February 2014 Page 1 of 10

President’s Message Mike Cowlishaw

February is al-

ready here, and it‘s

time again for our

Sweetheart Social!

Get those shoes

warmed up, and see

you there. In antic-

ipation of a com-

ment or three I’ve heard in the past—you don’t

need a date or sweetheart to come and have a good

time! Bring your best dance moves and a smile.

Men, this is your chance to show off your best side.

We’ll need help setting up tables and decorating in

the afternoon. Bring your best pot-luck style dish

to share, and then we’ll need a crew to clean up

when the party ends. Please make a special effort

to help make this event special. If you aren’t sure

what to do, please contact Amante Reyes or me.

(Thanks, Amante!)

Our coronation of Lou Reyes is also right

around the corner, just a short month away. Please

make your reservations asap, and don’t forget the

brunch on Sunday. Al Folkman is being kind

enough to host this event. Many have fond memo-

ries of special hospitality at this gathering.

You don’t want to miss it!

Bakersfield! (No, not the country song.) It’s a

great dance weekend. You’ll have a chance to

dance, attend workshops, and socialize with others

who share your love of dance. It’s time to make

your hotel reservations and send in your event reg-

istration. It will be a great time, and you’re sure to

make new friends!

Thanks to everyone who works in the back-

ground to keep things running—our board

(appointed or elected), our various committees, and

those who just volunteer. Remember, nothing hap-

pens in a vacuum……… following on to this, we

often need a few more people to help clean up at

the end of the evening. Please consider helping

once or twice a year. If each member does this,

cleaning up gets a LOT easier.

Our next business meeting will be held on the

8th of Feb, at 2:30 p.m. Address 380 Vernon Way,

Ste D, El Cajon. It’s important to be there—this is

where we conduct club business, vote, etc.

Here’s a little shout out to our friends at the

other chapters of NSD. Howdy!! Los Angeles

held their coronation of Queen Debbie Ku last

night (the 25th). It was great to share the evening

with our NSD friends.

Dance tip of the month - let’s stay focused on

what we share: a love of dance. That’s what

brings us together. Dance and be happy!

Happy hearts and happy feet!

Happy February!

El Prez—Mike

The San Diego Chapter of National Smooth DancersThe San Diego Chapter of National Smooth DancersThe San Diego Chapter of National Smooth Dancers

SMOOTH TALKSMOOTH TALK San Diego Smooth Dancers, Inc.San Diego Smooth Dancers, Inc.San Diego Smooth Dancers, Inc.

“Bringing Ballroom to our Community”“Bringing Ballroom to our Community”“Bringing Ballroom to our Community”

February 2014, Vol. 14 No. 7

A Special Hello to Muriel Campbell

Muriel Campbell has taken the opportunity a couple of times to send us some nice “Thank-You”

notes for our work on Smooth Talk. Thank you, Muriel, for taking the time to keep in touch with us

and to say, “Hi!” Your continued and enthusiastic appreciation is wonderful!

February 2014 Page 2 of 10

SUNDAY NIGHT DANCE CLASS

Chuck DiSessa

The Dance class started off the year as expected:

attendance remains solid, the enthusiasm runs high,

and the choreography is uniquely tailored for our

classes.

There’s a lot of interest shown by the dance com-

munity for the International Tango which Carrie

teaches at 5:00 p.m. David Vasquez ably assists

Carrie as new moves are introduced and demonstrat-

ed. The Tango choreography is well planned, with

an interesting variety of movements. It opens with a

reverse corte, and along the way adds just about eve-

ry step imaginable for a Tango at this level of in-

struction. From swivels and various links, to twist

turns, fallaways, and oversways, this class has it all.

More material is being introduced weekly, with a

strong emphasis on technique. (This is just too good

for anyone to pass up!)

The Cha-Cha, at 6:00 p.m., also contains some

very attractive combinations. For example, opening

up the Cha-Cha into a complete square over four

measures in length is reminiscent of some Salsa

dancing. Carrie’s creativity is also evident in the

attractive lines taught to the ladies.

As a general rule, the feedback regarding the

choreography and the technique has been very posi-

tive. Everyone seems to be enjoying the classes, and

recently some new faces have been added. Class

members have received both videos and step lists

which, I understand, have helped immeasurably dur-

ing their personal practice times.

Several attendees have brought snacks to share,

and many have helped with the setup and cleanup.

Thank you all very much for your contributions,

which go so far in benefitting our classes.

