Goodbye to our Old Studio

As most of you know, Dancer Avenue Studio has left its location on Narbonne Avenue in the city of Lomita. Anyone that has had to move after 15 years in one location (home or business) knows that there is a LOT OF STUFF to pack.

On one hand it is sad to be leaving our Lomita address, since it has been our home for so long. But on the other hand, I am eager to see what the future holds. As they say, “when one door closes, another one opens”. I am taking the recent events positively and believe that it was simply meant to be. There must be a reason that we’re moving and I believe in my heart that something good will happen in the future.

I must say, there sure was a lot of stuff in the studio. Some items were put into a storage space but there was just too much to save. Many items had to be tossed out. We filled up the trash bin almost every day for a week (and had daily trash pickups).

Veronica and I want to thank everyone that helped to pack, move or clean. Thank you to Les, Stan, Anne, Jim, Chris, Dave, Kali, Maribeth, Huishi, Dulce, Agnes, Jackie & Rob, Charles, Little Veronica, Sierra, Erika and Cody.

Now that we’ve completed the move out, we are able to focus on scheduling dance classes and finding a new location. We have received many emails asking for the January class schedule. Veronica and I will make a quick decision (by tomorrow) to let you know when we will begin teaching group classes (maybe in February or the end of January). Private lesson will start by the end of this week.

As for a new studio, we have found 3 locations that we think are suitable for our needs. They are all fairly close to the old Dancer Avenue (you won’t have to drive too far), they are in nice neighborhoods and all three are larger buildings (meaning a larger ballroom). We’ll inform everyone very soon of all new developments.

Sincerely,
Mark & Veronica

Our last Christmas Party in Lomita

Hi Everyone,

This past Sunday we completed our last Showcase at the Dancer Avenue Studio to a sold-out audience. It was quite a treat to see all the Waltz's, Tangos, Rumbas and more. Pictures and videos will be posted as soon as possible. Thank you everyone for your support.

As most of you know, Dancer Avenue Studio is leaving it's current location at the end of December 2009. We are carefully looking for a new location to make sure we find just the right place and we'll inform you as soon as we find it.

This Friday is our final Christmas Party. Join us one last time at the studio and say farewell with all of us. We would love to see all our current and past friends with Dancer Avenue at the party. Let's go out with a BANG! Reserve space by calling 310-530-7511 (leave a message, how many guests), or email stardanz1@aol.com

Christmas Party - Friday, December 18, 2009,
8-9PM Tango Class, 9-11:15PM Party. (Dance Showcase at 10PM)
$10 per person, Semi-Formal attire requested.
We'll provide the beverages and all the holiday spirits and you provide the dish. Potluck style, please bring a dish to share with all your friends and fellow dancers.

Dancer Avenue is Moving

Hi Everyone,

We have some important news that we would like to share with you.

We have been negotiating the renewal of our lease for another 5-year term. We expected a reasonable increase of 5% - 10% in these economically difficult times (where there are many vacancies in Lomita alone). We were offered a new lease with an increase of 41% for our monthly rent. This is more than our budget can handle and therefore we have decided NOT to renew our lease.

We our currently exploring many options for teaching our classes. Please stay in touch with your instructors (private and group) to see where they will teach their students after January 1st. Also, check for future emails from Dancer Avenue (StardanceStudio.com).

This December will be our last Winter Showcase and last Christmas Party at Dancer Avenue Studio. We would love to see all our current and past friends with Dancer Avenue at these two events. We invite everyone to visit us and wish our studio a happy farewell.

With each new year, there comes a new challenge. We look forward to meeting this challenge and to continuing our friendships. If you have questions, please write to us at stardanz1@aol.com

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, found dead

On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson, the King of Pop was found dead in Bel Air, California. He was renting a Bel Air estate where he was rehearsing for his upcoming European tour “This Is It”, that was to begin in July 2009. He will be deeply missed by many.

As a child, I remember watching re-runs of the Jackson 5 cartoons on Saturday mornings. They played many of his well know tunes. As I grew up, Michael and his singing family, The Jackson 5, produced many famous hits. Michael eventually went solo and became one of the biggest stars in the music industry.

I remember when MTV first began playing his music video of Billie Jean. Michael Jackson was the first African-American singer to cross over racial lines into the Rock and Roll/Pop Music video station. His video showcased his unique style of dancing. It was fresh and energetic.

Many people are not aware of Michael Jackson’s humanitarian efforts. He made videos to save the rainforests in South America, the homeless people across the world, the drought in Africa and war torn areas in Eastern Europe (check out the “Earth” video on youtube.com). Michael Jackson has contributed to many charities.

Michael Jackson always seemed to be in the public eye. Much publicity (and speculation) was released regarding the plastic surgery he underwent and the whitening of his skin. Later in his life Michael received negative publicity in his personal life and was reported to be in financial distress.

I believe Michael Jackson was one of the greatest performers of all time. His music (and the Jackson 5) has been used in movies, re-recorded by other artists and of course used in dance studios. His dance moves and style have been copied by many Michael Jackson impersonators.

