Academy Dance News 2004 - Aloha Ballroom

HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE OF MAUI’SBALLROOM & LATIN DANCING!Applications are now beingaccepted by those who wish to be anAcademy Officer for the 2005 calendaryear! See Academy Secretary, JulieKatz or any of the officers for anapplication and/or more informationabout the details of the positions.Officer Positions include President, VicePresident - Themed Parties, VicePresident – Maintenance, Vice President –Volunteer Coordinator, Secretary andTreasurer.All completed applications mustbe returned to Al Yniguez, AcademyPresident by October 13 th to beconsidered for nomination.In addition to hands-oninvolvement in many of the Academy’sactivities, the Officers receive FREEAloha Ballroom Dance Academy groupclasses, FREE admittance to theAcademy Balls (with their spouse orpartner/guest ticket at 50% off), &FREE monthly private lessons with RitaO’Connor of Private Image!CURRENT 2004 ACADEMY OFFICERSAl Yniguez – President, 874-4364Shelley Ting, VP-Themed PartiesLes Grimes, VP-Maintenance, 878-4140Julie Katz, Secretary, 875-1810Teri Mister, Treasurer, 891-92494STAYING CURRENTCheck out the Bulletin Board bythe water cooler at the Kihei CommunityCenter classes on Wednesday evenings.Events, dance news, notices, etc., preapprovedby the Academy officers areposted.www.alohaballroom.comIn addition, Academy student MilamPender has created “Maui Dance Events”to keep everyone up-to-date on classes &events on Maui:http://calendar.yahoo.com/mauidanceeventsCOMPETITORS DEMONSTRATE THEIRSKILLS FOR ACADEMY STUDENTSDuring intermission onWednesday, September 15 th , RitaO’Connor took the podium and talkedabout the upcoming Hawaii Star Balldance competition in Oahu September22-25 th . Rita described how diligently thestudents taking private lessons under herdirection have worked toward theircompetitive goals, what the competingstudents would be judged on and how thejudges score the competitors.Rita shared the excitement ofthe competition and explained that the(male) competitors wear designatednumbers on their backs and that theaudience cheers them on by (loudly)calling out their numbers. This evening,Rita asked the Academy students cheeron Maui’s competitors, Les Grimes & JulieKatz and Dennis & Jenifer Goss! And sowe did, screaming at the top of our lungs“Go, number 121,” and “Competitors 227”– the demonstrating competitors smiledeven more!Students wishing to compete doso for many reasons, but many times it’sjust to have a goal or deadline by whichto accomplish progress, whether it’s newsteps, technique and new dance, etc. Inaddition to the time, energy andpracticing involved, there are financialconsiderations in competitive dancing:private lessons, costumes, competitionentry fees, event entrance tickets,airfare and hotel accommodations, toname a few.Rita encouraged anyone who wasable to and wanted to support thecompetitor’s efforts could do so not onlyby their applause and well-wishes, butalso by making a monetary contribution tooffset their costs. The two competitivecouples were touched by not only theoutpouring of enthusiasm and vocalsupport, but also by the kind andgenerous donations made to theirexpenses; the couples split the donationsand are very grateful to everyone inattendance that evening!All smiles, Les Grimes & Julie Katz dance theRumba for Academy students.Photo by Brian O’Connor9Academy students, Les Grimes& Julie Katz, dressed in “Sunday Best”(as their category level dictates)romantically danced their Newcomer andPre-Bronze (up to five steps) syllabusAmerican Style Rumba, followed by anelegant Waltz and ending with a lively,hip swaying Cha-Cha. Julie commentedthat she didn’t expect the emotionalsupport of the audience to be such a partin the performance, and that it addedgreatly to her desire to be inspired andinspire others to reach their dancepotential.Dennis & Jenifer Goss perform a Samba forthe supportive audience.Photo by Brian O’ConnorDennis & Jenifer Goss enteredthe Academy dance floor dressed in theircompetitive costumes (allowed in theircategories of competitive dance). Dennisdonned custom-made latin dance pants(sorry, no pockets, guys) and silver Mylarinfused muscle-tee, while Jeniferstrutted out in a two-piece silverhologram top and mini-skirt. The Goss’sdanced two of their dances learnedthrough private lessons at Private Image:Bolero and Samba. They felt that theirfellow students might like to see dancesnot instructed at the Academy. Theircategory level dances allow up to 15 stepswithin the Closed Bronze Syllabus. TheGoss’s love to perform and were happy toshare their dance progress with theirfriends at the Academy!At the conclusion of the multidancedemonstration, Rita O’Connorpresented the Maui competitive dancerswith “Olympic” red, white and blueribbons dangling with (chocolate) goldmedallions (which she made herself),