Last night I went with Dance Times Square on their holiday party outing to the Latin Quarter, a salsa nightclub in midtown on the east side, near Grand Central.

It was fun — I haven’t social danced in a really long time! Do think I might have hurt my knee though. How, I have no idea. I’ve damaged my meniscus coming out of a fish dive weirdly, trying to force turnout on an arabesque in attitude (back leg up, bent knee), trying to force turnout on rhumba walks, trying to force turnout in samba walks, trying to force turnout in ballet, yadda yadda, but I didn’t know you could really hurt yourself doing basic salsa steps?! Hopefully it’s just a bruise…

Anyway party started at the studio, where we had an hour-lesson in open Salsa taught by Tony and Melanie (who are back from Canada’s So You Think You Can Dance). Picture above, student Elaine (my friend) is in foreground dancing with Tony. After the class, we had food (lots of good munchy things like pate and cheese and meat slices and this enormous cheesecake, and bottles and bottles of wine ), then walked several blocks to the club.

The club was nice, but small dance floor … although I have nothing to compare it to since I don’t go out to a lot of social dance clubs. They had a few bars (although, I find it a bit hard to dance drunk) and little areas for sitting around and chatting. We took an area on the second floor, and, when it got too crowded on the main floor, just danced up there. I danced mostly with my friend Steve, but then this guy who was not in with our group kept asking me to dance, which was nice at first, until I realized he was kind of a pelvis-grinder. Just too close for comfort. So, I told him I was tired the next couple times he asked, which of course made it hard to dance with others then. Steve told me I was fun to dance with because I unwind (out of a turn) like no one else, thanks to my “sinuous” body!

Salsa band was fun, but it’s kind of funny; I’ve mainly been to parties at dance studios where they play a variety of music. So, I kept getting ready for a samba or rhumba or swing or something, and it never happened. Also, I really kind of wish people danced more in groups here, like they do in this video (when you get to the salsa club part, around 4:50). How fun would that be? And would seem to cut down on someone’s hogging another person all night. But I guess that kind of group dancing necessitates sharing a culture where you all know the same words and funny little moves, which doesn’t really happen these days … I guess except for the Electric Slide.

Anyway, very fun to see old friends again. I really should start taking a group class again at some point because it’s good for socialization, and, I realized after the night was over what a real workout it had been.

More formal review coming soon on ExploreDance.com.

…and it’s getting cold! Which I hate. Cold makes me think of death. Although, I was just skimming my newish Complete New Yorker (which I won by taking one of those New Yorker marketing surveys — people actually do win those!) and I ran across a review from 1988 by Arlene Croce of Edward Villella and Miami City Ballet, which I read with interest since it’s kind of timely (the company will be coming to City Center in January for the first time in a while). Anyway, in explaining why Villella had a bit of a hard time getting his company off the ground, Croce noticed that ballet seems to thrive in cold climates where people wear heavy coats, like Russia and northern Europe and New York. Too much sun, too much natural beauty, and no indoor culture. Anyway, will try to think of winter that way: it’s because I’m freezing my tush off that I have ballet in my life…

(above picture is of holiday decorations at the Time Warner Center, which I took a few days ago)

So, I had my class — first in I don’t know how long, but over a year at least. It was advanced Cha Cha at Stepping Out, with Jules Helm (above, in jeans and black shirt), a very nice, patient, and thorough teacher (we began with 20 minutes of stretching, working just about every part of the body, including the foot, which not many teachers spend time with and which I need because my feet tend to cramp. So I didn’t need my set of ridiculously shallow warm-up plies that I did at home, during which I nearly twisted my hip out of its socket… I am really prone to hurting myself…)

I was sent to the studio to write a review of the class by Explore Dance. It was a very comfy, homey, social atmosphere, not at all threatening, which was good because I’d intended to take the intermediate class, but, long story short, ended up in advanced. The routine Jules taught us was fun and challenging without being too crazy hard and I managed to get the steps down, though my technique was heinous and I’ve once again forgotten how to balance in heels (not that I ever knew). At one point I nearly flew over sideways after a double spiral (two spins in which you put one foot in front of the other and turn a full rotation without picking your feet off the ground) and took my partner down with me. The male students were thankfully very nice though — which was a welcome change from some of the other studios I’ve been to. Anyway, will post to the (serious) Explore Dance review when it’s up.

Oh and my old teacher Luis was there (teaching now at three studios); so fun to run into him!

I meant to write about this yesterday but took the day off from writing when I got a pleasantly unexpected invitation from Lucky Broadway Girl to see a play! Imagine that: words, actual words spoken on a stage! Hehe, I used to go to plays all the time but kind of stopped when I got so into dance — had no time. Anyway, we went to see Love Child, off-Broadway, at the 59East59 theater, which I’d never been to before.

Nice space, for lots of small theaters — kind of like some of those buildings on far west 42nd street. The play was good and the actors (Daniel Jenkins and Robert Stanton) excellent — these two men played several different characters and they had to change from one to another in a split nano-second. No time for line flubs! And there was a little choreographed movement — sometimes they had to do a little series of turns to show they were going from one character to another. So there was some dance after all Anyway, so great to finally meet Lucky Bway Girl!

The Dance Times Square showcase I won’t say much about because I’m writing a review for Explore Dance which I’ll link to as soon as it’s up, but just briefly: wow, their best showcase yet, or at least one of their best. Sabra and Neil from SYTYCD were there, each danced two solos apiece. Excellent solos, obviously. Neil’s were both kind of Movin’ Out style, white t-shirt and jeans, the first more beautifully balletic with lots of whipping fouettes and multiple pirouettes and big leaping jetes. He has a really beautiful line. Somehow I’d kind of overlooked that on the show. His second solo was more gymnastic with a few fun tumbling passes, which I guess is what he’s known for (not only on the TV show but he was also in Tharp’s acrobatic Times Are A’ Changin’). I personally prefer the ballet, but the crowd went nuts when he went flying

And Sabra danced gorgeously. Her first was this kind of cutely sexy Bjork-esque number in a pink and white baby doll dress, and her second a more passionate contemporary of the style you’d see on the show, danced in a vibrant purple unitard. She moves so well, and she dances with such passion and emotion and her form is so perfect; she has perfect ballet turn-out. This was the most up-close I’ve seen her and she really is a miraculous dancer; I can clearly see how she won the crown.

Still, to me Eugene Katsevman and Maria Manusova stole the show with their three Latin combo routines. They are such a splendid partnership — they’re both very good dancers, both quick, sharp, and precise, and neither tries to outshine the other; they actually work as a team, which is unfortunately becoming increasingly rare in ballroom…

And Michael Choi (a DTS teacher) and his professional partner Becky Melton did a luxuriant ballroom combo to Andrea Bocelli’s rich, luscious Con Te Partiro, one of my favorite musical pieces period, but particularly for ballroom dance.

It was a tribute to the Helen Sawaya Fund — a group supporting breast cancer survivors, and they (the member survivors) did a little Broadway-esque / ballroom number, all dressed in dazzling bright red gowns, with the male pros at DTS, all in dapper black tuxes. Mercedes Ellington presented them, and opera star Aprile Millo sang. Gorgeous voice — and she sang without accompaniment. Philip told me some interesting stories about her — she has a cult following and there are even some exhibits in the Met opera house dedicated to her! No wonder it was so packed in the house — opera divas with cult followings, TV stars, stars of the Latin ballroom world… And this was the most diverse it’s ever been — a lot of the numbers were kind of Broadway dance or contemporary dance combined with Latin and ballroom. They weren’t one specific style. So, the studio is branching out!

All in all, it was a fabulous night. As always, the students are loads of fun to watch, and to cheer on — both advanced and beginner. Elaine (full disclosure: my friend), who often steals the student portion of the show, ended it (with teacher Michael Choi) with a disco tribute to Donna Summer, and had the crowd roaring to its feet. This biannual showcase is always such a blast. It’s not ABT, you know, but it’s just a huge blast!

Tonight and tomorrow night I have law events, so may be little late with my DWTS posts, but will definitely tape, watch, and blog! I’m excited — I think — to see the contestants dance with each other. That’s what they’re doing tonight, right?…

Dance times square showcase

Originally uploaded by swan lake samba girl via mobile.

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Theatre is totally packed. Was never like this when i danced!

Can you guys believe I just now watched last week’s Monday night episode? Too busy… I’m now four posts behind (have play, opera, San Fran Ballet, and reading to blog about, and after tonight, DWTS, and Broadway thingy); I have no life outside of dance… I had to watch the tape so that I could re-tape tonight’s show, since I’ll be at this Broadway thingy majigger that Danny Tidwell is not dancing at. I’m glad I watched though: Samba’s my favorite. Just quickly want to say that I was completely blown away by Brooke — she looked like a natural Sambista in that club. What the h–? And then during her routine, she did a perfect ballet ronde, with outturned leg, beautiful kick, in addition to near-perfect ballroom Samba technique. Not in love with the fact that Derreck used Max & Yulia’s song, though — ‘cuz couldn’t get Max & Yulia out of my mind then. Also liked Lance’s tango — he’s really improving. And Warren, though I didn’t like what he did on the ballroom floor, was blown away by that capoeira. Those handstand walks — what the h–? Who knew that big guy could do that??

Anyway, I’m taping tonight’s show, but will blog when I get back from said Broadway thingy majigger. Also, I just got an email from my old studio — my first studio — Paul Pellicoro’s Dancesport — that their weekly Hustle party is going to be featured on tonight’s show. So, watch for that!

Update: So, I guess I am full of lies this week The email said the studio was supposed to be on, and there was a picture of Tony and Susan in its body… I think Susan and Tony were probably in NY for her One Life rehearsals and he decided to take her to the studio’s Hustle party to practice, and then she got injured and they showed the scenes of her getting the MRI instead… Oh well.

So, I think Julianne Hough should win an award for her choreography. She simply rocks. That jitterbug for Cody made me want to take Lindy all over again, and I haven’t felt that way in a long time. Her I Love Lucy routine with him as the upright / uptight businessman who can’t dance his way out of a paper bag and her the sweetly nutty wife who’s a lot more talented than she (or anyone else) thinks, so perfectly suited his lanky teenage body, his goofy boyish charm, his awkward broken lines (Lindy is all about bent legs, bent arms, oddly flexed feet kicking at the air), and his silly sense of humor. Bruno was right when he said it was perfectly acted, and perfectly danced — that the hilarious slapstick was only an act; a great act, but only an act. It was really so well controlled, all of his movements were — those Charleston kicks toward each other; if you don’t exert serious control over your leg and foot, your partner can easily end up looking like they got into a fight with a razor blade. And some of those tricks were insanely hard — how she jumped into his arms and they went right into a rag doll lift, and then he ran off around the stage with her in that position, legs wrapped around his waist play beating him about the head. He gets major kudos this week. They deserved three 10s I think.

My other favorites were Maurice and Cheryl — more excellent choreography, and he really nailed that Salsa both rhythmically and stylistically; Warren — what a super fun laugh-out-loud Hustle; Brooke, as always; and Toni too — judges were way too harsh on her. The moonwalks were perfect for Michael Jackson, and she nailed them. And she had that sexy, laid-back rhythm down pat. I didn’t see anything wrong at all with her routine this week; I thought she glowed.

My prediction is either Cloris or Susan is going this week, followed by the other next week, then probably Lance the week after. And then I don’t know what’s going to happen.

Hula class in fall for dance lounge

Originally uploaded by swan lake samba girl via mobile.

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You need rhythm to do this dance! It’s kind of samba-y. And, as the class went on, I realized it was kind of Hip Hop-py as well. Not what I was expecting. Fun but hard.

“His mother was a dancer. This meant that she could be found on certain afternoons on the second floor of a building on Eighty-ninth Street and Broadway, standing barefoot and in a leotard on a vast wooden floor, often in some strange position. His father had taken him a couple of times to the empty room with an upright piano in the corner. Together they walked up a long narrow flight of dimly lit stairs, at the top of which was a large sunlit space. Sweating men and women in leotards were either jumping around or standing and watching some other person jump around. Their leotards gave them the quality of something encased, like M&M’s. His mother always stood in their midst, panting.

She was also a choreographer. Alex understood this word to mean that she could tell people what to do, and they would listen. Once, when she told him he had to take a bath, he responded, ‘You’re not my choreographer,’ which had the desired effect of shocking her into a kind of marveling silence and therefore postponing, if only for another ten minutes, the bath.