Whether or not you agree with his lifestyle, I don’t think anyone can dispute that Michael Jackson was one of the greatest entertainers of our time.

regards,
Mark Mendez

GO LAKERS!

The city of L.A. has won another basketball championship. It’s been a 7-year struggle for the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant to get back on top. I am extremely happy this Monday morning to know that the Lakers have clinched their 15th NBA championship.

I have always followed the Lakers from an early age and have enjoyed watching many of the basketball stars from past Lakers teams. From the old school, Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain stand out, from the 80’s “Showtime” Lakers, there are many - Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy and of course Superman, Kurt Rambis, to mention a few.

However, since last year’s embarrassing game 6 loss to their long time rivals, the Boston Celtics, I was eager to see this year’s team make it back to the NBA Finals. Some say the team was motivated by redemption, some say revenge, perhaps it was just a hunger to prove their place in history. I followed news about the Lakers and watched almost all the games this season.

There was so much hype during the playoffs. Would there be another Boston-L.A. matchup? Would there be a clash of titans, LeBron VS. Kobe? Could Kobe win a championship without Shaq? Would Phil Jackson surpass Red Auerbach as the winningest head coach of all time? We now know the answers to all these questions – No, No, Yes and Yes!

I’m happy to say, all is good is La-La Land, the Lakers are champs of the world again. Kobe has his 4th NBA title and Phil has his 10th coaching title. I’ll be watching the Lakers parade on television and if possible, I’ll be there. GO LAKERS!


See the online photo slide show, click the link below:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dancer_avenue/sets/
72157619890879521/show/

Lakers fans,
Mark, Veronica & Charles

Mayan Salsa Competition

For the past few weeks, there has been an amazing Salsa dance competition at the Club Mayan in downtown Los Angeles. This historic club has been host to HBO concerts and comedy specials. The venue has a gothic look on the outside and an eclectic mix of rooms, bars and balconies on the inside.

The best Salsa dancers in L.A. were selected from 4 weeks of elimination. Two weeks ago were the semi-finals and this week is the professional finals. The competitors look good – the Salsa girls look sexy and provocative, the guys look macho and strong. There is energy in the club and the crowd is excited. And yours truly, Mark and Veronica, get a front row seat since we are judges at this event.

The level of the professional couples was very good to excellent. The top routines displayed a combination of speed, acrobatic tricks, fast footwork and sensual moves. However, as judges, we believe some of the couples need to work on improving their footwork (particularly the ladies), musicality and partnership.

These finals had an usual twist and received mixed feelings from Veronica and myself. It turned out that one of the couples participating was a gay couple (in other words, two guys dancing together). Some competitions specify that the couple must be man and a woman, apparently the Mayan Salsa contest does not. I felt the gay guy (dancing as a lady) had better and clearer footwork than several of the lady dancers and Veronica felt that a man cannot duplicate the shape, sensuality and femininity of a woman in Latin dancing.

The overall dancing from all the couples was excellent and it looked like it would come down to Liz & Christian and the gay couple. Liz and Christian had a slight costume malfunction in the beginning but finished flawlessly. The gay couple performed well with no mistakes. When the scores were tallied, the gay couple had swayed the judges in their favor by a slim margin. They were the winners.

This is truly an exciting event and showcases the best Salsa dancers around. Don’t miss it next year!

Sincerely,
Mark and Veronica

Youth Showcase A Big Success

Wow, what a busy week we had here at the studio. Our own Veronica Wagner and Dorothea Hockett, from the Academy of Dance, presented their 2nd Youth Showcase at Dancer Avenue Studio this past Saturday.

For several days prior to the Showcase, we had 28 young dancers from both studios practicing very diligently on their dance routines. They came in groups, duos, trios and soloists. Some tapped, some did jazz, others danced ballroom and some even had vocal numbers. There was a buzz of excitement felt inside both studios all week.

A quick recap - As Saturday evening finally arrived, parents, children and friends began to fill our studio. The kids went upstairs to change into their costumes and prepare for their performances. The audience was treated to a sumptuous pasta dinner while waiting for the show to begin.

Soon it was time, the show started and one by one they came out in spectacular fashion performing their numbers. We were entertained to Jazz, Ballet, Samba, Vocal and Lyrical numbers. Their hours of training & rehearsing were paying off. These young dancers showed a great deal of poise and maturity throughout the entire evening. What a show!

Veronica and Dorothea are very fortunate to have a large group of brilliant young dancers. Veronica rewarded them by presenting each dancer with a souvenir shoe bag and a participation trophy for their performances. Also, as a special Thank You, the dancers were invited to attend a “cast party” the following evening at our studio.

Sunday evening the kids reunited again for the fun filled "cast party". They played games, they danced, ate cotton candy & pizza, and simply spent timing socializing with each other

The Youth Showcase was well attended and is growing in popularity. It is almost as big as our adult Showcases. I hope you can come support these kids the next time we have a Youth Showcase. It really is a good show.
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Sincerely,
Mark and Veronica