It has been several months since I filled you in about what has been going on at UpTown! We have been having a lot of fun, working hard, and growing quickly.

Our first big change is that we will now be running Monday and Wednesday night group classes! They will be held at Lenora’s room, which is the third floor of the Melody Ballroom. We are very excited to be able to use this new, beautiful ballroom. Classes start at that location on July 7th. Weekend classes will be held at 8936 SW 17th, as usual.


Our second big change is the addition of instructors Leo McArdle, and Laura Nelson to our teaching team. They compete Gold-PreChampionship as amateurs, and have brought home many titles in the past few months. They will be helping us teach some of our beginning group classes.


Enough about the work, now about the playing!

We had so much fun on our trip to Disney World. We rode roller coasters (Jim looked slightly green after a few of them), ate so much junk food, and had fun on the kiddie rides. True be told, Peter Pan is definitely the best ride in the park! Jim’s favorite part of the trip was getting to learn how to use Segways. Segways are the self-balancing machines that transport you at up to 14 miles an hour, over all sorts of terrain. We went through obstacle courses, and rode through part of the Epcot park. I was a little afraid at first (I am quite a chicken), but I ended up having a great time! It was quite an experience.

About a month ago, a group of dancers made an excursion to go see the movie “Prince Caspian”, based on the book by C.S. Lewis. Lewis is my favorite author, so I was thrilled to see that the movie was very well made. It explored themes of honor and valor, and making the right decision, even when it isn’t the popular one. The cinematography is beautiful. I really recommend the movie!

The highlight of June was going to Las Vegas to take a series of lessons from Charlotte Jorgensen. Charlotte is a past champion. She and her partner Andrew Sinkinson were second in the UK, British, World and European Championships. There is a video of them dancing on our website, under “Links”. www.uptownballroom.net With Charlotte, we worked a lot on the principles of connection, and also on drills to build core and toe strength. She has a very unique approach to learning priciples of movement. An interesting note – She said that most of the people in the semi- final of a large competition have the talent to be champions, but only a few have enough toe strength. So get to work on your strengthening exercises!

We have had a great spring, and are enjoying our job very much. Thank you for letting us be a part of your community!

Training

Jim and I had a ton of fun training this month! Our Standard coach Craig Shaw came to town, and we were also privileged to be able to go to New York for Latin lessons. Training in New York is really exhausting, as we take about 6 hrs of lessons every day, but it is also incredibly inspiring. It is very motivating to surrounded by such talented dancers! We are so blessed to be able to take lessons from such great coaches.

City of Roses

City of Roses was held this month at the Monarch Hotel. Jim competed with both Kristie Anasis and Maralyn Kinsfather. Kristie did an excellent job executing new technique. Her dancing was very clean and and beautiful. Maralyn danced Tango, competing with Jim for the first time. She danced with a lot of spunk and style, making it clear that Tango is indeed her favorite dance! It was a great event. During one of the breaks, Jim had the honor of social dancing with Emmy, Kristie's six year old daughter. They danced an adorable waltz, and got the biggest round of applause of the morning! We are looking forward to Fall Festival.

Quest For the Best Competition

We had many couples compete at Quest for the Best in Seattle on March 22. James Drudzel and Jami Zoellner did wonderfully, competing their Standard routines, choreographed by Victor Fung and Craig Shaw, for the very first time! They competed in both PreChamp and Novice levels. They have been greatly benefiting from the coaches we have been able to bring to town. Brice Peters and Cassandra Woods did wonderfully, placing second in Bronze, in both Standard and Latin. They are improving very quickly! Greg and Nancy Musgrave, Bill and Irita Minnear, and Peter and Mei Chan competed in the Bronze and Newcomer levels. It is great to see new competitors getting started on such a fun journey. There are several other amateur competitions coming up soon, so contact your teacher to see how to join in the fun!

Group Class and Showcase at Concordia College

Jim and Michele had a great time teaching an all-campus event at Concordia College. It was a lively group, which perfectly complemented their choice of East Coast Swing. The event was held on a Tuesday evening, and still lasted until nearly midnight!


Sesame Dance Club Lesson & Show

January’s quickstep lesson at the Sesame Dance Club was the largest group Quickstep lesson Jim and Michele have ever taught! It was challenging to teach such a large group, but they had a great time. It was very satisfying to see a whole room of dancers doing basic quickstep by the end of the hour. What a great experience!

Jim and Michele also presented three show dances: waltz, tango, and foxtrot. As always, they impressed their audience with their elegance and fluid movements. Their international tango, with its dramatic styling and intricate figures, was a particular audience favorite.

Chinese New Year’s Party 2-2-08

Our first Chinese New Year’s Party was fabulous! Over 70 family and friends gathered together for a delicious buffet dinner of yellow curry, barbeque pork, and a variety of authentic Chinese deserts. A free foxtrot lesson followed the desert, and then the open social dance began. Many thanks to Peter Chan, our famous head chef, and Ruby Tang, our organizer.

After the fabulous dinner, Jim and Michele did a five dance performance. The audience was particularly impressed with a surprise Viennese Waltz, and enchanted by their waltz. As always, the tango was an audience favorite, while their foxtrot was simply elegant. We can’t wait to see what Jim and Michele’s next performance will bring!

Valentine's Dance at Linda's

Jim, Michele, and a group of students attended the social dance at Linda's on Valentine's Day. We had a ton of fun! Thanks for hosting us, Linda!

Show at Oak’s Park

Jim and Michele had the privilege of doing a show for a dance at Oak’s Park this month. They did a Tango and a Waltz. The most fun part of the evening was getting to social dance with the crowd afterwards. It was a lively and fun group. It was great to see a few familiar faces in the crowd!