She was a modern dancer. This distinction confused him. He asked his father about it.

‘It means she’s not a member of the Rockettes,’ he said.

One day, when he was seven, she told him that she would soon be having a concert.

‘What’s a concert?’ he said.

‘It’s when I perform in front of many people with my company.’

‘What does your company make?’ he said.

‘It’s a dance company,’ she said. ‘We make dance.’

‘Can people buy dance?’ he asked. At the age of seven he was demonstrating certain capitalist proclivities that had the effect of making his parents look at him with concern, as though he might be coming down with a fever.”

From The Sleep-Over Artist, by Thomas Beller (all italics in the original). I seem to be on a Thomas Beller kick lately and found the passage rather amusing; thought I’d share. I used to take Flamenco lessons at Alex’s mother’s studio, by the way. I think anyway… unless Steps used to be up at 89th Street…

The other night, despite my headache, I went out to Lincoln Center to see Midsummer Night Swing — not to participate, just to check out its new location at Damrosch Park (it’s usually held on the Lincoln Center Plaza but with all the construction, they relocated it for this summer). I think it’s actually a much better location than the Plaza. There’s much more space to set up food stands, sell drinks, and there’s even a nice little gelato place in the front. And there’s tons of space in the park’s wide walkways — far more than on the crowded Plaza — to dance without having to pay the $15 to go into the bandshell’s dance floor (which is probably why they don’t normally hold it here).

Anyway, Dance Times Square (Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin’s studio) is going to be hosting this Thursday’s lesson and performance. According to the schedule the dance is Swing. Go here for the full schedule.

Also, in preparation for spending the rest of the summer revising my novel yet again (hopefully for the last time) and working on some other smaller things, I’ve been going to readings, many of them outdoors. Here are a few:

A discussion by debut novelists (from left to right) Charles Bock (whose book, Beautiful Children, I’m reading now), Stefan Merrill Block (whose book I want to read next), Sophie Gee, and Ceridwen Dovey moderated by biggie Random House editor (and novelist) David Ebershoff, in the Bryant Park reading room.

Gee had an interesting idea: she’s an English professor at Princeton and teaches 18th Century lit, which most of her students, she said with humorously self-deprecating woe, take only to meet their period requirement. Tired of getting dead stares and snickers when she exclaims how fascinating is some of the literature, like Alexander Pope’s Rape of the Lock, she decided to rewrite the story, for contemporary audiences. Definitely want to check it out.

Jonathan Miles reading from his debut novel Dear American Airlines at The Half King in Chelsea. He is surprisingly soft-spoken and with the acoustics in the pub it was very difficult to hear him. I used to love going to readings there but they’ve got to either turn down or off the pub music while the reading’s going on or get better padding for the door separating the bar from the restaurant reading area (and then prevent people from constantly leaving and entering). I personally think they should just open everything up, turn off the music and put the reader’s mike on all speakers; let the damn boozers listen to a 30-minute reading for cry-eye!

Junot Diaz (Pulitzer prize winner for “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao”) and Aleksandar Hemon read together at Central Park’s Summer Stage, and the place was very happily packed. This area’s normally used for bands, so very exciting for a couple of writers to fill it up. That was an excellent reading and discussion (albeit, at a little over two hours in length, a bit short). I think all writers going on book tour should take reading lessons from Diaz; he’s by far the liveliest I’ve ever heard. In response to an audience question about why some authors get so much public attention and seem unfairly more popular than others, he said you can’t worry about how the work is going to be received by the public as you’re writing it; you don’t write for the present, you write for the future.

I don’t have a lot of time to write since I have a bizillion and a half things to do before Blackpool (which I leave for in two days!), so I’ll be brief. I thought DWTS’s season finale was the best ever. The remaining three are all really good, far better than prior contestants, and they have their own cute strengths.

Cristian has definitely improved the most, of these three and of any contestant ever, I think. He’s 1000% improved from the way he was dancing at the beginning of the season and that is what this show is about — a normal person / non-dancer learning to dance well. At the beginning of the show I remember his limbs looking like spaghetti, totally out of control, no shaping or definition to his upper body, and he was dancing Latin too far up on his toes, had no grounding, and it just didn’t look right. Now all that is nearly gone. His hips are now near perfect, he’s much more weighted, his arms are not flailing out of control, and he has much better definition throughout his body. He’s still not a pro male dancer, but he’s just about the closest thing to a pro without being one, especially for someone who started out so poorly. I’m just so proud of him I feel like HE won the opening number, not Kristi. And I don’t care if his freestyle lifts were not as fancy as Jason’s; not only did he do extremely well with them, but they were lovely and complemented the choreography and music. Why does he need to raise her above his head just for the sake of showing he can? An overhead lift wouldn’t have added anything to their routine; it would have been out of place in fact since the music was kind of fluid and fast. I just can’t stop smiling whenever Cristian is on the floor.

And, regarding his injury: I know, people say it’s wrong that he’s still dancing, but, honestly, right or wrong, I know many professionals who dance with an injury so they can finish out the season, then have their surgery. And many pro ballroom dancers will dance with an injury if they’ve made a commitment to their student, to do a competition or a student showcase. I’m not saying it’s right, but I feel like in a way his problem is pretty typical and shows what a lot of dancers go through and the risks they take.

I love Jason, but as much as I love his personality both on the dance floor and in the practice segments, he doesn’t do equally well at Standard and Latin the way Cristian does. That’s another huge plus for Cristian — it’s very hard to do well at both. I really liked his freestyle though. Edyta choreographed something perfect for him. Like Carrie Ann said, who knew Jason could be funky like that! It was like a downplayed hip hop and it looked perfect on him.

And, hehehe, he is a ballerino! Those breathtaking overhead lifts were something right out of Petipa! I love it! Soon he’ll be as obsessed with ballet as he is with ballroom! But I think, not being a man and never lifting someone over my head like that, the lifts he did were actually harder than ballet lifts where the danseur carries the ballerina across the floor, because Edyta had him turning in place repeatedly at the same time. That’s damn hard because not only are you lifting, you’re making yourself sickly dizzy by spinning. I know as the girl getting myself into a lift, maintaining a position in the air and then getting spun around like that, you just want to throw up when you land; they’re incredibly hard. So, major kudos to him.

I love Kristi and she was once my idol. I don’t know, I feel like I’m not as impressed with her as I was at the beginning of the show. She’s nearly flawless, but she is not without flaws, and now for some reason I just want to compare her to someone like Karina Smirnoff, and she comes up lacking. It’s well-known by now that she knows how to dance and I think I’m probably just being too hard on her because I want perfection. Her legs don’t come together perfectly in Cha Cha, her lines in her upside-down split lifts were not as perfect as Juliana’s, and she doesn’t have the polish and the perfect technique the pro dancers do and that seems to be all I can focus on. Maybe it’s that Mark is such a show-off and he’s outdancing her. When I heard him talking about trying to do a back flip during practice sessions, I thought, WHY, WHY do you have to go and do something like that! But when I saw it, it wasn’t so bad since he lifted her so many times and made her look great and she had a lot of tricks herself. So, it was even, not like it was all about him. She is the best; it’s just that I relate more to the other two because they’re normal people like me who learned throughout the show to dance ballroom wonderfully…

On a very related note, the Dance Times Square showcase last night was so much fun, I can’t even begin to describe. It’s like seeing a DWTS show live, except with far more student performers of all ages, of all shapes and sizes, of all levels of dance ability, all doing their best. And those are combined with all pro showcases of course. They’re the best studio for putting on these kinds of things for their students.

It was really packed this time. In addition to all the regulars, and the students’ friends and family, there were many many more — either who came to see Pasha & Anya or who were from media outlets. I know there were people from Entertainment Tonight there and Tony mentioned a couple of other news shows too that I can’t remember. There were also talent agents there.

And Sabra and Cameron from So You Think You Can Dance were there! They sat right behind me and Sabra laughed hysterically at Tony and Melanie’s opening jokes and then SCREAMED with applause throughout. She cracked me up. If you’re ever performing you WANT her in the audience!

I sat in the press section toward the front, next to one of the ET crew and he was remarking throughout how amazing he thought this was. And his remarks were genuine. I truly don’t think he’d ever seen anything like it before. You’re sitting down there, the press people are all serious and make you a bundle of nerves even if you are just writing about the event yourself and not performing in it, and then the people up in the balcony (the regulars and friends and family) are up there screaming, wildly cheering on the dancers, calling out their names, making the dancers even laugh at times. And the press people are aghast. “I can’t believe this! This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!” ET guy said.

When a couple of senior amateurs danced a cute little Mambo (this is rare; it’s almost always one pro dancing with one amateur), and they were cute, but obviously didn’t do any spectuacular tricks or quick-footed dancing, the audience all started clapping along with the music and cheering for them. The audience made their own fun time, in other words, by really getting into it.

And Elaine. Whenever she was onstage, Elaine stole the show. I know her and can tell she was nervous at the beginning of her first routine. She stumbled a bit and nearly tripped Jacob, her partner, and someone shouted from the balcony, “Dont hurt him, Elaine!” She laughed and it really calmed her nerves. Completely cracked ET guy up. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said for the umpteenth time. Elaine’s so cute and she’s a really good dancer for not learning until well into adulthood and then having the limitations of age. Jacob did several lifts with her — ET guy went nuts — and in one routine she did a series of chaine turns (two-footed traveling turns done in a line) practically all the way across the floor. “Unbelievable, simply unbelievable!” ET guy shouted.

(Elaine is on the right, Claire on the left — I’ll talk about her in a minute. This is on our Dance Times Square outing to see the SYTYCD tour).

I don’t have time to go into all of the routines, but my favorites were Susan Washburn (a longtime student there) and Michael Choi’s hilarious “Sex Bomb” (all the routines by the way were medleys — the music consisted of one song but with different musical artists’ interpretations — one slower and more dramatic, one sped up, one hip-hop-y, etc. So, there would be several dance styles within one song — Cha Cha, disco-y Hustle, a slower Rumba or Bolero, etc. — It was really a clever idea for a showcase — Melanie’s of course. At the beginning, Melanie addressed the crowd, explained the theme of the evening, then said, “I know, this is a rather ingenious idea right? I mean, it’s usually me who comes up with the themes of the showcases, but this time I have to say it was … oh, hehe, it was me again,” she said with a faux blush. The crowd was hysterical). Anyway, of the student showcases, I also loved everything David Johnson was in — he’s an older man, and his schtick was to be so taken with his young female pro that he kind of followed her around aimlessly, trying hard to imitate her and be the perfect partner. It was cute and he acted it all so well, the audience was just screaming in applause. I liked a sultry sexy tango cha cha, etc. by Krysta Gonzales, who you can tell has dance background, and Nazarie Salcedo’s infectious smile makes everything she does a delight to watch. I liked so many though, I just don’t have time to go into them!

Claire Gaines (in the picture above) also performed with her teacher, Jacob Jason. She was also in “Gotta Dance” (she is the one with the mike in the second picture here) and she brought her team of NetSationals with her! They did a little swing / hip hop and the crowd ROARED!

Of course Pasha & Anya performed! They did three routines, which made me very happy — I thought they’d only do one at the very end, but they danced throughout. Their first was a gorgeous medley danced to “Indissoluble.” I don’t even know how to describe it. It was by turns sexy, romantic, bone-chillingly intense, passionate, heated. The dance style was based on Rumba and had some Samba (my favorite part was a series of Samba rolls, but with their faces cheek to cheek, so it looked far more sultry and passionate than normal Samba rolls) and even some Tango, but it really was not ballroom. It was more contemporary. It was just beautiful Dance. It was like something I’ve never seen from them and I was really proud of them for pushing themselves and trying something new, outside regular ballroom. It really could have been in a big dance gala, like when you see those tango companies perform in the 21st Century Stars of Ballet galas or something. It made me think ballroom can and will take new directions and become a real performance art.

They also did a gorgeous Paso that took my breath away. Pasha and his cape And they ended with a beautiful Rumba in which Anya wore her black Blackpool dress from the year they placed second in Rising Star. My favorite dress of hers, EVER… (middle and right pictures here)

Maybe it was just the lights, but she seems to be wearing her hair lighter now, which I like. Now, it’s a light brown. I think dirty blonde is her natural color (and my favorite for her); she’d dyed it for SYTYCD. She also seems to have got a light, wavy perm. Pasha looks the same

It’s always beyond wonderful to see them again, but I always get so sad, and I left the theater feeling like I was going to cry. I don’t know why.

