It was my first visit to New York and it was a memorable weekend. It was 1979 and I went to the US Ballroom Championships, just to watch and get the atmosphere. I had only been dancing about 2 years. I didn't dance but watched and imagined that I would like to be competing too.

I saw International Modern (now called Standard), Latin (won by a young Ron Montez and Liz Curtis, their first of 7 US Titles), American Rhythm and Smooth (both the same division back then), Hustle (very popular due to Saturday Night Fever) and also the Theatrical Division (lifts and anything goes).

It was the first time the competition was ever televised. My boss and coach, Bob Medieros, was the commentator with Rita Moreno that year. Agnes DeMille the famous ballet choreographer sat at our table and Bob Medieros escorted her to say a speech as she was being honored at this competition.

With my partner, I thought this Theatrical Dancing and Hustle were for me. I practiced very hard after that, planning to compete the next year. Bob M began getting us prepared, and seeing that we were going to dance in this special division, he sent us to another coach, who taught mainly theatrical dancing.

This man, John Ford, was kind enough to coach us. Many top dancers were being coached by John and even the people competing against us were there. Many of these dancers were present or past champions. Imagine how it felt to be there with the people I had seen at the USBC just months before!

Natasha, my partner, and I began driving to Fort Lauderdale every other day before going to teach at our studio in South Miami. We would get there early and a student would let us in to practice before John got there.

We worked on lifts and spins and new creative things to incorporate into our dancing. Natasha was very little and I was young, so I could lift her easily. Everyone, even other couples who were going to dance against us, were helping us learn. Dancers like Perri Adair, Charles Hoeffgen and Jack Raymond.

It was a great time. What was best about it was there was no pressure to even dream of winning. I went there loose and relaxed (considering who else was there).

That September in 1980, we danced the Paso Doble and the Waltz in New York at the USBC. We made the finals! Can you believe it? We came in 5th in the waltz and 6th in the Paso.

As we entered the dance floor, we heard all the other couples announced with us. Larry Broussard and Mary Ellen Lacy, Charles Hoeffgen and Perri Adair, the champs from John Ford's studio, Cher Rutherford and Randy Lynn, a great young couple who won the American style championship that year. Rufus Dustin and Marianne Nicole, multi-champs in many divisions and at the top of their game. All these dancers were present or past champions of the US. And there we were, competing with them.

I don't have a video of that competition, but my memory is vivid and quite clear. To make the finals, and do so well that first year was great. Our students cheered and greeted us as though we had won first place. We had really won, in a way, just not with the trophy. But we had worked hard and accomplished our goal of being the best we could be.

During this time, we would dance in clubs around town and practice our routines and enter contests. We performed on Dance Fever and even did our Paso Doble in a disco contest. We won! After that we danced every year at the US Championships, as well as all over the country at Fred Astaire competitions. We won many smaller competitions, but we never did win the big prize at the USBC. But that's OK. Just to be in the game was a thrill, and I'm still teaching and performing long after many others are retired and no longer dancing.

That was a time I'll never forget. I've got many other memories that sometime I will share with you... dancing on ships, on tables, on grass fields, going up escalators at Burdines, on stage at big football games etc.

Now I get to re-live those feelings with students dancing in the PRO/AM division at competitions. Its fun and there are future memories to discover and create!