It’s never too late to dance (IV)

Written by Frank Li

In January 2016, I published my first article on the subject (It’s never too late to dance!), summarizing my first year of competitive dancing. In November 2017, I published the second (It’s Never Too Late to Dance (II)). In December 2018, I published the third (It’s never too late to dance (III)). This is the fourth, summarizing my hugely promising career in competitive dancing over the past 12 months.

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1. Overview

This is my second full year at MDH (My Dance Hub – www.mydancehub.com). It is easily the most accomplished year for me, thanks to some 400 private lessons with the excellent coaching staff at MDH, led by Jaana Lillemagi, my instructor and dance partner!

2. The results

I practiced hard and participated in five competitions in 2019: Windy City, Crystal Ball, Harvest Moon, North American Imperial Ball, and Ohio Star Ball. Let me highlight each.

2.1 Windy City (March 2019)

I competed only in Rhythm (Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, and Bolero) and finished 5th in the Scholarship, as shown below.

2.2 Crystal Ball (June 2019)

I competed only in Smooth (Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, and Viennese Waltz) and finished 1st in the Scholarship (photo below).

I also won the “Best of the Best”, resulting in an open invitation to Ohio Star Ball.

2.3 Harvest Moon (October 2019)

I competed in both Rhythm and Smooth for the first time ever, and finished 5th in Rhythm Scholarship and 3rd in Smooth Scholarship.

Oh, I also started amateur/amateur dancing this year, with my new (first and only) amateur partner being Nichelle Tang Kennedy, a reigning [Blackpool] world champion. We competed for the first time (Smooth only) at Harvest Moon, with more to come.

2.4 North American Imperial Ball (November 2019)

I competed only in Smooth and did the “Best of the Best” showcase. It was a practice run (or rehearsal) for Ohio Star Ball, but it turned out to be almost a total disaster. For example, during the showcase, I had a blackout, missing the second half entirely, although I covered up the mistakes reasonably well …

Words of wisdom: In order to perform well in the end, you must have a very bad rehearsal!

Anyway, Ohio, here we come …

2.5 Ohio Star Ball (November 2019)

This (Ohio Star Ball) is the largest forum for professional/amateur dance competition in the U.S.! Although it was actually our first competition out-of-town (Chicago), we delivered!

Two highlights:

1. Single dance (Men, ages 51-60, Smooth, Closed-Silver)
   • First in Foxtrot
   • Second in Waltz
   • Second in Viennese Waltz
   • Third in Tango.
2. 4-dance (Men, ages 51-60, Smooth, Silver): 4th. Why did not I rank a bit higher based on my results in “single”? “Open” was allowed here! So, I am actually #4, Gold included!

3. Goals

Two big goals for 2020:

1. Pro/am dancing: Aiming for a national title in Smooth (men only).
2. Am/am dancing: Aiming for a national title in Smooth or Rhythm, or both.

Let me elaborate on each …

3.1 Pro/am dancing

In my last article (It’s never too late to dance (III)), I highlighted my goal to be “catching up with Steve, having the first head-on competition with him at Ohio Star Ball 2020!”

Well, the success at Crystal Ball 2019 brought me to Ohio one year earlier than planned! No, I did not beat him this year. Yes, I will try again in 2020.

3.2 Am/am dancing

We will strive for a national title at USA Dance or Ohio 2020, or both!

Below is a video showing our Waltz several months ago …

4. Closing

Life is short. I want to live a full life, with competitive dancing being a colorful chapter in my biography. For more, read: My American Dream Has Come True!

Now, please sit back and enjoy two latest videos of mine from Ohio 2019.

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