Oh one more thing, Karen and Matt Hauer, another pro couple who compete in the American Rhythm section at national competitions, performed a few numbers. Karen completely blew me away. She has grown by leaps and bounds in the past couple of years since I first saw her dance. Her movement is so fierce, so fluid, so amazing. Her upper body isolations, which you can really see in the slower dances, the way she rounds her shoulders, contracts her rib cage, you can trace the muscular ripple from her shoulders all the way down to her hips centimeter by centimeter. And she’s dancing with such passion, such intensity. She honestly reminded me of Karina Smirnoff. I was just enthralled.

Here are a couple of pictures I took of them at earlier competitions:

Okay, I have talked too long. I’m never going to be ready for Blackpool!

Finally, for the first time last night, I liked the new Bravo show “Step It Up and Dance.” I felt like it was finally about dance. The camera actually showed me the dancers’ bodies, not just their faces as they made angry or odd expressions or ranted against someone. It’s probably the hip hop — hip hop’s just so visual, there’s so much going on, especially in a showdown / battle like that — the camera can’t just focus in on a face. (I have to admit, by the way, I knew next to nothing about hip hop before “America’s Best Dance Crew.” And now I love it. Hip hop is just so real — they’re real moves, real gestures you see on the streets, they resonate. And yet they’re stylized and clever, and at times played up for comical effect.)

Anyway, I still think this show (Step It Up) panders too much to the gossipy judgmental crowd: “oh I can’t believe he’s so gay,” “I can’t believe Miguel is such a jerk,” “I can’t believe she said that,” “I can’t believe he nominated him for elimination” etc. etc. etc. ad nauseam. You end up just judging people based on their personalities, what they say rather than how they dance, which you can’t see anyway because the camera is too busy homing in on the person’s face while they say something nasty. I know audiences vote partially based on personality on all reality shows, but at least with “Dancing With the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance,” you can see the entire performance. You see the bodies moving in time to music — which is dance. You’re not just getting a personality. Last week I began to like Tovah. I thought she made a really beautiful line at one point, but the camera was on her for all of a half a second before shifting to Nick who was busy making angry faces at Cody for dominating; I couldn’t really see Tovah in full and it annoyed me so much. I thought, this show isn’t even pretending to be about dance.

But as I said I felt that changed this week with the hip hop competition. I liked Tovah even more because I know her background is in ballet and she feels really out of her element with hip hop, and yet she really belted it out last night. To me she looked just as good as Janelle. I’m also impressed with Cody, for the same reason. He also had some really unique moves, combining some balletic movement — leaps and fouettes — with the posturing, the attitude, the awesome floor acrobatics of hip hop.

So Natalia was right in telling me I should give the show another chance!

Also, if you live in New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles, it looks like you can take a class at select Crunch gyms that will focus on the dance moves on the show that week. That’s kinda cool!

Tonight is the finale of Lifetime’s “Your Mama Don’t Dance.” I’ve missed a few episodes but am going to try to tune in.

I’ve received several emails lately from people asking me which ballroom dance schools I’d recommend in the New York area (and one person asked me about California, but unfortunately, I’ve no idea what the best schools out there might be). So, I figured I’d just write a post about it, and if anyone has other suggestions, please do comment!

My first school was Paul Pellicoro’s Dancesport, which is now in midtown, near the Empire State Building. They’re a good school for social dance and Argentine tango, and they also have some good competitive (called on the syllabus “International” ballroom / Latin classes). It was there that I was on a West Coast Swing competition team, so I know they used to have good WCS, but I also know my old coach has relocated to northern California. I know they still offer WCS and I’m pretty sure their classes are good, so if you’re looking for that, social, or Argentine, I’d recommend them.

Also for WCS, I’ve heard Steve Nereen is good, but I don’t know where he’s teaching right now. Does anyone know?

I’ve also heard Stepping Out, located nearby, around 26th Street I think, is good for WCS and social dances — especially if Tybaldt and Hazel Ulrich are still there. They also have a good teacher training program if you’re looking eventually to teach.

My latest studio was Dance Times Square, owned by former U.S. Latin champs Tony Meredith and Melanie LaPatin (and, as the name implies is in the Times Sq. area). They’re a little more expensive, and they specialize in International Latin. They prefer serious students who are interested in training for competition or dancing onstage in their showcases. If you have dance background (or even if you don’t) and are really serious about competing and / or performing, or becoming a pro, this may be your best bet.

If it’s serious International Standard that you’re looking for, I think Ballroom on Fifth is supposed to be the best.

If anyone has other ideas, please do leave your input!

(above photo by Paul Kolnick)

Today marked the beginning of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 18-month-long fiftieth anniversary celebration. I was unable to go to the performance since I was at the trial, but fortunately for me — for all of us! — they have events happening throughout the next year and a half, both in NY and throughout the country, and the world. Go here for a list. In particular, they’re going to be performing in several different churches throughout New York / New Jersey, Texas, Georgia, Illinois, and Pennsylvania as part of their Faith-Based Initiative, beginning at the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Manhattan this Sunday. An archive exhibit will be on display in Washington DC in May, and will move to Los Angeles later in the year. And in August, there will be several free performances and open dance classes throughout NYC. And, remember David Michalek’s Slow Dancing videos that I blogged about last summer ad nauseam? Well, he’s made one of Ailey dancers and it’ll be showing on the facade of their studios on 9th Avenue and 55th Street in Manhattan throughout the entire anniversary celebration. Free art, what more could you ask for!

There are tons of events though, so do go here for more details. And please don’t miss them if they come to your neck of the woods on tour. Global tour begins in September, and US in January. Happy year!

I didn’t get around to going to the real Carnival this year, so this weekend I went with a couple of friends, Kathy and Alyssa, down to the Lafayette Bar & Grill in Tribeca for a little end-of-Carnival Samba party. It was hosted by a Samba meet-up group I joined a while ago but whose meet-ups I never had the courage to attend, owing largely to an insane experience I had in Quenia Ribeiro’s Samba class at the Alvin Ailey extension.

Well, I am happy to say that this time, though I was nowhere near perfect, or even good, I did much better! Or at least I felt much better. The meet-up group’s founder, Marizete, who is from Brazil, began the evening with a little class. She first taught us the steps, which were so much more basic and easier than anything I’ve learned in ballroom Samba and certainly than Quenia’s class. Quenia’s class was more focused on Bahian Samba, or Samba Reggae, which seemed more African and even a little hop-hop infused than what I was used to with ballroom. But Marizete taught only the Rio style, whose steps are smaller, and, to me, more basic than Bahian style. And the emphasis is more on sexiness, attitude and just overall style than on detailed traveling movement patterns, difficult isolations, and changing rhythms. The basic is simply, crossing one foot in back of the other, sliding the other foot a little bit forward and then bringing the back foot up to meet the front with a little hop. And then added with that were some pelvic rolls while standing, pelvic rolls while bending knees and going all the way down to the floor, then pelvic rolls while turning slowly in a cirle, and, at the end she added some pretty arm movements.

Here she is showing us how to roll our hips. It was a lot of fun, and way way way the hell easier than the Bahia / Reggae style, for me. I just look like such a goof trying to do African dance, although I’d really like to be good at that some day. The only thing so ridiculously hard for me to master in Marizete’s class was doing so many things at once — I’m so uncoordinated! I was fine with the basic, fine with the pelvic / hips rolls, but once we started trying to turn in a circle doing the pelvic rolls, I just couldn’t seem to manage both at once. And once the arms were added, forget it. I was going in the wrong direction, bumping butts with poor Kathy, whacking the guy on my other side with my arm, moving my hips in the same direction I was turning in instead of opposite, which I think was the way it was supposed to be… I was a mess! Thankfully there were so many people on that crowded floor, I don’t think anyone really saw me making mistakes galore. Most of the people were not experienced (unlike those crazy Ailey students) so I didn’t feel like that much of an ass. And, I think with practice this is something I could actually do okay.

Here she is trying to teach us the arms.

After the class, we all sat down and had some drinks and dinner, and listened to a Bossa Nova / jazz band, which was lovely. Of course they performed some samba too, in honor of Carnival. And there was some general dancing. I watched Marizete dance with several guys and it was really interesting to see they way they partnered. They were connected and maintained the normal frame, like in regular partner dancing, but they each kind of did their own thing; it wasn’t formal ballroom at all. The guys would just kind of lead her in a certain direction and she would do the Carnival-samba basic with her regular cute bouncy hop, even though the guys weren’t doing the samba basic but just kind holding her and walking her around the floor. There was another woman there who was very good, who was doing the same thing only way faster. It was like watching a Carnival dancer going at her own pace, but maintaining connection with a guy who was just kind of going at a quarter her speed and then not even doing the same footwork. So it looked very asymmetrical, but it still somehow worked. I so want to dance like Marizete and the other woman I saw.

During the band’s breaks, Marizete played some tapes she’d brought of recorded live music at past Carnivals in Rio. Everyone got out on the dance floor and just bopped around to those. Even people who couldn’t really do samba, who’d missed the class or forgotten the basic got out there; we all just did our own thing. Even if you don’t know what you’re doing, the rhythm just gets you!

Then, at the end, a local band, “Manhattan Samba,” played, and they were fantastic! They were all percussion like a regular street band, and had a leader bearing a whistle around his neck blowing out directions. Marizete came out dressed in a Carnival costume and danced a few numbers.

Here’s one of the band. They were having a blast, as were we just listening to them. There is nothing more infectious than a Samba percussive band; nothing!

To Marizete’s left is one of the guys she was dancing with, whom I think she’s taught. I wish she would teach more formal lessons. She seems to create such a nice, fun, social, very informal atmosphere, which for me, is so much more conducive to learning than being around already-perfect dancers, like I found at Ailey. Although Ailey was more challenging and I’d like to go back to Quenia’s classes when I’m better, I need something more basic for now, until I have more confidence.

Anyway, very fun night. The only drawback was the wait-staff at Lafayette Bar & Grill. So nasty. First our waitress was very annoyed when we asked her for a bit more time deciding on our order. Later, when asked for more water, she basically reprimanded us, telling us she “can’t be walking around with the water pitcher.” We waited about twenty minutes until we were able to get the attention of a busboy. At one point another waitress crashed into me, then instead of apologizing harrumphed; apparently I was standing in her way trying to take a picture. About half an hour before the show was over, our waitress threw down our check saying gruffly, “show’s gonna be over soon.” When we looked at the bill, it was more than we’d expected. When I added it all up, I realized they’d already added a $12 “service charge.” This was in addition to the cover charge we paid to get in, so I assumed it was a mandatory tip. While I understand why they do that for large parties, we were only three. I think if they’re going to host special events there, they should train their wait-staff a bit differently…

As I said in my last post, I’m in the midst of another crazy weekend running back and forth between New York City Ballet at Lincoln Center and the Manhattan Amateur Classic in midtown, so this will be kind of short. The last two programs I’ve seen at NYCB made clear to me why Balanchine’s considered such a genius. I’m going to write reviews for ExploreDance.com (which I will definitely link to when they’re up, and which I hope people will read ) so I’m not going to write all that much now, except to point out some highlights.

Highlight #1: seeing PRODIGAL SON performed live for the first time! (Photo above by Paul Kolnick). I’ve been dying to see it ever since reading Terry Teachout’s short Balanchine bio, ALL IN THE DANCES. This is a story ballet, mirroring the Biblical tale of the boy who leaves his family to find his way in the world, where he is seduced by a Siren and beaten and robbed by her cohorts, and left naked and to die, only to find his way painstakingly back home, where he is taken in again by his forgiving father (only thing missing from the dance is the obediant son). Damian Woetzel had the lead and he was excellent. He exuded perfect youthful angst, wonder and amazement at the Siren, and complete boyish helplessness as he falls under her spell, then perfect pathos as he crawls along the ground, beaten and having lost everything, trying to find his way back home. What I love about the ballet is that there really doesn’t need to be much “acting”; the story is all in the choreography, from the youth’s energetic, high, lashing-out kick/jumps, to the siren’s seductive leg raises and splitting lifts, to her cohorts’ grotesque crab-like, bent-kneed sideways walks. Woetzel, about to retire, is a dancer at the prime of his artistry; a much younger dancer, Daniel Ulbricht, is scheduled to debut in the role next weekend. He is thus far known for his bravura dancing (high jumps, big leaps, turns upon turns with no end in sight). No doubt he’ll excel in the beginning “angsty young man” parts, but it will be interesting to see whether he can move the audience the way Woetzel did as the story evolves.

