I have had a very busy year. It was full of new dance events and my competitions in the country dance world which were a blast! I really enjoyed Portland Dance Festival in July, as well as the River City Dance Festival in Edmonton in September. For those of you who enjoy both swing and country music these are the events for you! Also, Sea to Sky was fantastic this year. We are so fortunate to have a major west coast swing dance event here in Vancouver with top instructors! So cool that we had people travelling from as far as Australia, Europe, and Texas to come to the dance event. What fun!

So have you heard about our yearly Foodbank Fundraiser? This sunday Urban Beat will be offering a beginner west coast lesson, performances by students and instructors, as well as dancing thru the evening. All proceeds will be donated,so this is a great event to introduce friends and family to your dance world with!

 My next adventure is going to be Palm Springs over New Years. I have been asked to teach,judge, and compete for the first time this year at New Years Dance Camp. I look forward to ringing in the New Year with amazing west coast swing dancers!

 I  wish you all a wonderful Holiday Season and All the Best for 2011! And many more wonderful dance days in the year ahead!

Pamela Podmoroff , Urban Beat Dance Co.

So just some updates to begin with: I have to say a great big thanks to everyone who had me instruct at their events in the past while.

 I had so much fun in Calgary, with my two-step dance debut in April at Calgary Dance Stampede. Great event Keith and Jena Armbruster, Thanks for having me be a part of it! Then even more fun in June with Extreme Swing. Again in Calgary, this was a full weekend with Kyle and Sarah, and Robert Royston doing west coast swing workshops. Thanks Robert for having me as your dance dummy!(note, meaning dance assistant) I can’t say enough about how Robert helps dancers to transform their west coast swing dancing and take it to a whole new level in musicality! If you want to treat yourself, take one of his intensive west coast swing dance workshop weekends. So worth it!!!!!!

Also a big thanks to Connie and Gerry Schaad in Courtney for their Swingilicious event! And to  Tom Selzler for the two Shag and Swing dance weekends! So much fun!

Lastly, a great big thanks to Elizabeth for having put together the Two-step classes at Urban Beat Dance Co. Can’t wait to have some more in the fall! Hopefully we will see all you west coast and two-step dancers out at Boone County during the summer. Let’s kick up our heals some more…..

One side note,  have to say, Well Done to the Romantic Dance Class dancers! You guys did such a lovely job of learning Waltz, Foxtrot, and Nightclub Two-step. Wishing all of the wedding couples out there a wonderful first dance and many more to come!

So what is on the horizon for summer? We will be having west coast swing and salsa dance classes as usual. Will also have another freestyle dance class session as well. For those of you who have been wanting to learn more about body movement and body isolations, this class is very helpful. I basically work on movement from head to toe, so that not only can you look good on the club dance floor, you can incorporate things into your partner dancing as well! So check it out in July!

Hope all of you are having a blast on the social dance floor. It is wonderful with more social dances being offered on the weekends! Thanks to everyone who is helping to grow our communtity! You are doing a great job!

So happy dancing, til next time,

Pamela Podmoroff, Urban Beat Dance Co.

Yes, I keep hearing great comments about students enjoying the country two-step dancing more than they had expected! I am also enjoying this dance more and more!

And a big thanks to Keith and Jena Armbruster from Calgary, for their help with my country two-step routine with Richard. I am thrilled to get to debut my first two-step routine at the Calgary Dance Stampede April 16. I also get to dance it a second time in the Pro-Pro division with Keith! I can’t wait! Calgary Dance Stampede is a full on west coast swing and country dance event with great instruction, competitions and late night dancing! So if you are looking for an upcoming dance event, check it out. I know that it will be a blast!

But before this all happens, Easter Swing in Seattle is just days away! Yay! I know alot of us Vancouver dancers will be attending this yearly event. Wonderful social dancing, great workshops, and into the wee hours of the morning,  late night dancing! For anyone planning on competing this year, good luck! We’ll be cheering for you!

Also, west coast dancers, have you been looking for some added style? I (along with Graeme occasionally) will be teaching a men’s and ladies style class on tuesdays starting Mar 30 at 830 pm. It will be intermediate level, with the emphasis of being able to do styling independent of your partner. Knowledge of whip footwork needed.

So here’s wishing you a wonderful Easter weekend! whether it is on the dance floor or not!

