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With the month of May drawing to a close, we're reaching the halfway point of 2010. Although MAC 2011 seems a bit far off, it's not too soon to think about mid-January and the 21st annual running of one of the premiere ballroom dance competitions in North America. We hope it's already marked down on your competition calendar for 2011.

Planning for MAC 2011 is already underway, and we need your help in picking the photos we will be using for our publicity materials. We have thousands of photos to choose from and we'd like your help to select the best ones to use. The rules for the contest will be posted soon, but in the meantime, we ask that you start by perusing the photos taken by Igor Ofenbakh, Joey Pasaoa and Krista Fogle. We hope you will choose photos taken from all the categories, because we had wonderful dancers represented across all styles and age divisions. And if you're interested in submitting your album for inclusion in the photo contest, send the link to info@nyusadance.org.

Watch this space for an announcement of the photo contest rules. Until then, relive MAC 2010 through some of the great shots taken by our talented photographers!

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Thanks to everyone who came out to dance in the fourth annual Dance Parade last Saturday! NY USA Dance was one of more than 160 organizations participating, and our dancers were among the nearly 6700 who registered. I wasn't able to join this time, but I heard good things from those who were able to take part. First-timers were not prepared for how much dancing they would be doing and found themselves exhausted afterwards -- in a good way. I heard, though, that the extremely loud music coming from the Dance Manhattan float drowned out our humble portable PA system, along with the less robust sound systems of other nearby groups. Last year, when our own sound system gave out, the Dance Manhattan float (which our group was placed behind) was the saving grace, as our group danced behind the Dance Manhattan float after we lost our music. This year, it seemed, we had no choice but to dance to the music from the Dance Manhattan float, which was placed behind us. For next year, I hope the organizers place us somewhere where the music from a beefier sound system doesn't drown us out. Thanks again to Naomi Geller and Jen McGrath for coordinating NY USA Dance's participation in Dance Parade this year. And thanks to Natasha for sharing her photos from Dance Parade and to Allan for sharing his.

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And as you may know by now, I was far from New York City last weekend, performing MC duties at the Smoky Mountain DanceSport Championships. For those who may be familiar with this competition, it had been the qualifying event for the South Central region for several years and used to be held in February. However, with the changes going on at the national level with NQEs and regions, the Smoky Mountain DanceSport Championships moved to May for the first time this year. The change seemed to have impacted attendance, as the competition was smaller this year. That made for a lighter schedule, but the dancers were no less enthusiastic and talented. The amateur portion of the event concluded on Saturday evening, and Sunday morning saw the Smoky Mountain Pro-Am Challenge. Attendance there was light, too, and we were done with all the pro-am events by 12:30 pm. Congratulations to Tim McGhee and the Greater Knoxville Chapter of USA Dance for running a great event. I had a wonderful time, and I look forward to seeing many of the same couples at the Gumbo of Ballroom in Baton Rouge a month from now.

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This week in DWTS: Dictionary.com defines anti-climax as "an event, conclusion, statement, etc., that is far less important, powerful, or striking than expected." That definition suits the season finale of the 10th season of "Dancing with the Stars" to a T. Sure, the judges tried to generate some excitement by inflating Erin Andrews's score for her lackluster samba with two 10s, which helped put her and Nicole Scherzinger in a tie for first place following Monday night's competition show. But when Erin was the first "star" eliminated on Tuesday night's results show, no one was surprised. I don't even recall what the "knockout dance" was that Evan Lysacek and Nicole Scherzinger did to determine who the ultimate winner would be, but when the final results were announced, Nicole's first place finish was (for me) gratifying but, like Erin's third place finish, not surprising.

Before this season, I had heard of the Pussycat Dolls but not Nicole Scherzinger, and based on Evan Lysacek having won the Gold medal in Men's Figure Skating in the Vancouver Games the month before the premiere of season 10, I figured that Evan would be a shoo-in. After seeing Nicole's dancing in the first episode, I realized that Evan would have his work cut out for him. Of course, if Nicole did not win, it would not be the first time that the best dancer came in second. I am glad that this time out, the best dancer of the pack came out in front and took the trophy. Nevertheless, the conclusion was "far less important, powerful, or striking than expected."

When DWTS returns in the fall for season 11, they would do well to stick with 11 "celebs" and they would do better if they can find more star power. One major drawback for the show is that the longer it runs, the harder it seems to be for the show to populate the show with true celebrities rather than Z-list personalities whose fifteen minutes of fame are long behind them.

The true pleasure of watching DWTS10 was doing it with a group of dance fans at ACME. We consistently had a dozen or more people each week at the bar in the back, and many times, even though the restaurant was a little quiet, our group took over the bar. Even when we didn't dominate the entire bar, the other patrons were seen glancing over to our side of the bar, with DWTS on the tv screen, when they weren't watching basketball or baseball. Yes, the bar can get loud and we need to rely on the closed captioning to catch all the commentary and remarks but it sure beats watching the show alone. We hope to return to ACME for DWTS11, and if you haven't joined us yet, make plans to do so next season. And for those who were there this season, we hope you'll come back. And thanks to ACME for their hospitality going back many seasons!