Looking ahead, Irina Chalkevitch returns to in-

struct the March-April classes. The first class taught

in March will be the Paso Doble. This will be pre-

sented as a class demonstration at our May, “Cinco

de Mayo” social. All those desiring to perform this

dance are welcome to join us for our first class on

March 2nd at 5:00 p.m., which is the day after our

Queen’s Coronation Ball.

At 6:00 p.m. Irina will present some refreshing

choreography in the American Viennese Waltz.

Those of you who remember seeing her on TV danc-

ing at the Ohio Star Ball can appreciate how beauti-

ful the choreography is sure to be.

We have a wonderful venue in which to teach

some excellent classes. Please plan to join us soon

when you are able.

Once again, many thanks to all of you whose

continued interest and support help us to maintain

outstanding classes, month-in and month-out.

Happy Valentine’s Day to all!!!

Sincerely,

Chuck DiSessa, Dance Class Chair

San Diego Smooth Dancers, Inc.

Phone Number Change for Dave and Anne Saul

Anne and Dave have changed their landline phone number to (619) 449-6092.

Their old number still exists, but they have converted it to a fax line.

Dancing for their Community

Chuck, Cathy, Al, Ines, and Lou and Amante entertained the residents at

Cathy's Town Park Villas during their pre-New Years' party on December

27th. They performed the class Bolero, a demonstration of three different

styles of Tango, the Reyes’s International Rumba, and Cathy and Chuck’s

Foxtrot to “Santa Baby.” (Photo by CD)

February 2014 Page 3 of 10

Queen’s Message

Kao

Mark and I had a wonder-

ful time at the Los Angeles

convention this month.

Debby Ku was crowned as

their Queen for the coming

year, with her husband

Victor Lee as her escort and

daughter Victoria Ku as her

Crown Bearer for the cere-

mony.

For the Queen’s Dance,

Debby and Victor performed a very creative

“fusion” number, which combined elements of Fox-

trot, Rumba, Bachata, and even Hula. The Hula sec-

tion of their choreography was particularly effective,

fitting the music beautifully and adding a lovely ex-

otic flavor to their performance. For the Honor

Dance, several L.A. Chapter couples performed a

formation dance as a tribute to their new Queen.

Later in the evening, Joan Robinson performed

an Exhibition Dance with professional instructor

David Moutrey. Their Waltz was absolutely beauti-

ful—flowing and lyrical in style—and a real treat for

us all. The best performances feature movement that

floats cloudlike across the dance floor, and Joan, an

experienced performer and competitor, gave us the

best of this level of performance. It was truly a per-

fect addition to Debby’s coronation, Joan!

I was really

pleased to see

several other

members of our

chapter show

up for this par-

ty. Lou and

Amante (our

upcoming royal

couple) were

there to support the coronation, and all the ladies are

happy whenever President Mike and Jacky Yu show

up to provide some quality partnering for them.

Each of these events gives us a chance to see our

friends again, and we find we’re still making new

ones at each coronation we attend. This was a bitter-

sweet evening for me, since it was my final out-of-

town coronation for my second year as your Queen.

We just wish we had more time—at every Corona-

tion—to visit with all of our friends and to dance

with each one at least once! (Photos by BK)

Our 2014 Social Chairperson—

An Introduction

Amante Reyes, the new-

ly elected Social Chair for

San Diego Smooth Danc-

ers, assumed his duties and

responsibilities as of Janu-

ary 1st , 2014. Dedicating

time, money and effort to a

worthy cause for either a

civic or social institution is

not new to Amante: he

was the presiding officer of the student council in his

senior year in high school; he later became involved

in various civic and religious organizations helping

officers and members achieve their objectives; and,

most prominently, he has become involved in and

committed to the ballroom dance community.

Amante’s passion for dancing started early in his

adult life. His wife, Lou—Queen-elect for San

Diego Smooth Dancers—introduced him to dancing

during their wedding dance lessons at Arthur Murray

dance studio in downtown San Diego. What started

as a very challenging task for Amante became an

enjoyable hobby—so much so that he and Lou con-

tinued taking lessons and dancing after their wed-

ding. Eventually they would compete and perform,

becoming avid supporters of ballroom dancing.

They have competed in various regional dance sport

(Continued on page 4)

February 2014 Page 4 of 10

competitions, both

as an amateur cou-

ple and with their

professional dance

instructors.

Their partici-

pation in dancing

slowed down when they started raising their family

and pursuing their own careers, Lou as a piano

teacher and court clerk working for the San Diego

Superior Court and Amante as a naval enlisted man.

