Ballroom

Beyond the throng of sequin-covered dancers sashaying to the floor, Allison Dennis stood nervously in her modest-by-comparison flouncy polka dot miniskirt, eager for her group to be called. It was, after all, only her second dance competition. But like so many relative newcomers to ballroom dancing, what she lacked in experience she made up in attitude. "It's exciting, it's exhilarating, it's exhausting," said Dennis, breathless, as she strutted off the dance floor with her partner, Robert Granville; both are sophomores at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Tonight is the first night the couples will do two full dances (where one is not a dance-off or a group dance). During the staircase introductions, Jacoby is wearing a cowboy hat. I can't wait to see what that means for their routine. Also, today is Tom Bergeron's birthday and why this isn't a national holiday, I don't know. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. Round One Zendaya & Val Chmerkovskiy Foxtrot Val is trying to ignite Zendaya's competitive spirit, but her smile always makes him chuckle.

Four men were stabbed early Saturday morning inside a city nightclub, and one has died of his injuries, police said. Baltimore police responded at 1 a.m. to the Bourbon Street club in the 300 block of Guilford Avenue to find four men stabbed inside the club, according to spokesman Detective Jeremy Silbert. One of the victims, a 24-year-old man, died from his injuries, Silbert said. The three other victims were transported to local hospitals and are expected to survive, he said.

Don't miss the first simulcast presentation of Chick-fil-A Leadercast—Harford on Friday, May 10 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Richlin Ballroom in Edgewood. Chick-fil-A Leadercast is a one-day leadership event broadcast live from Atlanta, Ga., to hundreds of locations around the world. The event will be the first of its kind in Harford County. Benefit from the insight of these remarkable leaders: Jack Welch, former chairman and CEO of General Electric; Andy Stanley, best-selling leadership author and communicator; Mike Krzyzewski, head men's basketball coach, Duke University and Team USA; John C. Maxwell, best-selling author and leadership expert; Dr. Henry Cloud, best-selling author and leadership consultant; LCDR Rorke Denver, Navy SEAL and star of the 2012 movie "Act of Valor;" Sanya Richards-Ross, 2012 London Olympic gold medalist in track and field; David Allen, best-selling author of "Getting Things Done" and productivity expert; and Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009, Exclusive Simply Lead video interview with John C. Maxwell.

Las Vegas! 181 dancers will be winnowed down to 20 over eight rounds in four days. Judges will be Lil C, Debbie Allen, Adam Shankman, Tyce Diorio, Mary Murphy, and Nigel Lythgoe. First up they're all doing solos and they could be cut immediately if their solo doesn't pass muster. Hampton "Exorcist" Williams is up first and he's moving Shankman to tears within the first 20 seconds, Tyce within the first 30. I think he's a safe bet to go forward.   After the first ten solos, Nigel calls them back up for the first cut - girls we've not met before named Jennifer and Brianna.

It starts with a prompt from the ballroom dancing instructor, and the kids, arm in arm and elbows up, miraculously transform into elegant fox-trotters. The middle school students at Crossroads School are part of a program based on Mad Hot Ballroom, a documentary about dancing teams at New York City schools. The school in Fells Point takes kids from impoverished neighborhoods in East Baltimore and helps turn their academic performances around.

On December 9, 2009, Della Marie Walker. On December 19 memorial service Kingdom Hall, 4006 Ridgewood Avenue 1:00 P.M. Repass Brittany Apts. Ballroom, 4 Deauville Court, Pikesville 2:30 P.M. Inquiries to 410-462-5372.

In the brightly lit Atlantic Ballroom in Towson, Igor and Polina Pilipenchuk practice their dance moves. They glide gracefully across polished hardwood, shoes tapping and hips swiveling. In June, the Towson residents are going to Tokyo to represent the United States in the World Professional Ten Dance Championships. Last month, the Belarus natives won the National Dancesport Title in Asheville, N.C., establishing themselves as the top ballroom-dancing couple in the United States. In June, they could very well be named the world's best.

International dance -- Kinetics Dance Theatre will hold an International Dance Festival from noon to 4 p.m. Nov. 5 at 3280 Pine Orchard Lane, Ellicott City. Klezazz, a Baltimore klezmer band, will be featured. Workshops, open to everyone, include Latin and traditional ballroom dancing from noon to 1 p.m.; Israeli folk dancing (music by Klezazz) from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.; belly dancing from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. (hula dancing will be provided for younger children); Irish step dancing from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.; and African dance from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Activities for children are to include crafts, face painting, an obstacle course and balloons.

With poise and grace, high school girls in flowing white gowns curtsied and waltzed last night in a ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, dazzling an audience of more than 700 people at the Youth Cotillion."

