Unique Dance-o-Rama - July 2023

This year's Unique Dance-o-Rama took place at the Westin Long Beach Hotel on July 13-14, 2023. This year was all about being present in the moment and just dancing together. :)
IMG 1097 30th anniversary of the UDOR! 3 Scream SolanaBeach The Thursday night Theater Show theme was blockbuster movies of the past 30 years. Our studio formation this year was an homage to the movie Scream. (video by Maude Productions) UNQ 1655 Theater Show Studio Formation - "Scream" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 1666 Theater Show Studio Formation - "Scream" (photo by Maude Productions)
UNQ 1667 Theater Show Studio Formation - "Scream" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 1673 Theater Show Studio Formation - "Scream" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 1680 Theater Show Studio Formation - "Scream" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 1681 Theater Show Studio Formation - "Scream" (photo by Maude Productions)
UNQ 1689 Theater Show Studio Formation - "Scream" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 1695 Theater Show Studio Formation - "Scream" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 3702 Theater Show Studio Formation - Our formation won the Best Studio Presentation award! :) 14 KillBill SolanaBeach The Thursday night Theater Show theme was blockbuster movies of the past 30 years. Our solo this year was based on the movies Kill Bill 1 & 2. We chose to focus on the character arc of Uma Thurman's character (instead of just the poster stereotype). :) (video by Maude Productions)
Kill Bill Solo - IMG 6120 H264 Donovan captured our solo from where he was sitting in the audience as well. UNQ 2029 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2030 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2032 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions)
UNQ 2033 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2036 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2038 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2044 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions)
UNQ 2048 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2053 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2056 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2059 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions)
UNQ 2061 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2063 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2066 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2067 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions)
UNQ 2071 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 2076 Theater Show Solo - "Kill Bill" (photo by Maude Productions) IMG 1161 Thursday during the day, there were a variety of club-style 3-dance events. This year, Peter and I decided to compete in the Argentine Tango event for the first time. So, of course, I had to get a legit Argentine Tango outfit and shoes. ;) The shoes are stilettos with 9 cm (about 3.5") heels! We were very happy to make the semi-finals, since it was our first attempt at it! IMG 1163 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango
Prostrollo 151 1Q1 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Argentine Tango - QF (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 151 1Q2 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Tango Vals - QF (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 151 1Q3 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Milonga - QF (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 151 2S1 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Argentine Tango - SF (video by Maude Productions)
Prostrollo 151 2S2 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Tango Vals - SF (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 151 2S3 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Milonga - SF (video by Maude Productions) IMG 1722 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, due to the number of people on the floor, the photographers weren't able to get any good photos, so I had to resort to screen captures from the videos to get images of us dancing. IMG 1719 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, due to the number of people on the floor, the photographers weren't able to get any good photos, so I had to resort to screen captures from the videos to get images of us dancing.
IMG 1724 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, due to the number of people on the floor, the photographers weren't able to get any good photos, so I had to resort to screen captures from the videos to get images of us dancing. IMG 1721 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, due to the number of people on the floor, the photographers weren't able to get any good photos, so I had to resort to screen captures from the videos to get images of us dancing. IMG 1728 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, due to the number of people on the floor, the photographers weren't able to get any good photos, so I had to resort to screen captures from the videos to get images of us dancing. IMG 1715 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, due to the number of people on the floor, the photographers weren't able to get any good photos, so I had to resort to screen captures from the videos to get images of us dancing.
IMG 1718 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, due to the number of people on the floor, the photographers weren't able to get any good photos, so I had to resort to screen captures from the videos to get images of us dancing. IMG 1717 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, due to the number of people on the floor, the photographers weren't able to get any good photos, so I had to resort to screen captures from the videos to get images of us dancing. IMG 1716 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, due to the number of people on the floor, the photographers weren't able to get any good photos, so I had to resort to screen captures from the videos to get images of us dancing. IMG 1720 Club 3-dance Event - Argentine Tango - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, due to the number of people on the floor, the photographers weren't able to get any good photos, so I had to resort to screen captures from the videos to get images of us dancing.
IMG 1170 Since Peter and I danced the Argentine Tango club event together, Damion and I danced the Club Latin 3-dance event together for the first time. (Peter and I had done that one together in previous years.) We had fun dancing together, and we were excited to make the semi-finals, since it was our first time dancing the event together. Prostrollo 262 3S1 Club 3-dance Event - Club Latin - Salsa (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 262 2Q2 Club 3-dance Event - Club Latin - Bachata (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 262 3S2 excerpt Club 3-dance Event - Club Latin - Bachata - excerpt from a different round (video by Maude Productions)
Prostrollo 262 2Q3 Club 3-dance Event - Club Latin - Merengue (video by Maude Productions) C23 8088 Club 3-dance Event - Club Latin (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 1432 Club 3-dance Event - Club Latin (photo by Maude Productions) IMG 1729 Club 3-dance Event - Club Latin - Apologies for the low-res image! Unfortunately, the photographers weren't able to catch this moment, so I had to resort to a screen capture from the video. :)
Polka - Heat 188 - IMG 6119 H264 Thursday during the day, there were a variety of club and specialty dances. For fun, we decided to dance one polka, which is the first time we've danced polka at an event. The funny thing was that it ended up being a solo because no one else was in that heat. LOL LK5A7180 Single Dance Heats - Rhythm Specialty - Polka (photo by Maude Productions) LK5A7184 Single Dance Heats - Rhythm Specialty - Polka (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 0991 Single Dance Heats - Rhythm Specialty - Polka (photo by Maude Productions)
UNQ 0995 Single Dance Heats - Rhythm Specialty - Polka (photo by Maude Productions) IMG 1099 They changed the schedule around a bit this year, so the international styles were on Thursday. We started Thursday with International Standard single dance heats. International Waltz - Heat 95 - IMG 6116 H264 We just started Int'l Waltz earlier this year, so this was the first time we've danced it at an event. Quickstep - Heat 94 - IMG 6115 H264 We started dancing Quickstep last year, so this was the second UDOR at which we danced it.
