MIT 2008 Show Couple Announced

Just a quick plug for the MIT Open Ballroom Competition 2008. First, a bit of catch up news. The Professional Blackpool Latin finalist couple of Maxim Kozhevnikov and Yulia Zagoryuchenko have split. Yulia has announced her new partnership with Ricarrdo Cocchi.

As a follow up to this news, the MIT competition has announced through email(web to be updated soon) that Ricarrdo and Yulia will be doing the show for the MIT 2008 competition. The competition will be held on April 19th and 20th on the MIT campus. Check the website http://ballroom.mit.edu/comp for updates.

2007 USA Dance Nationals - Adult 10 Dance

Placements:
1) Pasha Pashkov & Inna Brayer
2) Russ Wilder & Katusha Wilder
3) Simeon H. Stoynov & Kora A. Uczekaj
4) Pavel Balykin & Maria Gershenovich
5) Max Rublyuk & Sasha Alekseyeva
6) Jason S. Turner & Lila L. Turner

Buying Dance Shoes for Dummies

Buying dance shoes is an important and difficult decision for the new dancers. Kayla and I put together a guide for new students and want to share it with everyone. It is still being edited for content, but check it out. And just a little disclaimer... no, this is not a real "... for Dummies" book. If you'd like to make suggestions or make a contribution, please leave a comment.

http://dancingwithwolves.org/docs/DanceShoes4Dummies.pdf

You can also find the answers to many costume and shoe questions on Dance-Forums. http://www.dance-forums.com/showthread.php?t=7575

Video cameras for ballroom competitions

A common question on the ballroom forums is about which cameras to use for video. So, I thought I would write up a quick introduction to ballroom video cameras. Like any products, there is a range of introductory, "pro-sumers", and professional equipment you can choose. Here, I will focus on the novice users, suggest what to features to look for, and even make a few popular suggestions for models.

For starters, many people choose a camera(video and still) thinking that higher resolution, or higher technical specs is better for shooting. Although this may be true, realize that there are pre-event, event, and post-event logistics and issues to consider.  Many times I see people buy fancy cameras and spend a lot of money to only find that the camera does not fit their work flow(pre-event, event, and post-event) and get frustrated with the equipment!

The biggest dichotomy is whether to choose a videocamera, a still camera with video feature, or a "hybrid". Although each has their pros and cons, it's best to find the type that fits your needs the best. I will discuss this in the 2nd section where we talk about some technical issues like what formats to use and camera sensors.

Finally, I talk about some popular choices and recommendations for ballroom video taping.  If you want to skip all the talk, go straight here!  However, you can always go back to read the rest of it to understand what you can do with the camera.

1 - Work flow

Work flow: Pre-event

My typical setup is as follows. In pre-event setup, I recharge all my batteries(you may need more than a few, depending on the length of the comp, the number of events you want to film, etc...), get the necessary media(DV tapes, memory cards, etc... see below), and packing everything in an easy to access, convenient way so that I don't have to think about it since I'm typically competing as well as filming. One trouble with DV tapes is that they are hard to fully erase, and you always have to play through parts of the tape to see what's on it. This can be a time consuming process, otherwise you may loose some important videos which you have not transfered over. It's cumbersom when you shoot lots of videos. Here, the memory card-based cameras will save you time(see more below about formats).

Here, the smaller the camera, with the longer battery life, and preferably a portable separate battery charger is desirable. For example, the one below(for the Sony DSC M1 and M2 series) is one unit which plugs directly into the wall making travel and packing simple, is cheap($14.99). The optional car adapter and european adapter you can leave at home if you know where you are going doesn't need them. Otherwise, it's convenient if you are driving a few hours and need to recharge in the car! It also only takes a few hours to fully charge a battery.

Work flow: Event

Here, you can plan for the worst, which is that you are dancing and video taping at the same time. Although you can use a tripod to have your setup ready to roll, I'm always a little weary since I've seen tons of cameras walk away at comps. As a result, I'm looking for a camera which is small enough to put in a jacket pocket or bag pocket, easy to pull out without extra cables, and a fast start up.