The music swelled, the big ballroom - lined on one side by a mirror - looked beautiful, and my 16-year-old daughter and I were waltzing. She led; I followed. We'd come to the Towson Dance Studio to take a lesson in ballroom and see just what it might take to learn some of the basics of social dancing. In just one class, we learned steps for the waltz, swing and fox trot. We took a group lesson with two other couples, and, sure, at first it was a little awkward. We went to the left a time or two when we should have gone right, but we caught on pretty quickly.

Many years ago, longtime NASCAR crew chief Harry Hyde said a stock car is "like an egg. You have to handle it gently or it will break. " Though at its heart it was true, it was a shocking statement. Who compares a stock car — a big, brute of a car — to such a thin-shelled egg? That philosophy may have found its match during a Grand Prix of Baltimore interview with Helio Castroneves when he compared driving an Indy car to dancing. "There are no secrets," Castroneves said, when asked how competitors on Dancing with the Stars are able to perform intricate moves so quickly.

Las Vegas! 181 dancers will be winnowed down to 20 over eight rounds in four days. Judges will be Lil C, Debbie Allen, Adam Shankman, Tyce Diorio, Mary Murphy, and Nigel Lythgoe. First up they're all doing solos and they could be cut immediately if their solo doesn't pass muster. Hampton "Exorcist" Williams is up first and he's moving Shankman to tears within the first 20 seconds, Tyce within the first 30. I think he's a safe bet to go forward.   After the first ten solos, Nigel calls them back up for the first cut - girls we've not met before named Jennifer and Brianna.

Competing in Hunt Valley, SwingTime Ballroom placed at the top with its dancers at the 2011 Atlantic Dancesport Challenge. Studio owner and instructor Scott Layfield took amateur student Barbara Ziegler, of Bel Air, to victory in the American Smooth Closed Bronze 3-Dance Challenge. Professional Vladimir Skrylnikov and amateur partner Gina Kazimir, of Bel Air, also won a championship with their victory in the American Smooth Closed Bronze 3-Dance Scholarship, after taking top honors in Waltz, Tango and Foxtrot as well.

With just five weeks until wedding bells ring, there are seating charts to be made, flowers to be ordered and playlists to be finalized. But Bri Fletcher and Matt Terry put all that aside to spend their Friday evenings following the directions “slow, slow, quick-quick” over and over ... and over. They, like a growing number of couples, want their first dance as husband and wife to rise above the hug and sway. They want a dance floor debut that sparkles (not to mention twirls, turns and dips)

Four men were stabbed early Saturday morning inside a city nightclub, and one has died of his injuries, police said. Baltimore police responded at 1 a.m. to the Bourbon Street club in the 300 block of Guilford Avenue to find four men stabbed inside the club, according to spokesman Detective Jeremy Silbert. One of the victims, a 24-year-old man, died from his injuries, Silbert said. The three other victims were transported to local hospitals and are expected to survive, he said.

Dancing With the Stars is gone for the season, but if you still have a jones to watch people move, check out Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. The show bills itself as the search for "America's favorite dancer" and tests dancers in a variety of styles and with different partners. A ballroom dancer who makes it to the finals might be paired with a hip-hop dancer and assigned to perform a lyrical routine on any given week -- it makes for entertaining viewing. The audition process is still going on, but now the performers are all semifinalists, so the show is past the humiliating-people part.

T he annual holiday brunch is always a festive get-together for members and supporters of 100 Black Men of Maryland. But this year, comfort and joy seemed to take on an extra dimension. "This seems like one of the biggest crowds we've ever had," noted president Ray Lucas, as he and event chairman Guy Bragg watched hundreds of people stream into the Martin's West ballroom. "In this kind of economy, this just gives me goose bumps," Lucas added. Members Almie McIntyre Jr. and Mel Bates stood inside the ballroom door, greeting guests.

T he annual holiday brunch is always a festive get-together for members and supporters of 100 Black Men of Maryland. But this year, comfort and joy seemed to take on an extra dimension. "This seems like one of the biggest crowds we've ever had," noted president Ray Lucas, as he and event chairman Guy Bragg watched hundreds of people stream into the Martin's West ballroom. "In this kind of economy, this just gives me goose bumps," Lucas added. Members Almie McIntyre Jr. and Mel Bates stood inside the ballroom door, greeting guests.

On December 9, 2009, Della Marie Walker. On December 19 memorial service Kingdom Hall, 4006 Ridgewood Avenue 1:00 P.M. Repass Brittany Apts. Ballroom, 4 Deauville Court, Pikesville 2:30 P.M. Inquiries to 410-462-5372.