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Loads and Loads of THANKS
- Author:
- Phillip Stephens (philtex44@aol.com)
- Date Published:
- April 18, 2011
Thanks, Thanks and MORE Thanks!
On Saturday, April 16, people started arriving at The Dance Place at just before 9am so they could warm up, get costumes on and be ready to start dancing by 10am. Throughout the day, more and more people came to join the people who started us off in the Rhythm division. We want to extend a special thanks to Martin and Laura Balmaceda, owners of Affinity Ballroom, for their supreme efforts Saturday. It was amazing to watch Martin and Laura dance so many times with so few students and put so much energy into every routine from start to finish. Thanks a bunch!
Everyone did a great job on Saturday, but we think special mention should also be made of the Dance With Stars studios. There were quite a few amateur couples from that studio performing on the day - all of them under 18 - but there was one group of pro-am girls that deserve extra accolades. These girls ranged in age from 5 to 9 years old and were all adorable to watch. Their teacher - Michael Blanco - changed ties for every one of them so that his tie matched their outfits and all the girls held the tie while waiting for their turn to dance. They all felt so special and looked so immaculately groomed on the floor that it added a sense of style to the day.
Amateur Couple Chris Williams and Megan Bryant had a good time, won our Open Latin 5-dance Scholarship, and Chris sent the following comment regarding the day: I just had to e-mail you and let you know that I had the time of my life yesterday at the Gulf Coast Stars Tournament. I think that was actually the best day of my life and I can't wait until next year! - Chris :)
Pamela Parker also let us know what a wonderful time she had in her very first competition and thanked us for making her feel special.
Bonnie and Doug Stockwell took still photos and some videos of the dancers. You can see/select photos at www.photobucket.com/Motion_Captured. Once there, choose the event, then select photos by number above the image. If you wish to purchase the photos, send your selections to canadarn76@aol.com. An email will be generated to give you your total due for those photos. If you have questions, call 281-386-8894.
Now, we REALLY want to thank the following people for outstanding volunteerism and other contributuions on our behalf:
Sharon Shelton Pease and Lonnie and Robert's Dance Galaxy for sponsoring our Scholarship divisions. They added an element to the day that people truly appreciated, so we want to thank them from the bottom of our heart.
Sharon Shelton Pease and Pat Graham took on the task of organizing all the competitor packets that include the numbers, heat sheets, programs, etc, for each person entering the event. They gave up several hours of time to do that on Friday, then came back in on Saturday to help out with the event. Pat Graham helped out at the front desk while Sharon Shelton Pease helped out with just about everything.
Phyllis Baker and her fried Cynthia Kenrick were our "on deck" captains, making sure all the dancers were ready to take the floor at the appropriate time, and they both organized the lunchroom for the judges, MC and volunteers.
Vickie Dunn and Yvonne Kubicek worked their tails off Saturday! Yvonne staffed the front desk most of the day, then helped put the studio back to rights after everything was over. Vickie helped out wherever she was needed and then also stayed to help us get everything put back to rights.
Mary Simmons helped Patsy Schedler in the refreshment center, which helped everything run more smoothly back there, and Mary Thro went and picked up meals and pitched in to help wherever she was needed.
Thanks a million, ladies, as we could not have done it without you!
We also want to acknowledge what a fine job Mr. Patrick Walsh did as our MC. He kept things moving along as best he could and helped keep us all on track.
Last but not least, we want to thank Ronnie Leverett, Gary Hawthorne and Vika (Belova) Soto for their services as our judges.
Looking forward to a bigger and even better event in 2012, we thank each and every student and teacher who participated in our 2011 Gulf Coast Stars Dance Tournament.
