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LAST DANCE for SMOOTH CHAMPIONS: Slawek & Marzena

25 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by Vivian in American Smooth, Ballroom Dance, Dance Competitions, Education, Professional Dancesport

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American Smooth, ballroom dance, ballroom dance skills, Dancesport, Marzena Stachura, Slawek Sochacki

Marzena Stachura and Slawek Sochacki-LastDance
One of the most beautiful moments I’ve seen in 2013, is the standing ovation received by World Smooth Champions and undefeated American Smooth Champions Slawek Sochacki & Marzena Stachura as they announced their retirement from competing after breaking 1st place records in the ballroom Dancesport field.

In their years of dancing American Style Smooth, they have not only won every competition, but also every dance since 2009.  Many will miss seeing the beauty that they brought to the dance floor while others will revel in the opportunity of getting trade secrets by being coached by them.

Marzena Stachura and Slawek Sochacki-RETIRETheir OFFICIAL FACEBOOK GOODBYE READ:
“It is very hard to decide when to say good bye.

It feels like yesterday that we decided to go back on the floor in a completely different style of dance, American Smooth. These last 5 years have been the most amazing in so many ways. Our son, Lukasz, was born. Plus, we were able to do what we love the most: dance with each other with passion and love while also experiencing amazing success.

We feel so honored and proud that we have been able to learn and compete in this amazing style while sharing the floor with incredible dancers. Dancers that we respect, dancers who respect each other while still competing fiercely with one another. Most amazing is that we all enjoy special friendships. We want to thank all of them for making these years so memorable.

We want to send special thanks to our Loving Families and our son Lukasz, who have travelled to over 70 competitions, plus many shows and coaching trips. Without their sacrifices, love and support our success wouldn’t be possible. For the last 5 years they were living our lives—taking time away from theirs—so we could practice and compete. We will be forever grateful for every moment that we spent together, as a family, traveling around the world. Those memories are priceless and will stay in our hearts forever.

Thank you to our amazing sponsors:

– Ballroom Playlist for inspiring music
– Dancelife USA for shoes
– Park West Photography for many amazing memories
– The Winning Look for our beautiful tans
– Boyko and Company for stunning hair and makeup
– Dr. Sten Kervin for keeping our bodies healthy and in shape
– And LeNique for their truly amazing vision and their creations that will be never forgotten.

There are people that have changed our lives for the better and we can’t forget about them:

– Alan Dixon and Stuart Cole who gave us a new start in our life in the United States at Vivo Dancesport Center
– John DePalma for teaching us the business values that have helped us and changed our lives forever
– Pat West and the Londance staff for the most amazing work experience and for so much help with our son during our first year of competing in American Smooth
– our amazing Students who have been willing to adjust their schedules to ours.
– and our fans that were making us to dance to our maximum.
There are 2 ladies that could not be forgotten. We were never sponsored by them but definitely their help could not be unnoticed
– Mary Tweedle for so many amazing pictures
And Cassandra Valeria for all the help with shoes
We would like to thank all of the coaches that have shared their knowledge and passion with us over the last 17 years. Especially: Irena Stachura, Mariusz Smolenski , Graham Oswick, Stephen Hannah, Nadia Eftedal , Michael and Vicky Baar, Julie Fryer, Rufus Dustin, Stuart Cole, Linda Dean, Mariusz ‘Mario’ Olszewski , Brian and Sue Puttock, Sharon Savoy , Michael Mead, Max Winkelhuis, Tony Meredith and Richard Porter (not only for 9 years of training but as well for giving us opportunity to come to the U.S.).

Our special thanks to Nick Kosovich and Kosovich Lena for not only their knowledge, passion and friendship, but for being the most amazing sponsors a couple could ever have.

Our deepest thanks goes to our Amazing Dream Team. This is the Team that had the biggest impact on our success. Every sportsman and dancer should find a team of coaches that not only provides knowledge, but shares their passion, who you can trust, who believes in you, and who, most importantly, allow you to grow as individuals. Our Team has been by our side from 2009 and a couple of them were with us from the beginning of our journey in the United States back in 2002. They have inspired us in so many ways and they have become more than teachers. They became our friends. We would like to take this opportunity and acknowledge the five members of our “Dream Team:”

– Olga Foraponova Wright
– David Hamilton
– Wolfgang Opitz
– Heather Smith
– And special thanks to “Head Hunter” Toni Redpath . If not for her, we would have never discovered our love and passion for American Smooth. She was the one that saw something in us. By asking us for only a 1-year adventure, she became the one who opened so many new doors for us. We will never be able to thank her enough for the opportunity that she gave us.

We can only hope that we have inspired, touched and helped to move American Smooth to a higher level. We want to wish continued success in this process to all our fellow competitors.

Sincerely,

4-time United States and 4-time World reigning and undefeated Open American Smooth Champions

Marzena Stachura and Slawek Sochacki”

I can’t wait to see what the world of Dancesport has in store for 2014.


Can’t meet them in person but still want to learn from the best, check out videos from DanceVision.