Pamela Podmoroff, Urban Beat Dance Co.

Hope you got to enjoy and take in the Olympics! I must say, not knowing what to expect, I really loved my experience! It was very inspiring and fun!

Now it is time to try something new on the dance floor. Have you heard about Carolina Shag Dancing? This is actually one of the most popular forms of swing dance in the US, but we know little about it because it is danced in the east. I got introduced to it many years ago at the yearly Atlanta Grand Nationals Dance Competition that takes place in May. I was so inspired by the dancing and the fact that it was danced by entire families, from the young to the old!

 This dance is footwork oriented, consists of cool syncopations and is very fun.  For those of you who go to the swing dance competitions, you will often see shag footwork in west coast swing dancing.   But alot of us don’t realize that this fancy footwork has roots back east. This past US Open, I was fortunate enough to get introduced to a Hall of Fame Shag Dancer , Ellen Taylor.  It was so cool to see her out competing in Shag with Brennar Gore, who was the young adult West Coast Swing winner!

 Ellen would love to see Shag dance expand it’s influence, so she is kindly helping me in moving it out west! I had begun over the last few years, to introduce shag dance moves into my Invitational West Coast Swing dance class every summer. But now I hope to expand this further and get more of us actually shag dancing! So please, come and check it out! I will be starting with the basics and quickly moving onto fun and fancy syncopations. So whether you are already a swing or salsa dancer, add some Shag dance on tuesdays at 830 pm to your repetoire!

Also, just as a note, we have recently changed the format of our Wednesday dance mixer. We are now doing both Swing dance and Salsa, one dance on either side of the curtain. So come and have some extra practice on Wednesdays! For only $4, in the next few weeks, we could even get some Shag dancing out on the mixer floor!

So looking forward to the upcoming session with you on the dance floor!

Pamela Podmoroff, Urban Beat Dance Co.

Did you get to overindulge in holiday treats?

Did you sit on your butt way more than dance?

Have you found that your clothes seem to be a bit more snug?

Well, join the club!  I have a great suggestion for you, it is time to move and shake your booty on the dance floor! Classes have resumed as usual, west coast swing and salsa are getting close to completion, with the new session  to start immediately after.  I know there is some concern about the Olympics, but no worries. We will be running classes as usual and Graeme has got things in the works so that you won’t miss anything even if you miss class. He’ll be sending video links with the material being taught by email, and you can double up on your classes! So sign up for your favorite dance class  and try something new to get some more exercise!

Something I am very excited about is that Elizabeth and I will be introducing Country Two Step Jan 31! This dance is so much fun  and a necessity for the dance floor nowadays! Some of you may have heard of  California Mix? Well if not, what California Mix is , is the mix of west coast swing, nightclub two step and country two step music on the social dance floor. This is what you will hear when you go down to the dance  events in California. I know that many of us have had the introduction to romantic nightclub two step, now it is time to shine up your cowboy boots and travel across the dance floor with country two step! If country isn’t your thing, then how about some Cha Cha? This was my favorite dance before I had discovered west coast swing.

So here’s hoping  that 2010 brings you many magical dances!

Pamela Podmoroff, Urban Beat Dance Co.

And may you enjoy all of the festive dance events during the holidays!  Michael Jones has his debut west coast swing  Just Wanna Dance this evening at Rhodes College. Then on Boxing day, JJ will be having his last dance of the year at the Russian Community Center. And not only last of the year, but his actual last dance   I can’t believe it, JJ has been DJ’ing since I began my own west coast swing dancing years ago. JJ you are going to be missed!!!!!!

Also, Dance Addicts will be having a New Years celebration that I plan on attending. Hope to see you there  ringing in the New Year!

So here’s wishing  that you have a wonderful Christmas and New Years! And All the best on and off the dance floor in 2010!! Classes will be back in full swing on Jan 3rd!

Pamela Podmoroff, Urban Beat Dance Co.

Update regarding the US Open: OMG! It was a fantastic weekend! If you didn’t get to see it on Global Dance TV, I suggest you go onto U tube to see the winning dances in the Jack and Jill, Strictly Swing, Shag, Hand Dance, Teams, Classic, Showcase, and Cabaret!Hope I haven’t forgotten something.