The other highlight from Friday night was Andrew Veyette from the first piece on the program, Balanchine’s SQUARE DANCE. This is one of Balanchine’s many plotless ballets that well illustrates his ingenius skill at making uniquely American ballets by combining classical ballet steps with American social dance. Andrew had the principal male part. I hope this isn’t offensive, but I was actually taken with him because I found something about him sweetly relatable. He has a tall, thin body kind of like David Hallberg’s, and therefore perfect for ballet, and he is really a very good dancer. But I don’t think he knows it yet! I feel like he gets nervous and it shows on his face and his body; when he did a series of sharp staccato jumps at one point, it looked like he was lifting his body by his shoulders instead of his legs. He wasn’t; it only looked that way because nervousness leads to tension which leads to hunching your shoulders up rather than keeping them down and connected to your center. I know because this was one of my big nerve-induced problems… But at one point, in the middle of the ballet, he really let go and you could tell — he did these beautifully high jumps and he was really soft and fluid and at ease, and his face relaxed and his dancing just shined. I think it just took him a while to warm up, and then he got nervous again toward the end. It’s just funny because this is so me; always so tense … Anyway, I think he has the potential to be a really beautiful dancer and it’s just a matter of him relaxing and trusting himself

(image of Tarantella from NYCB website). Saturday highlights were the beautifully haunting La Sonnambula, and for sure Tarantella! The latter is a fast, fun, sexy, sassy little dance consisting mainly of back and forth “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better”-style solos between male and female 19th Century peasant types that are each full of so much bravura dancing, it is almost a competition. It was danced by the beyond -compare Ashley Bouder, and Gonzalo Garcia, a recent transplant here from San Francisco Ballet. (Above image by the way, is of different dancers). Gonzalo is a really good dancer, but you don’t walk away from a competition with Ashley still standing! You just don’t! Anything anyone can do, she can do better She is fast becoming my favorite allegro ballerina, not just of NYCB but overall. Once she starts, she just never stops; I was getting dizzy watching her… She owns roles like that.

(headshots from NYCB website — Hubbe by Paul Kolnick; Whelan by David Michalek)

And other highlight was La Sonnambula, a story ballet about a poet who finds himself at a masked ball, the object of the grand mistress’s affections until he falls in love with a beautiful sleepwalker, danced by the wonderful Wendy Whelan. The hunky Nikolaj Hubbe danced the poet, and by ‘hunky’ I mean both good- and heavy-looking; because at the end, after he is killed through the jealous mistress’s orders, tiny Wendy picks him up and carries him away. Philip and Ariel think it looks near-impossible. But Wendy is a powerhouse and Nikolaj was holding himself very tightly, so I could see it being real; a man can definitely hold himself up enough for a woman to lift him, especially at waist level. Pasha actually made me do the same to him once, so he could show me how to hold myself. Of course I only lasted about 1/10 of a second before dropping him (but it was okay, because he was prepared the whole time to be dropped!), and with Wendy having about 200-300 times more muscle mass than I (while still managing to be thinner), she could definitely manage him.

Oh, Nikolaj is so good — he was so poetic yet human as he fell for the hauntingly beautiful, ghost-like sleepwalker, holding out his arms in front of her to trip her out of her slumber. Each time he lay his arm out on the floor, she would tiptoe, on pointe, right over it without looking down. So, was she really a woman who was simply sleep-walking or was she some ethereal being meant to save the poet’s soul and get him out of that stiflingly stupid ball??

Anyway, then Saturday night I went to the Manhattan Amateur Classic, the biggest amateur ballroom competition in the New York area. I’ve never followed the amateur comps (only the professional ones; and sometimes pro/ams having done those myself), so I’d never been to this one before. I loved it. As with all ballroom competitions, somehow I’m just transported into another world. Not to sound corny, but seriously, something about sitting there for six or seven hours watching all these dapper, handsome gentlemen dressed in tux ‘n tails whisking their glowing ladies in gorgeous ballgowns around the floor, interspersed with the fun, sensual rhythmic Latin dancing, just takes me away from my problems for a time. And since this one was held not in a hotel like most, but in an actual ballroom with a balcony, it reminded me of Blackpool. I almost wanted to cry at the end of the night when the final Standard trophy was given because it meant my week in England was coming to an end and I now had to return to my quaint little B&B for three hours of sleep and mad packing so I’d be ready to catch the early morning train to Manchester. But then no one sang “God Save The Queen,” and I happily told myself; it’s just a subway ride home… Everyone who’s into ballroom has to go to Blackpool at some point; it’s magic, it’s mandatory!

As I said, I don’t really follow the amateur comps, but here are some highlights:

A favorite Standard couple of mine (this is from the open Adult championships). They placed, I think, second. He looks a little like Jose Carreno

The Latin Youth division — meaning ages 16-19. Some real up and comers!

Some of my favorites from Latin Youth. The guy was very tall, which is usually problematic for Latin — you just can’t move as quickly as the smaller dancers. But this guy was amazing; he reminded me of Vaidotas Skimelis, the pro dancer who’s been making it to the finals in recent comps. He doesn’t let his size slow him too much, and really uses it to his advantage by playing up the hyper-masculine charm. Of course I guess the original large Latin uber mensch is Maks Chmerkovskiy… Anyway, this couple placed second, so go me for calling it

Another of the “tall couple.”

I retreated to the balcony; things were getting a bit too crowded (and melodramatic) down on the floor… These are the Youth Latin finals; the guy in the middle with his arm out — they were the winners, which I called as well. They were overall my favorites. There are some amazing dancers in the amateur division — especially in the Youth, since they’re likely gonna go on and become pros, but also in the adult (21-35) division too. People think amateur means bad, but in ballroom, it really doesn’t. At least not necessarily. Some amateurs have sponsors (like Freed shoes, Taka Dance costumer, etc.), so they don’t have day jobs, but rather dance full-time. Because of this, they’re sometimes even better than some of the pros, who do work (as ballroom teachers; the definition of a pro in the ballroom world is someone who gets paid to teach ballroom dance). So, you can see some really excellent dancing at these amateur comps.

Long shot of the Latin Youth finals. They have a board at the front of the ballroom floor for announcing heats, which I think is a great idea and one I haven’t seen used a whole lot at competitions.

Cuties from the under 16-Latin. This adorable couple made the finals.

Back to Adult Standard. The couple in green (lady in green that is) were very striking to me, though they didn’t make the finals. I remember the guy from my studio. He used to train in Latin, and he was a great Latin dancer. Now he’s apparently competing in Standard. It amazed me how well he was able to switch between the two because they’re extremely different, not just technique-wise, but personality-wise as well. Sexy, grounded, hip-swaying Latin guy into soft on his feet, floating-above-the-floor, dapper ballroom gent is not an easy transition to make. To be sure, his ballroom was a little Latiny, which is likely why they didn’t make the finals. He leads her pretty hard and fast, making their Tango absolutely electric, but some of the other dances, like their Quickstep was not light enough. Still, I think his Latin-ness brought a real charm and sexiness (in a smoldering kind of way) to his Standard dancing.

Okay, I have to run off to the Guggenheim, for another Works & Process event. Here is my album of the MAC; I think there are a couple pics I left out!

Last night Alyssa and I went to a tap dance performance at the Julia Miles Theater in west midtown. I’m writing a formal review of it for Explore Dance, which I will link to when it’s up, but, since the show’s only on for two more days, I just want to say now, I loved it. Andrew Nemr trained with Gregory Hines, and it shows in his expressiveness and style. “Cats Paying Dues” is a very young troupe of up-and-comers (my favorite was 17-year-old Orlando Hernandez — wow!), and the performance was charmingly low-key, no frills, no fluff, no pretentiousness (praise the lord), just very good, immensely musical dancing, and excellent jazz band. If you’re in NY, for $39, I think it’s a great value. Go to telecharge (or 212-239-6200) for tix.

I saw a new friend there (a very nice guy whom I met from Apollinaire), Brian Seibert, who writes for the New Yorker — only famous people like Goddess Joan have bylines there, but Brian is a very good writer; here is his brief but well-written piece on Nemr and CPD (you have to scroll down a bit).

Afterward, Alyssa introduced me to this new(ish — it opened last May) lovely little wine and cheese bar around the corner, called Casellula. (They also have a blog, “Spread the Curd”.) Their wine list is amazing and delightfully inexpensive (compared to other nice wine bars), and they have an absolutely enormous list of cheeses, many locally produced, and a fromager to help with your selection. We shared the most scrumptious — and original — duck confit salad I’ve ever had — the finely shredded combo of meat, celeriac, gruyere cheese and apple gave it this deceptively simple “hash”-looking quality — and it was topped with dulcet pomegranite seeds, and baked duck-skin croutons to die for – and I mean die for! Alyssa and I were wondering where we could get more and how unhealthy it would be to eat a whole plate?… Shared desserts were flourless chocolate cake textured with finely ground chocolate chunks and soaked in a light cream that effectively countered the cake’s richness, and coconut crepes oozing with lemon filling and topped with a mound of fluffy, coconut-textured whipped cream. Serendipitously, pastry chef Allen Stafford, who’s in the picture with us, is a former stage designer with the Atlanta Ballet and a big Paul Taylor fan. Funny because when we first walked in, I could have sworn I recognized him; still not completely sure from where but likely some Paul Taylor or other dance performance. He also made the artwork in back of us. It looks like a painting from afar, but when you approach, you realize it’s made all of aluminum wine bottle closures. Very cool! The restaurant is just around the corner from the Alvin Ailey studios as well, so if I can ever get my lazy butt back in gear and start up with classes again, will make the perfect after-workout lounge.

A couple of weeks ago I went to Dance Times Square’s in-house competition, an event the studio holds every once in a while to give their students who are thinking of entering an actual pro-am competition with their teachers a little taste of just what that would be like.

It’s judged by actual judges who arbitrate at the local and national competitions. Above are John Nyemchek and Edward Simon, a former American Smooth champion who now runs the New York Dance Festival and Empire State Dance Sport Championships.

Melanie LaPatin (studio co-owner) emceed.

(Sorry pics are blurry; I didn’t want to scare anyone with my flash!) I haven’t danced in so long, and it was exciting (albeit somewhat sobering) to see some of my old friends dancing so well at a much higher level than they were. Here’s long-time student Elaine (one of Pasha’s former students) dancing with her new teacher, Jacob Jason. She used to be at my level; now she’s far surpassed me! I MUST go back to dancing!

Anyway, here’s my full write-up of the event.

I’m so excited. Look what the “Rhythm of Love” people sent me (Again, that performance is next Friday and Saturday nights in Stamford):

These are my favorite pictures of them. They were taken at Blackpool in 2005, the year they placed 2nd in the world in the Rising Star Latin division — their most prestigious placement ever! Look at how gorgeous she is. Look at that costume — oh how I wanted one just like it. She designs her own (remember Danny Tidwell saying how he was going to miss them when she was booted from SYTYCD?!) I always thought when she retired from competition she could become a professional designer. But now of course she is on to far bigger and better things! And how cute is Pasha?! I remember when I first saw these pictures I had just made my first appointment with him at Dance Times Square. I hadn’t yet met him and had only signed up on the advice of a fellow student at my former studio, DanceSport. I did a Google search before my lesson and found these pics and nearly died. My first thought: oh no, he’s gorgeous; I can’t take lessons from him! And her, hello! Of course I was only signing on for lessons, not to be his actual partner, or girlfriend for that matter, but still! Talk about nerves upon first meeting…

Oh, brings back memories. It all seems so far in the past now, although it really isn’t… Anyway, thanks “Rhythm of Love” people for sending them!

In other ballroom news:

it appears many in the Latin world are very hopeful that the new partnership of Yulia Zagoruychenko and Riccardo Cocchi could quite possibly bring America a first-place prize in the Worlds next year. Thank you to Dance Beat for sending this info my way. Apparently, the couple just finished their first competition, the medium-sized Holiday Classic in Las Vegas (which, because of its relatively small size, is an ideal comp for a new partnership to test its mettle). Spectators, including Dame of the Ballroom World, Shirley Ballas, were apparently blown away. (Ballas has formerly coached Yulia and her old partner Max, and I know she’s long been fond of Riccardo). Anyway, these videos are not the greatest quality, but here are some small clips of the two dancing in the finals in the Holiday Classic, and a short interview with Ballas.