COMMUNICATING with YOUR BODY : BALLROOM DANCE

29 Friday Nov 2013

Posted by Vivian in Ballroom Dance, Dance Competitions, Education, Professional Dancesport, Rumba

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ballroom dance, ballroom dance skills, dance, dance partner, Dancesport, Joanna Leunis, Michael Malitowski, Professionals, Rumba, Sports

Screen shot 2013-11-29 at 8.55.30 PM

The scale of whether your ballroom dance skills are excellent or whether they need work, often lies in how well your body is communicating to not only your dance partner but to your audience as well.  Being able to communicate to your dance partner so that your bodies connect is essential; without it, you’re not dancing your just stepping clumsily over your partner’s feet.

The ballroom dancer that is able to successfully communicate with their body, is the ballroom dancer that we all cannot take our eyes off of.  Which means mastering how to communicate with your body is key to gaining the judges attention on a dance floor full of others all competing for the spotlight.

Here is a quick video I stumbled upon featuring Michael Malitowski & Joanna Leunis describing and displaying examples of how to communicate with your body via the Rumba.  Enjoy!

“Dancing With the Stars” WINNER!

27 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by Vivian in Ballroom Dance, Dance Competitions, Dancing with the Stars

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ballroom dance, Dancesport, dancing with the stars, Professionals

KEblog-Amber-Riley-Dancing-with-The-Stars---DWTS---Wins---Trophy---Ballroom-Dance-Competition

Can KE dancewear pick’em… or Can we pick’em!
We new from the start that Amber Riley was Kicking Ass on Dancing with The Stars.  We’ve seen enough ballroom competitions to know how to choose a winning gown and a winner and I guess America agreed.

Amber’s encore of her country western Freestyle dance, was an obvious choice to encore for the final show.  When it debuted, it was the first time in Dancing with The Stars history, that the popular dance called “Step”, better known in the African American colleges and community, was displayed in the choreography on the Dancing with The Stars dance floor;  A choreographed move that I, as an African American, new came from Amber and not her professional partner, Derek Hough.  The collaboration between the two in the country themed dance was fabulous and earned them a score of 10 – 10 – 10.  Just goes to show you what “fabulousness” can happen when we all work together.

And Today, Amber sits as the raining champ of the Fall 2013, Dancing with The Stars.  Amber’s winning speech spoke of a world without limitations:

“I want to let women of all sizes out there know — you can do whatever you put your mind to! It doesn’t matter what size you are, what color you are. You can do whatever, whatever, whatever you put your mind to!”

Much respect and accolades go out to Amber from KE dancewear.
Your future is so bright, it’s blinding.

See our previous post about Amber Kicking Ass on DWTS:  https://kedancewear.wordpress.com/2013/11/16/amber-riley-on-dancing-with-the-stars/

Visit our Couture Dress Design Site: Karolina Easley Bridal

CHERYL BURKE: Answers

03 Thursday Oct 2013

Posted by Vivian in Ballroom Dance, Dance Competitions, Dancing with the Stars

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ballroom dance, dancing with the stars, Professionals

Ballroom Dance answers by Cheryl Burke

What’s the hardest part about being a pro on DWTS?

“Great question!! Being a part of Dancing with the Stars has been an amazing opportunity but it can certainly be challenging! Being a professional dancer takes a lot of discipline and commitment. You have to practice every day whether you’re tired, your feet hurt or you just don’t feel like it. But the rewards are worth it. You have increased energy and you make new friends. I’m so lucky that I love what I do.” – http://strictlycheryl.com/

View the Cherly Burke Dance Studio Calendar: Here

Creative Window Display + Fabric District

18 Sunday Aug 2013

Posted by Vivian in Fabric Shopping, Uncategorized

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ballroom dance, ballroom dress rental, fabric shopping, mannequin display, micheal levine

KE ballroom dance rentals + fabric shoppingI just had to share the creative window display at Micheal Levine’s Fabric.  I was shopping for fabric in downtown Los Angeles for a custom Men’s Latin Shirt and had to stop and take a pic.  Notice the rhinestone button bustier.

Now, I get how they gave the perception of … “Off with her Head”.  Get a headless mannequin and set a head only mannequin next to it.  What I can’t figure out is how they got the face of the mannequin to have the same snootie-pa-tootie grimace on her face that you’d imagine a queen to have.

Hope you enjoyed this post.
I promise to be back soon with another.

Changes at “DANCING WITH THE STARS”

18 Tuesday Jun 2013

Posted by Vivian in Ballroom Dance, Dancing with the Stars, Education, Professional Dancesport, Rumba, Salsa

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ballroom dance, Dancesport, dancing, dancing with the stars, Salsa

Dancing with the Stars, Cheryl Burke, Ballroom Dance, Salsa
Direct from ABC 7 News:

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — ABC’s hit show “Dancing With The Stars” is going through some changes next season, according to one of its champions, Cheryl Burke. She dropped by ABC7 to give Cheryl Jennings an exclusive update.

“‘Dancing’ is now only once a week,” Burke said. “It’s Monday nights, so basically Monday, you’ll see what you get on Tuesday, so entertainment will move to Monday and an elimination will happen that same night.”