Some of the other highlights of the weekend include:  Paula Abdul being there on the friday night to watch the competitions, the Lindy hop formation team that got asked to do an encore performance, the Hand Dancers tribute to Michael Jackson, and Benji Schwimmer’s Cabaret performance.

The level of the dancing was phenomenal, and the young adult division just rocked. It was very cool to also talk to Benji behind the scenes, and see his amazing west coast swing Showcase routine! Oh so many moments that will be remembered, so please feel free to ask me any questions that you may have when you see me!

Coming up this Sunday Dec 13 is the  yearly Urban Beat Dance Co. Food bank fundraiser. Come out and bring your non dance friends for a beginner west coast swing dance  lesson at 8 pm, then dancing at 830. We will be having raffle prizes, dance demos, and lots of fun activities. It’s only $10 and all proceeds directly to the foodbank!

Hope to see you soon on the dance floor!

Pamela Podmoroff, Urban Beat Dance Co.

Hope you had a chance to check out the CBC Swing and Salsa Social. It was such a wonderful and successful evening! And such big thanks to Sheila Peacock for producing the event! Thank you to all the swing and salsa dancers that attended and supported it as well! And great DJing by Jason and Dale!  Looks like it could become a yearly event, so if you missed out this time, keep it in mind for the next!

The next exciting event is the US Open Swing Dance Championships November 27 to 29! I will be competing in the Jack and Jill and Strictly West Coast Swing competitions!  The cool thing is if you have never seen the US open, you can this year by going onto Globaldancetv.com. They will be broadcasting from the event in Anaheim throughout the weekend. It costs about $10 per day, and it will be well worth watching the top competitors! There are competions in Lindy Hop, Shag, and West Coast Swing, and you will be able to catch me dancing there on the friday evening! I am so excited to be going once again to dance west coast swing and watch the amazing shag dancers! I  haven`t been at the event  for four years, and it was  so inspiring the last time! I really can`t wait!

So hopefully you will have a chance to check out all the  top west coast swing  dancing at the US Open online!

Will be looking forward to sharing my experience with you when I return to classes!

Happy Dancing,

Pamela Podmoroff, Urban Beat Dance Co.

Hope you had a blast at the Sea to Sky Dance Convention! I know I absolutely enjoyed the entire weekend! Congratulations to all of you who competed, and extra congrats to all of you who placed in the top 10 in the jack and jill or strictly swing dance competitions! Way to go!!!!! I felt so lucky to get to dance twice in my invitational jack and jill, and place 4th with Myles Munroe and 5th with Parker Dearborn. Thanks for the great dances guys!

Now, make sure to mark Nov.6th on your dance card! I will be part of the CBC Swing and Salsa Social. This will be a great fundraising event for the United Way, as the newly renovated CBC Broadcast studios are being turned into three different dance rooms! I will be teaching a beginner lesson in west coast swing, as well as DJ ing the swing room, and most fun of all, I get to do a dance demo with the very tall and handsome Jim Minty! So cool that he will be coming up to donate his time as well to the event!  So tell your non dance friends to come out as well as they can let their hair down in the ‘anything goes dance room’ , no pressure to have to partner dance at all…….

To check it all out, go to www.cbc.ca/bc and scroll down to “Features”

Hope to see you there!

Pamela Podmoroff, Urban Beat Dance Co.

 I will be heading to San Fransisco for this coming long weekend to attend the wonderful West Coast Swing dance event Boogie By the Bay! It will be a full weekend of workshops, competitions and fabulous late night swing dancing! I would say this has always been my favorite dance weekend, and one that I have never missed since 2001! We have quite a few people from Vancouver going once again as well, so we Canadians will be there to cheer each other on in competitions! Wish us luck!

Also, if you are wondering what a west coast swing dance convention is like, Sea to Sky is the weekend after in Vancouver! For a weekend pass, you can enjoy social dancing with people from all over the world, taking top west coast swing pro workshops, and even competing if you are up for it! What is  cool for this year, is that there are also spectator passes for people who would like to watch! So come and get a taste of top west coast swing dancing and cheer on your fellow dancers as they shine on the competition dance floor!

So have a wonderful Thanksgiving and come to dance class to work off all the turkey and trimmings!

Pamela Podmoroff, Urban Beat Dance Co. instructor