ort Challenge competitors and formation teams, workshop tickets sold, spectator tickets sold, and the most advertising dollars spent on program ads and perimeter sign boards. This also facilitated another first: a Saturday evening sell out of spectator tickets. We added tiered seating at both ends of the competition floor this year and were happy that this extra expense allowed our spectators a more enjoyable view of the floor. We also had the national backdrop for picture taking which included the Olympic, USA Dance, and WDSF logos. The CDC attracted many top competitors raising the bar for all the dancers. Among the top competitors were the 2012 USA Dance Adult Ten Dance Champions, Alexander Tchernossitov and Regina Maziarz--NY, Adult Nine Dance Champions and Rhythm Finalists, Damian Pataluna and Irina Morozov--KY, Adult Championship Smooth Finalists, Nels E. Petersen and Theresa Kimler-MN, Senior I Ten Dance and Latin Championship Finalists, Balazs Kocsi and Csilla Kocsi--KY, Senior I Championship Standard Finalists, Xingmin Lu and Katerina Lu--NY, Senior 1 and Senior 2 Championship Rhythm Champions, Henry and Olivia Hudson--AZ, Senior 2 Latin Finalists, Sean Shiauh Wei and Vivian Lin--NY, Senior 2 Standard Finalists, Vincent and Irina Feingold--NJ as well as Lonnie and Susie Tsang--Chicago, six time past Senior II Standard Champions. On a special note, Brandon Segovia and Serena Pav, Chicagoland Chapter members who advanced through the auditions and then competed on Dancing With The Stars Ballroom Battle 2011, added their special flavor and talent to our comp. These top competitors graced our floors, entertained us with their honor dances, and added their extraordinary dancing expertise to the delight of all our spectators and VIP guests. www.USAdance.ORG
Dance competitions are complex entities and sometimes take on a life of their own, as any organizer will attest to. Most went smoothly, but the new O2CM upgrade and new scoring pads added an additional layer of complexity to the competition. Our Chairman of Judges, Gregory Day, and all of our adjudicators including Tommie Giacchino, Bonita Brocket, Don Johnson, Charles Jones, Marco Mechelke, Bill Davies, Rauno and Kristiina Ilo, Linda Jackson, and Kris and Ela Kasperowicz took it in stride and worked with the bugs that crawled out of the system. We thank all of our officials and CDC volunteers for their patience and persistence in helping to iron out the kinks during the weekend. This year we had a good complement of vendors that provided valuable services to our competitors and spectators including Ballroom Video, Dance Connection, Dance Styles Chicago, Erin Marie Hair and Makeup Stylist, Glam Designs Costume Rentals, International Dance Design, LNT Photography, and Venus. Our hearts and prayers go out to Grand Prix America, a children's costume/ shoe vendor, who was caught in Hurricane Sandy’s devastation. Lastly, we want to give a big thank you to the over 35 volunteers who contributed their time and talents to make our competition such a success. Many dedicated their entire weekend to ensure things ran smoothly. We also hail a big thank you to all the studios, social dancers, and professionals who participated along with the many competitors from all over the country who competed at our National Qualifying Event gracing our dance floor with beauty and elegance. By Jeffrey S. Forth Photos By Anne-Marie Lund, LNT Photography
2013 January - February
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