A Hero’s Welcome to the Big 20! Colorado Star Ball 2016

This year it was the big 20th celebration for the Colorado Star Ball, and organizers Richard and Jennifer Booth went all the way out to make it a major celebration. Two World Professional Champions were invited to perform, World Professional Ballroom Champions, Arunas Bizukas & Katusha Demidova and World Professional Latin Champions, Riccardo Cocchi & Yulia Zagoruychenko.

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Savannah Dance Classic 2016: Professional Divisions

Saturday night at the Savannah Dance Class was breathtaking.  From the Professional American Rhythm to the final Professional International Latin was scintillating to watch. 

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Emmanuel Pierre Antoine & Liana Chirulova: The Past, Present, and Future

Exclusive Retirement Interview for DanceBeat.

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Open Professional Divisions at Atlanta Open 2016

All of the Open Professional Divisions at Atlanta Open took place on the last night of competition and it was quite a marathon!  The two international styles had semifinals and the two American Styles had quarter-finals.  On top of this we had what I believe was an unprecedented “13-couple” cabaret final at the end of the night.

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The Emerald Ball was a very exciting competition as usual. I commend Wayne and Donna Eng for maintaining such an elegant atmosphere and attracting such a high level of dancing all these years; students and professionals alike.

On to the American Rhythm competition. The event started with a quarter-final. The final 6 were pretty clear in the callbacks. The 1st and 2nd place couples were definite in their results but 3rd and 4th ; 5th and 6th were very close. I have to say this was no surprise. All the couples did seem to have some fabulous moments but when I would compare and look back to a couple, the consistency was lacking. A few of the couples seemed to run out of gas by the third dance.

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If you wanted to see every event of this year’s Emerald Ball, you basically had to check into the LAX Hilton on Monday April 26th and check out Monday May 1st. That’s right a full week of dancesport competition! Emerald Ball, run by Wayne & Donna Eng for the past 27 years, is certainly one of the USA’s largest competitions and the largest on the West Coast. This year, more time was added to the schedule with an earlier start on Tuesday and this made everyone a little less stressed and allowed some downtime for competitors and officials alike. It is certainly the trend of competitions to become longer and longer nowadays, but as entries continue to increase for many, there is little option.

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Open Professional Rhythm: San Diego Beach Bash 2016 

Report by Wendy Johnson

Photography by Stephen Marino

It was with great pleasure that I judged San Diego Beach Bash organized by some of my favorite friends, Jon, Michael and Toni.  San Diego is dear to my heart as I lived 20 years in this beautiful city.  

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Getting the “Vibe” in Miami Beach! Miami Vibe 2016

Report by Keith Todd

Photography by Ryan Kenner

It is always a treat to attend a competition in your hometown and for me, Miami Vibe offers just such a treat. Its venue, The Eden Roc Hotel, is barely ten minutes from my residence. And what a venue this is! The Eden Roc is a MIMO masterpiece, designed by Morris Lapidus and completed in 1955. It has been lovingly restored, keeping all of its original flavor.  I was very lucky this year to be housed in the fully renovated ocean tower and I could literally hear the Atlantic surf if I opened my windows.

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