2022 US National Amateur DanceSport Championships

US National Amateur DanceSport Championships

Every March, nearly 15,000 spectators along with 26 national judges fill the Marriott Center in Provo Utah to watch over 3,000 couples and teams vie for National Championship Titles. This competition is the biggest one our amateur dancers attend, and Aria Ballroom was well represented on this fierce floor!

The competition started early for one couple, with the Adult Cabaret Championship semifinal starting Tuesday night. For Adrian Secchia and Gabrielle Smith, this year was their first time competing at National Championships. While they didn’t make the final, they did make some friends, and learned what the competitive field looks like for their event. Watch out for their next show, they are coming back ready to fight.

Our youth dancers followed for the rest of the week, starting on Wednesday afternoon. Dino Rutten and Lora Tseytlin began their busy week with the Youth Pre-Championship Latin. Their schedule continued with 5 more events, including Adult Latin and Ballroom. Their best result was making the Quarter-Final of the Youth Pre-Championship Ballroom.

Kai Matthews and Vlada Denysovets arrived Thursday night in order to prepare for their events Friday and Saturday. They danced in three events: the Junior 2 Championship Latin, Junior 2 Championship Ballroom, and the Youth Championship Ballroom.   They made the Semi-Finals in the Junior 2 ballroom, which is fantastic for their first time in this division, and the quarter-finals in their other two events.

Leo Liu and Nicky Lin danced their last year in the Preteen 2 Championship division in both Latin and Standard. Their best result, however, was the Preteen 2 Championship Standard where they made the final and placed 6^th. Way to go, guys!

After only three months of dancing together, our newest and youngest partnership Kevin Ma and Maya Tseytlin competed at their first ever National Championships in the Elementary School syllabus events. They made the Quarter-Final of the Elementary School Championships with their Quickstep and the Semi-Final Round with their Paso Doble. Way to go you two!

Trevor and Kylie Dewaal, as well as Ruizhe Liu and Lea Prunk participated in the High School Syllabus Waltz and Samba together, with Ruizhe and Lea making the Quarter-Final in both and Trevor and Kylie making the Semi-Final in the Samba. Ruizhe and Lea and Trevor and Kylie finished by dancing the American Style Foxtrot in the High School Syllabus Smooth event.

Thomas Owen and Kate Dickson, as well as Lucas Leonard and Carlie Sterling excelled the best in Smooth events this nationals. Thomas and Kate made two Quarter-Finals in the Youth Smooth events, and the Semi-Final in the Adult Novice Smooth. Lucas and Carlie placed similarly, making one Quarter-Final in Youth Smooth, and the Semi-Final Adult Novice Smooth.

Jared Cook and Mabel Dickson were busy little dancers last week, dancing in a plethora of events and almost every style! Their best results came from the Elementary Syllabus events, making the Semi-Final in the Quickstep and 5th in the Paso Doble final.

In the Senior events, Don and Fannia competed in four events and represented Aria Ballroom beautifully on the floor. They placed 6th in the Senior 3 and 4 Ballroom, and 2nd in the Senior 3 and 4 Latin.

Friday and Saturday nights were the most exciting nights to watch, with the Adult Championships in Latin, Standard, and Cabaret. The energy on the floor was just incredible – all of the adult dancers put 110% effort into their dancing. Just inspirational to watch.

We are so proud of all of our students, and can’t wait to see how you all continue to grow.