Without going into too much technical features(that's for later), you will for sure want a camera with a tiltable lcd screen since you may need to film freehand, above the crowd. Many still cameras with video features will not do this!

You will also want to find a camera with a good and steady zoom. Note that many still cameras with video features do not zoom while in video mode! This is surprising, but video zoom is much more complicated than still camera zoom because it requires a quiet zoom mechanism and fast auto focus.

Finally, go for long battery life, and small and high quality video storage formats. For DV(more later), each tape will last about 60-90 minutes, while memory card-based cameras will have a smaller capacity.

Work flow: post-event

This is probably the most important part of the work flow - what you do after the event! There's no point to shooting all this footage so that it can happily sit in the camera never to be viewed again! Video distribution is a major issue, and can make or break a camera for someone. If you are like most people, they want to send out videos to your friends, families, coaches, etc... Some cameras make this a non-trivial process. Here, this is not specific to ballroom videography, but the shear volume of videos can amplify the issues.

What do you plan to do with the videos afterwards?

a) only watch it for yourself without archiving
This is easy. You can leave it in the camera, hook it up to your tv if desired, and watch it. Then next time, you can just override what's on the camera. Here, almost any camera will do.

b) Make fancy dvds to send to grandpa

okay, maybe not grandpa, but parents, friends, etc... This usually means that you want high quality images which you can edit on your computer, create a dvd with menus and background music, make labels, and burn the dvd. Although this method can result in the highest quality of videos both for distributing to friends and archiving for your own record, it can consumer a tremendous amount of time. Consider that for every hour of video footage, you can easily spend 2 to 10 hrs in the editing room.

If this is what you desire, than you will want to buy a high quality miniDV camera, with 3 CCDs or so. These can be high end consumer cameras, or "prosumer". see below for recommendations.

c) Quickly share the videos with family and friends

This is typically what I do more. I don't have the time to do fancy DVDs, and I want to publish the videos to friends ASAP, and archive it so that I can get back to practice, or go compete again. I don't plan to edit the clips.

Here, the memory card-based cameras win hands down! These cameras record clips as computer files which you can download from the camera, or through a memory card reader. This takes typically 10-15 minutes.

As opposed to the DV cameras, these require that you "link" to the camera through firewire for usb2 and download the clip. For every 1 hour of footage, it requires 1 hour to simply transfer the files to the computer. Next, the DV raw format, although high quality, is a monsterously large computer file. You then need to recompress the video is something more reasonable. This requires another 3-4 hr. All and all, this step requires 3-5 hr for each hour of video footage just to "digitize" and transfer to the computer to a workable format.

The memory card-based cameras saves you all this time because it immediately saves the footage to a video format. Although some cameras save in larger formats than others, it still typically saves you 2-4 hrs in your work flow!

Next, you can distribute these videos by immediately uploading them to youtube, or burn them to a data CD or DVD to give to family and friends. However, there are several drawbacks for all the saved time. Typically the quality of the video images is lower than that of the DV videos. You have little or no ability to adjust the quality of the saved video format because the original "raw" video is lost and only the compressed video is left. Any compressed video(and image) formats leave "artifacts", or little swigglies which aren't there in real life. Because the DV format saves the original data, you can adjust the compression parameters to minimize the artifacts.

Work flow summary

Memory card-based cameras can save you 2-4 hrs after the competition because it gives computer files which you can upload to youtube immediately, or burn to CD or DVD. However, you lose the control video image quality and ability to do fancier techniques.

2 - Technical details

The biggest decision in a video camera is whether to choose a miniDV videocamera, a "HDD" video camera, a still photo camera with video, or a "hybrid".

MiniDV, or "Mini Digital Video" cameras are more traditional and can result in higher quality(see previous section about post-event workflow). These cameras use a tape that go for fairly reasonable price. The tapes are reusable and are fairly rugid. The drawback is that the footage needs to be "digitized" to the computer which takes 1 hr per hour of footage. There are too many of these to talk about. Generally Canon produce fairly good quality video cameras, while Panasonic is best value.

