This edition of the newsletter may be reaching your inbox slightly later than usual, because I just got back yesterday from the 19th Southeastern Regional Championship (SRC) in Atlanta, Georgia, where I was privileged to take part as MC. The SRC is the longest continuously running DanceSport competition in the country, presented year after year by the volunteer efforts of the Greater Atlanta Chapter of USA Dance. Its tradition of excellence and innovation was on full display over the two-day event, which commenced Friday, October 19, starting at 8:30 am with competition in the Senior IV category, a new age categroy introduced at this event for couples that are 63 years older or over. The competition ran until midnight on Friday and started bright and early the next day on Saturday, Oct. 20, with another full day of competition that finished by 6:00 pm on Saturday, with the adult championship events reserved for the evening session, right after the banquet. The dancers and spectators got to enjoy general dancing in the ballroom at the Georgia World Congress Center, the site of numerous Olympic events when the Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta in 1996. The spectators also were treated to excellent championship finals in Latin, Standard, Rhythm and Smooth. The Smooth final was particularly strong, with the top six couples vying for the top spot, after having danced a crowded semi-final earlier in the day. First place in the Latin went to Panayiotis Thomakos and Christine Kam from Pennsylvania. First place in Standard went to Balazs and Csilla Kocsi from Kentucky. First place in the Rhythm went to Andrew Kerski and Ginarose McLeese from Connecticut. First place in the Smooth went to Nels Petersen and Theresa Kimler from Minnesota. Congratulations to all the dancers who competed at the SRC. Congratulations especially to Ann Smith and all the volunteers at the SRC who organized another successful regional championship in the southeast. Next year, another chapter will take up the reins to host the southeastern regional, and we sure hope they check in with Ann and her team to learn how to do it right, because they've done it for nearly two decades straight. Kudos to you all (or should that be "y'all"?)!

---

Closer to home, we have a number of things happening on Saturday, October 27, which we hope you will join us for:

• First, we will be holding our Annual General Meeting and Elections, starting at 3:30 pm. Details, including ballots, can be found on this Forum post. The voting is open only to current USA Dance members, while the meeting is open to anyone who is interested in what the chapter has been up to and what is in store for the future. For those who are unable to attend, we urge you to mail in your ballots so that they are received by Oct. 27.


• Next, we will be launching our Corporate Membership Program, designed to introduce people in the corporate sector to the wonderful world of ballroom dancing. Details on that event can be found on this Forum post. It will run from 6 pm to 8 pm and will be held at Dance Times Square.


• Right after the launch party for the Corporate Membership Program, we plan to segué right into our annual Halloween Social, which will run from 8 pm to 11:30 pm at DTS. Admission is just $10 for students and USA Dance members, $15 for everyone else. There should be plenty of dancing and fun and a costume contest to boot, so we hope you can make it to the party!

---

Speaking of elections, remember that there is also a national election for USA Dance officers, including the election of a new national President. If you have not yet done so, please mail in your ballots by Oct. 25. For details on where to find your ballot, read this post.

---

DWTS Last week: Boxer Floyd Mayweather is down and out for the count. I wasn't around to catch the results show last week to see Floyd getting the boot, but it came as no surprise that he went. For the third week in a row, a male celeb has been voted off, leaving a fairly robust field of female celebs duking it out for the top spots. We had the obligatory rules violation controversy for this season: Jane Seymour doing a "lift" during her Viennese Waltz. If you ask me, it's all a bit silly, but I guess the judges need to show that they know what the rules are. After last week's inflationary marks -- I mean a perfect score for Cheetah Girl's paso? Come on! -- my opinion of the judging on the show has reached a historic low. Let's see if the judging gets any better this week. Come down and join us at ACME on Monday night.

---

Anyone looking to dance tonight? There is an After-Party at Dance Times Square following the Rock 'n Soul Showcase at the Kaye Playhouse Theater. The party starts at 10:30 pm and is FREE for USA Dance members who present their membership cards at the door. Otherwise, admission is $20 at the door. I am told that US Professional Rhythm Champs, José DeCamps and Joanna Zacharewicz might pop in, so you never know what to expect. If you're in the neighborhood, why not drop in?

If you're out by Farmingdale, LI, you may want to check out Hot Latin Tuesday at Club 56, which starts at 7:30 pm and features a mix of salsa, Cha Cha, Hustle, Rumba, Bolero, Bachata, Merengue and West Coast Swing. It includes a free Salsa lesson for those who may want it. Just so you can prepare, there will be costume contest next Tuesday, Oct. 30, at Club 56, so mark your calendars and dust off that costume -- prizes will be awarded.

For other great social dance ideas, check in with NJoyDancing News & Notes or Wayne's Dance Commentary.

---

To finish off with a bit of news: It's been quite a year of couples announcing retirements and changing partnerships. Here's the latest one: Katusha Demidova, current US Professional Standard Champion with Jonathan Wilkins, will be dancing with IDSF World Standard Champion Arunas Bizokas of Lithuania. (His former partner Edita Daniute is taking a break to raise her new baby girl.) Katusha and Arunas will be representing the United States in competition. We wish them the best of luck. And we're waiting for official word on who Jonathan Wilkins will be dancing with. Stay tuned . . . .

---

And that's it for this week, friends. See you tonight at ACME.

---

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