SMOOTH TALK. San Diego Smooth Dancers, Inc. Bringing Ballroom to our Community. The San Diego Chapter of National Smooth Dancers. President s Message

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1 The San Diego Chapter of National Smooth Dancers SMOOTH TALK San Diego Smooth Dancers, Inc. Bringing Ballroom to our Community January 2015, Vol. 15 No. 6 President s Message Mike Cowlishaw Message from the Prez.. Thanks to everyone for their support of the club this year. Special thanks to those on the board, and to our members that helped host the social this year. Everything that happens requires effort. Please express your respect and appreciation to everyone who has contributed. The Christmas Ball was wonderful! Just enough room and lots of great food! Performances went well, too! Special thanks to Carrie for such a great job with the class numbers! Please attend our general meeting January 10 th, 2:30 p.m., at Al Folkman s house. We will be discussing and voting on the annual budget for This will be a special year, as we are hosting the convention in Palm Springs Labor Day weekend. If you don t have your refrigerator magnet yet (with the year s socials and classes on it) see Chuck DiSessa. Please pick it up at class or a social, as these are expensive to mail. Dance tip: learning technique is up to you. You can learn it by paying close attention to the instructor are you doing EVERYTHING they mention correctly? Advanced dancers work on basics. Hope you have Happy Holidays! Mike A dancer, more than any other human being, dies two deaths: the first, the physical when the powerfully trained body will no longer respond as you would wish. After all, I choreographed for myself. I never choreographed what I could not do. I changed steps in Medea and other ballets to accommodate the change. But I knew. And it haunted me. I only wanted to dance. Martha Graham January 2015 Page 1 of 7

2 SUNDAY NIGHT DANCE CLASS Happy New year everybody!! Chuck DiSessa The Sunday Night dance class ended the year on a high note, as over 150 members and guests enjoyed a magnificent dinner and dancing at our annual Christmas Showcase. Mrs. Santa Claus (Kay Ryan) and her helpful elves presented perhaps their finest fare at our Christmas social as all in attendance feasted to their hearts content. The ballroom was transformed with Christmas colors bursting on the scene, from the elegant attire of all those in attendance, to the beautiful table decorations adorning both sides of the ballroom floor. In the midst of all this came our Dance Class performers, leading off Act I with the American Tango and finishing Act I with the Cuban Rhumba. Carrie Kloss stated that she was very proud of the way everyone performed. The American Tango, as expected, was dramatic, presenting a variety of intricate patterns executed with so much flair! The Rumba choreography flowed beautifully across the floor with several visually attractive movements. (I think Carrie really outdid herself with the amount of content she put into both of those routines.) Following our Christmas Showcase, several invitations were extended for the class to perform at various venues that were having their Christmas dance parties. Kudos for the outstanding job they did at each one!! 2015 Sunday Night Class Schedule The solo routines by class members were equally enjoyable at our December social: President Mike Cowlishaw, dancing with Selena Johnson, wowed the audience with an electrifying Tango. Newcomer Steve Martsolf made his showcase debut dancing a Hustle with instructor Irina Chalkevitch that would have made John Travolta proud. Chuck and Cathy performed a Mary Murphy inspired theatrical American Foxtrot, while Shirley McCloskey easily held her own dancing a brilliant gold level International Foxtrot with Irina s brother, a professional instructor who owns his own dance studio. In short, everyone involved did such an outstanding job and they are all to be commended for their excellent performances. The Dance class Christmas Party held at the Valentini s is always such fun. Thanks to Alberta for providing details via recently. Several home-made dishes were brought to the buffet table and there was plenty of food and drink to go around. Ines Plikshe presented Carrie with a Thank -you gift from class members enclosed in an attractive card signed by all contributors. The gift exchange was lively and moved along well with Chuck playing moderator to an expressive audience amid a festive atmosphere. Thank you to all who participated to the success of the evening. Looking ahead, Irina Chalkevitch will begin the year on Sunday, January 3 rd, with the International Waltz at 5:00 pm and the Bolero at 6:00 pm. The floor will continue to be open after classes at 7:00 pm for anyone wishing to practice. Advanced dancers will also be available to help you work out any questions you may have about your dancing. We re enjoying a steady growth in class size, as well as continued interest and loyalty to our dance January-February International Waltz, Bolero Carrie Kloss March-April Quickstep, International Rumba Irina Chalkevitch May-June American Foxtrot, Samba Carrie Kloss July-August International Foxtrot, East Coast Swing Irina Chalkevitch September No Classes Scheduled October-November American Waltz, Cha-Cha Carrie Kloss (Continued on page 3) January 2015 Page 2 of 7

