This is
Kristen Bradford, the girl who I am more blessed than I possibly deserve to have in my life, along with her instructor
Jay Henderson at this past weekend's Spring Showcase in Roanoke, Virginia...
(Photo credit goes to Ryan Kegel, who along with his wife Sarah were two of the many who came to cheer Kristen on :-)
Showcase is a twice-annual event hosted by the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Roanoke, Virginia. It's a formal/gala event at the Hotel Roanoke where the students perform before a large audience. This was the third one that I have been at since we've been dating and it was easily the most electrifying one yet!
Okay, 'nuff from me. Y'all want to see Kristen dance. And I'm gonna happily oblige ya!
First up was a "graduation ceremony" of sorts. Ballroom dancing has different levels of skill and competition. At this Showcase, Kristen is moving up from Bronze III to IV. Here are the routines that she performed...
Then followed a series of "mini-matches": four couples on the floor at the same time, with the crowd calling out the numbers pinned to the male partner's backs when that couple does something especially good. Here are the first three mini-matches Kristen did...
Kristen Bradford Mini-Match #1Kristen Bradford Mini-Match #2
Kristen Bradford Mini-Match #3
Following the first half of Showcase there was a thirty-minute break. And during this time I had a little fun with the trusty iPad. Here is Kristen and Jay starring in "The Dancing Damsel!"
Following the break, Kristen returned to solo with a Samba...
Kristen had two more mini-matches for the evening...
Kristen Bradford Mini-Match #4Kristen Bradford Mini-Match #5
And then, later on during Showcase, came a performance that I heard many say was perhaps the finest of the event. I certainly loved it!
Accompanying the song "Lady in Red", here is Kristen and Jay dancing Bolero...
Someday, I pray that I might be able to dance even half as good as Jay... because I would seriously love to be a serious enough a partner for Kristen :-)
After Showcase finished up, there was the fine dinner and night of dancing ahead of us. And yes, Yours Truly did hit the floor with mostly some Waltz and Rumba. I even did a fancy turn somewhere in there.
But I definitely gotta show y'all these guys. Nick Manzo and Laura Cotton came to Showcase all the way from the Arthur Murray studio in Arrowhead, Arizona! They are two of the top-ranked dance instructors anywhere in the world... and here you'll see why:
By this point the evening was getting long, and after all that dancing Kristen was feeling a bit exhausted.
And then Nick asked her for a dance! Here they are, having fun with a Hustle along with Sister Sledge's "We Are Family":
That was more than enough to put a few more times on the dance floor into her :-)
Everyone from the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Roanoke did a remarkable job! I'm looking at taking classes there sometime in the near future. Hey, maybe there's hope yet for a guy with two left feet :-)
Awright, I better share this as well: at Showcase Kristen asked me to wear the official Doctor Who/Eleventh Doctor bow tie that she gave me for Christmas a few months ago. Kristen thought it was a great new look for me. So did our family and friends, one of which said it made me look "powerful!"
