Competition Weekend!

Hello Everyone,

This past weekend was one that a few of us having been looking forward to for months. Cedric, Mallory, and I were in Orlando Friday-Monday with Teresa, Michael C., Davide, and Jess. We had a wonderful vacation/competition weekend down here!

‍Friday we got up early and made our way to the airport so we could arrive at Universal Studios when the park opened. We spent the day experiencing a variety of movies through rides and extravagant sets. There was even the opportunity to hang out and dance near the entrance to the park.

Saturday morning was the perfect time to sleep in,relax, and hang outby the pool. Then later we took workshops with Marzena Stachura, Izabella & Mazen... the night ended with our first win of the weekend. We all joined a 80s dance contest and my ability to make a fool of myself and dance FULL OUT brought The Crystal Ballroom acknowledgement & a 1st place win!

Sunday was the competition that we came for. This was a 1 day NDCA Certified Competition starting at 7am and ending close to 7pm. I'm so proud of our studio and how much work these 4 students did to show up and show out!

Jess and Davide experienced their first ProAm Competition, while also winning a medal for their AmAm heats. At his first competition, Davide also placed in 3 scholarships. It was so fun to watch these 2 grow in confidence and poise as the day went on!

Teresa has only competed once before, her improvements over the last 6 months have been wonderful to watch. As always the ladies competition was very intense, but even so Teresa was noticed and recalled a few times incompetitivesmooth & rhythm! Plus look at these gorgeous dresses!!Michael has been competing for years and this is his first traveling competition/vacation. He achieved his goal of improving in Rhythm, got his first callback, and even won the men's rhythm challenge!

‍Monday we spent another full day at Universal theme park, and then flew home with experiences & new goals in mind...who wants to go to Las Vegas in December?!

‍The next local opportunity to make some wonderful goals and push yourself to grow more confident and competent as a dancer is to dance and get commentary at Buckeye Open Showcase.  Sign up this week! The official Deadline is May 1st, however I'll give you all until Saturday to finalize entries!

‍Quick Note on Buckeye Open Showcase: This full day showcase is open to all studios and dancers! AND it's run by The Crystal Ballroom, so yes, I am organizing this event and hope all of you make the time to come out and enjoy the day of performances from a variety of dancers!

Those of you who are excited about learning and improving your dancing (potentially for competitions like the one we did this weekend) should plan to work with our wonderful Buckeye Open Showcase judges the day after, on Monday May 20th! Nathan Daniels has been here many times before. He is a fantastic coach for those who are interested in clear, workable improvements and high expectations. If you aren't ready for a 1-1 Coaching yet, attend his 2 Master Classes... these will be focused on smooth and rhythm. Tommye Giacchino has a very thorough resume in the dance world with championships, cabaret, smooth, rhythm, teacher testing, judging, and studio coaching as a few of her many accomplishments. She also has availability Monday May 20th to do individual coachings with students!

BTW, if you are planning to come watch The Buckeye Open Showcase get your tickets in advance for May 19th! Tickets are $20 in advance, and $25 at the door.You can click this link to purchase tickets now! ‍

‍So everyone, Board Game Night is coming soon, mark your calendars for May 10th!  Whether you've been dancing at the studio for years, or have never danced a day in your life, we will have a fun mixer class followed by playing board games in collaboration with The Meetup Group: Board Games at Bars.  This 3 Hour Event gives you time to explore the studio, learn some basic dance steps, then spend hours playing board games while making new friends!  We already have 37 people committed to coming from the Board Game group, let's show up and welcome them to our community!

‍Remember to share this event with your friends so they too can enjoy our friendly Crystal Ballroom Atmosphere!

This Friday is our Monthly West Coast Swing Night with Guest Instructor & DJ Ward Roberts!!

‍Then on Saturday join us for our wonderful weekly ballroom dance party,preceded by Viennese Waltz Group Classes in 2 Levels.

‍Let's all connect through dance at The Crystal Ballroom Dance Center!