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In just over 30 days, some 1000 dancers will descend upon Baltimore, Maryland, at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in the historic Inner Harbor for the 2008 running of the USA Dance National Championships, where the United States representatives to World Championship events will be decided. It should prove to be a memorable and exciting event. USA Dance has signed with the Comcast Network, CN8, to televise the 2008 National Championships. If you can't make it to the event to spectate in person, you can catch it on cable at the end of May. For more details, read this post.

Of course, Baltimore is not too far away and is easy to get to, so we hope you make plans to be at the USA Dance National Championships in person, because ballroom dancing is always best live.

And as if having USA Dance Nationals televised on CN8 is not enough, a major global fashion magazine based in New York wants to feature our top dancers and finalists in a fashion photo shoot at Nationals. A full staff of photographers, make-up artists and hair stylists will be on hand to get you ready for your close-up and your proverbial fifteen minutes of fame. They are looking for the finalists, ages 18 through 25, in the top divisions to be included in this photo shoot, wearing the latest in DanceSport activewear. If you fit this description, or you know someone who does, read this post and check in with our National Director of Publicity, Angela Prince. She will be very glad to hear from you. (She may even be able to explain to you what DanceSport activewear actually is. Don't ask me; I'm just the messenger.)

For those who have not yet signed up to compete at what will surely be a momentously media-driven Nationals, the registration deadline is Friday, March 7, so please log on and register today to avoid late fees.

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Last Friday, I was both sad and glad to be at Dance Chelsea for the Closeout Bash. As announced in last week's newsletter, Dance Chelsea will be closing its doors at its present location at the end of this month, and two members of the NYU Ballroom Team organized a fundraiser to raise money to facilitate the studio's relocation to another space in Manhattan. It was sad to realize that Dance Chelsea will be gone in about four weeks. I personally have many fond memories attached to the studio. At the same time, it was truly gratifying and heartwarming for me to see the studio packed to the gills with dancers who were all there to support Stanley and Jennifer McCalla. Their students, current and former, came out in droves, some traveling great distances, to be present. There was a silent auction with prizes donated by Dance Chelsea staff as well as some of the more colorful students at Dance Chelsea. Junior II champions Leo Juashkovsky and Daniela Karagach provided a wonderful set of performances, showcasing their talents in latin and in standard. By my estimate, there must have been over 100 people who attended, showing how the ballroom community supports their own. Well-deserved credit goes to Meagan O'Toole and Mike Fenton for organizing the event, and my hats to everyone who was kind enough to support the effort, both in person and in spirit. Thank you all for coming through.
(Photo, above, by R. Pungin.)

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Some social dance suggestions for this week:

• The March cycle begins for Hot Latin Tuesdays at Club 56 in Farmingdale on March 4, with Rumba lessons taught by Patti Panebianco. The fun begins at 7 pm for all you fans of salsa and other latin rhythms.
• Also on Long Island, there will be a special charity event on Thursday, March 6, featuring salsa and latin dancing to help raise money for a young boy with a serious illness who does not have insurance coverage. While our politicians continue to debate universal healthcare, this boy needs your help now, so if you are near Westbury, LI, and would like to lend your support, while enjoying some salsa dancing, the event starts at 6 pm, at the Winner's Circle Night Club.
• Full Swing Fridays gets underway at Dance Manhattan on Friday, March 7, where East Coast meets West Coast Swing. Need a lesson? Drop by at 8 pm. The dancing kicks off at 9:30 pm.
• For fans of Swing dancing to a live band, head over to the 92nd Street Y on the Upper East Side of Manhattan on Saturday, March 8, starting at 7 pm. The Gerard Carelli Orchestra will be playing and a free lesson is included in the price of admission.

For other ideas, check out NJoyDancing News & Notes.

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At the studios:

• Maks Chmerkovskiy workshop and private coachings at Dance with Me in Glen Head, Thurday, March 6. Space is limited so call ahead to find out if there's still room.
• Swing Role Reversal at Dance Manhattan from 1 to 3 pm on March 8: learn the techniques of lead and follow by learning how the other half lives (or dances, as the case may be).
• Tango Crash Course at Dance Manhattan from 12 to 4 pm on March 9: three instructors teach beginner level dancers the tango; also good for pre-intermediate level dancers to refresh themselves on tango basics.

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And if you're in the mood for watching some competitive dancing this weekend, stop by the NJ DanceSport Classic at Battista's Dance Studio, March 8 and 9, in Hackensack, NJ.

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That does it for this week's edition. Remember to register for Nationals! (Or make plans to be there in person as spectator!)

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