Chapter Newsletter

Summer has now officially arrived and the temperature is up - and so is the attendance at our dances. The 1^st Saturday Dance at Byrd Middle School had a great crowd in June, dancing to the popular music of regular deejay Bill Irwin. The county had the air conditioners working at full blast when we arrived and, despite temps pushing 100 degrees outside, the gym was still pretty comfortable for dancing. Several of our dancers brought their own box fans and with those scattered around the room to keep the air moving, the evening went well. As I pointed out at the dance, the HVAC system at the schools is controlled by a centralized computer system and cannot be adjusted on site. We will continue to remind the county that we will be there on the first Saturday of each month to insure the proper systems are on and functioning.

The June 3^rd Saturday Dance featured a challenging and fun Bolero lesson taught by Phyllis Harris and Ron Marchal. Phyllis really put together an exciting routine of this most sensuous of the ballroom dances. Come join us at this month's dance on July 19 for a recap of last month's lesson and part two of her routine. If you still need to learn more of the basics first, Ron will be working with the less experienced dancers at the same time. June's dance also showcased a fun Swing routine featuring Shirleen Howard and Ron. Check out their outfits in the photo inside this issue. You shoulda been there!

At both June dances we announced a proposal to move the monthly lesson from Deep Run to the Byrd dance to take advantage of the larger floor and larger capacity. So far, the response to this proposal has been very positive. If you would like to voice your opinion on this move - which would mean moving Bill Irwin to Deep Run and rotating instructors and deejays at Byrd - contact a Board member before July 21. Your Board is also in the planning stages for activities to take place during National Ballroom Dance Week, which this year will be celebrated from 19-28 September. At our September 20 dance, we will recognize NBDW and announce our selection of the Chapter's 2008 Amateur and Pro of the year. If you would like to nominate someone for either of these awards, send me an email (plsisk@aol.com) with the name of your candidate and reasons supporting the nomination by July 21. Please note: these awards are NOT talent contests. They are a way to recognize contributions made to support, enhance or expand ballroom dance in our area. Local studios will also host events - some free — promoting ballroom during that period. Watch for announcements of NBDW activities in the next two issues of LOD.

See you on the dance floor - Phil

Mike Recant,DJ & Phyllis Harris, instructor, Deep Run July dance

By Ruth Wilbourne

What goes around, comes around! In the 70's and 80's disco was the craze, and disco is back. There is even a Disco Competition in King of Prussia, PA. July 4-6, 2008, go to www.discoamerica.com and check it out. You can have the disco experience right in Colonial Heights, by attending our July 12 Disco Night dance which will feature lots of Hustle music. Dennis Howard will be our DJ. Gwendolyn Glenn will teach the New York/slot Hustle in the group lesson. Don't miss it!

Our June 14th dance was a success; each gentleman who attended was presented a gift bag which included a variety of items (Father's Day was June 15). Arthur Dewey taught his final lesson in the Night Club 2 Step series. Edith Lanning was our DJ and played excellent music. Refreshments were provided by Mary Kate Creasey, Anita Anderson, Renee Stephan, Edith Lanning, Trudy Dunn and Bill Gandel. A special thank-you to these members for volunteering to help. Rebecca Hsu joined our chapter, and we welcome her into the ranks of USA Dance.

We also held our Annual General Membership Meeting at the June dance and it was announced that our Chapter had been contacted by the Dinwiddie County Parks and Recreation Department about having a dance there. Your Board voted to sponsor a dance in Dinwiddie on a trial basis on the first Friday in September and the first Friday in October. We hope that our members will support these events. Rock Foster, co-owner of Dance Masters Phoenix studio has agreed to teach the group lesson for these two dances.

Refreshments for May dance provided by: Sieglinde Holtz, Renee Stephan & Mary Kate Creasey

Rock Foster has agreed to give one week of free group lessons, Monday through Thursday, at the Phoenix Studio to anyone who joins our Chapter. This offer does not apply to their Friday night lesson and dance. Will you please encourage dancers to join our Chapter? If they join at one of our dances, they will get in free to that dance, and now, there is the added incentive of free group lessons at Dance Masters Phoenix.

Prior to the June 14 meeting, there were two vacant seats on the Board. After the meeting, Tamara Castrinos and Anita Anderson volunteered to serve. We thank them both and look forward to having them on the Board.

Dancing feet are happy feet. See you for Disco Night on July 12

Tri-Cities newest member, Rebecca Hsu

By Charleen Whitehead

Ellen Mary Krueger & Bruce Ripley

LOD: How did you become interested in ballroom dancing? When and where did you start?

Bruce: I started dancing in the late 90's. Ballroom dancing seemed like a good way to get out and meet other people socially. Although it was a little intimidating at first, I started to get a feel for it after I took some group and private lessons. I started with the Tri-Cities USABDA chapter and took some lessons at the Dance Masters studio.