Amante went back to school after retiring from 20

years of military service; he obtained a master’s de-

gree in mechanical engineering and is now a project

manager for a Caterpillar dealership in San Diego,

Samoa, Guam and Hawaii. He is currently building

up his small business for provid-

ing computer-aided design

(CAD) services to mechanical

and electrical companies and

industries.

Amante and Lou have been

involved with Hollywood Dance

-sport, and are shown in this

photo with Yuli Wang, a UCSD student and dance

performance team member. Lou and Amante gradu-

ally became the ballroom Mom and Dad of the

UCSD dance formation teams that Peter Edwards

was coaching at the university, supporting and root-

ing for them when they competed at different uni-

versities and colleges during their collegiate dance

competitions.

Amante and Lou joined SDSD ten years ago and

started to be involved in the activities of this organi-

zation: attending Sunday dance classes; dancing and

performing for their monthly social events; support-

ing their various activities by donating time and ef-

fort; attending and competing in the National

Smooth Dancers Conventions and Board of Direc-

tors Meetings; and, earning awards and trophies.

Both have completed the DVIDA (Dance Vision

International Dance Association) student examina-

tion for International Style Rumba, Cha-Cha and

Samba and American Style Waltz and Fox Trot.

Amante is not new to the community of ball-

room, latin and social dancing. He will be a valua-

ble addition to the officers and members of SDSD,

bringing with him an extensive knowledge of dance

routines, techniques and styling.

(Photos by AR)

(Continued from page 3)

San Diego Smooth Dancers and

Guests Greet the New Year 2014

Amante Reyes

Been Kao, Mark Chapman, and Lou and I joined

forces in hosting the San Diego Smooth Dancers’

2014 New Year’s Eve celebration at Mary Murphy’s

Champion Ballroom Academy. Without qualifica-

tion and with great pride we all declared this dance

event a whopping success.

Preparation for the dance party started well

ahead of time, when each of us received our march-

ing orders and immediately took action. After an

inventory of party supplies and decorations stored in

the SDSD storeroom, we agreed on who would do

what on the night of the celebration. Kao organized

the potluck that took place before the party began;

she also purchased food for the party itself and kept

the food rolling out all evening. Mark organized the

Jack-and-Jill contest and made announcements as

necessary during the evening. Lou bought extra par-

ty favors and noise makers to add sound and glee to

the party, and she received and managed the table

reservations for the SDSD members and guests. She

also organized the volunteer work force and greeted

the guests in the lobby, being aided in this task by

Ann and Dave Soul, Maria Wilson and Brenda Get-

tig. We all made sure

everything kept running

smoothly before, during

and after the party, and I

kept the champagne

fountain and punch

bowls full and flowing

all night long.

The dance perfor-

mances were the high-

light of the evening.

Irina and Derek per-

formed a powerful Paso

Doble, which has been a

popular first piece for

Derek’s dance pursuits. (Continued on page 5)

February 2014 Page 5 of 10

Biography for Queen-Elect

Lou Reyes

Amante Reyes

Lourdes Reyes grew

up in a family where

community service and

involvement was a com-

mon household theme.

Both of her parents were

active members of the

community, both in the

Philippines and in San

Diego. Her papa placed a strong emphasis on educa-

tion and legacy, dreaming of making it big here in

California. He served 20 years in the military; fol-

lowing retirement, he took a civil service job with

the State of California. Lou’s mama was a beauty

queen in her high school days, winning the title of

Miss Sagala during the town fiesta. In addition, she

was a stay-at-home

mom who took

pride in serving

great Filipino

dishes to her family

and friends. Lou

inherited this culi-

nary skill and loves

to create baked

goodies for every

dance party.

Lou met Amante during her college years and

they were married in 1976. They enjoyed their wed-

ding dance lessons with Arthur Murray so much that

they continued taking lessons and dancing socially

after the wedding. Eventually they would compete

and perform, becoming avid supporters of ballroom

dancing. They have competed in various regional

dance sport competitions, both as an amateur couple

and with their professional dance instructors.

(Continued on page 6)

Mike Cowlishaw, our

President, and Fresno’s

Lynn Sanders performed a

dreamy and romantic

Night Club Two Step.

For the formation per-

formance, Margaret Willette and Russell Jenkins led

their joyful performance team—featuring James

Beaver & Susan Wells, and Jeff Hudson & Bren

Herman—through a gliding and jazzy American

Smooth Foxtrot.