I wasn’t in Vegas so haven’t yet seen them dance together, but I have long admired Yulia and have always thought her by far the most artistic Latin dancer in this country.

Here she is at Nationals last year with her former partner Max Kozhevnikov;

And here’s a picture I took of Riccardo and his old partner, Joanne Wilkinson, last year at Blackpool. He was a great showman, and wow could he move. The last American couple to place in the top three in Latin at Blackpool was in 2005 when Karina Smirnoff and Slavik Kryklyvyy took second. Last year we didn’t have a couple in the finals. This year, Max and Yulia snagged an emotional 7th place. Longtime first-place champs Bryan Watson and Carmen have retired, leaving the top position vacant. All I can say is, can’t wait till May!

I always love the last, “free form,” dance on DWTS because everyone gets so into the lifts. They’re so much fun to learn as an adult; you feel like you’re a ‘real dancer,’ a ‘big person’ once you master a few (of the easier ones for me). Or at least I do because they’re so balletic, my ultimate dance passion. It’s so fun to watch all these giggly adults on the show, and in the studio. I think that’s why Dance Times Square’s student showcases became so popular; concentrating so hard on ballroom technique, as is required for the competitions, can get really monotonous; lifts are exciting, new and performancy.

I was really amazed by the level of difficulty of all the free form routines tonight. Those continuous assisted cartwheels that Helio and Julianne did blew me away — that he did them properly, I mean (I know Pasha and … geez, who did he do that routine with, Lacey??? … well I know Pasha and someone did them on SYTYCD, as did Benji and Heidi the season before, but it doesn’t surprise me that they were all splendid perfection!) I tried it with my old teacher, Luis, he wanting to put them into my Latin combo showcase. No way I said; not a sight anyone should see, believe me!

I really really really wish, though, that DWTS would have had ballet dancers appear on the show to teach the lifts. I had to go outside of my regular ballroom studio and learn from someone with a substantial ballet background; ballroom dancers aren’t used to lifts and, though they can do them, they’re difficult for them to teach. When Helio did that turn with Julianne laid out over his shoulders, he didn’t spot at all and I was afraid he was going to get dizzy because he turned several times. Plus, spotting just makes it look more polished. Ugh, another missed opportunity to have the greatest dancers in the world on the show …

I was disappointed, though, with practically all of the ballroom routines tonight. I thought Mel and Maks’s was boring choreographic-wise, although Mel did well with the dancing … actually maybe that was a conscious decision on Maks’s part — to fill the choreography with basic after basic after basic (really, there was a lot of bronze-level stuff in that routine), and no tricks, so that she could just excel with the actual dancing. Still, I think for TV performance-quality, the pro needs to come up with something better than that. Marie and Helio’s routines I felt were choreographically more interesting, but Samba and Jive are their two hardest dances respectively. Marie did particularly unwell with Samba, and Helio’s Jive was fun because he put so much attitude into it, but, as Len said, he messed up the toe heel swivels and footwork in some places. I thought his Jive kicks were good though — those are hard. Well, Samba and Jive are my two hardest too so I sympathize…

Ugh, I dunno, I guess it’s anyone’s trophy really. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the Lincoln Center Christmas tree lighting tonight:

New York City Ballet performing teensy excerpts from Balanchine’s The Nutcracker on the balcony of the New York State Theater. Above is Megan Fairchild doing the Sugar Plum Fairy variation.

The tree is lit! There were SO many people there; I couldn’t believe it, especially since it was raining off and on, at times pouring even. There was a sea of umbrellas out on the plaza at one point. Unfortunately, I couldn’t ever find Kyle Froman since it was so packed out there. I’ll have to go to Barnes & Noble and check out his book this weekend. I looked for it at Books A Million in North Carolina, but they didn’t have it; had hardly any dance actually

Katy, from Burlington, says hello.

(image by ABC, copied from here)

So tomorrow night is the grand finale. My mom and I have been fighting about this all weekend. No, not really. But she wants Marie to win, or maybe possibly Helio, and I want Helio, Helio and Helio. In that order. No, not really; I’m just happy he’s made it to the finals. Okay, I say that now but on Tuesday night if he doesn’t get the championship I am going to be cursing all of America Look at this website, by the way! He’s not the greatest speller, but it has a cool design and there’s tons of stuff to get into, including some funny video footage of him being interviewed for Brazilian TV, and some Carnival dancers teaching Julianne Hough solo samba. Of course she picks it up in all of two seconds.

Anyway, it still blows my mind how popular this show is. My mom and I went out to dinner tonight (my last night in North Carolina; I fly back ludicrously early tomorrow morning) and the family next to us was talking on and on about it. They were Marie fans. There are a lot of them I’m realizing. An interesting thing about this show is the variety of age groups it appeals to — far wider, I think, than SYTYCD’s demographic.

Anyway, I want Helio to win not just because he’s a little cute who melts me with that laugh, but because, of the three left, I think he’s struggled and improved the most throughout the show. The other two remaining contenders — Marie and Mel (of course I wanted Jennie to be in the finals, underdog champ-rooter am I!, but oh well) are professional performers — maybe not pro dancers of a sort, like Sabrina, but they’re singers. So, they already had a sense of rhythm, and knew how to dance at least enough to give their singing some spice. Helio’s a race-car driver, not even an athlete who uses his body so much, so this is so foreign to him. He’s come the farthest and he should win!

Okay, truth be told, I also like him because he reminds me of the favorite. He’s very favorite-esque, albeit half the favorite’s size. And he’s from Samba country! And he’s cute! And he melts me with his smile! So go Helio, go Julianne! Merde!

Also on tomorrow night, if you’re in the New York area, is the lighting of the Lincoln Center Christmas tree. The ceremonies, scheduled to begin at 5:00, include a book signing by New York City Ballet dancer Kyle Froman of his new, diary-like photo book, “In The Wings,” excerpts of NYCB’s Nutcracker, to be performed, according to Philip, by Megan Fairchild and Tom Gold, and some opera excerpts by the Met Opera. Should be a lot of fun. I was hoping to be there, though I also supposedly have a Samba class, and I’m getting up at 4 a.m. and am working all day, and I can’t miss the aforementioned finale; I have no idea how I’m going to do it all… Happy end of the holiday weekend!

I was so sad over ABT season ending, I felt like I needed to pull myself out of my depression. And what better way to do that than by … taking a dance class! I returned to my very first studio, Paul Pellicoro’s DanceSport, where I began three and a half years ago with group classes before I’d transferred to Dance Times Square and started privates with Pasha. It all seems like such a long time ago now, but remarkably, I recognized so many faces — so many of my old friends were still there and I was reunited with four of them in a one-hour period! Passion for ballroom is something that just stays with you forever.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t all that prepared with my dance bag. I forgot to pack a pair of beige tights, so had to look like a bit of an ass with mismatched shoes.

I wanted to ease myself slowly back into it — it’s been six months since my last lesson at DTS — so I decided on a bronze (lowest-level) Cha Cha — always my easiest dance.

Ugh, not anymore! I remembered all the steps but forgot how hard it is to maintain proper technique when the teacher plays the music at full speed! Warm-up went well-ish, but when the actual partner dancing began, I was tripping all over myself in no time. Plus, I forgot how hard it is to dance, to function really, in those blasted high-heeled, open-toed shoes. I’m always sliding forward in them, leaving my heel unstable. I guess it helps if you normally wear similar street shoes, like high-heeled sandals, but I don’t.

Happily, whenever I felt or saw myself in the mirror reverting to a nasty habit — like rising up on my toes during the middle cha cha cha instead of staying grounded with my heel on the floor, or falling backward during an underarm turn because I forget to have my body weight forward — I’d hear Pasha’s voice (“no leaning back, Tonya”), or feel his hand lightly but firmly pushing down on my head (which he used to do to keep me from rising on the cha cha chas). So, even though bad habits die hard, the words of great teachers don’t

So I made a lot of mistakes. But, eh, I’ll get back into it.

Interestingly, I met an old friend from my Swing team, Mark, in the lobby. He was heading to a Hustle class and asked me what I’d signed up for. When I told him the International Cha Cha, he told me he thought the teacher, Werner Figar (who is new since I was last at the studio), was a member of the modern dance group, Elisa Monte Dance. He told me he recognized his name from a recent New York Times article, which I looked up when I got home and is here. The guy in the picture does look like Werner (who was very good — both as a Latin dancer and teacher), but his name isn’t on the company’s website. It’s just so odd to me that someone dances both Latin Ballroom and Modern professionally. They are such different kinds of dance and usually a person isn’t good at both. But very cool if he is! I’ll have to ask him next class…

DanceSport has relocated since I was last there — used to be at Columbus Circle and is now on 34th Street right near the Empire State Building. Their new space is way the heck bigger than the last — really floored me.

So many rooms!

And here’s the new huge lobby, which even has a little cafe off to the side. Paul, the owner, taught Al Pacino to dance for “Scent of a Woman,” so that poster stays up always.

Ah, wasn’t he brilliant tonight on Dancing With the Stars! That, ladies and gentlemen, is the greatest Latin ballroom dancer in the world! Excepting Slavik Actually, not though – Louis is the best; really years after his retirement from competitive ballroom dancing he is still the world’s greatest I strongly declare. And damn was that a fast cha cha he and Cheryl Burke did to that Barry Manilow song! Kind of a funny thing with this show: they hire a certain singer to perform, the song their choice, and then tell the dancers to dance something to it. Sometimes there really isn’t a ballroom dance that perfectly fits the beat of that particular song, so the dancers really have to be creative. I think Louis and Cheryl could have gone with a Hustle, but they chose to do a crazy fast Cha Cha instead, and wow! That standing ovation was so deserved. Oh, I love him so!

And I thought Jonathan Roberts and his wife Anna Trebunskaya did a beautiful waltz to “Oh Mandy!” What an adorably sweet couple! And, am I a dork for loving that song?

I loved the group Swing number and am glad they showed it again tonight. Christian Perry, the choreographer, actually used to teach at my old studio, Paul Pellicoro’s DanceSport. Every Friday night they’d have a social dance party, and beforehand they’d have an all-levels group class. All levels can mean either hideously over your head or ridiculously easy. In his case, it was always the latter, which I appreciated because it became more of an occasion for fun, or to work on improving technique since you weren’t worried about getting the simple steps down. This group number was really sophisticated though, for a bunch of amateurs. I would think that would be so hard, to choreograph a routine that had sufficient amounts of fun, performance-worthy showiness with some good lifts and fast dancing for a group of amateurs of varying abilities. Of course these are all extremely hard-working amateurs. He pulled it off well. Good for Christian!

I also enjoyed their little footage of the amateurs talking about how great it was to connect with each other over ballroom and yet how competitive they were as well. I feel what they all said is so true: you do really bond with each other, especially when you do a performance showcase, and you do really compete with each other when doing a competition. I think that’s why I grew to prefer the former so much more over the latter. Competition makes me so uneasy.

But what a shocker are the results?! Hip hop Cheeta Girl dancer extraordinaire Sabrina Bryan, whom I think everyone fully expected to make it to the finals, was axed tonight unexpectedly, to make a ginormous understatement.

Now I feel badly for criticizing her pro partner, Mark Ballas, earlier… it could have been that people were displeased with him either for the reasons I stated — that he was spending too much time showing off and not properly framing Sabrina (although I thought he did much better on that front with their foxtrot last night — hard to show off in standard ballroom though), or perhaps because people might have felt Sabrina had an unfair advantage getting to work with Mark’s mother, ballroom dame Shirley Ballas. Or, perhaps they thought it was unfair that she already had a good deal of dance experience and the scales were unfairly tipped to begin with? I think the show’s producers do that on purpose though — try to get people of varying levels of ability. I think they want to make sure the audience doesn’t get too bored with too many “bad” people. But they also want to have enough low-level beginners who can grow and improve during the show so the audience can have an underdog to root for. I think here their thinking might have backfired a bit, unfortunately for Sabrina.

If Dancing With the Stars is any indication. Last season the first contestant knocked off the show was Eighties supermodel Paulina Porizkova; this season the first two to go have been the two models — the first, Josie Maran, a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit one no less… America used to worship supermodels; what happened!

