President’s Letters

Hi ~ Happy almost spring!

USA Dance National Ballroom DanceSport Championships, downtown Wyndham Grand Hotel, March 22-24. www.usadancenationals.org.

Professional/Amateur and Amateur couples can register until March 8 to participate in Fun (Night Club) Dances: West Coast Swing; Hustle; Argentine Tango; Merengue; Country 2 Step; Salsa and Bachata. Contact Susan Ryan, susanaryan2@aol.com, president of the Youngstown USAD chapter if you are interested in doing Night Club 2 Step. All ages. All proficiencies. Must be USA Dance Social Dance member. Look for Competitors/Fun Dance Rules.

Volunteers are still needed for ticket sales, door monitors, deck area; live stream taping; medal and anti-doping escorts, particularly on Sunday. Sign up at Events/Volunteers.

Attend the event. Tickets are available by the session (day or evening), day, and weekend. Competitions are held for dancers under age 9 to over 75 at all levels of proficiency. All, including local, Pro/Am and amateur couples are tentatively scheduled for Friday afternoon. Final schedule available March 18. Look for Events/Tickets and Schedule.

Thank all of you who came to our January dance at Wightman School, with special thanks to Cris Sharply who taught Salsa and John Siefken who DJ’d, and to our February dance at the Palisades with special thanks to Brian Lee as DJ and Jimmy Page who taught Viennese Waltz. 

The Special Needs Adaptive Program finished its winter session with advanced and beginner’s classes. The next six-week session most likely will start after Easter. Many thanks to the volunteer mentors and teachers, Barb Johnson and April Fisher. 

We’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on March 16 at the Palisades. Wear green and join in the celebration!

Jane Downing, President, USA Dance Pittsburgh

Hi, and Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were good. 

We ended 2023 with an East Coast Swing lesson from Tunisia El, Penn Hills Arthur Murray Studio, and music from Mark Boucher. The Palisades was decorated for the holidays, thanks to Janine Hauck and Mary Ann Gaser from our Board, and a good time was had by all.  

The Special Needs Adaptive Program (SNAP) ended in November with 16 students, thanks to the excellent work by Barb Johnson, April Fisher and the mentors, most of whom were USA Dance Pittsburgh members. 

We’re starting 2024 with a bang!

On January 20, we’ll be at the Wightman School Community Center, with Cris Sharpley, Arthur Murray South and Penn Hills Studios, teaching Salsa and John Siefken DJ’ing. A surprise special dance is planned. 

On Sunday, January 21 at 1:30 pm, the next session of the Special Needs Adaptive Program will start at the Higher Voice Studio, 144 East Main Street, Carnegie. Recruitment is underway for both Advanced and Beginner classes. Barb and April are teaching. Please contact Barb at 412 720-0610 if you’re interested in being a mentor (i.e. dance partner) or know a potential participant for either program. We’re really excited about the growth of the program!

Planning is underway to re-start the Woodland Hills after-school program. More to come later.  

Volunteering for the National Ballroom DanceSport Championships on March 22-24, 2024 at the Wyndham Grand Hotel will be online thanks to the new website and a Google volunteer form designed by Norrie Bastedo Vladuchick. More information on that here or at the Nationals Website.

We also want to urge Pro/Am (Professional/Amateur) couples to participate in the competitions. There are no required pre-qualifications. It’s a chance to demonstrate proficiency at whatever level you’re dancing, for how many dances you choose within a community of about 900+ dancers. Registration information can be found at registration. Early bird registration ends on February 22.

We’re one of the sponsors of the Carnegie Classic being organized by the CMU Ballroom Dance Club on February 9-11 at Rangos Hall. The weekend includes a welcome dance on Friday evening, competitions on Saturday, and a dance camp on Sunday. Adult dancers are welcomed, and participation would be great practice for the USA Dance Championships. More information at Carnegie Classic.com

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

P.S. – A reminder that admission now costs $15.00 for members; $20.00 non-members; $5.00 students with IDs.

Hi!  Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!  Isn’t it hard to believe that winter is approaching? 

First, thanks so much for coming to our dances.  On September 16, Matias Jonsson and Irina Yarovoi, Apasionado Dance, taught Quick Step and Brian Lee provided the music at Wightman School; on October 21, Dmitry Demidov taught Samba, Brittany Demidov was DJ and their son, Alexander, and his partner performed international dances they were going to present at the Ohio Star Ball competition in November; and on November 18 at Wightman School, Chris Drum taught Tango and played the music, and Christine Zona brought nine couples to showcase a mini-competition. We’re also grateful for such talented and committed instructors, DJs and performers! 

This summer, out of 70+ chapters of USA Dance, Inc., the Pittsburgh Chapter was recognized as the 2022 Chapter of the Year. Thanks to everyone who helped make the 2022 National Ballroom DanceSport Championships a success and to the funders, volunteers and dancers who make the Special Needs Outreach Program inspirational. 

National liked us!  So let’s welcome them back in a grand way by participating in the competitions, volunteering to help the National USA Dance staff/volunteers make everything run smoothly, and attending the social dance and the evening championships on March 22-24, 2024. Sponsors are also welcome. You can register now to compete, sign up to be a volunteer or purchase spectator tickets on the USA Dance National Ballroom DanceSport Championships website. However, we’d prefer you wait for a couple of weeks to sign up via our new website. Think about volunteering for at least four hours so you can watch the competitions for free during that session. And if you sign up for 8 hours, you have access to the ballroom all day and will receive $75.00 to offset meal costs.

Please hold December 16th for our next dance at the McKeesport Palisades. Tunisia El, the new Manager at the Pittsburgh East Arthur Murray Studio will teach East Coast Swing. Mark Boucher will DJ.   

Although we’ve delayed raising our admission prices, starting in January 2024, member admissions will be $15.00 and non-members, $20.00. Students with IDs will remain at $5.00. Social dance membership in the national organization is $35.00 a year. Membership benefits include a $5.00 member rebate to local chapters, access to American Dancer Magazine and exclusive discounts to companies such as Verizon, Marriott, Disney from PerkSpot. See additional benefits, https://usadance.org.

Happy holidays!

Jane Downing, President, USA Dance Pittsburgh Chapter 3007