Many people don’t realize there are actually two different organizations that hold ballroom dance competitions in the United States. One organization is called the National Dance Council of America, or the NDCA. The other organization is USA Dance. Unfortunately the organizations don’t get along, so there is no cross-over between judges and officials. But the dancers are free to dance in either organization!
Two organizations means two National Championships. Some of you may be familiar with the NDCA National Championships, which take place for Amateurs each year in Provo, UT, in March; and for pro-am dancers and Professionals in Orlando, FL, in September. Well, over the weekend of November 5th, the USA Dance National Championships were held in Chicago, IL, and Aria Ballroom was proud to have representation at that competition from two Team Aria couples: Edward Brennan with Cecilia Wang, and Don Isenor with Fannia Xu!
Both these couples are Senior members of Team Aria, meaning they compete in the Senior age categories. More specifically, Senior 3 and Senior 4.
Cecilia Wang and Fannia Xu in Chicago early November.
Don and Fannia danced in three categories, the Senior 3 Novice Standard, the Senior 3 Pre-Championship Latin, and the Senior 3 Pre-Championship Standard. They excelled! In the Senior 3 Novice Standard and the Senior 3 Pre-Championship Standard, they placed 4th. And in the Senior 3 Pre-Championship Latin, they finished 2nd! That gold medal was just within reach… only to be swiped away by their fellow Team Aria members, Edward and Cecilia!
Edward and Cecilia competed in four events that weekend… and took home the gold medal in 3 of them! They won both the Senior 3 Pre-Championship Latin and the Senior 3 Pre-Championship Standard. How’s that for 10-Dancers! They also won the Senior 4 Pre-Championship Standard and decided to really go for it and challenge themselves by competing in the highest category there is, the Championship level in Senior 4 Standard. In that category, they finished 8th, but they know with a bit more work, they’ll have that Championship title soon.
“It’s been a dream worth pursuing!” Cecilia gushed. So we decided to ask them a bit more about their experiences dancing at the USA Dance National Championships.
“Our last competition was the 2018 Regional qualifier in Los Angeles,” she said. “After a three year gap, time was ticking and both Ed & I are now into our “SR4” status. We have had to pick up our energy and enthusiasm and really jump back in with both feet. Our main goal was to get motivated, try hard, and not make a disaster of the competition.
“Without a doubt, we are thrilled to be able to get back to the dance floor and compete again.”
While Don and Fannia have been learning at Aria Ballroom since 2017, Edward and Cecilia go right back to the very beginning. Edward and Cecilia’s competing career started off at Bronze level back in 2011. Since then, they have managed to win the National Championship titles in Latin and Standard at Bronze, Silver and Gold styles, and were ecstatic to add the Pre-Championship titles to their resumes this month.
“I still remember in the early years, every time before we headed North to compete in Vancouver BC,” Cecilia said, “we needed Simeon’s guidance to boost our confidence and put us at ease before each dance, round after round.”
Edward Brennan and Cecilia Wang dancing a dramatic Tango.
For Chicago, both Ed and Cecilia confessed that they felt unready. “With numerous early morning practices and lessons from Aria’s coaches, while we were in Chicago we still felt anxious and unprepared. We were even more nervous about the floor crafting (especially in SR4 Standard with 12-13 couples on the floor in the first round).”
But they stayed focused and calm, even while having a great time being at the competition with fellow Team Aria members. Competition may have gotten them to Chicago, but they were there to have fun, as well as to learn from better, more experienced dancers.
“There is always room for improvement and growth,” Cecilia said. “We purchased videos and studied them again and again.”
What’s next for our Team Aria Seniors? Surely there’s a Senior 3 Pre-Championship gold medal in sight for runners-up Don and Fannia. And for Edward and Cecilia, they left us with this:
“All the competitions have helped us to train ourselves to become better and better dancers, even at this age! We are willing to work hard and make changes to improve each and every one of our dances. Nothing comes easy, especially when our dancing journey doesn’t start until after we were both in our 50’s. One day soon, we hope to become a US Senior 4 10-Dance Champions.”
These two couples are inspirational to everyone in the studio. Next time you see Edward and Cecilia or Don and Fannia in the studio, be sure to congratulate them on their successes. They deserve it!
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