I was actually disappointed and a bit surprised last week when Maran was booted — I thought she could possibly be this season’s Kelly Monaco-esque underdog; she’d definitely have worked very hard and she seemed sweet. I was a little disappointed this week as well. When I first saw Albert Reed, I thought what an immature goof. But then his silly playfully little-boyish charm started to grow on me. And I felt he was far from the worst, though that has nothing to do with anything on this show, as we all know.

Personally, I like that Sabrina brings something different to ballroom — I rather liked watching her hip hoppy take on Cha Cha the first night — but I don’t really think it’s fair that she’s in the competition since she obviously has a great deal of dance training that the others don’t have. I do want to see her make it far along in the comp though since she’s dancing with a member of this country’s royal family of ballroom, Hon. Mark Ballas And it shows: he’s quite the nimble, quick-footed dancer. And my crush grows on the cute Brazilian, Helio! (Am dying to know if Marcelo talks like that!)

I hope people watched the results shows both weeks — last week to see tap legend Savion Glover and this week to see several of my ballroom favorites! Isn’t Nick Kosovich a dream! And Victor Fung and Anna Mikhed — aren’t they just oozing with charm!

And, most importantly: J.T. J.T. J.T.! I’m so happy she was on dancing the tango tonight. As they said on the show, and as I’ve blogged about before, she and her partner Tomasz Mielnicki just won the American Smooth championships this year. Of course that goofus Drew Lachey got her name wrong — it’s J.T. DAMALAS not J.T. Thomas (her partner’s first name). J.T. used to teach at my former studio. I remember one time I was having a really difficult time doing a lift with Pasha and J.T. was in the studio practicing. Pasha called her over and she nicely took time out of her practice session to help me. And she worked magic! She not only demonstrated by doing but gave me tricks on how to push my shoulder and arm down over his back onto his opposite shoulder in order to help me lift myself. (I hadn’t wanted to push down on his shoulder, thinking I’d be hurting him, but she explained I was hurting him a lot more by not having any way of holding myself up and making him do all the work). A lot of teachers just show you by demonstrating themselves and then they think you can pick it up through imitation, but they don’t realize a lot of us need more: we need actual instructions. Anyway, I remember that moment well. I never ever EVER would have thought I was so lucky to be standing between two such people — one of whom would go on to dance on an extremely popular television show and be known by millions, the other who would become the national champion and be seen on another popular show. So completely surreal!

Okay, how come I always look like an ass in ballet class, but a ballerina in all the other styles of dance I take? Tonight, I took my first dance class in four months now (yikes) — a beginner Flamenco class at 92nd St. Y. Seriously, in lieu of the beautiful palmas (fluidly wrist-bending Latin / Indian hand movements that are one of the three basic elements of the dance), I did the perfect port de bras (balletic arm movements). I mean, I’m sure they wouldn’t have looked like perfect port de bras in ballet class, but they sure did in Flamenco. No matter how much Latin I take, for some reason I always have the tendency to turn my wrists inward so that my palms are toward my body (as in ballet), rather than turned out, away from it, as they usually are in Latin. It’s ridiculous.

And damn do those castanets require patience! We only did basic taps, but tapping the pinkie finger, then the ring, then the middle, then the pointer, then moving to the left hand in a continuous one-two-three-four-five rhythm, faster and faster and faster was so unbelievably trying on my nerves, for some reason. I had to keep shaking my hands like I was shaking off a bug or something. And keeping my arms up in the air was a bit painful, embarrassingly. I am just a bit out of shape here And forget trying to coordinate the castanet taps with the wrists with the arms with the foot toe / heel stomps (my favorite part — gets rid of some real aggression )… forget it! This dance is so hard. It’s not athletically hard in the way ballet is, but it requires maximum coordination that I don’t have!

I’ll probably stick with it anyway; it’s good for me Unfortunately, the teacher has a strict dress code — all black — so I can’t wear my pretty purple Flamenco skirt (above). Don’t really understand this — I took a Flamenco class at Ballet Hispanico months ago and wore the skirt to Paso Doble classes at two different ballroom studios and no one’s ever had a problem with the color. It cost $75 too, so I have no intention of buying another one in black. My black ballroom skirt will have to do, though it doesn’t have the pile of ruffles at the bottom so is not going to look wholly right for Flamenco… I just always pride myself on being different, so was rather pleased with myself for finding such a color.

I’ll never forget the first dance class that blew me completely to Heaven, made me feel like I was experiencing a whole new level of humanity, made my heart race: it was basic ballroom Samba with Roula Giannopolu at DanceSport studio. I remember I was squealing when I came out of there, practically crippled with blisters, my classmates trying to steady me and asking if I was okay. “What kind of music was that?” I screamed out demandingly, collapsing on the lobby sofa. No one knew and Roula had sprinted off to her next class. “That was like ballet and African and Latin and just the whole world!” I cried, flailing about. I haven’t had that same exact experience since and I so long for that feeling again. I think I may sign up for group ballroom classes next month. I like the solitary Latin dance classes I’ve taken — Brazilian Samba at Alvin Ailey and now Flamenco. But ballroom’s really where my heart is.

Anyway, on another note, here are some more pictures I took today during my lunch hour of the Bill Shannon “Window” site-specific dance performance that I blogged about at the beginning of the week. It was funny seeing it down on Liberty Plaza this time, after having watched from the high-rise before. I had thought when I was inside looking down that people were trying to be good New Yorkers and avoid any weirdish person making a “scene,” but being down there with the people, I realized that the area the dance was performed in was so vast, without music, it was actually pretty hard even to notice. You had to really seek him and his dancers out to see him. Dance is also so music-dependent I realized. Upstairs we had the music blasting from the speakers to accompany the movement we saw out on the plaza. It really got you into it, made you move a little yourself. Being down there with no speakers, the movement just didn’t have the same meaning, it wasn’t as fun, it wasn’t as noticeable, it wasn’t as “performancey” which I guess was the point…

One of Shannon’s break-dancers.

The guys in white are the performers. It might be apparent, it might not.

This is Shannon himself, on the crutches. I didn’t notice him zooming around on the skateboard this time; he used it more as a prop than a vehicle, unless I just arrived a bit late and missed that part of it.

On, and another thing, at one point a woman walked up to him while he was on the ground break-dancing. I guess because he had the crutches, she thought he was hurt and tried to help him up! He spoke with her a bit, but with all the city noises, I couldn’t possibly hear what they were saying. I wonder whether he went along with her, told her what was really going on, or if I just completely misunderstood the whole interaction and she was actually part of the performance!

Bronzed baby shoe booth

Originally uploaded by swan lake samba girl via mobile.

Should i ask if they do dance belts?

I know, it doesn’t exactly have the ring of “Oh, Marcelo Marcelo Marcelo!” does it? Hehe, oh we so love our Eastern European dancers and their ever so fun names (and their ingenuousness at not even thinking to Americanize them…)! But, though he looks nothing like him, Vaidotas Skimelis (whom I’ve been on about here and there throughout the comp) actually kind of reminds me of my favorite ballet dancer, mainly because of their large sizes and the kind of virility that almost naturally entails. I mean, large bone structure is difficult with Latin because speed is so important to the style — and certainly Vaidotas’s jive will never look anything like winner Max Kozhevnikov’s. But still, I like his size — as I do Marcelo’s — there’s something so sexy and romantic about a big hunk of a guy, right Plus, difference is good! Who wants all the dancers to look the same whether it’s Latin or ballet — boring, I say!

One of the not horrible things about Pasha and Anya leaving (at least for now) the competition world is that it made room for Vaidotas and his lovely plum-haired partner, Jurga Pupelyte, to be seen, to make it to the top ranks, where they most definitely belong. I only wish he didn’t live in California! As one of the only non-tiny Latin dancers, he’d be perfect size-wise for me as a teacher. But of course I shouldn’t even be thinking of private lessons because they are too expensive! So, good rather that he lives all the way out in California…

Anyway, here are a few more pics of my favorite couples and other stuff I did in Florida:

Emmanuel Pierre Antoine and Julia Gorchakova, a super fun couple with creative routines and great show quality whom I wanted to take American Rhythm, but who ended up placing third.

Matt and Karen Hauer, semifinalists in American Rhythm and second-place finishers in the National Mambo championships, who teach at my former studio. He does do a mean Mambo, I think second only to Jose DeCamps’s, and they’re young and in love and cute and their dancing reflects all that

America’s sweethearts, Anna Mikhed and Victor Fung, second-place, as always, in International Standard. Okay, they may not be as perfect technique-wise as Jonathan Wilkins and Katusha Demidova, but they’re the king and queen of charm, those two.

The adorable Anna Trebunskaya (from Dancing W/ Stars) and her new partner, Pavlo Barsuk. They placed sixth in the finals, which is excellent for them.

Hehe, am I a paparazzi in the making or what? Here’s her hubby Jonathan Roberts (the brown-haired guy here, also of DWTS) intently watching her. She’d look out in the audience for him and he’d give her a little wave and a wink and she’d smile like she was on cloud nine. So cute!

Very sexy Latin couple that I like a lot, Nikolai Shpakov and Tatiana Banko. Friends keep telling me Nikolai (who resides in NY) would be a good teacher for me … But of course I am not listening since I can’t afford ballroom lessons anymore…

Aw, the just-displaced now former National Latin champs Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kruychkova. They are an immensely good couple and no one flies across that dance floor like Andrei. He’s truly beautiful to watch; so slender and light-footed his feet sometimes look inches above the parkay. And I certainly don’t think it’s impossible for them to get their title back at some point in the future; I just think others need to be given a chance as well. And this was simply Max and Yulia’s year.

Speaking of the new champs… look at Yulia’s gorgeous arch! How is she even supporting herself like that?

An American Smooth couple I like, Eulia Baranovsky and Stephen Dougherty. I actually thought they’d win, but they placed fourth or fifth. So, I was off on that! I think that couples like these two and the winners J.T. Damalas and Tomasz Mielnicki are bringing the life back into what was becoming a rather staid and boring style. The Smooth championships, placed between Latin heats though they were, were actually really exciting to me for once.

Another Latin couple, Andrei Strinedko and Olga Kinnard, who caught my eye big time this comp. A lot of women wearing these shiny gold dresses this year… What I really love about this photo though is that they are doing my very favorite Latin dance step in all of life, a Samba roll in shadow position. From here, they’ll arch far back together in beautiful unison, then they’ll bend way forward from the waist and then back again making a circle with their upper bodies while doing a hip-rolling side step across the dance floor. It’s hard because you have to be in perfect harmony or you’ll step all over each other’s feet or bop him in the crotch with your butt or whack him upside the face with your arm (I know all of this because…) , but gorgeous when done properly

Another proud paparazzi photo of mine This is Nick Kosovich who designs the dresses for Dancing W/ Stars (and he appeared in the show a couple of seasons ago — partnered Tatum O’Neal). When he was on the show I thought he was a bit nerdy-looking, but after seeing him in person at the last few competitions, I realized how good-looking this man actually is. Tall dark and handsome Aussie! He’s retired from competition but at Blackpool did this James Bond-styled showcase with his partner, who I’m pretty sure is his wife and they really blew me away, which is highly odd since they’re Standard dancers. Anyway, the fact that he is so gorgeous makes my former stupid “breast” experience with him all the more embarrassing… (he was the “Austrailian guy” / “LeNique guy” — as I later found out — in this post).

More Latin favorites of mine — Delyan Terziev and Boriana Deltcheva, who placed third, moving up a whole three notches from last year! Good for them; they’ve been working very hard and they deserve it. To me, this couple is one of the most artistic. She moves just like a spider and she’s just bewitching. She kind of reminds me of a Latin, raven-haired version of ballerina Janie Taylor, with her kind of ethereal, goddess-like sexiness.

Andrej Skufca and Katarina Venturini from Slovenia who competed in the Open-to-the-World Latin category on Saturday night. This is the competition I was hoping my favorites Slavik Kryklyvyy and Sergey Surkov would participate in, as they did last year, but oh well. Andrej and Katarina (4th in the world in Latin, right behind Slavik & partner Elena) were the only top couple to compete, so it was rather boring; they easily took first. For some reason, Max & Yulia didn’t stay and compete in this category, like they did last year. Not sure what happened. Maybe they were too tired. I hope no one was injured … that’s happened before in competition, couples injured during last-minute practice. Anyway, I loved Katarina’s bright emerald dress. Looked spectacular with her carrotty hair (which I personally love, though I know that opinion is most definitely not shared by all )

Look who this is!! They had the hallway leading down to the ballroom lined with blown-up pictures of former champions. This one’s of Tony Meredith and Melanie Lapatin (choreographers from SYTYCD) in their heyday, circa 1995! Look how young he is — such a little cutie!

