Alan & Kelly Champions

10/21/2024

MIDWEST REGIONAL DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS – Alan Burns and Kelly Batchelor placed First in Senior 1 Championship Standard and Senior 2 Championship Standard at the 2024 Midwest Regional DanceSport Championships held at the Westin O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, Illinois. We had a great time dancing on the beautiful, large wood floor and reconnecting with our dance friends. Alan got to be the deck captain for 3 of the 4 sessions! Thanks to Shawn R Fisher and Annie for organizing a great competition.

09/16/2024

MIDWEST REGIONAL DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS – Many people have asked us about a USA Dance, Inc competition in Chicago. The Midwest Regional DanceSport Championships, a new USA Dance competition, will be held October 18-20, 2024, at the Westin O’Hare Hotel near Chicago O'Hare International Airport! Entries are now open. Enter today, since it’s only a month away!

Visit https://www.midwestregionaldancesport.com/ for more information, including links to register and view the preliminary schedule.

Step into the world of ballroom excellence Welcome to Our Competition Step into the world of grace, rhythm, and unrivaled artistry at the Midwest Regional Dancesport Championships. Our competition is a celebration of ballroom excellence, bringing together the finest dancers from across the region to...

09/15/2024

LESSON AT KASPER DANCE STUDIO - Kelly and I had a good lesson with Kris today, focusing on Foxtrot footwork and timing. We also went over some details in Quickstep, Viennese Waltz, Tango, and Slow Waltz, so we hit all 5 Standard dances today! Kelly and I will soon be representing the United States in several international competitions, so training with Kris is helping us prepare.

09/09/2024

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ROUNDS PRACTICE 44 – We had 7 dancers at another successful rounds practice this weekend. This time, we put six chairs on the floor when we danced the Viennese Waltz and we practiced dancing around them in time with the music. Kelly told us to dance circles around the chairs or to weave between them. I learned that we could go clockwise or counterclockwise around the chairs, sometimes with another couple going the other way!

08/18/2024

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ROUNDS PRACTICE 43 – We had 7 dancers in our rounds practice last night at Kasper Dance Studio and we all had a great time. We could all practice our floorcraft, especially when everyone was dancing at the same time. All dancers are welcome at our practices and we have upcoming practices on September 7, September 14, and October 5.

08/11/2024

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ROUNDS PRACTICE 42 – Six Chicagoland dancers participated in the rounds practice we held at Kasper Dance Studio on Saturday, August 10th. It was great to practice our competition routines with others on the floor at the same time, giving us all opportunities to practice our floorcraft. For anyone who wants to join us, we will have another practice this coming Saturday, August 17th. The studio floor is large enough for several additional couples and everyone is welcome, regardless of dance level or age. We are a very supportive group.

07/06/2024

2024 KANSAS CITY DANCE CLASSIC – Alan Burns and Kelly Batchelor won first place in Senior 1 Championship Standard and second place in Senior 2 Championship Standard at the 2024 Kansas City Dance Classic, held in the Marriott Overland Park Hotel on June 29, 2024. Thank you, Matt Pansing and Ellen Wagner Pansing, for putting on another beautiful, well-run competition! It was fun dancing and meeting up with our dance friends.

06/18/2024

MY ANGEL – The beautiful Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles had the perfect wings for my beautiful angel, Kelly! We had a great time exploring the amazing decorations and architecture in this historic building. The hotel opened in 1923 and features soaring, decorated ceilings, indoor fountains, glamorous chandeliers, and wide hallways lined with ornate columns. If you ever get a chance to visit, you’ll be in for a treat.

06/18/2024

RED ROSES – One of the prizes we won at the California Regional DanceSport Championships was a pair of red roses. Kelly and I found that the roses fit perfectly in a glass bottle in the center console in the VW ID.4, almost like the artificial flowers we’ve seen in modern VW Bugs.

06/18/2024

CALIFORNIA REGIONAL DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS – Alan Burns and Kelly Batchelor placed first in Senior 2 Championship Standard and third in Senior 1 Championship Standard at the 2024 California Regional DanceSport Championships held at the beautiful Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. We had a nice time dancing and reconnecting with some of our USA Dance friends. The USA Dance Training Camp held after the competition was productive, and we were grateful to meet with several high-quality teachers.

03/16/2024

2024 US NATIONAL AMATEUR DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS - Alan Burns and Kelly Batchelor placed third in the U.S. National Senior II Ballroom Championship held in Provo, Utah on March 15, 2024. The event was held in the Marriott Center on the Brigham Young University campus. This is one of the few DanceSport competitions held in a sports arena in the United States and it is famous for the large number of formation team entries as well as the large number of amateur competitors.

02/20/2024

2024 USA DANCE SOUTHEASTERN DANCESPORT CHAMPIONSHIPS – Kelly and I flew down to Atlanta to compete in the 2024 Southeastern DanceSport Championships. We placed third out of 7 couples in Senior 2 Championship Standard. We were very happy with the large ballroom and dance floor that offered lots of space for everyone, and it was great to see many of our friends again. Thank you, Krzysztof Kasperowicz for coaching us all these years and helping us dance the best we can.