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Hello, dancers! Just got back from New Orleans where I spent a couple of days enjoying the sights and sounds of the Crescent City following the Gumbo of Ballroom in Baton Rouge, where I had the pleasure to be the MC this past weekend. Baton Rouge is only about an hour away from New Orleans, and this year, a group of dancers who participated in Gumbo decided to extend the fun by spending a few days in New Orleans, and since I had never visited New Orleans before, I hopped on that bandwagon. I'm sure glad I did. I ate (and drank) much more than I probably should have, but in New Orleans, eating and drinking to excess is not hard to do. I had a wonderful time and am now glad to be back home. On with this edition of the newsletter.

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MAC 2011 Photo Contest Deadline Extended: Today was to be the deadline for submitting your choices for the publicity photo for MAC 2011, but since first announcing the contest several weeks ago, we added the number of on-line galleries from which you can make your selection. To give everyone time to review all these fabulous photos, we decided to extend the deadline to Friday, July 9. Please take a look at the rules and send your choices to photos@nyusadance.org. We look forward to receiving your nominations. Send them today!

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As mentioned at the top of the page, I was in Baton Rouge to serve as the MC for the third year in a row at the Gumbo DanceSport Championships organized by the Louisiana Gumbo Chapter (#5031) and Louisiana DanceSport. Nearly 300 dancers from nineteen states converged at the Crowne Plaza in Baton Rouge for two full days of ballroom dance competition in all styles and age categories. Gumbo was designated a National Qualifying Event (NQE) so the participants are among the first to qualify for the 2011 USA Dance Nationals taking place next April in Baltimore. This event is so popular and well-run that I suspect it would have drawn a high level of participation even if it were not an NQE. Ann Durocher-Steven, an organizer par excellence, marshalled her more than 100 volunteers to great effect, leading to a smoothly run competition which ran like clockwork and in which the enjoyment of the competitors and spectators was evident throughout the weekend. Gumbo has some of the most enthusiastic audiences anywhere and they would probably cheer as loudly even without the Most Enthusiastic Audience Member Award given out in each session (although a little positive reinforcement never hurts). I've heard it said that the most important ingredient in making a gumbo is love, and there was no shortage of that key ingredient in this year's Gumbo of Ballroom. Congratulations to Ann and her entire team for pulling off yet another fantastic dancing weekend. Click here for my photos from the event, or click here for photos from the Gumbo of Ballroom website. For full results on o2cm, click here.

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Thanks to everyone who came out a couple of weekends ago for our Saturday Night Luau! We had over 120 attendees, making this social our biggest yet so far. Thank goodness that Manhattan Ballroom Dance studio is so big; despite the large crowd, there was still plenty of room to dance. In addition to the dancing, we held a limbo contest. Congratulations to Irene Mou for winning that contest. She won a general admission ticket to either the Friday or Saturday night championships at the MAC. Thanks to Debbie Russell for DJing the dance. Click here for some photos from the luau.

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Midsummer Night Swing has started! Did you make it out there for the first night, with the George Gee and Bill Elliott Swing Orchestras, for some Big Band Swing? With the cool breezes blowing last night, it must have been a wonderful evening to dance under the stars in Damrosch Park. Here's the rest of the schedule for this week if you're thinking of enjoying some dancing outdoors.

• June 30 (tonight): Tango electronico with narcotango. Lesson: Eva Carozza. DJ: DJ Yesim "La Turca."
• July 1, Thursday: Western Swing with The Time Jumpers. Lesson: John Knapp and Meredith Stead teach the Texas Two-Step. DJ: Meredith Ochs.
• July 2, Friday: Compas with Orchestre Septentrional d'Haiti. Lesson: Peniel Guerrier teaches Konpa. DJ: DJ Neva.
• July 3, Saturday: Salsa Colombiana with La-33. Stepping Out Studios teaches Salsa. DJ: DJ Turmix.

The fun takes place at Damrosch Park on West 62nd Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam. Lessons start at 6:30, music starts at 7:30. Tickets may be purchased on-line via the Midsummer Night Swing website. Or you can dance for free in the plaza on the concrete. Yes, it's hot and crowded but you can hear the music just fine and it seems like all of New York City is there.

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Latin dancers: USA Dance National Latin Champion Val Chmerkovskiy has been teaching a Latin technique class on Thursdays at 7:10 pm at Dance with Me Soho. If you'd like to learn how to make your own Latin dancing sharper, better and hotter, you may want to check out these Thursday evening classes. No partner is necessary, and the price is just $35 per class (or $250 if you take ten classes). For more information, click here.

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Reminders:

• This weekend: 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. There will be a social on Friday night and Saturday night. The one-day passes for Saturday are sold out. 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 Midsummer Night Swing, here are some other suggestions:

• Tomorrow, 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.
• Tomorrow, free admission to the weekly mixed ballroom social at DanceSport on Thursday nights from 9:30-10:30pm.
• Tomorrow, 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).
• Friday, July 2, Hot Salsa Friday at the VIP Lounge at the Iguana. Doors open at 6 pm.
• Saturday, July 3, mixed ballroom dancing at Manhattan Ballroom Dance studio, starting at 7:30 pm with a free lesson.
• Wednesday, July 7, free admission to the swing/lindy party at DanceSport on Wednesday night from 9:30-10:30 pm.

For more ideas, check Wayne's Dance Commentary or bailamosdance.com.

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Partner seekers: We have eighteen dancers of varying levels, abilities and age categories looking for partners. 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 Manhattan DanceSport Championships this weekend at the Brooklyn Marriott.

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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.