Ewwwwww!!!! It was some ungodly hour of the morning and comps were still going on (judging by the rows behind us, I think many departed the ballroom already, save us insane diehards) and I, not being a late night owl, am half dead here, no makeup and flat as a pancake hair thanks to the lovely Florida humidity. Plus the angle gives me a quintuple chin. Oh well. Michele, my roommate for the comp, is being herself

Okay, I am almost done, I swear. I took one day off from comp-spectating and went to Epcot Center. I’ve never been to Disney World though, growing up in Phoenix, went often to nearbyish Disneyland as a child. So, of all of the parks, I chose Epcot because I figured, not to sound like a dork, but I so loved the “It’s a Small World” ride at Disney as a kid, I figured I’d have the most patience and respect for one that introduces children to the world beyond our borders. But I found it disappointing, and this picture epitomized why. It was so Disney-fied — the cartoons completely overtook the exhibits. Everything was so cheesy, not at all educational. “Viva Donald”?? Great way to introduce kids to a foreign language. Maybe I’m misremembering things and my child’s mind over-glorified them, but, a bunch of silly dolls though they were, that Small World ride really made me promise myself that I’d go to Argentina, Holland, Spain, etc. one day. The dolls were so sweet and their costumes so beautiful. And everyone singing that song in their native language sounding so mellifluous — definitely made me so curious to hear more (and I did take a ridiculous amount of foreign language classes in high school and college). And who wouldn’t be enthralled with Africa by that nutty laughing hyena! I don’t know, maybe if I went on that ride again, I’d feel differently, but it definitely gave me an appreciation for foreign culture as a child. I can’t imagine this doing the same at all. Kids are too busy laughing at the stupid cartoon characters, and the adults buying all the horrendously cheesy souvenirs.

A great celebration of Italian culture for sale. It was like you paid $75 just to be able to buy a bunch of souvenirs. I don’t get it…

This guy demonstrating how to extract pearls from oysters in the Japanese souvenir shop was okay. Demo was interesting and the guy pretty flamboyant.

Returning to NY. Could they have blurted over the loudspeaker one more time at the Orlando airport that the alert level had been raised to orange / four, and we were all to exercise great caution in leaving bags unattended, etc. And then there had to be some crazy hurricane off the coast of North Carolina. I’m a nervous flyer man! Fellow fearful flyers have recommended Valium, but I don’t like drugs. I much prefer alcohol. In case of emergency, you can always talk yourself out of being drunk; not the same if knocked out cold by prescription medication! This wine, by Best Cellars, was pretty good.

Anyway, okay I’m done, I’m done! Thanks for humoring me and my ballroom fetish, you guys

Okay, I guess I should check my local Fox listings more often I specifically came home from work early tonight (8 p.m. — eh) to watch my favorite show and instead there are all of these men grunting like beasts and ramming their helmeted heads into each other’s bodies??? Where’s my dance!!!

Haha, it’s funny though, because the advertising is sooo different. Has anyone noticed? I don’t know what the commercials during SYTYCD usually consist of because I’ve never really paid much attention, but I know there aren’t all of these bikini-clad women and Bud adverts that seem to me to appeal to the lowest common denominator! It’s kind of sad; I guess there are real gender differences between men and women, or at least the kind of men and women who watch these respective shows. But also interesting to me is that the Fox people seem to know that most SYTYCD-watchers are women and arty, intellectual-type men, no?

Anyway, I was going to blog about this last night but got lazy and tired and had to go to bed after the show, but I’m just so proud of Pasha. I just think he’s doing so well. My favorite Latin dancer in the world has long been Slavik Kryklyvyy — and during my lessons with Pasha, I’d always bring tapes of Slavik dancing with his former partner, Karina, to the studio and ask Pasha if we could try to re-enact some of their lifts and fancy dips. He’d always be the sport and say sure, but I could tell inside he was kind of rolling his eyes — either because they were far above me and he knew he’d be struggling to hold me up or because it’s probably just annoying for any dancer to hear how someone worships another Pasha’s so great though for letting me drool on and on over Slavik!

Anyway, last night, during the very beginning of the show when they did their little opening half-of-a-second solos, I just couldn’t believe my eyes. He moved just like Slavik. I really think this competition has improved his dancing so much. He’s worked so hard to master all the different kinds of dance styles and choreography to the best of his ability and he now moves in ways that are just breathtaking, so beyond what he did before. I’m just so floored. And, I mean, last night’s hip hop just looked so cute on him. He’s not going to ever be some down-home, bad-ass, hipper than thou, totally hot African-American guy doing hip-hop, but he did his own cute Pasha thing with it, and it was so him and so sweet and so brilliant. And that’s what dance is all about: interpreting something in your own way, adding your style and technique, doing it to the best of your ability, and just owning it. The waltz, as well, was beautiful, as expected. And his solo: I mean, people are saying it was weird (see the comments to this post), and I totally understand what they mean, but I think it was rather ironic: I think he was saying to the judges, “Okay, you say Latin ballroom dancers suck at solos because we’re essentially partner-dancers, so here, here’s a partner-dance for you — I’ll dance with a damn mannequin.” That’s my take anyway…

And, you just never know how someone is going to hold up under pressure. Ballroom dancers dance to normally relatively small audiences — I think the biggest — definitely at Blackpool — must consist of a couple thousand??? I mean, nowhere near the millions who are scrutinizing his every move now. So, I just worry that someone will just crack under the pressure. But not any of these pros

Okay, I’m done fawning! Oh, but just one more thing: Claudia sent a link to the Blogging SYTYCD blog to some pics she found of Pasha and Anya — these are the photos of them dancing at Blackpool 2005 that I was referring to earlier! Is Anya not absolutely gorgeous!! How much do I want that black dress! Yes, Anya used to have blonde hair She looks just bewitching with any color though, if you ask me.

Okay, in other news: I’m excited because I just received in the mail a flyer for the Martha Graham Dance Company, who will perform at the Joyce Theater in Chelsea in a couple of weeks.

I’ve only seen this company a couple of times, but what is so cool is that on the flyer is a picture of Miki Orihara, a newish contributor to my favorite dance blog, The Winger. I’m so excited to see her perform! I personally think blogs are a great way for dancers to communicate with audiences and make new fans. From her Winger posts, Miki seems so incredibly sweet. So, I can’t wait!

Hahhahha! I recently got an email about this earlier post where I was pondering whether I should get Pasha and Luis bronzed dance belts for a holiday gift as an apology for constantly kicking them there during lessons. I’m just so glad, after tonight’s SYTYCD episode that I’m not the only one with that little problem!!

It’s hard to be a male dancer!… What’s up with that look on my face??… Anyway, there we are trying this very cool Karina dip (that I stole from her but can’t do correctly to save my life because, hello, I am NOT Karina!)… This trick is so gorgeous too when done properly IF you can do it properly (when he dips you, it ends up looking similar to the graphic on the top right part of the blog, except of course it should look GOOD, not like that because that is me; I wish I could post a YouTube of Karina and her old partner Slavik doing it because it looks so gorgeous, but they withdrew the clip…) But the trick is so hard because you have to get so close to him and shove your hips into his waist / crotch so that when you arch back you can still hold yourself up and he doesn’t have to throw his back out… And with Rhumba, the beauty of the trick is that you’re coming into him really fast, and with my longish legs, often the left knee that’s kind of humping his back here would be aimed a little farther to the right… He’d shout “hellohellohellohellohello” whenever he needed to warn me. Dancing is so much harder than it looks… Anyway, Argentine tango with all those between-the-legs kicks is just all the worse and I’m sure Pasha is very happy that Argentine tango is not on the International Latin syllabus!

Gosh this is like a lifetime ago! And it’s only last September… Pasha is so incredibly sweet — I just came across these pics recently. He’d agreed to have them taken with me in the studio wearing this Winger t-shirt to model for the Winger! Kristin Sloan (Winger founder and NYCBallet dancer) offered to post pics on the site of Winger readers wearing their t’s at their dance studios or dance-related events, so Pasha nicely let me model the shirt with him

I look ridiculously scared!

This was Kristin’s favorite. I look downright in pain! The shirt design is really cool though, right!

I miss him so much! And I miss dancing so much. The most worrisome thing is that, we took these pics right after we’d all returned from Nationals last September (which is on my mind since I’m about to book my tkts for this year — yay!) and I just re-looked at some of my posts on that. I was worried about my flabby butt back then… now, that I haven’t danced in a good — geez eight months — it’s so far beyond sag it’s not even funny. I MUST take dance lessons. I MUST find an inexpensive place.

Anyway, speaking of the Winger, Bennyroyce posted some excellent pics of Bad Boys, the troupe I’d posted on yesterday — they’re far better than mine since they’re up close, or from the perspective of … the Wings! Also, here’s an interesting article in a local Berkshires paper about Rasta and his guys. (Speaking further of the Winger, we still do not know for sure if that dance belt model above is indeed Mr. Hallberg. He would never fess up!!! I think it is — look how similar the face… it’s you, David!)

And coming full circle to Danny and SYTYCD, I was being masochistic and looking up photos of Rasta’s wedding and I found this from his ballet school’s alumni page. Look who is in the center of the bottom right-hand picture! And who’s above him — is it Travis from last season?

Early morning modern dance class

Originally uploaded by swan lake samba girl via mobile.

Hard – for me anyway! Lots of dancers in class though listed for beginners!

I’m not a huge social dancer (I mainly take ballroom lessons in order to compete and perform), but I do like going to Midsummer Night Swing to watch the crowd having itself a blast. Midsummer Night Swing is held on the Plaza at Lincoln Center from mid June through July. Each night a different band performs on the bandstand, alternating between several types of danceable music: big band Swing, country western, Salsa (by far the most popular), Disco, and at one point this year there is even to be Samba! At the start of each evening, instructors from various ballroom dance studios in the city give a little lesson in the dance style of that night.

Above are the ever amusing Melanie Lapatin and Tony Meredith, owners of my old studio and 1995 U.S. National Latin Champions, on July 4th, giving the salsa lecture.

Which was followed by this very crowd-wowing demo by a young couple associated with Dance Times Square, Sascha and Oksana.

Always fun to see how people take to the action: some bemusedly learning to dance for the very first time, and others, like this guy above, showing his homeland pride and helping the band out a bit from the sidelines with his maracas.

It was raining off and on on the 4th, so the crowd was unusually small, but it’s normally so packed out there you can hardly move. I just love how they have this immensely popular social dance event located smack in the center of THE institutions of “high art” dance: The State Theater, to the left in the top pic, houses the New York City Ballet, and the Metropolitan Opera House, in the back, the American Ballet Theater, which just ended its Spring Season. For the first couple weeks of Midsummer Night Swing, ABT performances were still happening, though, and I often wondered if any of the social dancers, for example, this cheery Puerto Rican group, noticed any of the several large posters in front of the Met showing scenes from the ballet, and were at all inspired to try a ballet performance. Something tells me likely not.

But tonight, that may well change. It’s the official opening of photographer / filmmaker David Michalek’s new public art dance exhibit, “Slow Dancing,” also at Lincoln Center Plaza.

Michalek filmed twelve dancers from various styles (including several from ballet), doing a very brief five-second movement, which he then slowed way the heck down, so that each segment plays on film for a whopping 10 minutes. Three giant screens are to be erected on the front of the State Theater, one dancer on each. I’d gone to see him speak about the work at the Guggenheim a few months ago, and blogged about its potential iconic effect on the dancers shown, here.

This public art project is part of the Lincoln Center Festival and will continue through the end of July, when it will travel to other outdoor venues throughout the country.

I love that this project is available for all (there’s no fee to access the Plaza), and I’m really excited to see this unique intersection of ballet and social dance, or, I guess “high” and “pop” art, if you believe in dichotomies. From the sound of it, the screens will be so large that I feel people will be compelled to look. Hopefully, of course, they will be captivated by the movement as well. We shall see!