A "HDD"(harddrive-based) camera looks like a traditional video camera, but stores the footage usually on a built-in harddrive. Although the files can be large and require recompression, they can then be transfered to the computer fairly quickly. These cameras are growing in popularity amongst professionals and "prosumers". An example of a high end one is the JVC Everio 3ccd. More recommendations below.


Still cameras with video are typically good for shooting still images, but have a video feature "thrown in". Most typical still cameras have a video feature, but you should be very careful about reading the specs on the video feature before using these as your primary competition video camera. The older cameras have a limit to the length of the video clip(usually 30 seconds to 2 min), you can not zoom while using the video mode, and the video quality tends to be fairly low quality.

The hybrid cameras are those which are made to do both video and still images. While the dedicated video cameras can do bad to mediocre images, and the still cameras do bad to mediocre video, the hybrids can do mediocre to slightly better images and videos. The drawback to these cameras is the quality of the image sensor. Many of them are not good for low light which is typical at ballroom competitions. There are a few exceptions to this including the Sony DSC M1 and M2 series. These do 5 megapixel stills, 640x480 videos at 30 frames per second and do okay in low light. Note that all the videos I've shot for the blog are done on an M1.


Note that a bad example of a hybrid is the Sanyo Xacti line. There are a number of models, but I find these are bad in low light. They get very grainy, and even in good lighting too! The image quality is low, and video compression has too many artifacts. The only saving grace for these things is the cute form factor and the cheap price. The Sony's are certainly not cheap, but I've been quite happy with them for competitions, and for vacationing and general use!

3 - Recommendations

MiniDV cameras Again, there are hundreds of models to choose from and the review is too extensive to cover here. A good place for reviews is:
CNET
Camcorder Info

HDD Video cameras

For high end, prosumer, this is one of the best in the market - for a price:


Other JVC everio models also do a good job. All have a descent amount of zoom, the video images are mpeg2(note that they save as their own format filenames, but you can simply rename them to .mpg to use as regulard mpeg2 files!) The MIT Ballroom Dance Team has a pair of these introductory-level model which they used to film the 2007 MIT Open competition. Videos can be found here. These also do 4:3 and 16:9 ratios. They are extremely light, the batter life is okay, and low light quality is quite good. Note that I do not recommend these for still photos. They, like all video cameras, are not made for good still images.


Sony's DCR-SR series also has a good selection. The prosumer/professional model:


Note that Sony also has cameras which burn to a mini-DVD. These are convenient, but have a short battery life because it is constantly writing to the DVD drive! I would almost recommend these if not for the fact: 1) short battery life, 2) limited capacity on the one-use mini-DVD discs, and 3) high price of the DVD media.

Still cameras with Video

I generally don't recommend these for serious video use because many have low video resolution, low frame rate(you need at least 25 frames per second so that it doesn't look choppy!), the inability to zoom while in video mode, and poor video compression. However, there are a few up and coming cameras which have the potential to address these issues.

One is the Canon S2, which has 12x zoom, image stabilizer, zoom in video mode, no limit on video length, and descent stills:



Hybrids

In general, I would recommend this up and coming class of cameras for ballroom competitions! I think there is a lot of potential is this field and the limiting factor is the sensor quality. This is a funny thing because there are better sensors out in the market, but the manufacturers are holding out so that they can make more money off of cheaper sensors first before releaseing betters sensors used in video cameras and still cameras.

The favorite, of course, is the Sony DSC-M1 and M2. I've had the M1 for almost 2 years, and have recommended to friends and family. Those who have bought it are as happy as I am with it! The M1 and M2 are nearly identifical cameras, except the exterior is slightly different. These have some of the best low light sensors in the market, and the still images are comparable to dedicated still cameras! They use a nifty trick on the sensors to get this quality(which I can get into in the comments if people wish). The best part about the camera is that it saves the footage in MP4 format which results in about 1/10 the file size of traditional mpeg2 format, and for arguable better quality. The downside is that Sony has decided to stop this line, so it might be hard to find a store which still carries it. I've been waiting for Sony to resurrect the technology is a new line, but haven't seen anything yet. :( Anyhow, get it while you still can!



