President’s Letters

Hi!  Happy Fall!

Dances:

October 11-13, Carnegie Classic, Rangos Ballroom, CMU University Center. USA Dance Inc. sanctioned competition organized by the CMU Ballroom Dance Club. Friday, 8-11 pm, Starlit Soiree, open to the public; Saturday, 9 am – 6pm, Newcomer, Bronze, Silver & Gold level competitions; 7-10 pm, Pre-Champ & Championship level competitions; Sunday, 9-5 pm, workshops open to the public. Spectators are welcomed to watch the Saturday competitions.  https://carnegieclassic/org. 

October 19 –Pittsburgh Palisades. 7-8:00 pm, Chris Drum teaching Foxtrot. John Siefken, DJ.  Special Needs Adaptive Program (SNAP) performance, 8:00 pm. John Siefken, DJ 8:15-10:30 pm. Wine pull raffle to support our outreach programs. Come say goodbye to John Siefken, long-time USA Dance Pittsburgh board member and DJ, who is moving to Indianapolis.  

Many thanks to Matias Jonsson and Irina Varovoi for the ChaCha lesson and introducing us to the Kathak Performance Team, and to Bobby D. who provided the music on 9/21 at Wightman School.

USA Dance Pittsburgh Board Elections. Nine local board members are elected every two years by the USA Dance membership, and the terms of the six current board members are up on December 31, 2024.  Nominations are accepted in two ways: self-nomination or by petition. The basic requirements are: membership in USA Dance Inc. and a commitment to attend a monthly board meeting and assist with the monthly dances.  However, to continue to provide high quality monthly dances, execute outreach expansion activities with collegiate ballroom clubs and the special needs and after school programs, and undertake our responsibilities to recruit dancers, volunteers, spectators and sponsors at Nationals in March, we need individuals who have expertise in project planning; fundraising; marketing/promotion; and IT.  If you have these skills and are interested in being a board member, please fill out the attached form and return it to Phyllis Orochena at Pabo@comcast.net by November 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm. Please let me know before the deadline if you’re interested so we can talk further.   

USA Dance 2025 National Ballroom DanceSport Championships, Pittsburgh:

Qualifications: There is still time for non-collegiate amateur couples to qualify to compete at Nationals on March 28-30, 2025 by placing in the top 50% of competitors in each dance performed in a regional competition  in Newark or Atlanta.  https://www.americandancer.org/2024-comp-calendar

There are no qualifications for professional/amateur (Pro/Am) couples undertaking 19 syllabus (e.g. waltz, tango, rumba, cha cha in American or International Style) dances or for amateur and Pro/Am couples who participate in 7 Night Club dances (West Coast Swing, Hustle, Argentine Tango, Merengue, Country 2-Step, Salsa and Bachata) at Nationals. Everyone participating in any of these competitions must become a USA Dance DanceSport Athlete member prior to competing. Forms are available at our dances or online at https://www.usadance.org/membership

Volunteers:  The Pittsburgh Chapter is responsible for recruiting 50-60 volunteers to support the professionally judged competitions in March.  We’re counting on you to continue our support again this year.

Spectators: Watching real live dancers is much more exciting than watching Dancing with the Stars on TV! The evening champion sessions feature young people (ages 13-16), adults (ages 19 to 75+), collegiates, and professionals. The quality is very high for the winners who become eligible for international competitions.

USA Dance National Elections: From November 15 -24, USA Dance members will be asked to vote electronically for six National Officer and DanceSport Delegate positions. Only the president position is contested. Find resume and candidate statements for Chuck Garrett, Aleh Kulyba and Ken Richard at https://usadance.org/page/elections2024.

Hope to see you dancing, soon!

Jane Downing

Hope to see you soon!
Jane Downing, President, USA Dance Pittsburgh

Hi!  Happy Leap into Fall!

Nationals: There are time-sensitive new rules on how non-collegiate amateurs must qualify to compete in the USA Dance Ballroom DanceSport National Championships, March 28-30, 2025 at the Wyndham Grand Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh.

Each partner in a non-collegiate DanceSport amateur couple needs to earn 6 points to qualify for the 4 American Smooth and 5 American Rhythm dances and the 5 International Standard and 5 International Latin dances. Participation at a Challenge Competition (such as the Ohio State University Challenge, 9/25; Carnegie Classic, 10/11; the Rochester DanceSport Festival, 10/20) is each worth 2 points. Participation at a Regional Championship (The MAC at Newark Airport Marriott, 1/17-19 or one in Atlanta, 2/14-16) is worth 4 points. The only other way to gain 6 points is to place in the top 50% of each dance performed at a Regional Championship.  https://www.americandancer.org/2024-comp-calendar

Note: There are no qualifications for amateurs in Pro/Am (professional/amateur) couples undertaking these 19 dances at Nationals, or for amateur and Pro/Am couples who participate in 7 Night Club/Fun dances (West Coast Swing, Hustle, Argentine Tango, Merengue, Country 2-Step, Salsa and Bachata at Nationals. Everyone participating in any of these competitions must become a USA Dance DanceSport Athlete member prior to competing. Forms are available at our dances or online at https://www.usadance.org/membership

Dances:

September 21 -Wightman School Community Center.  At 6:15 pm, Christine Zona will teach a pre-competition workshop for those planning to dance at the Carnegie Classic, October 12. Before 9/20, please RSVP at christinezona@gmail.com.

