Author name: Andrew Orochena

PRESIDENT’S LETTER, PITTSBURGH CHAPTER USA DANCE, OCTOBER 27, 2026

Hi!  Happy Fall! Hope you’re enjoying the sun and taking advantage of all the local dance opportunities! We’re blessed with a large and diverse choice in our area.

SO—- ARE YOU A NATIONAL STAR?

Rose-Ann Lynch, Managing Editor of American Dancer Magazine, the official national on-line publication of USA Dance, Inc., has published nearly 20 photos of local dancers from Paul Vladuchick’s portfolio of Pittsburgh Chapter dances. The September magazine cover features Michael Haynie and Melva Perich – a first for our chapter.  Since early May 2026 Rose-Ann has inserted the social dance pictures randomly in articles to balance out the traditional competition pictures USA Dance Inc. has featured for decades. Many, many thanks to Paul for including us in his dance portfolio, where you’ll find the originals. To find the American Dancer pictures, go to https://americandancer.org. 

2027 NATIONALS -April 2-4, 2027, Wyndham Grand Hotel
SOCIAL DANCE PACKAGE  EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION  NOVEMBER 15

What’s new in 2027? More than 60 dance workshops in four rooms. Discount fees for USA Dance members. Full day and day passes. Á la carte tickets for workshops and social dances.  Go to https://usadancenationals.org/social-celebration for complete details.

“Ultimate Social” Package
2-night hotel stay ($529/member double occupancy; $579 non-member).
All workshops, social dances & spectator access to the competitions; Friday night dinner.

 “The Locals” Weekend Package ($369 member; $399 non-member).
All workshops, two social dances, Friday night dinner, spectator access to the competitions.

  Eight Fun Dance competitions ($25/dance with package or Friday spectator admission).

NATIONAL DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS AND COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS:
WATCH THE BEST IN THE COUNTRY

What’s New? More streamlined schedule. More DanceSport workshops. More practice and coaching space. Access to all Dance Workshops and Social Dances. Early bird registration from January 1-31. Collegiate Team Match Saturday night. Winners in 8 age categories of Standard and Latin competitions get points making them eligible as USA representatives in 20+ World Championships or World Cup competitions. Some place high or win those competitions. Draft competition schedules can be accessed at https://usadancenationals.org/schedule.

THANK YOU!

Our September instructor was Sarah Slevinski who taught Tango and Bobby D. was the DJ. In October, Vincent Jones and Rachel Booth, Cross Body Dance + Movement, taught Salsa and Norrie Bastedo DJ’d. Great energy and attendance in both events – thank you, all!

BOARD ELECTIONS

Every two years, each USA Dance Chapter holds elections for up to nine Board members. If there are more than nine candidates, members will be asked to vote. If fewer, at the December 19 dance, the membership will ratify the selection of those who self-nominated. The approved board will elect the president, vice-president, secretary and treasurer. 

On-going responsibilities include organizing the monthly dances the third Saturday of the month; attending board meetings the week before the dances; coordinating and being fiscal sponsor for the Special Needs Adaptive Program; supporting the National USA Dance National Ballroom Dance Festival in 2027 and 2028 through volunteer recruitment and marketing to ballroom dance organizations, studios and the public to attract social dancers, competitors and spectators.

There are two ways of nominating board members – self nomination and by petition. Please return one of the completed forms to J anine Hauck (j9hauck@gmail.com) by November 30.

UPCOMING DANCES

November 21. Wightman School. Thanksgiving. Chris Drum, DJ and teaching Rumba.
December 19. Wightman School. Happy Holidays. Brian Lee, DJ and teaching Swing.
January 16, 2027.  Wightman School.

Hope to see you on November 21!

Jane Downing, President USA Dance Pittsburgh #3007
Dancer008-@outlook.com or 412 508-1952

PRESIDENT’S LETTER, PITTSBURGH CHAPTER USA DANCE, SEPTEMBER 6, 2026

Hi!  Hope you’ve survived the heat and the storms of summer and are looking forward to the fall! We’re looking for a full fall program of ballroom dancing. Come join us!

MEMBER APPRECIATION NIGHT. SEPTEMBER 19. WIGHTMAN SCHOOL COMMUNITY BUILDING

USA Dance Inc., our national organization, promotes excellence in ballroom dancing through 150 social chapters like Pittsburgh’s and competitions throughout the country. Membership is with the national organization. Once a year, USA Dance Pittsburgh shows our appreciation for USA Dance members by reducing the admission fee to $10.00.  (Note: Dancers who sign up at a dance get in free.)