Just for reference, the Sanyo Xacti line is the closest competitor, and here's a few models from. However, from what I've seen of sample videos, I'm not too happy with its low light capabilities. Perhaps the newer models do better?


and a fancy waterproof one:



Feel free to add comments, corrections and questions!

EDIT: Check Steve's digicam for extensive reviews of still cameras. Typically the reviews will include information about the camera's video features, and sometimes video samples too. Look for how the camera preforms in low light(indoors, at night, etc...)

2007 USA Nationals - Youth Latin Finals videos

Videos of the Youth Champ Latin finals. Dance-ons included.

Placements:

1) 141 Armen Petrosyan & Nicole Pyatetskaya - NY
2) 244 Tal Livshitz & Kate Kapshandy - NJ
3) 215 Kiki Nyemchek & Nesya Serebro - NJ
4) 394 Max Belozerov & Kristine Avsjukevich - NY
5) 302 Stan Faynerman & Patrycja Golak - NY
6) 420 Leonid Juashkovsky & Danielle Karagach - NY
7) 406 Peter Gelzhinsky & Mila Burdan - MA

New contributor

We'd like to welcome our newest contributor Angelo Cristobal. He's been an active member of YCN and USA Dance, as well as a kick ass 10-dancer. He will be helping contribute articles and content to the blog.

2007 USA Nationals - Champ Latin Finals

Videos from Champ Latin finals are up, includes 6 dance ons. Placements were:
1) 127 Eugene Katsevman & Maria Manusova - NY
2) 243 Valentin Chmerkovskiy & Valeriya Kozharinova - NJ
3) 311 Grigori Sedrakyan & Lilit Avagyan - CA
4) 232 Pasha Pashkov & Inna Brayer - NY
5) 214 Sergey Onik & Niicole Volynets - NJ
6) 381 Aleksey Zaika & Sharen Pyatetskaya - NY




I will put up youth latin, and other rounds of champ latin soon. Also, you can find all results at http://www.o2cm.com and click on results.

2007 USA Amateur Nationals - Champ standard videos

We just got back from Louisville, KY. Results are as follows:
1) 230 Andrea Faraci & Erica A. Ridgeway - CA
2) 451 Andrey Klinchik & Yuliya Klinchik - NY
3) 232 Pasha Pashkov & Inna Brayer - NY
4) 265 Russ Wilder & Katusha Wilder - NJ
5) 128 Andrzej Bator & Angelika Orent - NY
6) 193 Mechyslav Pavlyuk & Margaret Midura - NJ
7) 144 Kamil Nieroda & Karina Kalisz - nj

Congratulations to all!




I'm working on adding more videos in the next few days.

Eugene and Maria farewell rumba

Eugene and Maria won their 11st nationals, and announced that it will be their last.  Their honorary rumba video is below.

EDIT: added them receiving their applauses and goodbyes from other competitors:

Summer Practice Clothes

With the summer heat and humidity, we've been using these quick-dry fabrics for practice clothes.  Normally we are literally swimming in each other's sweat.  It feels like we just took a shower.  Our standard hold is slipping off of each other from the sweat!

Instead, we've been trying these new shirts and clothes with quick-dry fabrics.  They're great for keeping you dry and cool since they are light weight. You can also wash them and air dry overnight(usually within a few hours in humid conditions!). They look casual enough to dance in, and move well. Currently I have two of them to cycle through, but planning to get more. Mountain Hardwear has some nice looking shirts for men and women.  You can get them at Amazon

for men:








For women:



We've yet to try pants and skirts.

Photos from Yankee Classic on Dancesportinfo

I'm finally done with the photos from Yankee Classic. They are in my Dancesportinfo gallery. I still have one more set to go (from Manhattan) and Nationals are coming up.

On this photo, Andre Strinadko and Olga Kinnard, a professional couple from Boston. Cool dress, though she changed for the final.

