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What are you up to tomorrow night, Saturday, June 19? I hope your answer was: "Going to the NY USA Dance Luau Social at Manhattan Ballroom Dance Studio, of course!" If you were at last year's Luau, you remember what a terrific party it was. If you need a reminder, click here for the YouTube video, courtesy of Raphael Pungin. (The video is embedded in the website version of this newsletter.) We're going to party it up Hawaiian style again, so wear your Hawaiian best to get $2 off the admission at the door. If you come early enough, you'll get to munch on some Popeye's fried chicken (close your eyes and pretend it's a roast pig, if you must). We're also planning to have a limbo contest, so you might want to limber up for that. And if you're in the market for a dance partner, there'll be a Partner Search Mixer right before the social, starting at 7:15. Admission to the Partner Search Mixer will get you into the Luau. Dust off those dancing shoes and come dance with your friends from NY USA Dance tomorrow night!

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In the next two weeks, we're expecting two former World Champions, one in Standard, one in Latin, to be in town. Both will be giving workshops, and you can register for them in advance via our website. (Note: NY USA Dance is not the organizer for these workshops; we are merely facilitating advanced on-line registrations for them.)

• For the Standard dancers: Former World Professional Standard Finalist Massimo Giorgianni will be giving a workshop on "Body and Mind: Understanding the Basis of Physicality in Dance" at Manhattan Ballroom Dance Studio on Tuesday, June 22, starting at 7 pm. Click here to register for that workshop.
• For the Latin dancers: Former World Professional Latin Champion Carmen Vincelj will be giving a workshop on "Body Action and Movement in Latin" at Basic Ballroom, on Tuesday, June 29, starting at 7 pm. Click here to register for workshop.

Registering on the NY USA Dance website saves you money off the price at the door, and part of the proceeds go to benefit our chapter's work, including the MAC, so please register on-line today! If you are interested in private coachings with Massimo or Carmen, contact the respective studios for more information on that.

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Ballroom Kids on PBS Blog "It's My Life": PBS has a blog for tweens called "It's My Life," which reportedly reaches an audience of 300,000, and this month, they are featuring interviews with three pairs of ballroom kids. "It's My Life" caught up with these junior dancers at Nationals in LA in April. Here's a sampling from the interview with Ivan and Madelyne (8 years old):

IML: What's the funniest thing that ever happened to you during a competition?

Madelyne: Once I was at a competition regional. We were doing Samba and my partner forgot the whole routine, so I had to basically do all the steps by myself. It was really funny because you could see that we were messing up. We still won first place!

To read the rest of the interview with Ivan and Madelyne, click here. "It's My Life" also spoke with Dmitry and Michelle, 12 years old, at Nationals. Click here to read that interview. (The interview with Jaryd and Cara is due out tomorrow, so check back on the IML blog for that one.)

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Reminders:

• Wednesday, June 23, at the World Financial Center, in the Winter Gardens: the American Ballroom Theater Dancing Classrooms Colors of the Rainbow Team Match. Pierre Dulaine through his American Ballroom Theater Dancing Classrooms program has brought ballroom dancing to tens of thousands of New York City students since 1994. This city-wide competition represents the culmination of the school year's Dancing Classroom program in New York City's various public schools. Fifth graders will be competing from 3 pm to 4:30 pm and eighth graders will compete from 6 pm to 7:30 pm. The event is free. For more details, click here.
• MAC 2011 Photo Contest: Help us pick the publicity photo for MAC 2011. Click here for the contest rules. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2010. Send your selections to photos@nyusadance.org before the end of the month. We look forward to receiving your nominations!
• The Independence Day Ball will take place from July 3 through 7, right outside the nation's capital, in scenic Rockville, Maryland, featuring 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 4th weekend is only a month away, and this event tends to sell out so if you don't want to miss out, register today!
• 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!

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Looking to improve your dancing? Here are some ideas for classes and practice spaces:

• 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.
• Basic Ballroom holds a Competition Run-through Class supervised by former World Professional Latin finalists Paul Richardson and Olga Rodianova on Friday nights from 8 pm to 9:30 pm. Just $20 for USA Dance members.
• 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? Besides the Luau Social which everyone should be coming to tomorrow night, here are some other suggestions:

• Tonight, Hot Salsa Friday at the VIP Lounge at the Iguana. Doors open at 6 pm.

• Tonight, Sundown Friday at Stepping Out, FREE open house, lessons at 8:30 pm, dancing starts at 9:30.
• Tomorrow, A Summer Soiree: An Evening of Ballroom Dancing at the 92nd Street Y, hosted by Sandra Cameron Dance Center, starting at 7 pm.
• Tomorrow, 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.
• Sunday, June 20, Sunday Tea Party at Manhattan Ballroom Dance, mixed ballroom dancing starting at 3 pm.
• Monday, June 21, Salsa at Taj, with live band and special performances. Arrive before 7 pm and get in for $6 (admission price doubles after 7 pm).
• Wednesday, June 23, free admission to the swing/lindy party at DanceSport on Wednesday night from 9:30-10:30 pm.
• Thursday, June 24, free admission to the weekly mixed ballroom social at DanceSport on Thursday nights from 9:30-10:30pm.
• Thursday, June 24, Sunset Salsa, FREE beginner salsa lesson from 6:30 to 7:30 pm followed by Dance Party from 7:30 to 9:00 pm. Join Talia Castro-Pozo and a guest instructor every Thursday for a great evening outdoors at the Triangle at 14th St. and 9th Ave. It’s all FREE! Co-sponsored by Stepping Out Studios.
• Thursday, June 24, 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 or bailamosdance.com.

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Partner seekers: We have two advanced followers looking for leaders. Check out the Partner Search page to see their listings, 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. Good luck to everyone competing at the Yankee Classic this weekend in Boston! And if you're in town, hope to see you at the Saturday Night Luau tomorrow. Mahalo!

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

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General disclaimer: Please note that, other than events organized by NY USA Dance, the listing of events in this newsletter is purely for informational purposes and does not carry with it any endorsement, sanction or seal of approval, express or implied. If you have any questions about an event other than one organized by NY USA Dance, you should direct them to the organizer of that event. NY USA Dance has no control over any of the events listed herein, other than those events which NY USA Dance itself organizes. NY USA Dance bears no responsibility for the content, conduct, quality, management or operation of any of the events listed in this newsletter, other than those events organized directly by NY USA Dance.