The Chicago Harvest Moon Ball Championship (Harvest Moon Competition) happens October 12, 13, & 14 2007 at the Crown Plaze Chicago O’Hare (in Rosemont, IL).
Our plan is to arrive sometime Friday afternoon / early evening, watch the Friday night events, spend the night, watch the Saturday daytime and evening events, spend another night, and return to Madison Sunday. A whole weekend of ballroom dancing!
Watching a lot of dancing can be great inspiration for your own dancing!
With rapid preparation, tons of practice, and a little luck, Sarah and I will be competing in the Professional Rising Star competition on Friday night and the Open Professional competition Saturday night.
Every competition has vendors for shoes, clothing, costumes, and jewelry! Throughout the Friday night and Saturday night portions of the competition, there will also be periods of social dancing. Saturday evening ends with a professional showcase.
Published on
26th
August
2007
It’s time to start thinking about the Competition happening on 24 June 2007 in Waunakee.
The studio will offer Sunday group classes and private lesson packages for competitors. New dancers and skilled dancers equally welcome! Leads, you are specifically encouraged to attend. We need you, leads!
Please see Badger State Competition 2007 for more details.
Published on
25th
April
2007
Take your dancing one the road and show the judges what you can do!
In this second year of the Badger State Ballroom Dance Competition and Showcase, students of dance compete with each other (amateur entries) or their teachers (professional/amateur aka pro/am entries) in either solo (choreographed) or freestyle (not choreographed) dances.
This is the second year the studio will participate in this fun amateur and pro/am competiton!
All events will occur on Sunday, 24 June 2007.
11-11:45am - Solo Routines
noon- 1:30pm - Smooth Freestyle & Multi-Dance Events
1:45-2:30pm - Solo Routines
2:45-4:15pm - Rhythm Freestyle and Multi-Dance Events
5-6pm - Dinner
6-8pm - General Dancing and Awards
Published on
12th
April
2007
Beginning with the Appleton Competition, the studio is taking a more robust approach to competition participation. This is similar to the way other dance studios handle competitions both small and large. Instead of dancing only a small number of entries per person, my goal is to have everyone dance as much as possible.
The numbers add up quickly when entering a competiton. The studio’s prices are quite competitive. Where other studios and dance teachers add a sizable surcharge per dance for each pro/am event, I do not. I want you out there dancing! I want to dance with you. I know money is a consideration for most people, and I would like your dollars to get you as much time on the dance floor as possible.
In addition to the per-dance surcharge I just described, other instructors often charge “lost time” for attending (and traveling to) competitions - four to eight hours of private lesson time per day the teacher is at the comp dancing with students. At first glance, that may seem unreasonable, but economic pressures play a role - the teacher could have stayed home and booked private lessons instead of participating in the comp with the amateur. (Teachers have bills to pay and businesses to operate, of course.)
The teacher also has hotel, meal, transportation, and admissions costs to cover related to attending the comp. Those costs are split between all competitors entering the comp with the teacher. (So if the teacher enters with 10 students, those costs are divided by 10 or somehow prorated between those students. Having more students means each student is responsible for a smaller share of that cost.)
If you are dancing with Darrell or Amanda, also expect to pay a portion of the hotel, meal, transportation, and admission costs for Darrell or Amanda. Having more competitors means less teacher cost per competitor.
Published on
19th
March
2007
Take your dancing one the road and show the judges what you can do!
At the Appleton Competiton, students of dance compete with each other (amateur entries) or their teachers (professional/amateur aka pro/am entries) in either solo (choreographed) or freestyle (not choreographed) dances.
This is the second year the studio will participate in this fun amateur and pro/am competiton!
We will spend Friday night in Appleton to arrive fresh and ready to compete on Saturday morning.
Place: Meredith’s Banquet Facility in Appleton, WI
( map | website )
Published on
28th
February
2007
General admission tckets for Saturday night are still available. I am taking ticket orders for everyone who wants to go. $35/person. I will pick up tickets for everyone when I am at the competiton on Thursday! Watching the pro portion of the competiton on Saturday night is entirely worth it. Seeing it on TV is one thing. Being there in person is an entirely excellent experience!
This is one of the largest competitons in the area, attended by amateur and professional dancers from across the country.
The studio will be entering this year! Amateur couples are already starting to prepare. Several people taking lessons from both Darrell and Amanda are working on their pro/am performance choreography.
See www.wiscstatedancechamp.com for details. More will be published on this site as the competition date approaches.
Past photos are available from the website of the competiton’s official photographer www.menaker.net.
Published on
14th
February
2007