3 Social Chair s Message Amante Reyes Our biggest and happiest event second only to the San Diego chapter coronation took place on December 6 th, 2014: our Christmas Holiday Event. It was no holds barred for our chapter regarding decoration, music and refreshments. And the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of giving and simply being happy, was everywhere. I felt it in the horde of volunteers who came forward and helped in carrying the decorations and kitchen wares and gadgets from the storeroom to the dance floor, kitchen and dinner serving area (the small dance room) and in rolling out the carpet, setting up the tables and chairs and in putting all these in a very beautiful setting; and in doing the above in reverse order after the event (the most labor intensive part of the gala event). To all the volunteers who support our club in thousand different ways with no thought of reward, thank you so much. For the December 6 th, 2014 social event I would like to express my thanks to the following people: Alberta and Peter Valintini for processing the reservations for members and guests. A very challenging task since a little misdirection on where to assign the guests could have created big misunderstanding with the guests and big headaches to the guest checkers. Al Folkman, Larry Plummer, Larry Knost, Mel Mesa, Bob Churchill, Bill Mackenzie, David Vasquez, Dave and Ann Saul, Steve Martsolf, Denise White, Jeanne Waite, Nancy Ross, Norm Borstein, Meg Kaufman, Jack Staudte, Carolyn Hesse-Low, Anthony Montalto and Debra Grey for setting up and cleaning up. Debra was actually a guest, so thank you very much, Debra. Ann Meador, Patricia DiSessa, Kay Ryan and Caron Schattel the four untiring ladies of SDSD who are always there to guide and assist me in my role as the social chairperson of SDSD. Lou Reyes, the SDSD Queen and my wife, who was everywhere, setting up the studio, preparing and setting up the refreshments and welcoming guests and members. Mike Cowlishaw, our SDSD President, for his excellent selections of music mixed with Christmas spirit. All the dance performers, who spent countless hours and resources to execute their dance routines flawlessly and with great vigor and fun. Chuck DiSessa, whose vision and tireless effort led to the formation of the Tango and Rumba dance performance team who executed their numbers that evening to perfection. The formation team continued their tour at other dance events at Balboa Park, Dance for Two and Synergy Dance Zone in the following weeks. As always, to the members, officers and Queen Darlene of Palomar Chapter who drove all the way down from North County. And to other members and also guests whom I missed but who were there to help in their own, sometimes unnoticed ways. As I indicated I would a few months ago, I searched the web for the Red Cross training for the certified use of the Defibrillator. Here is some information I gathered: Full Service Training Provided at our location and at our convenience by qualified Red Cross instructors. Community classes we can send our members to one of their regularly scheduled classes. Classroom, Online and Blended Learning Op- (Continued on page 4) (Continued from page 2) program. All of you deserve thanks for this. Your support of our classes has laid a foundation of continued success for our dance program. We are more than just a dance club: we are a dance family. Many thanks for the love. May all of you have a happy and prosperous new year, and be able to dance to your heart s content. Sincerely yours for better dancing, Chuck DiSessa, Dance Class Chair San Diego Smooth Dancers, Inc. January 2015 Page 3 of 7

