Dancer Profiles
Arlene Yu and Jorge Guzman: Our Senior II Open Latin Champions at the IDSF World Senior Championships in Liège, Belgium
As reported in the October 28, 2009, edition of our newsletter, Arlene Yu and Jorge Guzman, members of the Greater New York Chapter of USA Dance, won the Senior II Open Latin Championship at the IDSF World Senior Championships in Liège, Belgium, on October 17, 2009. Our own Patricia Applegate caught up with Arlene and Jorge to snag this interview of our champions.
Interview by Patricia Applegate
![[img:Arlene_Jorge]](../../..//images/news/ArleneJorgeTrophies.jpg)
Q. Congratulations on your first place win at the IDSF Championships in Liège, Belgium. How does it feel to be Senior II Open Latin Champs? It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
Arlene (A): I'm still trying to absorb all of it. It was a very emotional experience, just to be there representing the U.S....
Jorge (J): To basically come out of nowhere and beat European couples in Europe -- we're thrilled!
Q. How did you come to represent the US at this prestigious world level competition?
A: We were actually in Liège to represent the U.S. in the Senior I age category, which is for couples over 35. As Senior I Latin Vice Champions at the National Championships in Baltimore this year, we were chosen to represent the U.S. at the Senior I Latin Worlds. We also entered the Senior II (over 45) Open Latin championship in the same competition because we felt we should take the opportunity to compete in our actual age division -- if we were already there, why not?
J: Exactly. Why not see how well we would do against people our own age? Plus we thought it wouldn't hurt to try to bring some attention to U.S. couples before the Senior I World championship event began later that day.
Q. It is always hard to find a great partner. How did you two manage to pair up and how long have you been dancing together?
J: We've actually known each other a long time, but we started training together in September 2007.
A: I met Jorge when I was just beginning to learn Latin, at the end of 2001, and he was already competing. In 2007 I was looking for a partner to dance Senior I Champ Latin and I coaxed him out of retirement by telling him we could possibly represent the U.S. at the world championships.
Q. What is your training regimen like? How many hours a week do you practice and take coachings? Do you do any other supplementary fitness activities or special diet to optimize your training?
J: We practice three times a week, for about two hours each time. I also play tennis competitively and go to the gym regularly, two or three times a week.
A: I hate the gym. When I'm not practicing with Jorge I take Latin classes and private lessons to refine my technique and build stamina. As for a special diet, no, not really. Neither of us really has to worry about weight, and I actually have to make sure I really fuel up before a competition. My competition day breakfast is steak and eggs and home fries!
J: But we don't really eat a lot of junk food either. Just regular meals.
Q. Training does take a lot of time. What do you do as your regular "day" jobs?
J: Until recently I've been a trader at a hedge fund, so the hours were fairly regular and it wasn't too hard to schedule practice times.
A: I'm actually getting my master's in library and information science from Pratt, so my hours were even more flexible. It definitely helps if one partner has a more flexible schedule so that rehearsals can be built around the other's availability.
Q. Were either of you involved in other forms of dance before starting ballroom dancing? What drew you into the competitive ballroom world?
A: I'd always wanted to dance, but didn't really start until I was 18. I took a few modern and jazz classes here and there in college, but didn't start a more serious program until I turned 27 and decided I wanted to learn ballet. I studied ballet for six years, took a break for five, and took up Latin at 38 because I missed dancing and wanted to learn a form that was more sociable and less physically stressful than ballet. My coach, Christian Baerens, talked me into competing.
J: I'd performed other dances before beginning Latin: a little flamenco, a little ballet, salsa....
![[img:Arlene_Jorge_Jive]](../../..//images/news/AYWorld 3a.jpg)
Q. It seems the competitive field is getting really tough. Have you noticed any changes in the caliber of dancers in the Senior I and Senior II levels?
J: It's pretty serious in Europe -- those couples have been dancing together for years and years, from Adult into Senior I.
A: It's getting more serious in the U.S. in Senior I, which we're really grateful to see. We think it's important for the U.S. to develop its Senior I Latin teams so that our entire line-up of representatives is strong, not just Youth and Adult.
J: We want judges in every event to look up and say, "Here comes the team from the U.S."
A: In fact, the IDSF Senior II Worlds will take place in April 2010, so Senior II Latin is becoming more important as well.
Q. What advice can you give to other Senior I or Senior II dancers who may feel unmotivated to join the competitive realm?
A: I believe no one should place limits on his or her abilities and say that he or she can't do something just because of age. Yes, our bodies are different from when we were 20 or even 30, but I compete to see how good can I can get. That question stays in front of me every day that I dance, and competing is just a means to answer it. To anyone thinking of competing, I say, why not compete to find out just how good you can be? And in the process...
