Latest Articles
What a fun and fabulous time we had at Ballroom Beach Bash in San Diego hosted by Toni Redpath, Michael Mead and Jonathan Roberts!! This threesome has created one of the most entertaining and unique competitions of the year. The playful and relaxed atmosphere attracted many people to the beach of San Diego this year, and as judges, we were treated to some fantastic dancing! We would like to congratulate Toni, Michael and Jonathan on an exceptional job with this very enjoyable competition. Paul and I were asked to provide the write-up for the very exciting Professional Ballroom Division.
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Report by: Paul Holmes & Maria Hansen
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Photos by: Stephen Marino
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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Report by: Keith Todd
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Photos by: Mary Tweeddale
San Diego Ballroom Beach Bash 2016: Professional Latin
Report by Eugene Katsevman
Photography by Stephen Marino
What a pleasure it is for me to comment on the Professional Latin at the Ballroom Beach Bash in San Diego! As a new organizer, I travel the world experiencing our wonderful industry in a completely new way — paying attention to details, and appreciating the tremendous amount of work that goes into organizing a dance competition. Every organizer tries to find a niche for their comp, something special that sets it apart from the rest. Beach Bash pulled this off with flying colors! A beach vacation theme with a relaxed, casual atmosphere was kept up though the whole event. Light, fun and spontaneous mood was a perfect reflection of the organizers’ personalities, which made the whole thing feel organic and never forced. But don’t be fooled by the fun theme: the entries were huge and the pro events were all serious business and highly contested!
Emerald Ball 2016: Professional Ballroom
By Beth Knoll
Photography by Mary Tweeddale
Congratulations to Wayne and Donna Eng and their entire team for presenting yet another fabulous Emerald Ball. This is the first time I’ve had the privilege of judging, and all I can say is WOW, what a spectacle. The entire week was filled with amazing dancing at every level in every style. The Professional Ballroom was an excellent event featuring familiar faces, returning faces and new shining stars. The style is perched on the brink of exploding, something it’s needed to do for some time.
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.
Open Professional Latin – Miami Vibe 2016
Report by Forrest Vance
Photography by Ryan Kenner
Hosted by Andrew Phillips, this competition was a beautiful event. As I appreciate old-world sophistication, the venue was great with beautiful, renovated rooms and a beautiful ballroom decorated and adorned with beautiful flowers. It was my pleasure to write the article on the Professional Latin, so here it is.
Open Professional Smooth from Ballroom Beach Bash 2016
Report by Anna Trebunskaya
Photography by Stephen Marino
First, I want to congratulate Michael Mead, Tony Redpath and Jonathan Roberts for a fantastic weekend! It's the second year of the annual event and is already sporting an impressive 8000 entries. A+ for keeping it light, fun, and humorous while still maintaining a lot of quality Pro-Am, Amateur and Professional dancers.
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.