President’s Letters

Hi!

The March 19th  Dance will be held at the VFW in Coraopolis with Carlos and Liz Blandino Lopez teaching Bachata, and Mark Boucher DJ’ing. 

USA Dance National Ballroom DanceSport Championships at the Wyndham Grand Hotel (the former Hilton Hotel) in Downtown Pittsburgh, April 1-3. 
Competitor registration closes on March 17. As of 3/13, there were 546 competitors registered. None of the 14 collegiate teams have finished registering. 

Local Amateur and Pro/Am couples will be dancing on Friday during the day.   
Spectator tickets for the Nationals will be on sale at our March 19^th dance. 

USA Dance Pittsburgh is hosting a Social Dance on Friday, March 1 from 5 – 7pm at $10.00 per person. John Siefken will be the DJ.  The cost of the Social Dance is included in the Evening Session, $35.00 for non-members, $30.00 for USA Dance members. Tickets at the door will be $40.00.

Local Volunteers Still Needed for 2, 4 and 8 hour shifts for the Nationals, especially in the evenings and on Sunday.
To volunteer, go to our volunteer form, complete the form, save it as a PDF and e-mail it to Eva Maschakour, Volunteer Coordinator, at emaschak4@gmail.com.  

On March 20, the USA Dance Inc. website will show the final schedule of the various heats for all three days and information on the workshops. Go to https://www.usadancenationals.org.

On Saturday, April 16^th  USA Dance Pittsburgh will be hosting our Spring Dinner Dance at the Edgewood Club in Churchill. John Siefken will be the DJ.  For more information and to make reservations visit our website.

Hope to see you on Saturday and sometime during the Championships from April 1-3!

Jane Downing, President, USA Dance Pittsburgh Chapter #3007

Hi! 

February 19th Dance at Wightman School: We had a terrific dance with well over 100 dancers, our best attendance ever!  Many thanks to Amanda Wolf for the rumba session and the great music; Christine Zona who organized the mini competition and spoke about how national competitions are organized and Jim Page who MC’d; and the 13 collegiate and five adult couples who plan to compete in the USA Dance National Ballroom DanceSport Championships at the Wyndham Grand Hotel; April 1-3;  and who preformed 30-second round of multiple dance and styles. Great energy and good dancing! 

Local Volunteers Still Needed for 2, 4 and 8 hour shifts especially in the evenings and on Sunday! Our website, USA Dance Pittsburgh Chapter 3007 now has a fillable registration form, thanks to John Siefken, which you should fill out, save as a PDF and e-mail to Eva Maschak, emaschak4@gmail.com, who is scheduling everyone. There’s also a description of the tasks and the incentives for daily 3-or 8-hour shifts. A Zoom call is being scheduled for March 5 at 10:00 am for registered volunteers to answer questions.  If it goes well, we’ll schedule another. 
Social Dance on Friday from 5-7 pm. USA Dance Pittsburgh is hosting a Social Dance for $10.00. John Siefken will be the DJ. Admission fee is included in the Evening Session ticket if you plan to stay.

Tickets to Watch Dancing Throughout the Competition. Two sessions each day are tentatively scheduled for 8 am – 5 pm and 7 – 11 pm.  Daytime sessions on Friday include Adults, Seniors and Professional/Amateur couples; on Saturday, Collegiate, Youth under age 18 and Adult, and on Sunday, Collegiate, Youth and Adult plus Collegiate Team Match. Highlights of the Evening session on Friday include highest level mix of Youth, Collegiate, Adult, Seniors, Pro/Am and Professional dancers; on Saturday, Collegiate Team Match and Professionals; and on Sunday, Junior, Youth, Adult Showdance, 9 and 10 Dance and Seniors.  Spectator tickets are available online for each Session; a Weekend Pass; the Collegiate activities; Workshops; and the Social Dance. Tickets sold after March 30 will be more expensive. Please go to www.usadancenationals.org for tentative schedules and ticket prices. 

Our Next Dance is MARCH 19 at the KEITH HOLMES VFW IN CORAOPOLIS. Carlos and Liz Blandino-Lopez will teach Bachata and Mark Boucher will DJ. Spectator tickets will be on sale.  USA Dance members get a $5.00 discount.  Hope to see you there!

Our next DINNER DANCE will be at the EDGEWOOD COUNTRY CLUB on APRIL 16.

Jane Downing, President USA Dance Pittsburgh Chapter #3007

Hi!

February 19 dance at Wightman School. Amanda Wolf will DJ and teach rumba.

Christine Zona is organizing a (short) mini competition with CMU Ballroom Dance Club members and adults planning to compete in the USA Dance National Ballroom DanceSport Championships at the Wyndham Grand Hotel, April 1-3. Come to support and cheer them on!

Local Volunteers Needed!

Experienced national volunteers are organizing the Championships. We have been asked to encourage local dancers to compete, come to the social dance on Friday, watch the heats towards the championships for youth, pret-teens, collegiate, adults, and professionals and help with logistics involved with competitor registration, ticket sales for spectator events, and ballroom access and control.

Volunteer incentives include free ballroom access to daytime or evening sessions if you work at least 3 hours in that session. If you work 8 hours in a day, there is free access to the ballroom and $75 cash food voucher. We specifically need volunteers in the evenings and on Sunday.

Sign up for the job and times you want to work by clicking on the link to the Volunteer Registration Form on our website and/or contact Eva Maschak, emaschak4@gmail.com, for additional information.

Tickets to Watch Amateur Couples Ages 7 to 80 and Collegiate, Pro Am and Professional Competition

Spectator tickets are available online for Day and Evening Sessions on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; Weekend Passes; the Collegiate Activities including team competition; workshops; and the social dances. Tickets sold after March 30 will be more expensive. Please go to www.usadancenational.org for tentative schedules and ticket prices.

Local tickets will be on sale at our next two dances: February 19th at Wightman School and March 19th at the Coraopolis VFW. USA Dance members get a $5 discount.

Hope to see you on February 19th. Wear red and celebrate both American Heart Month and a belated Valentine’s Day.

Jane Downing, President USA Dance Pittsburgh Chapter #3007