- April 5, 2025
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Owner of Dance Alday Ballroom and Latin Studio, Allan Alday with intermediate bronze dancer Joann Desmarais.
Aleksei Alekseev doing the Hustle with his student Marilyn Pearson.
Professional International Latin dancers Ekaterina Derevleva and Aleksei Alekseev.
Donald Lisec with his instructor Irina Babina from Arthur Murray Jacksonville South Dance Studio.
Loud supporter Donna Smith cheers on the dancers.
Owner of Dance Alday Ballroom and Latin Studio, Allan Alday with intermediate bronze dancer Joann Desmarais.
Chris Carr gave her granddaughter AJ Nash the very same outfit she had worn years before as a young ballroom dancer.
Energy electrified the VFW ballroom Sunday, Aug. 9, while dancers performed throughout the nine-hour third-annual Palm Coast Dance Classic sponsored by Felix Solis of Classic Ballroom Dancing. Twelve different studios with over 40 students competed in front of three judges who were all former ballroom dancers.
The students were judged by performance as well as the effort they put into the visual appearance of their outfits. Each student paired with their own professional instructor. The students ranged from bronze, silver to gold depending on how long they have been dancing. A gold dancer would have been dancing for a minimum of six years. Awards were given to the top preforming dancers and studios.
A special routine was performed by Professional International Latin dancers Ekaterina Derevleva and Aleksei Alekseev. Their romantic, slow-action dancing drew quite the reaction from the assembled audience.
As explained by Ekaterina, much of the performances throughout the day were American style ballroom dancing which entails a faster rhythm; the performance by Ekaterina and Aleksei was all international style ballroom dancing with much more exaggerated and deeper movements. Ekaterina enjoys the intimate connection between herself and her dancing partner.
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