EL

Facebook Ballroom Application

Hi Folks,

I've been busy creating the Facebook Ballroom Application. I'm pleased to announce the release of the app which currently allows for dancers to post profiles, search for partners and add a crush list.

The application can be found here, http://ballroom.mit.edu/BallroomConnection/. To add the application to your profile, click "log in", then "add application", then "add application" again. Accept the terms and features.

I will write more in terms of a user manual and details. In the meantime, here is my post on dance-forums:

-----------------------------
Hi Everyone,

We're trying a new upgrade of the MIT partnersearch by integrating it with facebook. It will be part of a suite of ballroom applications called "Ballroom Connection", or simply the Ballroom application on Facebook. At the moment, it allows for dancers to post their profiles, post if they are available for partnerships, search for partnerships, and list private crushes on dancers who they wish to dance with. When a crush lists them back for the same style and purpose, the system will secretly notify both parties of the match.

Other features in the suite which are planned in the next upgrade is a classified ad for costumes, and a competition calendar and results tracking(and predictions :] ).

The application is here http://ballroom.mit.edu/BallroomConnection/ . Without facebook, you can only view limited information since Facebook has strict privacy rules. To add the application, click on "Log in", then "Add application", then "add application" (again). Accept all the terms. Then the Ballroom Application will appear on the left hand bar. You may need to click the small arrow to see more of the left hand menu.

We hope the facebook integration will not only make it easier for users to post entries, but also to create a community of dancers on facebook.

Please try it out, and hope you have fun.

What is plantar fascia?

Many people around me have plantar fascia to the point that it almost seems like an infections disease. Don’t worry, it is not. However, if you are a dancer like all these people, you should worry you might get it as well. Everything you read here is something I put together since many people have been asking me about it. I don’t have any medical degree and all my knowledge is from the web sources which I will be happy to provide here as well. Well, I also have some “experience” with it.

So, what is plantar fascia? According to American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons::

“It's an overuse injury affecting the sole or flexor surface (plantar) of the foot. A diagnosis of plantar fasciitis means you have inflamed the tough, fibrous band of tissue (fascia) connecting your heel bone to the base of your toes.”

Plantar fascia starts with a mild pain in the heel especially when you step on a hard surface. This is called stone bruise. If you do not do anything about it, the condition will grow into actual plantar fasciitis. The common symptom is sharp pain in the heel when you get out of bed in the morning.

Having tight calves is one of the common reasons for plantar fascia. This is especially true for the female dancers because they dance on high heels. Putting the feet into the standard shoes, in my case, becomes really painful and it feels like the heel of the shoe goes straight through my heel causing pain. In fact, walking in most street shoes is painful. See the article about how flip-flops may cause heel pains.

What can help in this situation? Obviously, paying a visit to a doctor will be the best way to learn about all possible ways. I find stretching helps a lot. I also started using inserts for arch support and heel cushion, which I do all the time even while I don’t dance. Here is the once I found in a drug store: Dr.Scholls.

A summary of treatment:

1. See a doctor when you think you have pain in your heel.


2. Rest. That means do not dance. Sadly, I know people who had to crawl from the dance floor in the excruciating pain.


3. Keep the weight off the foot until the inflammation goes away. This might take any number of days/weeks/months.


4. Apply ice to the sore area.


5. Stretch your Achilles tendon and plantar fascia. This is very important that you stretch before and after you practice to prevent the pain from occurring and reoccurring. We all have heard about it but unfortunately only after something bad has happened. I was definitely forced to pay attention to it in the doctor's office. Go here for some exercises.


6. Doctors may also recommend you to wear orthopedics (arch support). The doctors can usually fit it for you.


7. A doctor may choose to inject your heel with steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, put you into a cast or do a surgery on the foot.

Links: http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/physical/injuries/140.html
http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/fact/thr_report.cfm?Thread_ID=144

Manhattan Dancesport

I'm going to try to update the blog more frequently. Just a quick note, good luck to those going to Manhattan Dancesport this weekend. We may have a photographer going there.

