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Thanks to everyone who came out to support the workshops last weekend, particularly the Colin James Latin Workshop at Basic Ballroom on May 1 and the Katusha/Arunas Standard Workshops at Manhattan Ballroom Dance on May 2. Those who paid on-line helped to make our regular programs for NY USA Dance possible. Hope you enjoyed the workshops!

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By now, I hope you have all seen the announcement of our next social set to take place at Basic Ballroom on May 15. The proceeds from that social will go to fund our chapter's participation in the Fourth Annual Dance Parade, set to take place on the streets of New York on May 22. And if for some reason, you have no idea what Dance Parade is, well . . . I'll let Naomi Geller, our Queen of Dance Parade, tell you:

As one of the first major groups to participate, NY USA Dance has been dancing down the streets of New York every year since 2007 and this year will be no different, so I hope you will join us! The parade starts at 1 pm, when we will dance/march/walk down Broadway to St Marks and then onward to Tompkins Square Park where DanceFest (pretty much exactly what it sounds like) will be happening, following the parade.

Thanks, Naomi. If you need more information beyond that, visit the Dance Parade website. As in years past, we will be letting all the New Yorkers lining the parade route know who we are by the colorful t-shirts we will be proudly sporting as we dance down Broadway. Naomi will be placing orders for the t-shirts soon (like, right now), so if you want her to get the right size for you, please contact us at info@nyusadance.org, and tell us what size she should order for you. If you haven't yet signed up, you can do so at that e-mail address. All you need to do is give us your name and contact information (and shirt size) and you should be hearing from Naomi.

More than 5000 dancers, more than 150 dance groups and 60 unique dance styles will be at Dance Parade on May 22. We want you to represent ballroom with us. Join us, won't you?

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As mentioned in the announcement earlier this week about the pre-Dance Parade social, we will give a $3 discount off the admission at the door if you have already signed up for Dance Parade or if you sign up to dance with us in Dance Parade at the social. We also indicated that, in the alternative, you can choose instead to fill out a survey at the door to get $3 off the admission to the social. This discount would be in lieu of -- not in addition to -- the discount for signing up for Dance Parade. So you get one of two choices to get discounted admission to the social. If you have already filled out a survey on-line, sorry, we can't offer you a discount, because the on-line surveys are anonymous. We plan to provide hard copy survey forms for you to fill out at the social, and you can get the discount that way. Hope that's clear now.

If you can't make it to the pre-Dance Parade social, we'll miss you, but we'd still love to get your input on how we can improve our website so please take a moment to fill out our on-line survey today. You can find it at http://bit.ly/websitesurvey. Thank you!

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Have you heard? USA Dance is presenting its first-ever ballroom dancing cruise. Here's more from USA Dance National Director of Publicity Angela Prince:

USA Dance is sponsoring the first national dance cruise aboard the luxurious Italian Cruise Line Costa's "Atlantica" - the finest dance ship on the Atlantic seas. Please check out the new website www.dancecruiseusadance.org and our Facebook site USA DANCE NATIONAL DANCE CRUISE for all the details. You can book online and you'll get the best rates if you do that now. Bring your chapter, your friends, your family. We have 400 rooms, double occupancy and are already 1/3 booked. Professional instructors for group classes, private lessons, dance parties, off shore dance excursions, and all the usual cruise ship entertainment for 7 days. We're going to the Western Carribean - perfect that time of year. PLEASE join us - let's make this the most unforgettable cruise you've ever attended or dreamed of attending. From beginners to advanced, this trip is for you.

The cruise takes place from November 28 through December 5, departs from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and hits the following ports-of-call: Key West, Florida; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and Cozumel, Mexico. For more details, click on the links in Angela's message above. The instructors will be Dan and Silke Calloway and Wayne and Marie Crowder. Sounds like a great cruise, tailored for ballroom dancers of all levels. Why wait? Book now!

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Just seen on the USA Dance website:

USA Dance: Ready for the Olympics? - Dance Channel TV

What's the big deal about ballroom? Dance Channel TV attends the 2010 USA Dance National DanceSport Championships to find out why ballroom and social dancing is gaining such a buzz, and pushing to be included in the Olympics. Interviews include Carrie Ann Inaba, celebrity judge of Dancing With the Stars, and Ken Richards Vice President of DanceSport with USADance.

Click here to watch the video from Dance Channel TV.

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This week on DWTS: The first set of perfect 10s in season 10 went to . . . Olympic figure skating Gold medalist Evan Lysacek for his Argentine tango. Not all in our DWTS@ACME gang agreed that the perfect score was deserved (I was in the camp that felt it was), but bragging rights for this achievement goes to Evan, and not Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, with whom Evan has been neck-to-neck all season, except for last week when Evan's uninspiring samba dropped him into the middle of the pack. Yet Evan's perfect score did not put him over Nicole on the leaderboard; it was enough only to tie her for the top spot, because despite Nicole's sets of 9s (too low in my opinion; she should have gotten at least one 10), she had the good fortune to land in Team GaGa for the cha cha team competition. Combined with the 9s she got in that team, Nicole ended the night with 54, which is what Evan got when his 8s from Team Madonna were combined with his perfect score. The race was tight! (If I didn't know any better, I would think that that's exactly how the producers planned it. But that's just the Jaded New Yorker in me talking.)

