It's a new vocabulary for us. And one that we are going to have to get familiar with very soon. Kassie started taking Ballroom lessons two months ago, and she absolutely LOVES it. And, I have to say that I love it too!
When I used to work at Macy's for Estee Lauder, one of my friends from the Lancome counter was an International Ballroom dancer. She would go to competitions all of the time. At the time, Kai was only five. Debra wanted Kai to start Ballroom. We lost touch when she turned Pro and needed better coaching. She moved to San Diego and started competing in the Pro circuit. She taught Ballroom at Mary Murphy's dance Studio. Yes, Mary Murphy from SYTYCD. The one that puts dancers on the hot tamale train.
Two years ago, I ran into her at Chandler Mall. We re-connected and we kept trying to get together for her to teach Kai. She was teaching at Fred Astaire in Mesa. I just never had time to take Kai with her busy schedule and mine. This year when Holly gave Kai a Ballroom inspired solo, I called Debra. I wanted her to clean the Ballroom elements of her dance and show her how to do them correctly. By now, she was teaching at Fred Astaire in Paradise Valley. We made the drive out there every Thursday for a month. After she was done cleaning the solo, she started teaching her some Ballroom.
One Thursday, we went to the studio and there was a Bulgarian Ballroom teacher there. His name is Nedko. He and Kai danced together for about half an hour. After that lesson, we were asked if they could train her for a Ballroom competition in June. I was of course not ready for that. I explained that she already had such a full schedule because of NYCDA Nationals and her Intensive. They agreed, but then advised me that she could be ready for the following competition in November. So, with that said, she is presently getting ready for that. Right now, she is only going on Thursdays, because it's her only day off from TDA. After she returns from the intensive in NYC, she may have to start going a little more. It's scary and fun at the same time.
This past Saturday, we went to a Ballroom competition to watch the professionals. We were in awe of their dancing and most of all.........THE COSTUMES!!! It was pretty awesome to see them come out. They danced their dances, and then they would eliminate some couples. Then it was the Finals. They danced their hearts out. There were two couples from Tempe, and the rest were from different states.
It was so different then a regular dance competition. You sit at tables around the dance floor. The couples dance all around and you get to see each of them at some point during the dancing. The couple that won, were our favorites. Click here to see them. They are awesome!
Here is a quick video of Kai's Ballroom lesson from Thursday. It was Rumba. She invited her best friend Kolton to take class with her, and they had a blast.
So let the Ballroom obsession begin. Kai will be competing in the International Rhythm category. According to Debra, it has a lot more flexibility than the American Rhythm. She can do more lifts and tricks. We shall see. We are very excited to see where this takes her. She will still continue to dance at TDA and she will have to decide if she wants to slow down a little at TDA and focus more on Ballroom, or both. As long as her grades don't get affected, she can do both.
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