Burke in town for two days, teaching classes at her Mountain View studio and working with her favorite charities. She and her mother are launching a nationwide web service soon to link dance teachers and students.

“Maybe we can learn from what we have experienced as mom and daughter, when I was looking for a dance instructor for you,” Sherri Burke said.

You can meet Burke right now at her Mountain View studio for a chat session, classes and a cha-cha performance. “Dancing With The Stars” will air on Mondays in the fall on ABC7.

Related Content

link: Follow @abc7newsbayarea on Twitter
link: ‘Like’ ABC7 News on Facebook

link: cherylburkedance.com

(Copyright ©2013 KGO-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

Emerald Ball Dancesport Competition

25 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by Vivian in Ballroom Dance, Dance Competitions, Education, Professional Dancesport

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ballroom dance, dance, Dancesport, dancing, dancing with the stars

Emerald Ballroom Dance Competition
2013 will be a record breaking year with 15,000 entries!

If you are a serious pro-am, amateur or professional competitor Wayne and Donna Eng’s Emerald Ball is a ‘must do’ competition. One of the three largest competitions in America – this event attracts the best of the best from the U.S. and abroad. The dance standard is high and so is the prize money.

Just starting out? The Emerald Ball is also a great competition to get your feet wet with the newcomer events. Get inspired and get a goal, watching some of the top competitors in the world. Don’t forget your camera, as you’ll probably see ‘Dancing With The Stars’ performers in person! Great food, a fun hotel — plus close to L.A.’s most exciting attractions.

Adding on an extra day, the Emerald Ball will take place from May 1st – May 5th.  For more information about participation and/or tickets, . . .
Visit: EmeraldBall.com

PART I: Ballroom Dress Rental – Be A part of the process.

23 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by Vivian in Ballroom Dance, Ballroom Dress Rental, Dance Dress, Professional Dancesport

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ballroom dance, ballroom dress, ballroom dress rental, dance, Dancesport, dancewear

Ballroom Dress Rental
Follow KEdancewear.com to get all the updates as this dress evolves into a beautiful ballroom dance dress for rent.  Yes FOR RENT… can you stand it!

VIEW VIDEO:   http://youtu.be/V3t-FOFQVe0

BALLROOM DANCE DRESS … FOR RENT

12 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by Vivian in Ballroom Dance, Dance Dress, Professional Dancesport

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Tags

ballroom dance, ballroom dress, ballroom dress rental, dance, dance dress, dancewear, dancing, dancing with the stars

DressFeature-Purple-WPWith the high cost of professional dancesport trainers and competition fees, not to mention travel & hotel cost, ballroom dancers have a lot to handle before they even step out onto the competition floor.  KE dancewear is developing a ballroom dance dress rental site to help ballroom dancers offset the high costs of ballroom dance competitions.  The site should debut some time in June 2013.

However, if you’re in need of a ballroom dress rental today, we will open the vault for you to rent early.  Keep in mind that many of our dresses have never been worn yet.  And, since we’re in the development stages, we may be able to collaborate on a design with you and instead of you buying your ballroom dress for $3500, you can rent it for only a fraction of the cost, often 10-20%.  That’s a huge savings and a benefit often unheard of!  If you’d like to inquire about what we have available for rent,  contact:  info@KEdancewear.com

View a gallery of past projects of KE dancewear

Image

GREAT DEALS IN NY AT DANCESPORT

03 Wednesday Apr 2013

Tags

ballroom dance, dance, dancing

Ballroom Dance

Register in advance for your Free Group Class: Thursday, April 11th at 7:30pm or Saturday, April 13th by calling:  212-307-1111
or send an email to: april@dancesport.com

Congratulations from DanceSport!  They can’t wait to meet you!

BONUS…  DanceSport Weddings 
Ballroom Dance

Posted by Vivian | Filed under Professional Dancesport

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Who is KE?

Hi, My name is Karol and I'm a ballroom dance enthusiasts and a professionally trained fashion designer working out of my DESIGN STUDIO in downtown Los Angeles. I'm writing this blog to help promote the sport of ballroom dancing and to have a place for all ballroom dance enthusiasts to share in the challenges of preparing for competitions.

I often write under the name Vivian as a tribute to my grandmother Hazel Vivian Easley who was a talented fashion illustrator and now my good luck charm. What I love most about ballroom dancing is that it expands along all age ranges ... from kids to seniors, the ballroom dance competition floor is open to everyone to participate.

With my love of fashion and dance combined, I'm developing a ballroom dance gown rental business to help dancers offset the expensive costs of participation. If you're in need of a one-of-a-kind BALLROOM DRESS for RENT, feel free to contact me and I'll see if I can help: karol@KEdancewear.com

Recent Posts

  • NEW BALLROOM DANCE DRESS RENTAL SITE – We’ve Moved!
  • LAST DANCE for SMOOTH CHAMPIONS: Slawek & Marzena
  • COMMUNICATING with YOUR BODY : BALLROOM DANCE
  • “Dancing With the Stars” WINNER!
  • AMBER RILEY ON DANCING WITH THE STARS

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