Some photos from Yankee Classic

Just a quick update. I'm still working on the pictures from the Yankee Classic, and I have a lot of them. So stay tuned. Here are some for your entertainment meanwhile. The first one is of Jose Decamps and Joanna Zacharewicz. Wow! These people know how to make audience excited. The second picture is of Max and Yulia, the show couple.

EL

Update

Hi Folks,

Sorry for the lack of updates. I have been busy programming a new upgrade for the partner search. As a preview, all I can say is that it will be easier to use by integrating into existing networks, and it will be a different approach to partner search than traditional sites(eg. ballroomdancers.com). Depending on how long the project takes(I'm opting for an earlier release than a later release), it may include other features like costumes and classified ads, and competition results/registration. But if I can't these out in time, then they will be saved for future versions.

Can't say more right now nor when it will be available, but I'm working on it as fast as I can.


TP

Update on LED Dress

Another update on the LED Dress. It's designed by Swarovski, and the outter white dress is filled with crystals.

There's a video here(Reuters).

More Glowing dresses

Sorry folks for the lack of update. We got back last friday, and I'm still catching up on work and stuff.

Anyhow, here's another article about glowing clothes. This time, it's an LED dress which you can wear under another shear fabric. I'm fascinated by the use of glowing clothes in competition wear because I think it's eventually going to happen. People in arts and in ballroom dancing are always looking to integrate technology, so the question is how will glowing clothing be done and not make it look tacky?

Anyways, here's the link.

Yankee Classic. Friday

Yankee classic is on the way. I didn’t notice any couples from outside of the US-Canada area on Friday evening. Here are the winners of pro standard and rising star latin.

Vacation

Sorry for the lack of updates, we've been on vacation for the past week. Should be back at the end of this week, and looking to update with some articles. Someone should also be going to Yankee Classic, and hopefully take some photos(videos?) too.

Photos from Chicago Dancesport Challenge

I have posted my pictures from the competition to my Dancesportinfo gallery. Click here to see.

Blackpool results

In case some people missed it, the Blackpool results over this past week are at here

The key news bits are:
- Bryan and Carmen retired after winning pro latin
- Arunas and Edita won amateur standard while she is 5 months pregnant!
- Timothy&Joanne, and Chris&Justyna[name correction](two pro standard finalists) didn't dance due to injury
- Victor Fung and Anna Mikhed placed 6th in pro standard
- Soale(previous amateur standard champions) placed 5th in pro standard

Gallery on Dancesportinfo

I have posted the pictures I took at the NJ Dancesport Spring Fling 07 on Dancesportinfo. My gallery is here.

Portable Speakers for Dancing, review, and Tivoli audio

The Problem:

I usually move around for practice, sometimes in gyms, hallways, or where ever. Although it would be nice to go to a studio, sometimes that's not possible nor feasible.

So, I need a portable speaker with enough volume and quality, but can't be too big since it has to fit in my bag and is easy to set up. The trouble with boomboxes is either that they are too big or don't have a line-in for mp3 player(CDs only). I also need a good bass to hear the beat in standard and latin.

The Solutions:

1) The Sonic Impact flat panels speakers:

Availability: Amazon.com
price: ~$20
rating: 5/10
how it works: It uses vibrating membranes which feel like sturdy foam-core. You wire up each speaker to the amp, and plug your music source to the amp.
pros: cheap, light and small, can run on batteries or AC
cons: not loud enough to fill a room, bass is horrible, and too many wires takes a while to setup
overall: okay for small rooms, but has a "cheap" sound. There's a version which is built into a CD case.



2) Sound Bug
availability: ?
price: ~$10
rating: 3/10
how it works: you stick this thing to any smooth, flat surfaces by suction and make the whole surface a speaker!
pros: very small - pocket sized!, runs on batteries.
cons: cumbersome and hard to setup. The concept is cool, but it is not loud enough even on ideal survaces(they recommend glass), and the bass varies drastically on the material you stick it on.
overall: nice ideal, but disappointing performance.


3) Generic PC speakers.

