Our July and August Learn and Practice Events will be held at Crystal Cove in Averill Park. This is an outdoor facility with a wood dance floor. AIDA will be selling water and soda. You may bring food for yourself if desired. The Learn and Practice will be held from 1 pm to 3 pm. Following the Learn and Practice there will be dancing from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm. For further information go to our Events Page.
Thank you to Jang and Adele Don.
Yesterday we held our final Zoom Learn and Practice led by Jang and Adele Don.. They taught an outstanding lesson in Mambo and helped with talking about the differences in Mambo and Salsa. The lesson was amazing with some great choreography! We cannot thank them enough for their generosity. If you missed it, there is limited video available.
News Update
Thank you to those of you who attended our picnic fundraiser at Tawasentha Park. It was wonderful to be among friends and spend time catching up and dancing. Also a big thank you to Florin Vlad for leading us in a Cha Cha Line Dance. We would also like to thank our excellent DJ Ray Smith who donated his services. Stewart’s donated ice cream and toppings for our make your own sundae bar. A huge thank you to Cindy Crounse and her committee for organizing this event and Sue Martin who is largely responsible for keeping us going during COVID and beyond.
Reminder: Tomorrow is our final Zoom Learn and Practice, our instructors will be Jang and Adele Don. Jang and Adele are accomplished dancers. Jang has a Ph.D. in Dance. They have competed internationally and have many noteworthy achievements, among them the UK Open Professional 10 Dance Champions. This is one Learn and Practice you don’t want to miss!
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89088152087?pwd=VmUyRlJtelpJanhKY3h6bXRUYXlQQT09
Meeting ID: 890 8815 2087
Passcode: 436942
AIDA update
The Board of Directors met last week. Here are a few newsworthy items that were discussed:
Albany Aida Picnic/Fundraiser Saturday, June 19th, 6-9PM. For more information check our events page.
Learn and Practice:
As you know we began having in person Learn and Practice Sessions once a month. During the pandemic we have continued to hold Learn and Practice sessions on Zoom. Mark your calendars for the fourth Sunday of the month. Thanks to Jason and Katie for a great session last week!
Upcoming Learn and Practice Sessions:
June:: Jang and Adele Don (Zoom)
July: Ashley and Alex Ivaschenko In Person at Crystal Cove
August: Louise and Paul Giuliano In Person at Crystal Cove
September: Boris and Sasha In Person at the Fred Astaire studio in Latham
October: Grey and Elizabeth Masko In Person at Fred Astaire Saratoga
November: Jason Fenton Location TBA
December Dance party-stay tuned for more details.
In addition to the Learn and Practice events, AIDA is holding a Picnic/Fundraiser on June 19th at Tawasentha Park.
We are also trying to plan for medal testing in November, You can find further information on our Events page on this site and our Facebook page: Albany NY AIDA
Exciting News!
We are starting to schedule in person events! On June 19th at Tawasentha Park in Guilderland we will be holding a fundraising picnic. The picnic will take place in the large pavilion, there is a concrete floor for those who would like to dance. If not come and see friends and enjoy some food, companionship and music. There will be a basket raffle to help raise funds for Albany AIDA.The event will begin at 6:00 pm. Bring along some friends and pass the word! SAVE THE DATE: Saturday, June 19th. We hope to see you there.
April Learn and Practice
Jason Fenton will be teaching our April Learn and Practice on Zoom. Sunday, April 25th at 1:00 pm. Jason will be teaching East Coast Swing and one partner Charleston. Tune in for a fund session.
Also, Thank you to Igor Litvinov for our March Learn and Practice. It was a terrific lesson, enjoyed by all,
Learn and Practice
Although our Spring Ballroom Challenge was conducted as an in-person event, our Learn and Practice sessions will continue to be on Zoom until it is safe to meet again in person. Just a reminder our March Learn and Practice will be taught by Igor Litvinov.
Then coming in April we will have Jason Fenton. Jason will be teaching East Coast Swing and one partner Charleston. For complete information go to our events page.
Learn and Practice sessions take place on the fourth Sunday of the month at 1:00 pm. We hope to see you there!
Spring Ballroom Challenge
On March 13, 2021, the Albany Chapter held its first live dance event since the pandemic began! The Spring Ballroom Challenge was held at Dance Fire Studio in Niskayuna, with our special guest Judge and Examiner, Michael Choi. Mr. Choi is a highly qualified professional dancer and one of just about a dozen USISTD-certified Examiners in the country. We were honored to have him come officiate at our event.
The youth dancers performed first, and we have a link to their portion of the event: https://www.dancefirestudio.com/gallery
They were a joy to watch. It’s great to see our next generation of dancers training early. There was some real talent on display. Then there were nine USISTD Medal Tests, completed both by youth and adults. Congratulations to Gerry and Priscilla Giglio for passing their test – with honors! – and becoming Adjunct members of the chapter. Finally, the adult dancers rounded out the day. The audience was treated to many of the Smooth, Standard, Rhythm and Latin dances, but also West Coast Swing, Argentine Tango, Salsa! There was something for everyone. Pictures from the Spring Ballroom Challenge can be found [what webpage - gallery?]
Sincere thanks to Dance Fire Studio, Michael Choi, and the many volunteers who made this all possible. And congratulations to all of the dancers who put themselves out there and worked hard to prepare for this challenge. It was a job well done.
While it was challenging to run this event during a pandemic, masks were required, seats were assigned, and social distancing was constantly encouraged. We look forward to a day – hopefully in the not too distant future – when we can have a bigger event, with more participants, and lots of spectators!
USISTD needs your help!
In an effort to create more learning opportunities for the dance community, the Albany Chapter welcomes donations. Membership dues are minimal and many of the projects we hope to undertake will require additional capital. Go to our Take Action page where you can join or simply make a donation to our organization. Thank you!
Spring Ballroom Challenge
We have some exciting news! Our Spring Ballroom Challenge which will take place on Saturday, March 13th will be live streamed on Youtube. This is our first in person event since the beginning of the pandemic. We are following strict safety protocols so are unable to have spectators. Streaming the even will give you a chance to see it and start thinking about participating in the next event, sometime this fall. Tune in and see what all the fuss is about!