The Jack-and-

Jill contest was

much enjoyed by

the audience, and

the participation

level was high,

including 17 en-

thusiastic couples recruited during the course of the

evening. The winners for the Waltz were Al & Ji in

1st place, with Russell & Margaret taking 2nd place.

For the Rumba the winners were William & Cheryl

in 1st place and Jacky & Wendi Gee in 2nd place.

Anthony Montalto & Linda Gu took 3rd place with a

combined prize for both dances.

This dance event was a success because of the

support of the guests and team effort of our mem-

bers. We were very glad that we could make our

guests feel welcome as we brought in the New Year

with fun-filled dancing, sumptuous dining and a re-

newal of friendship and camaraderie. The fun and

joy of the evening were made stronger by the dedi-

cation and help of the following lovely persons

whom we would like to thank for their support, both

in setting up and in tearing things down at the end:

Al Folkman, Anne and Dave Saul, Maria Wilson,

Bob Churchill, Larry Knost, Rose Madrid, Brenda

Gettig, Jacky Yu,

and Larry Plum-

mer. Thank you,

and A HAPPY

NEW YEAR TO

ALL!

(Photos by JV)

(Continued from page 4)

February 2014 Page 6 of 10

Mark C. Chapman, editor (619) 213-9119

Smooth Talk is a members’ service and re-

source: all NSD members are encouraged to

submit ballroom-related items for inclusion in

the newsletter. Any articles not credited are by the editor.

Please send proposed articles, photos, and suggestions for

newsletter changes to:

mcchapman88@gmail.com.

Monthly Deadlines: Submissions—15th Distribution—22nd

February Birthdays

Tey, Anita 2/1

Moody, Shirley 2/10

Valentini, Peter 2/10

Sanders, Nancee 2/17

Staudte, Jack 2/20

Plikshe, Ines 2/21

Folkman, Al 2/22

Sievers, Carol 2/24

Gee, Wendy 2/26

Holmes, Doug 2/28

Photo Credits

A big “Thank you” to those who contributed photos

for this month’s newsletter:

“AR” Amante Reyes

“BK” Been Kao

“CD” Chuck DiSessa

“JV” Judy & Vern Miranda

As involved as they are in the ballroom world,

Lou and Amante also have lives off the dance floor.

Lou is now retired after working for San Diego Su-

perior Court for 30 years, and she and Amante are

blessed with two talented children and three adora-

ble grandchildren. Their daughter Lorylynn and son

Alvin became interested in ballroom dancing during

their teen years and have garnered recognition and

awards in their own right at local and regional ball-

room competitions.

After their children moved on and established

their own families, Lou and Amante returned to their

passion for dancing. They resumed taking dance

lessons—both group and private—with Peter

Edwards as their principal coach and with various

other teachers as well, including Ron Montez,

Stephanie Fong, John Selby, Irina Chalkevitch and

her brother Alexandre, Carrie Kloss, Catherine

Carulis, Scott Dodson, Marcin Tomaszeski,

Marybeth Hughes, Shawn Torgeson, Olga Ginzberg,

Lowell Gosser, Irina and Igor Suvorov, Mary Mur-

phy, Phillip Gott, Jim Desmond, and Mary Manzel-

la. They currently take private dance lessons with

Shanna Timms and with Abby Pollock. Amante and

Lou frequently perform for friends and dance enthu-

siasts at Champion and other dance studios .

Dancing has become a passion for both Lou and

Amante. It’s for this reason that they hold monthly

ballroom parties at Synergy Dance Studio. Lou is

excited at the opportunity to pursue her passion for

ballroom as San Diego’s Queen-elect, meeting tal-

ented dancers across all genres and providing a ven-

ue for these dancers to showcase their talent at her

parties. Lou and Amante appreciate the ballroom

community’s support for their ventures.

Lou has always been a strong supporter of the

San Diego Smooth Dancers, and she feels that her

ballroom accomplishments to date have embodied

Smooth Dancers’ three primary objectives: encour-

aging interest in ballroom dancing, establishing

friendship and goodwill among dancers, and provid-

ing outlets for dancing and performance. She is

proud to represent the San Diego Smooth Dancers as

their Queen-elect and looks forward to an exciting

year making new friends at all the other NSD chap-

ters across California. (Photos by AR)

(Continued from page 5)

February General Meeting

The next General Membership Meeting will be held on Saturday February 8th at 2:30 p.m.

at Mike Cowlishaw’s shop, located at 380 Vernon Way, suites C&D, El Cajon, 92020.

Be sure to bring a dish for the potluck afterwards!

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