Merry Christmas from Modern Steps

We want to wish you and all our friends the merriest of Christmas wishes and blessings in the New Year!  2015 has been a wonderful year and we are so grateful to have been a part of your lives!

Come and and celebrate the end of a great year with us tomorrow at our final Open Public Dance Party of 2015!  It will be a great night of dancing and wonderful music, and we want to share it with you!  It will be our last night to celebrate before our big SURPRISE!!  We are installing a brand new dance floor to make your dance experience the best it can be!  But the flipside to that wonderful news is that our studio will be closed until the project is completed.  We are hopeful that it will only be a short time, but as many of you know, contractors and un-expected delays may postpone our re-opening.

Please watch for our email announcements in the next few weeks--we will try to keep you updated on our progress and will let you know as soon as our doors are open again for lessons and and Saturday night parties.  We will also post updates on our blog at http://modernstepspurrfecttimes.blogspot.com/ 

In the meantime, we hope to see you dancing at Row on Wednesday nights at 5:30pm, dancing to Manhatten Connection and Jerzey Boys and at Bill's Steak and Seafood on Fridays and Sundays.

Happy New Year from all of us at Modern Steps School of Dance!  May you enjoy nothing but the best in 2016!

Social Dancing at its Finest at Modern Steps

"So what are you doing on Saturday night?"  Sounds like a pickup line from a bad movie or it could be an invitation to join in a great social activity: ballroom dance.  Since the early 1900's what we call "ballroom" dance has been one of America's favorite pastimes and a great way to meet people.  And although the foxtrot may have been brand new in 1919, today it may be the "new" dance that you want to learn and there is no better place to practice than at Modern Steps School of Dance on Saturday nights from 7-10pm.  With all kinds of music to enjoy, our Saturday Night Public Dance party if a great way to beat those blues.  Whether you hook up with some old friends, or you meet some new faces, its a great way to get off the couch and have some fun.                                          

Dancing at Modern Steps on Saturday Nights

Glittering Gold Performances in Chicago

The Chicago Dancesport Challenge was the place to be last weekend and the Windy City was a perfect place for Lynn and Brenda Griebahn to shine as our Modern Steps amateur couple placed First in four divisions.  It may have been Halloween weekend, but there was nothing scary or frightening about their performances in the American Smooth Gold Divisions.  The USADance National Qualifying event was held at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and was a highly attended event, with many of the multi-dance divisions including more than 15 couples, and requiring quarter-finals.  The Griebahns placed first in the Senior 2 and Senior 3 Gold divisions, and also place first in the Senior 2 Silver division, taking first in all three dances.  They also placed first in the Senior 3 Bronze Standard, dancing the International Waltz and Quickstep.

      Unlike many pro-am competition, the USADance competitions are multi-dance events in specific age groups and proficiency levels.  Amateur couples, and teacher-student couples compete in the four dance divisions (American Smooth, American Rhythm, International Standard and International Latin).  Lower level proficiency divisions dance 2, 3 or 4 dances specific to the genre, and the Championship level (the highest proficiency level) includes 5 dances.
     In addition to the Smooth and Standard divisions, the Griebahns also danced in American Rhythm and were finalists in each age group.
     When asked why they compete, Brenda said, "Going to competition is a great way to meet other dancers in our age group who love to dance.  Meeting dancers from across the country has opened up a whole new world of ballroom for us."
    Divisions for Newcomers are available at every competition, and according to the latest information from USADance, worldwide the fastest growing group of ballroom dancers is the 45-65 year age group.  If you are interested in getting more information about local or national competitions, contact Tammy Clemens at Modern Steps School of Dance.

Great Performances at the Naples Star Ball!

What a great day full of ballroom on Sunday, October 11, 2015 at the Naples Star Ball!  Our students and staff spent the day at the Naples Hilton showing our community what we know about ballroom dance!  With eight students and two instructors representing our studio, it was a full and wonderful day for everyone who attended.  Justinas Maliauskus and Mac McCord spent the day dancing with the following ladies from our studio: Thelma Negley, Pat Vautrinot, Jennifer Schooley, Brenda Griebahn, Deborah Jansen, Joanne Bates and Cindy Swanson.  Each of the ladies danced in several different categories, including the American Smooth, American Rhythm, International Standard and International Latin.

Lynn and Brenda Griebahn also danced as an amateur couple.  They received several awards, and we are honored to have one of those rare couples that compete as amateurs as part of our studio.

We are so proud of everyone and all they have accomplished, and it is always great to be honored for the outstanding dancing that our students do.  

In addition to our delight at receiving the Top Studio award, we  had several students that received awards in different categories:

Thelma Negley received the Top Silver Student Award

Brenda Griebahn placed 2nd dancing with Justinas in the Closed American Smooth Scholarship

and 

Justinas and Mac took home awards for 2nd Place Teacher and 4th Place Teacher, respectively.

Mac with Deborah Jansen

Justinas and Joanne Bates

Joanne, Deborah and Pat at the After Party

Jennifer and Cindy waiting in between heats

Justinas and Thelma dancing American Rhythm

Justinas, Mac and Jim