J: ...you might get to represent the U.S. in a world championship, an amazing honor.
Q. What are your plans for the future as a dance team?
J: Unfortunately, I'm retiring from competitive dancing and I've also moved away from the NYC area. But Arlene is looking for a new partner, and I'd recommend her to anyone!
Interview by Patricia Applegate
Q. Congratulations on your first place win at the IDSF Championships in Liège, Belgium. How does it feel to be Senior II Open Latin Champs? It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
Arlene (A): I'm still trying to absorb all of it. It was a very emotional experience, just to be there representing the U.S....
Jorge (J): To basically come out of nowhere and beat European couples in Europe -- we're thrilled!
Q. How did you come to represent the US at this prestigious world level competition?
A: We were actually in Liège to represent the U.S. in the Senior I age category, which is for couples over 35. As Senior I Latin Vice Champions at the National Championships in Baltimore this year, we were chosen to represent the U.S. at the Senior I Latin Worlds. We also entered the Senior II (over 45) Open Latin championship in the same competition because we felt we should take the opportunity to compete in our actual age division -- if we were already there, why not?
J: Exactly. Why not see how well we would do against people our own age? Plus we thought it wouldn't hurt to try to bring some attention to U.S. couples before the Senior I World championship event began later that day.
Q. It is always hard to find a great partner. How did you two manage to pair up and how long have you been dancing together?
J: We've actually known each other a long time, but we started training together in September 2007.
A: I met Jorge when I was just beginning to learn Latin, at the end of 2001, and he was already competing. In 2007 I was looking for a partner to dance Senior I Champ Latin and I coaxed him out of retirement by telling him we could possibly represent the U.S. at the world championships.
Q. What is your training regimen like? How many hours a week do you practice and take coachings? Do you do any other supplementary fitness activities or special diet to optimize your training?
J: We practice three times a week, for about two hours each time. I also play tennis competitively and go to the gym regularly, two or three times a week.
A: I hate the gym. When I'm not practicing with Jorge I take Latin classes and private lessons to refine my technique and build stamina. As for a special diet, no, not really. Neither of us really has to worry about weight, and I actually have to make sure I really fuel up before a competition. My competition day breakfast is steak and eggs and home fries!
J: But we don't really eat a lot of junk food either. Just regular meals.
Q. Training does take a lot of time. What do you do as your regular "day" jobs?
J: Until recently I've been a trader at a hedge fund, so the hours were fairly regular and it wasn't too hard to schedule practice times.
A: I'm actually getting my master's in library and information science from Pratt, so my hours were even more flexible. It definitely helps if one partner has a more flexible schedule so that rehearsals can be built around the other's availability.
Q. Were either of you involved in other forms of dance before starting ballroom dancing? What drew you into the competitive ballroom world?
A: I'd always wanted to dance, but didn't really start until I was 18. I took a few modern and jazz classes here and there in college, but didn't start a more serious program until I turned 27 and decided I wanted to learn ballet. I studied ballet for six years, took a break for five, and took up Latin at 38 because I missed dancing and wanted to learn a form that was more sociable and less physically stressful than ballet. My coach, Christian Baerens, talked me into competing.
J: I'd performed other dances before beginning Latin: a little flamenco, a little ballet, salsa....
Q. It seems the competitive field is getting really tough. Have you noticed any changes in the caliber of dancers in the Senior I and Senior II levels?
J: It's pretty serious in Europe -- those couples have been dancing together for years and years, from Adult into Senior I.
A: It's getting more serious in the U.S. in Senior I, which we're really grateful to see. We think it's important for the U.S. to develop its Senior I Latin teams so that our entire line-up of representatives is strong, not just Youth and Adult.
J: We want judges in every event to look up and say, "Here comes the team from the U.S."
A: In fact, the IDSF Senior II Worlds will take place in April 2010, so Senior II Latin is becoming more important as well.
Q. What advice can you give to other Senior I or Senior II dancers who may feel unmotivated to join the competitive realm?
A: I believe no one should place limits on his or her abilities and say that he or she can't do something just because of age. Yes, our bodies are different from when we were 20 or even 30, but I compete to see how good can I can get. That question stays in front of me every day that I dance, and competing is just a means to answer it. To anyone thinking of competing, I say, why not compete to find out just how good you can be? And in the process...
J: ...you might get to represent the U.S. in a world championship, an amazing honor.
Q. What are your plans for the future as a dance team?
J: Unfortunately, I'm retiring from competitive dancing and I've also moved away from the NYC area. But Arlene is looking for a new partner, and I'd recommend her to anyone!
