Based on the success of Scalora DanceSport’s previous summit, Scalora DanceSport and USA Dance are teaming up once again to bring the dancers of the United States another live virtual educational Congress with top dancers from around the world! This virtually hosted lecture series will be hosted through Zoom on Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8, 2022! Individual lectures can be watched live starting at just $35, and general admission for the full summit can be bought for $180. Tickets can be bought here , where you will receive the link to the meeting upon ticket purchase. As an added benefit, members of USA Dance are given exclusive discount codes, which can be found on the USA Dance DanceSport Congress registration page.
Scalora DanceSport’s YouTube channel and podcast series was founded in the summer of 2019 by USA Dance member Alessandro Scalora. The mission was to educate and entertain dancers with interviews and podcast series on DanceSport with top professionals and coaches from around the world. Today, Scalora remains President of the channel and there are over 75 episodes and videos with over 25,000 views which provide exclusive educational content. These include but are not limited to: advice on commonly asked questions relating to DanceSport, various views on differing teaching approaches, and philosophical delves into DanceSport discussion, as well as a sneak peak of the daily routines of some of the most successful DanceSport athletes.
For those of you who missed out on the previous summit, February 5- 6, it was a well-organized two-day series with lecturers around the world, hosted on Zoom. This was a unique opportunity for people who would have loved to take classes from world-class lecturers but weren’t able to travel all the way across the globe. Thus, Scalora DanceSport along with USA Dance decided to host a virtual event instead, accommodating a wider range of audiences to make sure everyone across the nation could benefit. Highlighting champions in the disciplines of International Latin and Standard, as well as American Smooth and Rhythm, there was something there for everyone, featuring top names such as the six-time Standard World Champions Paolo Bosco and Silvia Pitton, five-time Standard World Champions Benedetto Ferruggia and Claudia Koehler, two time Latin ShowDance World Champions Saverio Loria and Zeudi Zanetti, eight-time Canadian Champion Larissa Kerbel, three-time Rhythm World Champion Joanna DeCamps, and Canadian Smooth Champion Pavel Lebedev!
“Thank you (Scalora DanceSport) for bringing the top international coaches to our athletes in the USA Dance; we are thankful for your support!” said Todd Kirrane, Senior Vice President of USA Dance. “This event is kickstarting one of many educational events that USA Dance will host to raise the level of competitiveness for our athletes.”
The turnout was tremendous at the premier virtual congress, as it was the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that the USA Dance partnered with Scalora DanceSport to host an educational world-class virtual event on Zoom, raising over $5000 in total ticket funds. Everyone was excited to participate — not only dancers from this dance federation. When contacted by international dancers who were interested in attending the live lectures but did not have the financial opportunity to do so, Scalora took the initiative to fundraise enough to cover the price of their lectures. “It was a spontaneous decision, but definitely one that yielded a positive response. I am glad that the dancers overseas had an opportunity to participate, thanks to all our wonderful supporters who donated!” said Scalora. Through the donations of generous dancers and colleagues, Scalora DanceSport was able to raise over $500 from its audience and supporters to bring young dancers from Bulgarian and Italian studios to participate free of charge.
On May 7-8, there is going to be no shortage of top-class professionals joining from across the world. Scalora DanceSport and USA Dance will host legends such as Peter Maxwell, Ashli Williamson, Luca Bussoletti, Vladimir Karpov, Zeudi Zanetti, and more! You can read about these special guests here:
“For our dancers in Ukraine, our hearts are with you,” said Scalora. Scalora DanceSport has decided to donate 10% of profits from the DanceSport Congress to Kate Shapiro, a studio owner in Ukraine who led a very successful life coaching and managing her studio before the effects of the war in Ukraine. Now, she and her family have limited access to everything, with her studio devastatingly being destroyed in the aftermaths of the bombing. Not giving up even when things are outside of her control, Shapiro turned to online classes to teach her students for free, not wanting them to be devastated and lose hope. “This is a great opportunity to not only learn from the best, but also help our dear dance friends in Ukraine who are in an unfortunate situation,” noted Scalora.
Making a special appearance at the DanceSport Congress will be Dr. Denisa Millette, who will be giving a lecture on the mindfulness of the ultimate athlete! As dancers, so much of our craft revolves around emotions and freedom of expression. Consequently, a dancer has to be in a healthy, positive mindset for growth in order to allow the development of his/her dance career in the best way possible. Dr. Denisa Millette helps several people daily with just this, and so much more. She is a certified clinical trauma specialist and a professional licensed psychotherapist who works with patients of all ages and backgrounds to improve their mindfulness in order to reach their full potential in their respective fields of study. Her techniques include visualization and meditation. At this Congress, she will be discussing how to maximize a dancer’s potential by planning ahead, setting goals, and helping sustain those goals in a healthy way. This should prove to be very beneficial for today’s dancers, who also lead busy lives outside of being athletes!
Whether you are an active competitive dancer, a social dancer wanting to get more insights on improving the technique of your dancing, or a reader with an interest in dance, the DanceSport Congress is a great opportunity to make you more knowledgeable in DanceSport and may help bring the DanceSport community a little closer.
“This is a wonderful part of the USA Dance mission…education, to improve the quality of dance,” said USA Dance President Ken Richards. “We are glad you all are here and participating!”
“This is a wonderful part of the USA Dance mission…education, to improve the quality of dance,” said USA Dance President Ken Richards. “We are glad you all are here and participating!”
For more information on registration, including the schedule of the DanceSport Congress of 2022, visit this link to purchase tickets, or find us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. For updates and information on immediate release, join our Telegram channel.