Member benefits include reduced admission to every local dance (i.e. $15 instead of $20); links to American Dancer, the online magazine with breaking news, inspiring stories and expert advice; insurance and health benefit options; a discounted Dance Vision subscription; PerkSpot discounts from companies including Apple, Verizon, Marriott, Disney; and eligibility to compete for national titles and represent the United States in international competitions.

Your admission fees help the chapter support local collegiate club activities and a Special Needs Adaptive Program.

 Our September 19 dance coincides with National Ballroom Dance Week (September 14-20) and a USA Dance, Inc. Membership Challenge (July 30 to Sept. 30. Baseline is non-active members as of 7/30/26). Two winning Chapters will win $500 each one for the most new members and the second with the highest percentage increase in membership. We want to grow the number who love dancing!  You can help:
Bring a friend and encourage them to become a new member.
AND/OR reach out to a former member and invite them back.

September 19 theme is Black and Gold. Sarah Slevinski is teaching Tango and Bobby D is the DJ. And be prepared to buy 50/50 raffle tickets to support the Carnegie Classic, a USA Dance sanctioned competition.

COMING ATTRACTIONS
Dances

October 17. Wightman School. Halloween. Norrie Bastedo, DJ. Vincent Jones & Rachel Booth, CrossBody Dance & Movement, teaching Salsa.
November 21. Wightman School. Thanksgiving. Chris Drum, DJ and teaching Rumba.
December 19. Wightman School. Happy Holidays. Brian Lee, DJ and teaching Swing.

2027 NATIONALS
Organizing a Local Outreach Team

Nationals are coming back to Pittsburgh on April 2-4, 2027 and again in 2028.  Planning at the national level is underway for 2027 with a target attendance of 1,500. This means we need to be more effective in our outreach efforts to increase local participation, particularly in volunteer recruitment, the social dance program, competitions and spectators. Pittsburgh has hosted Nationals four times (2022, 2024-2026) in part because of the assistance the local chapter provides. With a very tiny group of volunteers our local outreach has improved in four years, but only modestly. With increased activity, we need more help, starting now.  I will schedule a Zoom meeting in the near future to start our planning. Please let me know if you’re interested.

Qualifying for Nationals

Except for collegiates, Pro/Am couples or Fun Dance participants, in order to qualify as amateurs to dance at any level (Pre-Bronze to Champion) in either American or International styles (or both) at Nationals, you must gain 6 participation points. Participation is the only qualifier, not whether you are among the top 3 or 6 winners. The most number of heats typically are at the Pre-Bronze and Bronze levels so you don’t need to be a life-long dancer to compete.

You can gain 6 points by participating in Regional DanceSport Competitions held at Chicago Marriott SW on October 30/Nov. 1 (Midwest); Newark, NJ on 1/15 -1/7, 2027 (The MAC); and Atlanta, February 19-21, 2027 (Southeastern).

You can gain 2 points at the Carnegie Classic held at Carnegie Mellon University on October 10. Although the Classic attracts primarily college students, the competition is open to all ages and all levels. The weekend includes a Social Dance on Friday night, October 9 and dance workshops on Sunday, October 11.

Hope to see you on September 19!

Jane Downing, President USA Dance Pittsburgh #3007
Dancer008-@outlook.com or 412 508-1952

PRESIDENT’S LETTER, PITTSBURGH CHAPTER USA DANCE. JULY 14, 2026

Hi!  I’m back. My apologies for the gap in communications. Between activities related to the first ever USA Dance National Dance Festival in March, a variety of computer hacks and general re-entry issues, I’ve been more than negligent in my direct communications.  You deserve better!  

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE FIRST SIX MONTHS

As of July 1, 2026, USA Dance Pittsburgh has 185 members: 107 are DanceSport athletes/competitors, and 78 are social dancers. On March 27-29, Pittsburgh hosted USA Dance Inc.’s national ballroom competitions for the 4^th time and added a social dance program and a summit for professionals.   My profound gratitude and thanks to everyone -volunteers, competitors, social dancers, professionals and spectators- who participated.  So – how did we do?

2026 USA DANCE NATIONAL BALLROOM DANCE FESTIVAL (NATIONALS)

Competitions

Nearly 800 individuals including collegiates from 45 colleges and universities competed. Amateur competitors included 88 local USA Dance members – 20 adults and 68 collegiates from the four local clubs, and an estimated dozen more collegiate partners. The number of local Pre-Bronze and Bronze dancers in both styles was impressive!

The Point Park DanceSport Team won first in the Collegiate Team Match and the Latin Formation Team event. Lincoln Kosyla and Elizabeth Woodberry, the Team president, won the Amateur Collegiate Latin Open Championship.

