After believing twice, within six years, that her ballroom days were over, Pamela has gone from a retired law librarian to a champion in ballroom dancing. She won (1) Closed-Gold in Ballroom at OSB 2018 and (2) Closed-Silver Rhythm at OSB 2023.
1. Introduction
Pamela has loved dancing, in one form or another, most of her life. Starting with Ballet and Tap at age six, she explored other styles like modern and Jazz. Even though law school, marriage and family, and a Master’s degree in Library Science kept her busy after college, she always took dance classes. She even did a lot of musical theater.
Nevertheless, she never considered ballroom dancing until she watched the PBS series “Championship Ballroom Dancing” in the late 1980s. The dancers were impressive and obviously well-trained, and the styles – especially Ballroom – were so beautiful. She was hooked! Although there were lots of studios in Alexandria, VA, where she lived, she wanted a studio that taught “International style.” She found Chevy Chase Ballroom (at that time, Danceland II), in Maryland, owned by Ron Bennett, a well-respected Latin teacher and judge.
2. Getting started
Pamela started ballroom dancing in 1991. She took some group classes but quickly realized that if she was going to make progress, she needed private lessons. Her first instructor was Dan Calloway, who drilled her in the proper techniques of both Ballroom and Latin. She did a few pro/am competitions with Dan, with OSB 1993 being the most memorable!
3. Learning from champions
Pamela was privileged early on to have lessons with some of the icons of ballroom dancing. Her first such lesson was with Peter Eggleton, a former British and World Amateur and Professional Ballroom Champion. He was such a gentleman. In one hour spent on Foxtrot, he quietly corrected footwork and stride, emphasizing that the proper movement should be as natural as walking.
The second iconic coach she was fortunate to learn from was Michael Houseman, also a former World Amateur Champion and among the top professional dancers of his time. He confessed that he did not like wing position, an opinion that Pamela shared!
4. The tortuous journey
Five major milestones along Pamela’s journey in ballroom dancing:
- A detour to am/am
- The first “end of the dream”
- A second “dream born”
- The second “end of the dream”
- The “dream reborn.”
To briefly highlight each …
4.1 A detour to am/am
Pamela found an amateur partner to compete with in Ballroom. That meant giving up Latin, but had many advantages, such as more practice time and shared expenses for coaching and competing.
Once again, she was fortunate to be taught by a champion: Joe Jenkins, a 3-time US Ballroom Champion (with his wife Nancy) and the first American to make a final at Blackpool! Joe owned a studio in Bethesda, MD, where Pamela and her am partner trained. He taught a weekly drill class in Ballroom that all the local competitive couples attended. The drill class and weekly studio parties offered opportunities for ladies to practice general techniques, floor craft, and following skills.
4.2 The first “end of the dream”
After several wonderful years, during which she and her am partner consistently made the finals at the Pre-champ and Championship levels, she accepted a job as a law librarian at the School of Law, University of South Carolina. Her family moved to Columbia, SC, where no “International style” teacher was available. So, she found the local community of social dancers, did a lot of Salsa, and learned some Argentine Tango. She became the faculty adviser for the university’s ballroom club. For about 10 years, she only danced socially.
4.3 A second “dream born”
Then the first miracle happened: an excellent “International style” professional, Sergiy Samchynskyy, moved to Columbia with his wife and partner, Yuliya Besarab!
Pamela’s dream was reborn and she began to take lessons with Sergiy. For several years, she worked at reclaiming her technique and knowledge of ballroom dancing. It was slow going, but she made progress.
4.4 The second “end of the dream”
After several years, Sergiy and Yuliya moved to Atlanta, GA, for more opportunities. So, once again, Pamela retired her dream. This seemed to be the real end.
4.5 The “dream reborn”
In 2016, the second miracle happened: a superbly successful competitive “International style” teacher moved to Columbia! Could the third time be the charm for her?
The arrival of this amazing teacher, Stefano Placidi, an Italian ballroom champion and 2nd in the Europa Cup (Riga) 10-dance championship, coincided with her actual retirement from the job at the university.
5. Progress and results
She began to take lessons—brushing off the rust—and then to compete in Ballroom. The results were immediately gratifying. Her first Ballroom competition (Bronze) was NYDF 2017. She won the Closed-Bronze Championship. She moved up a level and won Closed-Silver at Millennium 2017.
Pamela won Closed-Gold Ballroom at NYDF 2018.
In yet another miracle, the Blackpool Dance Festival added pro/am in 2017. Stefano informed her that they would dance at Blackpool 2018. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined this! What followed was a whirlwind of practice to learn open routines. As a warm-up for Blackpool, she and Stefano danced at the first Dance as Fire Championships in Rome, Italy (2018), placing 2nd in Open Ballroom in her age group.
Then it was off to Blackpool … Dancing in the legendary Empress Ballroom was an unbelievable thrill and unbelievably intimidating. She made the finals in all single dances but Waltz, finishing 2nd in Tango out of a very large field.
Then, in the multi-dance competition, she made cut after cut, ending up in the final!
After Blackpool, she went back to Closed-Gold. She won Closed-Gold Ballroom and BoB at Constitution State 2018, which led to an invitation to dance in the BoB finale at OSB 2018.
Then, she won Closed-Gold Ballroom at OSB 2018.
6. Adding Latin
In 2019, Pamela decided to add Latin, aiming to do 10-dance competitions. She won her first Bronze Latin Scholarship at Capital Dancesport 2019.
She won her first 10-dance championship at the Vegas Open in 2020.
Her second 10-dance championship was at the WDO American Open Dancesport Championships (“Open to the World”) in Austin, Texas, in 2022.
She placed 2nd in the Senior 10-Dance Scholarship at OSB 2022.
7. Adding Rhythm and Smooth
After Stefano started dancing Rhythm and Smooth with one of his students, many of his other students took up these new styles. Pamela is now competing in Closed-Silver Rhythm and Closed-Silver Smooth. Learning these new styles was challenging and fun.
In her first Smooth competition (Heritage Classic 2023), Pamela placed 1st in all dances. At her second Smooth competition (Millennium 2023), she placed 3rd in a very strong field.
Then, at Capital Dancesport 2023 (her first Rhythm competition), she placed 2nd in Rhythm and Smooth Scholarships (S2), 1st in the Rhythm and Smooth Championships (S2), and 1st in the Silver 6-Dance Championship (S2).
At OSB 2023, she placed 1st in Closed-Silver Rhythm Scholarship (S2).
8. Closing
“Pinch me! I am still dreaming! I have met so many wonderful, talented people and traveled to so many amazing places. All through this, I have been inspired, encouraged, and pushed to test my limits. This amazing journey has been so worth it and is far from over. I will never stop dreaming!”