Very exciting (but very tiring) weekend, nearly all of which was spent at this, the biggest and best of all local (ie: Mid-Atlantic region) competitions! Thanks to the retirements of the two top couples in American Smooth and American Rhythm, we now have two new champions in those divisions. Above are the new champs of Smooth, Eulia Baranovsky and Steven Doughtery. Below are the newly crowned King and Queen of Rhythm, Joanna Zacharewicz and Jose DeCamps.

So often with Ballroom competitions, the same people win over and over and over again, making the dancing itself always spectacular but the results a complete bore if not outright annoyance (if your favorite happens not to be the one who ad nauseam places first). So this year’s dual retirements (Ben and Shalene Ermis in Smooth, and now permanent DANCING WITH THE STARS fixtures Tony Dovolani and Elena Grinenko in Rhythm), made for a couple of very nail-bitingly intense nights all the way up to the 1:00 a.m. trophy presentations.

Above is, awww, my personal faves for Rhythm, second-place couple Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine and his new partner, Julia Gorchakova. Actually, Rhythm this year was a particularly loony soap opera. Ever since I first began coming to this competition, three years ago now, I’ve noticed the Rhythm championship is by far the most raucous of all four categories. Especially during the last of the Rhythm dances, Mambo, when the crowd is just going wild screaming and cheering on their favorite couples so loudly, you can hardly hear the music.

(If you know nothing of Ballroom, and actually care to know , let me just briefly lay out the blueprint of an American competition: There are four main categories (each of which includes separate competitions for professionals, amateurs, and pro/ams, where students compete with their teachers — the kind I used to do when I still had a bank account ):

1) American Smooth (couples compete in 4 dances: Waltz, Foxtrot, Tango, and Viennese Waltz);

2) American Rhythm (5 dances: Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, and Mambo);

3) International Standard (5 dances: Waltz, Slowfox, Viennese Waltz, Tango, and Quickstep); and

4) International Latin (5 dances: Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, and Jive).

So, back to the Rhythm drama. The crowd favorite has been, for a long time, this couple (pictured below in last year’s National competition: Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine and Joanna Zacharewicz):

For whatever reason, and I don’t want to get into gossip over who initiated and why, they broke up. And with that break-up, fan loyalties were torn asunder, oh no! Emmanuel teamed up with former, longtime Rhythm champion Julia Gorchakova, who, with her former partner, retired a couple of years ago but apparently came out of retirement just for him. And Joanna managed to snag the very cute and rather celebrity-esque, Jose DeCamps, who formerly danced with probably the most famous of the DWTS pro dancers, Cheryl Burke. I haven’t seen Jose before and I’m thinking he retired after Cheryl began her TV stint, and likewise emerged from retirement for Joanna, but I’m not completely sure; he may just have been partnerless.

Well, my heart was with Emmanuel, for reasons I’ll get to in a second, but I just have to say I can completely see why Jose has the fan base he does. He just exudes safe, strong, warm Latin guy, kinda like a certain favorite ballet dancer

But my loyalties must remain with Emmanuel! Before he left my old studio, I took a few lessons with him, and he was one of the best, most technique-focused teachers I’ve ever had. I wrote about this before (but it was before anyone ever read my blog ), but he used to do this thing where he’d start us out with a completely boring salsa basic. I guess just having seen so much ballet, I’m always trying to “fly” as he calls it; I have no connection with the floor basically. It looks like ballet dancers are connecting with the air, not the ground, especially the ballerinas, so that was my aim of course. “Woman! The only reason you’re still upright is because you’re so light!” he’d cry out in his Haitian accent when I’d try a double spin and nearly fall. “All dancers know where the floor is at all times; even ballet dancers,” he’d rant on. Then, he’d close his eyes take me into a closed hold (guy’s right hand on girl’s back shoulder blade, girl’s left hand on top of his shoulder and free hands clasped together) and tell me to visualize myself connecting with the floor. And the freaky thing is, he’d have this uncanny way of being able to tell how well I was mentally connecting to the floor just by feeling my frame. He could honestly tell, with his eyes closed, whether my mind as wandering (thinking, for ex., ‘can’t we do something beyond a stupid salsa basic’), or whether I was concentrating on the floor beneath my feet. And he was always right on the mark about where my mind was. Weird. Anyway, in addition to being an excellent teacher, he’s a genuinely nice guy. He always goes out of his way to say hello to me at all the big competitions, even though he is really a kind of “star” in the ballroom world, and he’d always tell me I did well in a showcase (though I knew it wasn’t true!) Oh, and he’s also an amazingly awesome dancer! Focused on technique though he is in his own lessons, he really puts on a show like no one else. His choreography is so mad fun, his style so wild, he and Joanna were often called upon to perform showdances, for example, on last year’s America’s Ballroom Challenge, and last season’s DWTS.

And what a riotious show-down it was Sunday night! Both Jose and Joanna and Emmanuel and Julia really danced their hearts out. As my friend pointed out to me, the judges’ faces kept seesawing between the two, stopping to focus on absolutely no one else on the floor. “How are they going to decide who comes in third, fourth, and fifth?” she said.

The fun / intensity / melodrama — however you prefer to see it — of this competition is that it’s the biggest in the area, and one in which all of the top couples compete. Many see it as a forecast of what’s going to happen — who’s going to take tops — at Nationals in Florida, coming up in September.

No surprises in International-Style.

Andrei Gavriline and Elena Kruychkova won in International Latin.

And the always glorious Jonathan Wilkins and Katusha Demidova in Standard. My favorite Standard couple has long been Victor Fung and Anna Mikhed, below.

But, actually, the more I see of Jonathan and Katusha, the more I hear Jonathan lecture on the art of Ballroom dance at Blackpool and the way his love of the sport / art really shines through, and the more I really watch them closely and realize their technical brilliance, the more he really is growing on me. I think sometimes, Englishmen can seem distant and aloof at first. But he really does seem to appreciate his fans and the applause they get, weaker than that received by Victor and Anna. And his dimpled Ralph Fiennes smile is starting to be a familiar staple of my whole ballroom experience, an essential part of that world that just whisks me away whenever I go to these big competitions. And the more I see them dance, I do see why, though Victor and Anna are the king and queen of charm, the more I understand why Jonathan and Katusha are number one in the country for several years in a row now and practically number one in the world. Some of the things they do, while not so flashy, are very difficult. I love it when he takes her out to the center of the floor during Waltz and they’ll do reverse turns for over a minute. Those are not only absolutely beautiful, but so hard to sustain that momentum and maintain that precise footwork for so long — far longer than the other couples — without getting dizzy, especially for the woman since you really have no way of spotting, and you’re just turning and turning and turning.

Okay, Latin, the other melodrama, this one never-ending:

Above is the eternally second-place couple, Max Kozhnevnikov and the absolutely divine Yulia Zagorouychenko, by far the crowd favorite, which, believe me, becomes all too obvious with the loud, rather nasty boos of disappointment when Max and Yulia are called runners-up. I always feel sorry for Andrei and Elena when that happens, because the crowd is booing, by extension, their winning. Funny thing is: while the U.S. judges continuously mark Andrei and Elena number one, the World judges repeatedly place Max and Yulia well above Andrei and Elena. In fact, Max and Yulia made finals at Blackpool this year. The U.S. judges insist Andrei and Elena’s technique is perfect and will say no more. But the World judges insist otherwise, showing, excuse me, but how full of absolute dog crap ballroom judges can be.

Anyway, for me, my ideal partership (of the American couples anyway) would actually be Andrei with Yulia. I’ve honestly never seen anyone (of the Americans anyway) move the way Andrei does. He is a tall thin man who just flies across that floor seemingly at lightening speed, light as a feather, and his hips, legs, and feet just a blur. He used to give privates at my studio, and before I knew who he was, I saw him show a student a backwards three Cha chas– a very rudimentary, first-level step. I’d never seen anyone do a basic step like that. My heart dropped. I realized then good dancing is not about fancy steps, but about the way the basics are executed. I remember thinking, wow, this guy should compete. Stupid. Then, I saw him on the cover of Dancesport mag and realized, dur, he’s the national champion. My problem with his partnership with Elena (his wife) is that, a former gynmast, she’s so teeny tiny; he must be nearly a foot taller. Not only do they look a bit odd together, but sometimes it throws them off. Last year at the Ohio Star Ball (aka: “America’s Ballroom Challenge” in its televised incarnation), they lost a normally easily-maintained connection, likely because his arm was just too high to hold her properly.

And Yulia! Yulia Zagorouychenko is probably my favorite of all female Latin dancers, excepting Karina Smirnoff who (also now a mainstay on DWTS), hasn’t competed in a while. Not to sound silly, but to me, Yulia is like the Alessandra Ferri of Latin — she’s a true artist. She moves in wholly unique ways, creating shapes with her body that are completely her own. She’ll go nearly on pointe in those open-toed sandals in Rumba, thrusting her hips foreward and rounding her shoulder blades so that she looks, cooly, like a cobra or something. I worry that she’s going to get serious bone spurs on her toes by the time she’s in her thirties with that on pointe on a hard-wood floor in open-toed shoes, but right now it looks absolutely gorgeous. I feel that sometimes Max, as much of a little cutie as he is, and as creative as he is with their choreography, just doesn’t really share her artistic brilliance.

So, it’s funny because, well, at one point on Saturday night, the two couples were dancing very closely to one another. I think the dance was Rhumba. I was focused on the couple right in front of me, another favorite, the breathtaking Delyan Terziev and Boriana Deltcheva, when all of a sudden the crowd began going wild. I looked further out onto the floor to see that Andrei and Max had exchanged partners– particularly cute, and demonstrating very good sportsmanship given the rivalry. Max went to dip Elena and she jumped up and wrapped both legs around his back. Lifts are strictly forbidden in non-showcase competition, but of course it was a moment of goofiness, and therefore, forgiven. Silly as she was trying to be, I was amazed at how good they actually looked together; their small bodies were a perfect match for each other. And then I looked at Andrei and Yulia — he was doing this crazy dip with her and it looked so amazingly stunning. Then she stood up and placed her arms around his neck. She’s a lot taller than Elena and they looked absolutely gorgeous together. Powerhouse couple that would be!

Anyway, here are some more highlights:

Delyan and Boriana, as I mentioned above, one of my favorites artistically. They’re a tall, thin, long-limbed couple and their Rhumba looks almost Balletic. She looks like an inky black spider!

They’re at the same level as my dear beloved Pasha and Anya (who didn’t compete, as they are a little busy with something else at the moment!!!), the two usually duke it out for fourth or fifth place — way too low for both couples. Strange how I always seem to champion the underdogs…

A Smooth couple I like, J.T. Damalas and Tomasz Mielnicki. They always dance with a lot of pizazz, and always do a very sexy foxtrot. I think they placed third. She makes her own dresses, and she usually comes up with something just bedazzling. How gorgeous is that color!!! (Sorry for all the zombie-looking eyes, by the way. I need a new camera!)

Matt and Karen Hauer, a sweet, newlywed Rhythm couple. They started off their Mambo routine very cutely: he took one look at her and broke into a series of small jumps, as if to say how wowed he was at her. She watched in amusement, then he grabbed her hand and they took off.

Another shot of Jose DeCamps and Joanna Zacharewicz in Rhythm. Jose really is a charmer.

Katusha’s little sister, Anna Demidova and her partner, Igor Mikushov, who placed first in Amateur Standard. They competed in Blackpool as well, and placed very high there too. Promising future those two.

The always lovely (and very photogenic) Anna Trebunskaya (if name sounds familiar, she too has danced with stars; that sports star Jerry Rice, to be exact). She has a new partner, Pasha Barsuk (oh no, another “Pasha and Anna”!!) and they did very well for a new partnership, placing 5th in Latin. Good for her

One last thing: the throng of spectators was absolutely huge, as you can kind of see here with onlookers anxiously awaiting Victor and Anna’s slowfox. Latin was about ten times worse than Standard though; you really could hardly move on Saturday night, and I’m sure the crowd standing, of necessity since there was nowhere else to go, around the exit, was a borderline fire hazzard. Blackpool was crazy packed this year too. Attendees at ballroom competitions used to consist mainly of friends and family (and the few students) of the competitors, a crowd that could easily fit at the several tables encircling the dance floor. But the more popular dancesport is becoming, the more of a spectator sport it really is. I think they’re going to need to find a new venue for some of those more popular competitions and put up some serious risers. At least for Latin…

Anyway, here are more photos in the album. It’s not finished yet, as I have yet to match some names with faces, and some names are horrifically misspelled, so please bear with me until the weekend when I have more time for fix-ups.