On September 14, 2024, USA Dance’s North Coast Chapter #2063 hosted its 21st annual dinner dance at the Family Life Center Bainbridge in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
The event theme was the Roaring Twenties, and attendees were dressed in attire from that era. Dancers from Northern and Central Ohio were even joined by a special guest from Japan, who displayed impressive impersonation skills.
The evening featured wheelchair dancer Kimberly Ocampo from Cleveland, Ohio, who gave a memorable Bolero dance exhibition.
In 2015, while riding her bike in Florida, Kimberly, an aspiring young dancer, was hit by a vehicle. The resulting injuries included paralysis from her waist down, loss of hearing in her left ear, and partial blindness in her left eye. However, Kimberly persevered and, in 2021, moved to Cleveland to work with the Dancing Wheels Company & School, a group comprised of dancers with and without disabilities. Today she continues to teach Latin dancing and serves as a TED Talk presenter, songwriter, motivational speaker, and talented performer.
USA Dance #2063 offers monthly Ballroom Socials at Painesville, Ohio’s Township Park, and every Friday at the Willoughby Senior Center in Willoughby, Ohio.
American Dancer thanks Tom Hufnagel for his article. Do you have a dance story to tell? Send it to Managing Editor Rose-Ann Lynch at Americandancer@usadance.org.
Tom Hufnagel is an active member of Chapter #2063 North Coast, Ohio, and has been a member of USA Dance since the 1990s. He used to work as a Microsoft Office software instructor at ETI Technical College in Niles, Ohio but is now retired. Along with the college director, Renee Zuzolo, he taught East Coast Swing and Waltz to the students for free. Tom learned ballroom dance in Columbus and Grandville Heights, Ohio.