Baywatch Babe Pamela Anderson is the latest casualty. No surprise there, really. Erin Andrews in the bottom two? A little surprising, but frankly, I take that as a sign that the voting public is noticing that her dancing is not the marvel that the gushing judges seem to think it is. I don't know what hallucinogens the judges are taking whenever she takes the floor, but the voting audience -- fortunately -- is not drinking from the same fountain. I expect the next "star" to go will be Niecy Nash, followed by Chad Ochocinco, but after seeing Erin bathed in the ominous glow of the Dreaded Red Light this week, will she face trouble getting into the Final Three? We shall see.

Come watch with us at ACME, at the bar in the back. Join us on Monday night, May 10, starting at 8 pm.

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Congrats to the Rutgers Ballroom Team for landing a spot on the May 18 DWTS results show in which college teams will be facing off in a formation team match. Rutgers will be pitted against Utah Valley University. For more details, visit the Rutgers Ballroom Team website. Tune in and support our local dancers!

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For those who miss seeing more of Karina Smirnoff on this season's DWTS, despair not. She will be in the New York area, on Long Island to be precise, giving three workshops on Sunday, May 9, starting at 4 pm. The workshops are for both men and women, so if you haven't gotten your mom a gift for Mother's Day yet, and she's a dancer or DWTS fan, this just might make you her very favorite son or daughter. Just a thought! For more information, contact Louis del Prete at louisdelprete@yahoo.com or (516)819-9016.

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Reminders:

• Speaking of Louis del Prete, he will be presenting a Special Event on Saturday, May 29, at the Suburban Temple in Wantagh, out on Long Island. There will be a dance with a special performance by Karina Smirnoff and Dmitry Chaplin from Dancing with the Stars. The cost is just $40 per person and reservations will be taken until May 15. No refunds after May 15! In addition to the show, you get a dance lesson at 8:30 pm and open dancing from 9 pm to 12:30 am. For more details, click here. This event is popular and has sold out in the past so if you are interested in seeing Karina and Dmitry performing live, make your reservations today.
• Become the best ballroom dancer you can be for your partner by working on yourself first. ISTD Fellow Michael Choi shows you how with his Ballroom Barre, at Chelsea Studios, every Wednesday, starting at 8:30 pm. Just $25 per person for USA Dance members. For the latin dancers, Michael offers the Latin Barre, at Basic Ballroom, every Thursday, starting at 9:30 pm. Also just $25 per person for USA Dance members. The classes are non-sequential so drop in any time; no partner required, all levels welcome. For more information, contact Michael at michael@dancemchoi.com.
• Manhattan Ballroom Dance studio has Standard rounds on Thursdays, from 9:30 to 10:30 pm. The floor is huge, with plenty of space to swing out, so if you're looking for a good place to run your standard routines, visit Manhattan Ballroom Dance studio on Thursday nights.
• Dance Chelsea is offering a special promotion of an $85 unlimited practice card. For more details about this great deal, contact the studio or log on to their Facebook page.
• Check out the special rates for USA Dance members at Basic Ballroom: just $79 for a 10 session card and $90 for their unlimited monthly card.
• Dance with Me Soho will be hosting Practice Sessions, and they are offering both an unlimited option and a 10 practice session card. For the unlimited option, the cost is $100 per person, with a 15% discount to USA Dance members, so our members can get unlimited practice time at Dance with Me Soho for just $85 per person per month. If you would prefer to go for the 10 practice session card, the cost for that will be $100 per couple, with a 25% discount for USA Dance members, or $75 per couple. Questions? Please call the studio at (212) 840-Dance (3262).

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Looking to social dance? Here are some suggestions:

• Tonight, Hot Salsa Friday at the VIP Lounge at the Iguana. Doors open at 6 pm.
• Tonight, Fundraiser Friday Dance Party at You Should Be Dancing, starting at 9 pm, to benefit the Alzheimer Foundation. Donation of $15 or higher accepted.
• Tomorrow, May 8, Millennium Dance Party at Club 412/YSBD, three DJs in three rooms, spinning hustle, salsa and ballroom. Lesson at 8 pm, dancing starts at 9 pm.
• Tomorrow, May 8, salsa social with Piel Canela at Pearl Studios, 500 Eighth Avenue (between 35th and 36th streets). Admission is just $5 if paid on-line.
• Tomorrow, May 8: mixed ballroom dancing at Manhattan Ballroom Dance studio, starting at 7:30 pm with a free lesson. NOTE: The $10 discount for USA Dance members is no longer in effect; admission for all is now $15 per person.
• Sunday, May 9, Sunday Tea Party at Manhattan Ballroom Dance, mixed ballroom dancing starting at 3 pm.
• Monday, May 10, Salsa at Taj, with live band and special performances. Arrive before 7 pm and get in for $6 (admission price doubles after 7 pm).
• Tuesday, May 11, Hot Salsa and Latin at Club 56 in Farmingdale, LI. Lesson in salsa. Doors open at 7 pm.
• Thursday, May 13, Thursday Night Dance Club at Mirelle's, in Westbury, featuring Latin, Hustle and West Coast Swing. Lesson at 7:30 pm, dancing starts at 8:15 pm. Admission just $10 per person for USA Dance members (present your card at the entrance to get the discount).

For more ideas, check Wayne's Dance Commentary, NJoyDancing News & Notes or bailamosdance.com.

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Partner seekers: We now have a baker's dozen of 13 dancers (4 leaders, 9 followers), of various abilities, age categories and requirements, looking for partners. Check out the Partner Search page to see their postings or post your own ad if the fancy strikes you. It's free, easy and quick. Do it today!

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That does it for this week. Happy Mother's Day!

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Yang Chen
President
Greater NY
USA Dance
(NY USA Dance)