New Year’s Eve

Our first New Year’s Eve party was a great success! Our doors opened at 7 pm with a free lesson, and soon more than 100 friends and family were dancing the night away. Throughout the evening we served a spaghetti and clam chowder buffet line dinner, complete with cookies and fudge (hand-baked by Jim!), as well as a beautiful cake. Many thanks to Cate Barrett, our main chef, who cooked more delicious spaghetti than we could possibly eat.

Jim Gray and Michele Hagglund performed a standard show that awed and enchanted their audience. Michele’s personal highlight of the evening was watching students Greg and Nancy Musgrave, who performed in public for the first time - their cha cha routine. They did wonderfully! Everyone could tell that they were having a ball. James and Jami Druzdel danced a beautiful and flowing foxtrot. A toast of sparkling cider at midnight and a couple more hours of dancing, and New Year’s Eve was over!

Desiree Doyle home from competing in Italy

We had a great time hosting Desiree during her time home. We enjoyed several group dinners and outings while she was in town.

Dancing with the Stars tour

Jim and Michele traveled to Seattle for training with Corky Ballas, and while they were there, they were thrilled to be invited to attend the dress rehearsal for the Dancing with the Stars tour. It was a really fun show! It is unfortunate that it will not be coming through Portland.

Competition

We were pleased to travel to Everett, WA for the Winter Ball competition in January. We enjoyed cheering on first-time competitors Greg and Nancy Musgrave and Gary De Leon and Benita Parker-Legarza. Congratulations to veteran couple Bryce Peters and Cassandra Woods. They did wonderfully! Cassandra’s smile while competing lights up the whole room. Also competing and doing well were Martin and Cejai Hale. They competed in Silver and Gold Standard. We look forward to our next trip to Seattle in March to compete in the Quest for the Best series.

Visiting Coaches

Craig Shaw, our amazing standard coach from New York, was in town January 21-24. Alongside our students, we benefited enormously from his coaching. He offered an International Standard technique workshop one evening that was very well attended. Craig shared basic principles of movement as well as frame and connection with one’s partner. He was able to spend a couple of minutes with each couple in the workshop and provided much-appreciated individualized information. We plan to continue these workshops as Craig’s schedule permits.

Michele's Trip to Blackpool

At the end of May, I had the privilege of attending the British Open to the World Championships in Blackpool, England. The whole experience was such an adventure! It was exciting to be in a place with such history and tradition. One step into the ballroom, and you could feel that you were in the presence of greatness.

The days began early, with hundreds of competitive couples dancing round after round. Finally, it was down to the top 48 couples in each category by evening. The semi-final and final rounds took place some time around midnight. I gained a tremendous amount of respect for the competitors’ hard work and perseverance throughout the long days of competition.

Maurizio Vescovo & Melinda Torokgyorgy won the Amateur Latin title. They also earned a place in the history books as the first Hungarian couple to win a Blackpool title. Sixth time Professional Latin champions Bryan Watson and Carmen added another victory, claiming their seventh title. They retired immediately following the competition, and there was a touching ceremony in their honor.

The most exciting part of Professional Latin event was the race to make the final. There were a lot of new partnerships competing together at Blackpool for the first time. Peter and Kristina Stokkebroe, the amateur champions from the prior year, were exciting to watch. They made the final in several events. Previous amateur champion Michael Wentink, making his comeback with a new partner, Kristina, made the semi final. It was an exciting year for U.S. couple Max Koxhevnikov & Yulia Zagorouitchenko, who also broke into the final for the first time. The Professional Latin event was my personal highlight of the week: my Latin coaches Paul Richardson and Olga Rodionova competed, and were simply amazing. They returned to the semi final.

Much like the Amateur Latin event, the Amateur Standard title was also up for grabs. Domenico Soale & Giola Cerasoli, who won the title the last year, have since turned professional, leaving room for several couples to jockey for the top spot. Arunas Bizokas & Edita Daniute danced gracefully, and won the event. In winning their event, they became the first Lithuanian couple to win a Blackpool title.

The Professional Standard event was a treat, as I was able to watch Victor Fung and Anna Mikhed break into the final for the first time. I was also able to watch my standard coach Ieva Pauksena make the semi-final with her partner Linas Korieva. (Linas and Ieva were the couple who did an amazing show at Oregon Fall Festival last year.) It was a little anti-climatic at the top, with two of the top couples out with injuries. I loved watching Domenico Soale & Giola Cerasoli, the amateur champions from the year previous. They had so much energy and enthusiasm. You couldn’t take your eyes off of them. The joy and passion they brought to the dance was contagious, spreading excitement throughout the entire crowd.

One of the week’s cutest moments happened during a break for social dancing. A tiny couple - a boy with a little black suit, and his partner with a dress with a bow - came onto the floor to dance. They didn’t look more than five years old. First they were dancing for their own entertainment, but then it became evident that more and more of the crowd was watching them.

He had several crowd-pleasing moves, including some shimmying, and getting down on one knee and scooting around his partner. Soon there was definite laughter from the audience of this three-tiered, beautiful ballroom. Before long, the men running the spotlights had returned to their posts, and spotlights were turned on the little couple. It was hysterical. When it was time to return to the scheduled events, who did the little boy run back to? Why his parents, of course, who were none other than Marcus and Karen Hilton, seven time Blackpool standard champions, who were sitting in the front row to view the event! It was a delightful half-time show.

Blackpool was beautiful, and well worth the trip. I can’t wait to return and compete! The tradition and grandeur of the event makes for a wonderful and inspiring experience!