My first out-of-town ballroom dance competition was OSB 2019, and I finished 4th (Gentlemen, Open Smooth, age-group C). After that, I started claiming, privately, that I am America’s most efficient male amateur in competitive pro/am ballroom dancing (age-group C initially and S1 now) based on this simple fact: All the other five finalists had been dancing for many more years than I had. Now, it is time to reveal this claim publicly!
1. Introduction
It all started around Christmas of 2014. As our elder son was scheduled to get married in May 2015, my wife and I decided to take some dance lessons for the wedding. We did, and we danced well at the wedding. After that, I moved on to competitive pro/am dancing while she “suspended” her effort.
2. Getting in shape
I am competitive. It soon became obvious that in order to dance well, I must lose weight, fast. So, I starved myself for three long months, shedding some 30 porky pounds as a result. Furthermore, with sustained effort, I was down to my college weight by the end of 2015 – See image below. I have been keeping it that way since then!
In short, ballroom dancing is the best thing that has happened to me over the past decade!
3. Results and progression
I am result-oriented. Let me describe my progress in six major milestones:
- Chicago Harvest Moon 2015.
- Chicago Crystal Ball 2019.
- OSB 2019.
- OSB 2021.
- 2022: USDC and OSB.
- 2023: USDC and OSB.
Let me briefly highlight each …
3.1 Chicago Harvest Moon 2015
This was my first competition with my first pro/am teacher, Lauren Byrnes – Watch this video:
3.2 Chicago Crystal Ball 2019
This was my first big “win.” See the image below.
Additionally, we won the BoB (Best of the Best), which resulted in an invitation to participate in the BoB finale at OSB 2019. We delightfully accepted it, thus OSB 2019 …
3.3 OSB 2019
This was my first competition out-of-town (Chicago). I finished 4th – See the image below.
3.4 OSB 2021
This was my second out-of-town competition. I finished 2nd – See the image below.
3.5 2022: USDC and OSB
USDC 2022 was my third out-of-town competition. I finished 3rd – See the image below.
OSB 2022 was my fourth out-of-town competition. I finished as follows:
- 2nd in Gentlemen Rhythm Championship (S1) – See photo below.
- 3rd in Gentlemen Smooth Championship (S1).
- Top Student Award (Male, Gold level).
3.6 2023: USDC and OSB
At USDC 2023, I had the best finish ever (3rd place) against ladies – See the photo below.
At OSB 2023, I finished as follows:
- 2nd in MIB (Men In Black) Rhythm Scholarship – See the photo below.
- 3rd in MIB Smooth Scholarship,
- Top Student Award (Male, Gold level).
4. My teacher and professional partner
Her name is Jaana Lillemagi. She has been my teacher since 2017, with our first competition being Chicago Harvest Moon 2017.
The image below highlights our competition at USDC 2023.
5. My amateur partners
My first amateur partner is Nichelle Kennedy. She is arguably America’s best amateur in pro/am ballroom dancing (“Dancing Queens”: A Critical Review). We competed as an am/am couple occasionally from 2019 to 2022 – See two photos below.
My current amateur partner is Kayla Carpenter. Below are two photos.
The best part of am/am dancing?
Do a lot of drills, and everything is free!
6. Summary
The image below highlights my dance journey through Chicago Harvest Moon …
7. Discussion
Competitive pro/am ballroom dancing is a serious business for professionals but just a hobby for amateurs, especially for senior citizens like me.
7.1 It is just a hobby for you, amateurs!
So, do not take it too seriously: If you win, nice. If not, so be it!
On the other hand, pro/am competitive ballroom dancing is very expensive, requiring a lot of time and money. Besides, you need to be in good shape physically if you want to be anybody in that business. Very critically, you need to find a matching partner (aka “teacher”), who is often (said to be) harder to find than a spouse! For example, it is a big no-no if the female is taller than the male.
What a niche business pro/am competitive ballroom dancing is! So, if you do it, you’d better do it seriously with your own goals, be it to win against other competitors or just to progress steadily against yourself.
7.2 Know yourself!
My interest in competitive pro/am ballroom dancing started 100% due to DWTS: I liked what he saw on TV and noticed that former athletes tend to do very well.
As a former college athlete (in basketball and track & field), I have very strong legs, an evenly developed body, and reasonably good coordination skills. Better yet, I have been working out daily for the past two decades and never had a serious injury. So, all my body parts (e.g., knees and hips) are in good working order.
However, shortly after I started dancing, I found out that I have “lazy” knees (e.g., not bending down enough), like many men (and women) of my age. Worse yet, ballroom dancing requires some different muscles, which I simply do not have. Worst of all, I forget faster than I learn.
The solution to them all: more dance lessons!
7.3 How many competitions do you go to?
In 2023, there were some 130 dance competitions in the U.S., which means you can compete every weekend. I understood this early and quickly, and made a firm decision: I would participate only in the local competitions (in Chicagoland). Two main reasons:
- If I cannot win it at home, what is the point of going out of town?
- I have a business to run. Any out-of-town trip can be prohibitively expensive – It is wiser to stay home, taking more lessons instead.
Nevertheless, after my first big win at an in-town competition (Chicago Crystal Ball 2019), I opted to go out of town, but only to the big ones – OSB 2019 was the first!
7.4 Why OSB 2019 first?
As described above (Section 3.2), we were invited to OSB 2019 after winning the BoB at the Chicago Crystal Ball 2019 – See the image below.
8. Know myself, really!
Below are two videos showing how my dance (Waltz) has improved over time while my physical capability has declined (e.g., no lifts in 2022).
8.1 Best of the Best Solo at OSB 2019
8.2 Best of the Best Solo at OSB 2022
9. Making the industry better!
After OSB 2021, based on one single argument (“What is the point of competition for men if they have no chance of winning?”), I proposed two additions to the OSB:
- Gentlemen, 9-dance: It was added in 2022.
- Gentlemen, Best of the Best: It was added in 2023.
10. Closing
I love ballroom dancing and will continue to do it for as long as I can.
