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April Updates
- Author:
- Phillip Stephens (philtex44@aol.com)
- Date Published:
- April 8, 2011
April Updates
Lights
We've replaced many of our light switches with the sensor type so that they come on when you walk into a room and go off after about 10 minutes of inactivity in that room. You can help out a bit in this department: If you know you are the last person to use the room, go ahead and manually turn the lights off, saving another 10 minutes of kilowatt usage. We also purchased some new and more efficient light fixtures and put them up. In the back teaching rooms, they make such a big difference that people have been wearing dark glasses and putting on sunscreen! These lights, though much brighter than the old ones, actually use less electricity while producing more light. (Yeah!) We anticipate that all of these measures will result in lower electric usage, which is always nice when you head toward the Houston summer and know how long and hard the AC units will be working.
Music
Michael Schedler has been making loads of new playlists for our Friday Practice Parties. Thanks to Wallace (Wally) Maxwell's help, we now have some fine new speakers in the main ballroom. Wally and Michael spent long, long hours at the studio on April 2nd, running wire and mounting speakers. We are eager to see how they work at the parties and at the competition on April 16.
Decorations
We'd like to thank Phyllis Baker and Mary Lou Kyriacou for giving the place a Spring and Easter-like look with decorations and flowers. Phyllis took down the leprechaun and Saint Patrick's Day decorations and put up a display of colorul flowers in the A/V room window which look great. On her last evening in the studio before heading back to Africa for a major part of summer, Mary Lou Kyriacou put together floral arrangements for the front desk and the entry area. We sure appreciate all that hard work, ladies. Loads of people have commented to us on how pretty everything looks.
We'd also like to thank Phyllis Baker for getting our Gulf Coast Stars Dance Tournament poster printed and framed. It sure looks nice when you come in the front door.
Gulf Coast Stars
We have had a good response to the Gulf Coast Stars Dance Tournament set for Saturday, April 16. We expect a pretty full day of competition featuring all levels of American and International styles of dance. This event features single dance, multi dance and scholarship divisions. Though we are still waiting on a few late entries, things are shaping up rather nicely and it should be a fun and rewarding day for all. If you want to come to just watch, tickets are $15 per adult and you can get them at the door. We anticipate starting at 10am and running until 6:30pm or so, but this schedule may be adjusted once we get all the entries in so you should check on that before the big day. We'll also publish a more accurate schedule once we get everything finalized.
USDSF National Qualifying Events
We are offering the first ever USDSF National Championship Titles for Salsa, Argentine Tango and Bachata on Saturday, April 16. This is really a unique opportunity for people who like and routinely do those dances because this is the first time these titles have been available. But there is another aspect to these competitions, and that's because the first, second and third place couples in each division will be eligible to represent the United States in the International Dance Organization (IDO) World Championships later in the year. Whether you win the US Championship title or just get the opportunity of representing your country in the IDO World Championships. So far, we've had very little response for these events but, if you are interested in participating, get in touch with us ASAP and we'll get it all organized. Send an email to USDSF-Events@theplace2dance.com and we'll get the entry forms to you right away.
Speaking of Argentine Tango...
Well-known Argentine Tango teacher Tomas Howlin will be conducting workshops at The Dance Place April 29 - May 1. On Friday, April 29, the class will be: Expression and Meaning in Tango. On Saturday, April 30, there are 2 classes. The pm class is on The Turning Wheel (finding turns in any position; the 3:30pm class is Traspie applied to Tango, Vals and Milonga; at 4:45pm there will be a Question and Anser session. Sunday, May 1st brins a 1pm class on Creating Freedom in Close Embrace; 2:30pm brings Off Axis Moves for a Close Embrace and then a Question and Answer session at 3:45pm. For more information, contact Sabra Yarborough via sabra_y@yahoo.com or call 832-244-2014. You can also visit sabratango.com.
Teaching Degrees
Several professionals from the Houston area are studying with ISTD Fellow and Examiner Phillip Stephens with the goal of gaining ISTD teaching and judging degrees. The courses, one on Standard/Ballroom and the other on Latin, have been underway since early February. These teachers (and a couple of amateurs who plan to become teachers) are all doing an amazing job of assimilating the material into routines and embracing all the technical details associated with the steps in the dances covered in the courses. The Professional Degree Certification Examinations are scheduled for the weekend of July 8, 9 & 10, and everyone will be working very hard in the weeks leading up to that momentous occasion.
USISTD Medal Tests
Along with the tests for teachers mentioned above, we will have several students go through the USISTD Medal Tests to gain certificates of achievement, certificates of advancement, medals and other awards for their success in dance to date. The Medal Tests are dance only, meaning that you just demonstrate a routine to music made up of the steps you have been studying in your lessons. The catch is that they must be steps from the USISTD or ISTD syllabi in most cases. There are several evaluations available that can be on any syllabus, a solo exhibition routine, Alternative Rhythms and so on, so it's not all keyed directly toward syllabus material. If you are interested in this type of goal-oriented program, contact Phillip Stephens by emailing him at philtex44@aol.com.
Dancing With The Stars
We provide regular commentary on Dancing With The Stars. If you know of folk who might like to receive our newsletters and DWTS commentary, have them sign up at www.the-dance-place.com. We'll be happy to send them regular e-newsletters.
Happy Dancing!