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Fans of Maksim Chmerkovskiy take note: Maks will be giving two seminars at Dance with Me in New Jersey. One will be on Saturday June 5th from 6:00PM to 6:45PM and the second seminar will be on Sunday June 6th from 5:00PM to 5:45PM. Each seminar will include a 15-minute meet-and-greet session after the seminars. Regular price is $100 per seminar or $175 for both. USA Dance Members will be able to do each seminar for $80 or both for $150. For more information, contact Dance with Me at nj@dancewithmeusa.com.

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Speaking of workshops, Dance Chelsea will be presenting two workshops with Latin champion Yulia Zagoruychenko on Sunday, June 6, from 12 noon to 1:30 pm. The dances covered will be samba and jive. First ten people to sign up pay only $60 per person, the next 10 will pay $70 per person. Walk-ins pay $80 per person, so calling the studio now (917-606-0289) to register and pay would seem to be a great idea. For more information, visit Dance Chelsea's Facebook page.

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Attention USA Dance members and members of university ballroom teams or clubs: DanceSport, one of New York City's largest dance studios, is offering an incredible deal on a summer program. Starting on Sunday June 6 and running on subsequent Sundays thereafter until August 29, DanceSport will be offering lessons and practice time in standard and latin (bronze and silver levels) for just $100. The hours are from 2 pm to 5 pm, with one hour of bronze/silver standard lessons and one hour of bronze/silver latin lessons followed by one hour of practice time. Doing some quick math, that works out to a little over $4 per hour for lessons. To take advantage of this great offer, you need to contact the studio and sign up by Monday, May 31. For more details, click here.

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Do you know anyone who might be interested in learning to social dance? If so, Dance New Amsterdam's summer social dance classes may be just the ticket. Dance New Amsterdam, located downtown near City Hall, will be offering 6-week sessions in social dance on Fridays and Sundays, starting on Sunday, June 6, at 1:30 pm and Friday, June 11, at 6:30 pm. The first classes are FREE! Sunday's classes will cover waltz, swing and tango while Friday's classes will cover salsa, cha cha and rumba. For more details, visit the Dance New Amsterdam website.

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Have you made your plans yet for the July 4th weekend? If not, you may want to consider the Independence Day Ball, taking place from July 3 through 7, right outside the nation's capital, in scenic Rockville, Maryland. It will be five days of workshops, social dances and activities. Learn from a world-class roster of instructors. Already confirmed for this year are Victor Fung, Maks Chmerkovskiy, Rufus Dustin, Ieva Pauksena and many others. There will be 150 workshops to choose from plus the ISTD standard seminar. July is right around the corner. This event tends to sell out so if you don't want to miss out, register today!

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Reminders:

• USA Dance is hosting its first cruise taking place aboard the luxurious Italian Cruise Line Costa's "Atlantica" from November 28 through December 5, departing from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and hitting the following ports-of-call: Key West, Florida; Ocho Rios, Jamaica; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and Cozumel, Mexico. For more details, click here: www.dancecruiseusadance.org. 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, so sign up 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).
• At DanceSport, present your USA Dance card at the door and get free admission to their supervised ballroom practice on Thursdays from 9:30 pm to 10:30 pm. This session is supervised by either Snejana Petrova, Luana Conte, or Tobi Kretschmer. Plus, practice at the studio on Sundays for just $10 per hour per couple.

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Looking to social dance? Here are some suggestions:

• Louis del Prete will be presenting a Special Event tonight, 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. 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 may be sold out so call ahead to check that you can still get in by buying tickets at the door.
• Tonight: 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.
• Tonight, DancXchange Lounge at Dancesport, two DJs, two rooms for dancing hustle and ballroom, starting at 9:30 pm.
• Sunday, May 30, Sunday Tea Party at Manhattan Ballroom Dance, mixed ballroom dancing starting at 3 pm.
• Wednesday, June 2, free admission to the swing/lindy party at DanceSport on Wednesday night from 9:30-10:30 pm.
• Thursday, June 3, free admission to the weekly mixed ballroom social at DanceSport on Thursday nights from 9:30-10:30pm.

For more ideas, check Wayne's Dance Commentary, NJoyDancing News & Notes or bailamosdance.com. Given the holiday weekend, be sure to call ahead to make sure that the event is still happening.

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Partner seekers: Check out the Partner Search page to find a listing of dancers looking for partners, or post your own ad to find a partner. It's free, easy and quick. Do it today!

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That does it for this week. Happy Memorial Day Weekend everyone! Good luck to everyone competing in Blackpool!

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