4 Performers: Act I Formation Tango Jack Staudte & Irina Chalkevitch Marcia Rainey & John Selby Sandy Long & Jason Rivers Len Eng & Irina Chalkevitch Formation Rumba Christmas Ball & Showcase Judy Miranda The annual Christmas Showcase was hosted this year by Mike Cowlishaw and his crew of elves. The ballroom was decorated in holiday colors and the Christmas tree glowed brightly. Mike was the DJ and had a good variety of music which included some Christmas songs. The elves did a fantastic job of feeding everyone. There was a great assortment of hot and cold food along with many wonderful desserts. The show was fantastic again this year: there was just the right number of exhibitions allowing for lots of regular dancing. Many thanks to everyone who helped make it this great evening such a success. (Photos by JV) Formation Men Mike Cowlishaw Chuck DiSessa Amante Reyes Mel Mesa David Vasquez Dave Saul Norm Bornstein Bob Gu Al Folkman Steve Martsolf Bill McKenzie Tom Bernhard Anthony Montalto Formation Ladies Olga Aleshin Alberta Valentini Lou Reyes Fanny Widjaja Carolyn Hesse-Low Jeanne Waite Meg Kaufman Ines Plikshe Linda Gu Denise White Shirley McCloskey Cathy O Hara Mary King Mariko Sakakibara Performers: Act II Steve Martsolf & Irina Chalkevitch Shirley McCloskey & Alex Chalkevitch Christine August & John Selby Dave Saul & Irina Chalkevitch Cathy O Hara & Chuck DiSessa Michael Cowlishaw & Selena Johnson (Continued from page 3) tions course is taken online. In the blended learning format the basic information is taught online and the skill portion is practiced in a classroom setting. The cost is from $70 to $85 per person. I will push this project through even beyond my term as Social Chairperson. Safety is always on my mind, as I m sure as it is on everyone s mind as well. As your Social Chairperson I encourage all members, officers and guests who come to our dance events to be very careful in climbing and descending from the stairs in the front and at the back of the studio. Always have one hand holding the rail while traversing the stairs. The urgency of my request has more bearing at this moment as an unfortunate and devastating event happened to Vi Aguilar, Champion studio manager and Mary Murphy s friend. She fell back while going down the front steps of the studio and hit her head on the concrete landing. She is at the time of this writing in an induced coma at Mercy Hospital. Please keep her in your prayers for a full recovery. January 2015 Page 4 of 7

5 Annual Christmas Party Alberta & Peter Valentini The Sunday Dance Class had a pot-luck dinner with a gift exchange on Sunday December 14 th. Chuck brought a little Christmas tree to trim and brighten up the room. We had a wonderful buffet of pasta with sausage and meat balls, a chicken/veg casserole, tossed salad with goodies in it, blueberry pie, chocolate cake, cheese/crackers, and much more. Plus wine to celebrate the holidays. The gift exchange was fun with great gifts (no white elephants this year). Some of the items: a Betty Crocker cook book, Peanut Brittle Candy, Foot Massager, Wine, Belgian Chocolate, Gift Cards, Bathroom Reader, Silver Tray, Trinket Box and Frame, Glass Bowl, and Colorful Slipper Booties (which Anthony M took home). No white elephants at the Valentini party this year! January General Meeting The next General Membership Meeting will be held on Saturday January 10 th at 2:30 p.m. at Al Folkman s home, located at 4107 Arden Way, San Diego Be sure to bring a dish for the potluck afterwards! Photo Credits Hello! from Harold Harold Thoman hasn t been able to make it to our socials lately, and he s afraid the ladies will think he just doesn t want to dance any more. The truth is that he s recently been having a lot of trouble with one of his knees, and his doctor finally told him it s time for surgery. Knee surgery can take a while to recover from, and NSD Ladies, Harold wants to make sure you don t forget about him while he s recuperating and unable to make it to our dances. He s definitely looking forward to getting back on the floor to dance with you all just as soon as he s able. Thank you to those who contributed photos for this month s newsletter: January Birthdays JV Judy & Vern Miranda Mani Yamaguchi 1/7 Mark C. Chapman, Editor Been Kao, Distribution Editor Smooth Talk is a members service and resource: all NSD members are encouraged to submit ballroom-related items for inclusion in the newsletter. Any articles not credited are by the editor. Please send proposed articles, photos, and suggestions for newsletter changes to: mcchapman88@gmail.com. If you move, your changes, or you re not receiving Smooth Talk, please contact Been Kao to update your subscriber information. Olga Aleshin 1/8 Antonietta Tuti 1/10 Eliana Uretsky 1/10 Joe Goldhammer 1/10 Mark Chapman 1/11 Sanny Tong 1/25 Ronald R Zucker 1/26 January 2015 Page 5 of 7

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