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