Ellen Mary: Bruce and I had been dating for about a year. Bruce already knew how to dance. After turning down all of his invitations to come with him to The Dance Space, because I didn't know how to dance he enrolled us in Chesterfield County Parks and Recreation Beginning Ballroom class taught by John Holcomb. That was in 2000, and I've been dancing ever since.

LOD: What is your favorite dance, and why is it your favorite?

Bruce: I guess it would be ChaCha. I like the Latin beat, and it's a very lively dance.

Ellen Mary: I like the cha-cha, because it is such an upbeat dance. It's hard not to feel happy when you dance the cha-cha.

LOD: What is the most exciting/fun place you have ever danced?

Bruce: Several of us went on a dance cruise a few years ago. It was interesting navigating on a moving dance floor. We had a great time anyway of course.

Ellen Mary: The 2004 New Year's Eve dance hosted by the Tidewater chapter of USA Dance was the first that I attended, and I thought it was very exciting. We were with a wonderful group of people, and everyone was having such a good time.

LOD: In what part of town do you live?

Bruce & Ellen Mary: We live in Founders Bridge in Midlothian.

LOD: Where do you work and what do you do?

Bruce: I do IT project work for Altria. I typically lead projects in the Customer Service and Supply Chain business areas. My office is on West Broad Street across from Innsbrook.

Ellen Mary: I am a senior paralegal in the Private Wealth Services Group at McGuireWoods.

LOD: Are you from Richmond? If not, from where do you hail?

Bruce: I was born in Rhode Island and grew up mainly in Vermont. My father worked for the railroad. He kept moving north to follow the jobs until we ended up a few miles from the Canadian border. When they wanted him to move to Quebec, he decided he had gone as far north as he wanted to and went to work for the state instead until he retired.

Ellen Mary: I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and grew up in Glendale and North Lake, Wisconsin.

LOD: What other activities do you enjoy besides dancing?

*Bruce: I play a little golf when I find the time. I used to ski a lot. That's a survival sport in Vermont. I haven't done much of that lately due to a lack of white stuff around here.

Ellen Mary: I enjoy reading, traveling, swimming, and new adventures and experiences.

LOD: Something people probably don't know about me is…

Bruce: While I was on active duty with the Army, I went to graduate school with the Navy. I had some good assignments with the Army: Tacoma, Washington; Athens, Greece; Monterey, California.

Ellen Mary: I used to teach high school biology and German in Milwaukee and biology and advanced biology in a private school in Houston, Texas.

LOD: What is the most exciting/exotic vacation you've ever taken? What experiences made it interesting?

Bruce & Ellen Mary: The most exciting /exotic vacation was our wedding at the CuisinArt Resort in Anguilla, British West Indies. We were married at 4 p.m. on a bluff overlooking this beautiful beach. I will never forget that day! For our first anniversary, we cruised the Caribbean aboard Freedom of the Seas and one of the shore excursions we took was a helicopter tour of the Virgin Islands. That was also pretty exciting!

It only happens once a year, and you should attend at least once in your dancing career! It all happens at the Hyatt Regency in Reston, Virginia, and it is a wonderful opportunity to see these Pro/Am, Professional and Collegiate couples compete. Spectator tickets and discounted rooms are still available for July 17-20th. Call Nick Short @ 301-657-9095 or Beverly Donahue @ 301-926-9591 for tickets. to make reservations at the Hyatt, call 800-233-1234, but tell them you are with the Va. State Championships to get the preferred rate. There will be total cash prizes and awards in excess of $75,000.00. Not only is it fun to watch these couples compete, but if you need dance shoes, jewelry, etc there are vendors set up all 4 days. Saturday night is the World Class Show by Maxim Kozhevnikov and Beata!!

Many thanks to Ellis Lewis, who provided refreshments at Deep Run in June

Tina Shiver became a member at Byrd in June

Dena and David Nelson, newest members who joined at Deep Run in June

Gregg Rutecki also joined our chapter at the June Deep Run dance.

When you join a chapter, you are given a list of Membership Categories to select from. Most of us are so anxious to get into the ballroom to dance that we don't study the information very carefully. Although the majority of us are "Social Adult Dancers", some of our members choose to be "Social Ballroom Dancers". The difference in dues is $10. A Social Adult Dancer "enjoys & appreciates the physical, mental and social benefits of social dancing", whereas the Social Ballroom Dancer "dances for enjoyment & works to improve but does not compete." I can't help but think that we all really are Ballroom Dancers. I don't see anyone out onthe dance floor who isn't trying to learn and improve their dancing!!

In 2007, USA Dance Chapters sponsored:

National says, "Thank You for all you do to promote ballroom in your community!"

Phyllis worked us hard, but we loved every minute of that Bolero lesson!!!