NYUSABDA > news022508

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the final social at Dance New York. With a similarly heavy heart, I write to report the closing of Dance Chelsea, a place near and dear to my heart. I spent many hours there training, rehearsing and getting to know many wonderful dancers who are now my friends. However, the continuing escalation of rents in Manhattan has driven yet another mainstay in the New York City ballroom scene out of their present quarters. On the plus side, the studio owners, Stanley and Jennifer McCalla are looking to re-open soon at a new location downtown. We hope that the transition to the new studio will be smooth and quick, because the McCallas and Dance Chelsea have been ardent, long-time supporters of amateur dancing in the Greater New York area. The McCallas have trained many top couples who have gone on to success at the regional and national level. The McCallas currently coach the NYU Ballroom Team and have coached many other collegiate teams, including Columbia and RPI. They are highly sought after for judging, teaching and lecturing. During their competitive career, they represented the United States in four world championships and were former United States 10-dance champions. We are extremely fortunate in the New York area to have professional like the McCallas supporting USA Dance.

On Friday, February 29, there will be a Dance Chelsea Closeout Bash at the studio, organized by members of the NYU Ballroom Team. The proceeds will raise funds towards re-opening Dance Chelsea at its new location downtown. Dance Chelsea and the McCallas have given a great deal to the ballroom dance community in New York City, and this would be a good time for the ballroom community to give in return. Please attend the Dance Chelsea Closeout Bash to support the efforts of the McCallas to continue their excellent work to raise the level dancing in New York City and the Greater New York area. The party starts at 8 pm and basic admission is $15 per person. For more details, see this post.

This weekend, I had the privilege and honor of being the MC at the 8th annual Binghamton Ballroom Dance Revolution. This event is particularly special to me as it gives me a chance not only to work with one of the top collegiate teams in New York, it also gives me a chance to visit my alma mater. Despite the snowstorm, the competition proceeded as planned, starting at 8 am on Saturday. Because of competing events on the same weekend at other colleges, one in Boston and one in Philadelphia (another one on Long Island was cancelled), the turnout was not as high as in past years. Still, nearly a dozen different schools were represented and more than 120 dancers competed in all styles, from newcomer through pre-champ. The bronze categories saw the most entries, with bronze latin contested through four rounds of dancing. The show on Saturday night was presented by World Showdance Grand Finalists Rita and Garry Gekhman. After performing five Standard routines, Rita and Garry went to get prepared for their justly famous "robot dance," which you may have caught last year on "America's Ballroom Challenge." Despite my harangue last week about "Ballroom Meets Halloween," the Gekhmans' routine shows how costuming, choreography and music can come together to form a clever, entertaining and innovative Showdance routine. If you ever get a chance to see them perform their "robot dance" live, you owe it to yourself to check them out.

Congratulations to the Binghamton Ballroom Dance Association for pulling off yet another successful competition!

DWTS season 6 line-up has been revealed: Among the cast for the new season, premiering on Monday, March 17 on ABC, will be Shannon Elizabeth, Steve Guttenberg and Priscilla Presley (yes, the Jack-o's former mother-in-law). Last season's winning pro, Julianne Hough, paired with Adam Carolla (of "The Man Show" fame and other dubious distinctions), will not likely repeat her two consecutive wins. My money would be on former Olympic figure skater and gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi to take the top prize with Mark Ballas. Who knows what surprises will be in store for season 6? We'll be tuning in soon enough to find out.

Fans of Max Chmerkovskiy: You will not see Max on DWTS6. The producers were kind enough to give him a rest so that he could pursue his other projects. (Hmmm . . . might he still be licking his wounds from his second place finish with Scary Spice?) However, if you want to catch Max in person, either for a workshop or private coaching, he will be at Dance with Me in Glen Head next Thursday, March 6. It will be first come first serve for both, so you may want to call today and make your reservations.

On the social dancing front, Hot Latin Tuesday continues to burn through the month of February in Farmingdale, LI at Club 56, with a free salsa lesson and plenty of latin dancing. Towards the end of the week, you may want to visit the Dance Manhattan open house, with free lessons, free party and free show, starting at 8 pm. Of course, there is also the above-mentioned Closeout Bash at Dance Chelsea, so keep that in mind. For other social dance ideas, check with Wayne's Dance Commentary and NJoyDancing News & Notes.

Reminder: The final episode of "America's Ballroom Challenge" airs on Wednesday, February 27. Tune in to find out who will be crowned "America's Top Ballroom Couple." Check your local PBS listings for air times.

That does it for this week. Enjoy the rest of February in this Leap Year. Make plans to be at Dance Chelsea on Friday!

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