 At 7:00, Matias Jonsson and Irina Varovoi will teach Cha Cha. Bobby D will DJ. Performance by Kathak Performance Team.   

October 11-13, Jared L. Cohon University Center, Carnegie Mellon University. Carnegie Classic, CMU Ballroom Dance Club. Oct 11, 8-11 pm, Starlit Soiree; Oct. 12, 9 am – 5pm, Newcomer, Bronze, Silver & Gold Level Competitions;

7-11 pm, Competition for Novice, Pre-Champ & Open Levels; Oct 13, 9-5 pm, Dance Camp. https://carnegieclassic.com

October 19 –Pittsburgh Palisades.  First Oktoberfest Buffet Dinner Dance and final tribute to John Siefken, long-time USA Dance Pittsburgh board member and DJ. Doors open at 5:30 pm; dinner starts at 6:00 pm; dancing from 7 -10:30 pm.

Many thanks to Mikayla Schultz, Arthur Murray South Hills, who taught West Coast Swing to a full house at the Palisades on August 17 and Bobby D. who provided the music.

Elections: In November, USA Dance members will be asked to vote electronically for six National Officer and DanceSport Delegate positions. Only the president position is contested. Find resume and candidate statements for Chuck Garrett, Aleh Kulyba and Ken Richard at https://usadance.org/page/elections2024.

Board Recruitment.  To continue to provide high quality monthly dances, execute expansion activities and undertake our responsibilities to recruit dancers, volunteers, spectators and sponsors at Nationals in March, we need to identify individuals who have expertise in project planning; fundraising; marketing/promotion; and IT.  If you have these skills and are interested, please contact me at the September dance so we can set up a time to talk further.

Hope to see you soon!
Jane Downing, President, USA Dance Pittsburgh

HI! Hope you’re surviving the heat and having a good summer!

USA Dance Pittsburgh is one of 115 chapters of a national nonprofit organization, USA Dance Inc.  Its mission is to promote ballroom dancing as a lifetime recreational activity and a sport.  Chapters promote and sponsor amateur ballroom dancing for social dancers, competitors, and the general public – helping beginners get started and talented dancers to become DanceSport Athlete competitors.  Although we pay instructors, DJs and rental fees through attendance fees at every dance, and National rebates $5.00 for new and renewing local memberships, we must raise funds to support outreach programs like our Special Needs Adaptive Program, the Woodland Hills Dickson Preparatory Steam Academy Dance Program, and the collegiate programs.  We’ve been chosen to host the USA Dance National Ballroom DanceSport Championships again this year from March 28-30, 2025.  Our role is to recruit amateur and professional/amateur (pro/am) couples to compete, volunteers to support the competition and spectators to watch incredible dancing.  I hope you’ll consider participating in our activities.

In the past, we have focused on providing high quality monthly social dances. We appreciate the talent of Chris Roth, the Rumba instructor at the Coraopolis VFW in April;  Jon and Stratton DeWitt, Waltz teachers at the Wightman Community Center in May; Chris Drum, Hustle instructor at the Palisades in June; and Aaron May and Anne Wildenhain , Bachata teachers at the VFW in July, and the great music of Mark Boucher at the VFW, Jon and Stratton at Wightman, and Chris Drum at the Palisades. Thank you!

We’ve begun discussing new approaches to our dances including a new format for our October dinner dance, a potential new outreach program in Sto-Rox and a youth summer camp in 2025. We need volunteers and new board members to help with these activities and with Nationals.  So hopefully, you’ll say yes, when we ask you to help!

 Our dances:

August 17 – Mikayla Schultz, Arthur Murry South Hills, will teach West Coast Swing and Bobby D. will be the DJ at the Palisades in McKeesport.

September 21 -Matias Jonsson and Irina Varovoi will teach Cha Cha at Wightman School, Squirrel Hill at 7:00 pm.  Christine Zona will teach a pre-competition workshop for first-time competitors and others at 6:15 pm.

October 19 – Oktoberfest Buffet Dance at the Palisades and a final tribute to John Siefken, long-time USA Dance Pittsburgh board member and DJ.

Carnegie Classic –October 11-13 at the Jared L. Cohon University Center, Carnegie Mellon University.

Friday Night – Social Dance;  Saturday – Competitions for amateur collegiate, adult, senior and junior couples;  Sunday -Dance Camp with national champions

There are new qualifying rules to participate in the National Championships, particularly in the Collegiate Challenge Competition.  The Carnegie Classic is a USA Dance sanctioned qualifying competition for the Collegiate Challenge Competition organized by the CMU Ballroom Dance Club.  Participation by seniors and youth in this, the Ohio State University DanceSport Challenge in Columbus on September 27/28, and the Rochester, NY DanceSport Festival on October 19-20 will earn points to dance at the National Championships in Pittsburgh in March 2025.  Visit https://carnegieclassic.org for local details; the USA Dance National Collegiate Dance Council website for the new collegiate rules, https://usadancencdc.org, the new rule book at https://usadancenationals.org or American Dancer articles on the new rules at https://americandancer.org.

Hope to see you soon!
Jane Downing, President, USA Dance Pittsburgh