The Special Needs Adaptive Program (SNAP) Performance Team danced a Cha Cha to “Golden” (K-Pop Demon Hunters’ signature song) as a formation on Friday evening.

The 8 Fun Dances attracted 30 competitors from Maryland, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania including 14 USA Dance Pittsburgh members and an equal number from the Youngstown Chapter. Local winners included Joe Aiken and April Fisher, Night Club Two Step and William Comer and Kyr Brenneman, Bachata.

Social Dance Weekend

An estimated 200 dancers signed up for the dinner, two themed social dances and 41 dance workshops. They also watched the competitions or attended Chapter and professional workshops. Twenty one of 41 dance workshops were taught by local instructors: Christine Zona and Jim Page, Night & Day; Chris Drum; Ivan Sovetov & Valeria Mkrtchian, Fred Astaire; David Geidel, Cris Sharpley, Tunisia El, Eva Dobesch, Arthur Murray; and Nicolette & Agustin Garcia-Pawlowski, Los Sabrosos.

Local Marketing and Volunteer Recruitment

Gloria Schohn and I were joined by two marketing professionals, Shuhuei Lee and Cathy Bowen, who produced sophisticated images of ballroom athletes which were used in a variety of media (post cards, print and social media, a bill board) and a 30 second video which aired on the national website to encourage spectators to watch the competitions. Thanks to Gloria, Mayor Corey O’Connor welcomed participants via video and proclaimed Friday to be USA Dance Day. WTAE aired a conversation Gloria and I had with Talk Pittsburgh hosts in 2025. Regular updates on the Festival were sent to nearly 30 ballroom dance and social dance organizations in the Pittsburgh area.  

We recruited 43 volunteers, 26 of them local, to help keep everything moving. Our overall efforts were rewarded by being named Chapter of the Year for USA Dance District 3.

PITTSBURGH CHAPTER EVENTS

We’ve had five monthly dances, four at Wightman School and one at Winchester Thurston School We greatly appreciate the support of Matias Jonsson & Irene Yarovoi (Apasionado Studio), Dmitry Demidov (Demidov Dance), Jimmy Page (Night & Day), Cris Sharpley (Arthur Murray Penn Hills and McMurray) and Jonathan & Stratton DeWitt (Nova Ballroom) for teaching both International and American patterns, and DJ’s Matias Jonsson, Brittany Demidov, Marc Boucher, Bobby D and Brian Lee for their music. Thanks to both Barb Johnson and April Fisher, both components of the Spring Session of the Special Needs Adaptive Program (SNAP) was held.

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Dances

July 18, 2026 Wightman School.  Happy Birthday, USA. Norrie Bastedo, DJ. Frank Blakemore & Victoria Andromalos-Dale, West Coast Swing. Wear red, white and blue.

New membership drive begins. Save $35.00 membership fee. Join tonight, and come to the next two dances, i.e. savings of $20.00, 7/18; $5.00, 8/15 & $10.00, 9/19.

August 15, Wightman School. A Night in the Caribbean. Brian Lee, DJ. Augustin Garcia-Pawlowski, Bachata.

September 19. Wightman School. Member Appreciation Night. Member admission fee is $10.00. Bobby D, DJ. Sarah Slevinski, Tango.

2027 Nationals

Planning Assistance Needed

Nationals are coming back on April 2-4, 2027 and again in 2028.  Planning is underway for 2027 and will include changes to the four elements. Target attendance is 1,500 which means a greater number of volunteers and more effective outreach. If you’re interested in joining an advisory committee to brainstorm outreach and marketing, please contact me.

Qualifying for Nationals

Except for collegiates and those participating in the Fun Dance competitions, in order to qualify to dance at Nationals, you must gain 6 participation points. You can gain 2 points at a College Challenge, 4 points at a Local Challenge or 6 points at a Regional Competition.

The Carnegie Classic (2 points) will be held at Carnegie Mellon University on October 10. Early registration is underway. The weekend also includes a 10/9 social dance and 10/11 dance workshops.

Two additional collegiate challenges will be held in Rochester NY, October 17 and at Ohio State University on October 24. 

Regional DanceSport Championships (6 points) will be held at Chicago Marriott SW on October 30/Nov. 1 (Midwest); Newark, NJ on 1/15 -1/7, 2027 (The MAC); and Atlanta, February 19-21, 2027 (Southeastern).

Hope to see you on the dance floor soon!
Jane Downing, President
USA Dance Pittsburgh #3007
Dancer008-@outlook.com