UNQ 9392 Int'l Waltz (photo by Maude Productions) IMG 1785 Int'l Waltz Prostrollo 187 2F1 Did I mention Thursday was busy? LOL Because international styles were that day, that meant that we also danced International Latin. Int'l Latin Scholarship - Final - Cha Cha (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 187 2F2 Int'l Latin Scholarship - Final - Samba (video by Maude Productions)
Prostrollo 187 2F3 Int'l Latin Scholarship - Final - Rumba (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 187 2F4 Int'l Latin Scholarship - Final - Paso Doble (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 187 2F5 Int'l Latin Scholarship - Final - Jive (video by Maude Productions) C23 6879 Int'l Latin (photo by Maude Productions)
C23 6881 Int'l Latin (photo by Maude Productions) C23 6885 Int'l Latin (photo by Maude Productions) C23 6886 Int'l Latin (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 0623 Int'l Latin (photo by Maude Productions)
LK5A7136 Int'l Latin (photo by Maude Productions) LK5A7137 Int'l Latin (photo by Maude Productions) C23 6958 Int'l Latin (photo by Maude Productions) - There always has to be at least one with a hilarious facial expression! LOL UNQ 0386 Int'l Latin (photo by Maude Productions)
IMG 1276 And we're done with our cardio workout for the day!  LOL UNQ 0888 We were happy to make the finals and place 3rd overall for the event!  (photo by Maude Productions) IMG 1167 One more Int’l Latin Scholarship event in the books! Prostrollo 447 2F1 Friday was all about the American styles. We started the day with Smooth. Smooth Scholarship - Final - Waltz (video by Maude Productions)
Prostrollo 447 2F2 Smooth Scholarship - Final - Tango (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 447 2F3 Smooth Scholarship - Final - Foxtrot (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 447 2F4 Smooth Scholarship - Final - Viennese Waltz (video by Maude Productions) LK5A9800 Smooth (photo by Maude Productions)
LK5A9844 Smooth (photo by Maude Productions) LK5A9851 Smooth (photo by Maude Productions) LK5A9963 Smooth (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 5237 Smooth Scholarship - Waiting for the results is the hardest part!  (photo by Maude Productions)
UNQ 5243 Smooth Scholarship - There was a lot of competition this year and we tried a new approach, so we were happy to make finals and place 3rd. (photo by Maude Productions) IMG 1202 The view from the deck outside the ballroom was beautiful!  A friend decided to take advantage of the scenery being complementary to my dress and did a mini photo shoot. IMG 1209 IMG 1220
IMG 1224 Prostrollo 656 3F1 My last dances of the day (and the event) were American Rhythm with Damion. Rhythm Scholarship - Final - Cha Cha (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 656 3F2 Rhythm Scholarship - Final - Rumba (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 656 3F3 Rhythm Scholarship - Final - East Coast Swing (video by Maude Productions)
Prostrollo 656 3F4 Rhythm Scholarship - Final - Bolero (video by Maude Productions) Prostrollo 656 1S5 Rhythm Scholarship - Semi-final - Mambo (video by Maude Productions) OR 8126 Rhythm (photo by Maude Productions) OR 6767 Rhythm (photo by Maude Productions)
C23 1202 Rhthm (photo by Maude Productions) UNQ 7387 This was only our second time dancing the 5-dance Rhythm Scholarship event, and we made the finals and placed 3rd overall! IMG 1258 There is no camera angle that makes us look any closer to each other in height.  LOL IMG 1190 Beyond the dancing, spending time with my dance family is always such a special part of the UDOR weekend! L to R: Uriel, Anna
IMG 1185 L to R: Uriel, Anna, Helen, Julie IMG 7483 L to R: Anna, Helen, Julie, Yaxin, Lucie IMG 7497 L to R: Anna, Yaxin IMG 1266 L to R: Sydney, Anna
IMG 1261 This amazing man was my rock and my biggest cheerleader for the event. ❤️ Donovan took a couple of days off of work to come to UDOR with me this year, and it was so awesome to have him there!  :)  He sat through lots of ballroom music, got Swarovskis stuck to the soles of his shoes, worked around the explosion of costumes and makeup in our hotel room, welcomed plenty of sweaty hugs, and was by my side even when I had “dance brain” (as he lovingly calls it). Words cannot even express how lucky I am to have him in my corner and for his constant support. I couldn’t be on this crazy, wonderful dance journey without him!  ❤️ Feeling loved!  ❤️ IMG 1267 And that's a wrap - one more UDOR in the books! I feel so blessed to be able to have dance in my life!