance competitions, and in February there are quite a number to choose from. Next weekend is the Yale Ballroom Dance Competition in New Haven, Connecticut, taking place on Saturday, February 2. Then, on the weekend of February 23-24, you have no less than three to choose from: Binghamton University's Ballroom Dance Revolution, featuring a show by US Professional Standard Finalists Rita and Garry Gehkman, on February 23; UPenn's Third Annual Clover Star Classic, also on February 23, in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia; and Stony Brook University's Second Annual Ballroom Dance Competition on Sunday, February 24, featuring a show by US Professional Rhythm Champions José Decamps and Joanna Zacharewicz. Even if you do not plan to compete in them, you may want to attend for the shows and maybe just to catch the spirit of collegiate competition, which buzz with a lively energy all their own.

Dance with Me Studio, home to Max Chmerkovskiy of DWTS, will be opening a new branch on Long Island, in Glen Head. Max will be teaching a workshop there on Thursday, February 7, and the Grand Opening Party will take place on Friday, February 8. For details about the workshop, read this post. For details about the party, read this post.

On the social front, Hot Latin Tuesdays continue to dance up a storm out in Farmingdale, at Club 56. The fun starts on January 29, at 7 pm. More details on this post. And if you have been meaning to go to the Saturday Night Social at Dance New York, mark the dates in your calendars, because February 2 and 9 and the final two Saturday Night Socials at that studio. Those of you who have long been part of the social dance scene in New York surely have many fond memories of Saturday nights spent dancing in that lovely space on 54th Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue. February 2 and 9 are the last two Saturdays you can enjoy that feeling again, so make your way to Dance New York in early February. It's listed in the current edition of NJoyDancing News & Notes. And remember to consult Wayne's Dance Commentary for other social dance ideas.

To close out this edition: Are you Asian, male, at least 5'5" tall and can dance? A famous singer from Hong Kong will be performing at Atlantic City on February 22 and needs some dancers. You get paid and you get to spend the weekend in Atlantic City. What's not to like? For more details, read this post.

And that's it for this week. Be sure to tune in to America's Ballroom Challenge on Wednesday night!

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