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Save the date! Our second annual National Ballroom Dance Week Gala will take place on Sunday, September 12, at SPQR in Little Italy. It will be a brunch gala, starting midday and going into the afternoon. We will be serving a three-course meal followed by general dancing, with performances. We will be honoring luminaries from the ballroom dance world who have contributed greatly to the development of ballroom dancing. They are pictured in the photo to the right, when they competed as pre-teens at the Connecticut Star Ball. Can you guess who they are? Send your answer to info@nyusadance.org. Limit one guess per person. First correct answer will score a free ticket to the dance portion of the gala (meal not included). Relatives of the honorees and members of the NY USA Dance Board are not eligible to participate in this contest.

More details on the NBDW Gala will follow. In the meantime, please mark the date in your calendars and make plans to join us there. The proceeds of the NBDW Gala will go to benefit the work of NY USA Dance, including the Manhattan Amateur Classic. We hope you will be able to support the NBDW Gala.

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Do you have friends who do not dance but have told you that they’ve always wanted to learn? Yes . . . those friends. Well, now you can tell them that tomorrow, July 17, Dance Chelsea will be offering a full day of dance instruction for FREE. Starting at 11 am with foxtrot, instructors will teach a different dance each hour, on the hour. Foxtrot will be followed by salsa, which will be followed in turn by swing, cha cha, West Coast swing, hustle and concluding with merengue. This day of dancing would be a great way for your friends to get introduced to the fun of ballroom dancing. And if you were looking to learn dance styles that you are not familiar with, tomorrow at Dance Chelsea would be a great way to explore. No partner necessary, no experience necessary. For more information, click here. Spread the word!

The Day of Dancing will be followed by a Night of Dancing at the Dance Chelsea Fundraising Social tomorrow night starting at 8 pm. There will be food, performances, auction, and partner search. It should be a wonderful evening of dancing and hanging out with a great group of fun and friendly dancers. I'll be there, spinning the tunes till midnight. Save me a dance! For more information, click here.

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It seems like just yesterday that Midsummer Night Swing started. Well, tonight and tomorrow night are the last two nights for this year, so if you haven’t yet made your way to Lincoln Center for Midsummer Night Swing this season, you better do it now, because after tomorrow night, you’ll have to wait until next year. Here’s what’s on tap:

• July 16 (tonight): Salsa dura with La Excelencia. Lesson: Carlos König teaches Salsa On 2. DJ: DJ Andreas.
• July 17 (tomorrow) at 3 pm: Kids Dance, with Pierre Dulaine of Dancing Classrooms teaching basic ballroom, tango and swing.
• July 17 (tomorrow night): Big Band Swing with the Harlem Renaissance Orchestra paying tribute to Illinois Jacquet and featuring the 2nd annual Ambassador Prize Dance Contest, in memory of the late Frankie Manning.

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. Check the weather report before you go; performance cancellations due to bad weather will not be announced before 8:30 pm on show night.

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If you would still like to enjoy dancing outdoors, there’s MoonDance, taking place at Pier 54, at the far western edge of 14th street. It opened last Sunday with the Dave Berger Jazz Orchestra. I was there and enjoyed the excellent music, some fun swing dancing and cool breezes coming off the Hudson. In the next few weeks, there will be two salsa bands, a tango band and George Gee’s swing band to close out MoonDance on August 8. For your non-dancing friends, they can take the free lesson starting at 6:30 pm, and the music starts at 7:00 pm. A good-sized wooden floor is laid down in front of the stage and lots of people will be dancing on it, all for free. It’s a terrific way to wind up your weekend (as long as the weather cooperates). For more information, click here.

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Reminder:

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.
• 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.
• 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).
• USA Dance National Latin Champion Val Chmerkovskiy teaches 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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Looking to social dance? Besides the options mentioned above, here are some other suggestions:

• Tonight, July 16, Hot Salsa Friday at the VIP Lounge at the Iguana. Doors open at 6 pm. Time Out NY says this event is a great place to meet singles. True? You tell me!
• Tomorrow, July 17, 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, July 17, mixed ballroom dancing at Manhattan Ballroom Dance studio, starting at 7:30 pm with a free lesson.
• Sunday, July 18, Sunday Tea Party at Manhattan Ballroom Dance, mixed ballroom dancing starting at 3 pm.
• Monday, July 19, 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, July 20, Hot Salsa, West Coast Swing and Hustle Tuesdays is back! It all takes place at Club 56 in Farmingdale, with a salsa lesson, buffet dinner, cash bar, door prizes, friendly people. Doors open at 7 pm.

• Wednesday, July 21, free admission to the swing/lindy party at DanceSport on Wednesday night from 9:30-10:30 pm.
• Thursday, July 22, 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, July 22, free admission to the weekly mixed ballroom social at DanceSport on Thursday nights from 9:30-10:30pm.
• Thursday, July 22 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 a tall leader looking for an intermediate senior I standard follower, and we have a follower looking for a gold level leader in latin. 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. See you at the Dance Chelsea Fundraising Social tomorrow night!

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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.