Availability: any computer store
price: $10-50
rating: 6/10
how it works: buy any off-the-self pc speakers, either powered or not, and plug in your music source
pros: widely and easily available, quality can vary greatly
cons: I find that many are not lound enough, most are AC powered only, or the none-powered ones are definitely not loud enough to fill a good sized room. Also, all the wires can be tangled and a mess, especially if they require both speakers when you really only need one.
overall: it's probably the easy solution with okay results. you should definitely try them out first before buying(eg. go to Bestbuy and try the displays). Also, note that high speakers like the Bose computer speakers can fall into the category below.


4) Tivoli iPal Speakers
Availability: tivoliaudio.com, sometimes Best Buy
price: ~$100, $150 on their website
rating: 9/10
how it works: It's a portable speaker which can be AC powered, or powered by an internal rechargable battery.
pros: made by world reknown audio designer Henry Kloss(he created Dolby Sound systems), good balance of bass and treble(frequency response is good), does a good job of filling a room(in a basketball court), AC and battery power is a real plus! fast to set up by plugging in only the music, smaller than most PC speakers and fits in a messenger bag with two pairs of shoes and other stuff!
cons: pricey! although it is loud enough to fill a silent room, it's not enough to overcome noise, and definitely not enough for a party/social
overall: I highly recommend for the sound volume and quality, size is great. A few people have seen me use it at practice, and bought their own.

Conclusion

I've assumed that there's already a good source of music via a 35mm jack, which can be CD players, mp3 players, or some other media player. However, it's another discussion to talk about the various options in music players. I would also like to hear what other people use.


Update: oops, sorry, I accidentally turned off the comments. comments are back on.

Glowing costumes

I always wondered how USA dance/USABDA feels about glowing costumes

Burn the floor had blinking ballgowns too. There's nothing the rules which says they are not allowed. Anyone want to comment?

Chicago Regionals Champ Standard Finals Videos

There were actually quarterfinal rounds in standard! Although I didn't attend, people say the field was quite strong.

Anyways, EL filmed these videos, and VWaltz is not included.

youtube videos here

Chicago Regionals Champ Latin Finals Videos

Thanks to dance-forum user "yanka" for filming these. Unfortunately we missed chacha, but Paso is included.

youtube videos here

Dance-Forum Google Gadget

I've been playing around with Google Gadgets which allow you to make things for iGoogle(the google personalized homepage, http://www.igoogle.com ) and Google Desktop. Basically, since I read dance-forums.com so often, I decided to add it to the iGoogle.

I wrote a quick and dirty gadget which is still testing, but feel free to check it out.

From iGoogle, click "add stuff" on the upper right corner. Then select "add url" by the search menu, and type "http://tunapee.googlepages.com/Dance-Forum.xml", and voila! you have a dance-forum gadget!

Here's what it looks like:


There's a few features which I haven't had time to add in yet:
- show recent posts like from the website
- simplify the layout


Also, other possible gadget ideas include:
- Dancesportinfo.net results page
- dancesport's news and general page

other ideas?

MAC 2007

I've posted the MAC 2007 standard finals here. Unfortunately, the latin videos were rejected due to possible music copyright infringement. I could fight it with Revver, but don't think I want to put in the effort. So this looks like the end of my relationship with Revver for posting dance videos. I'll be looking for other places - but back to youtube for the moment. If you have suggestions, please email me!

2007 USA Dance Region 3 Regional Competition

I've posted the videos from the local regional competition in NJ in April. It's the standard and latin finals in Adult A champsionship level.

The link to the full collection is here, previews of the cha cha and waltz are below.

Hello World

This is the first entry - nothing grandiose. I will be posting things of interest to ballroom enthusiasts like competition videos, photos, competition calendar, and possibly articles. If anything, the blog will act as a bookmark for various Ballroom-related things.

As the name implies - it's a place to go when you're not dancing(but still thinking about dancing or what to do dancing related stuff).

This is not meant to be a site to post personal things about Ballroom(ie. personal videos of dancing), but a more general and public blog.

If you have something you would like to post(eg. recent competition videos, photos, articles, competition links, etc...), feel free to email me.