Evening Dress Recap

Evening Dress Recap by lisaanna on polyvore.com

A Night at the Ballroom

A Night at the Ballroom by lisaanna featuring filigree earrings

This dress is a bit different than the silver dress that I thrifted recently, but I wanted to style a silver dress because that's what I am planning wear to the big show that my friend Karen and I are attending at the Windy City Open Ballroom Championships in September.    www.thewindycityopen.com/    

It's much prettier in person!

I will be wearing this dress to spectate.  It's much prettier in person....the fabric is a pretty soft metallic silver...it has a nice drape...I love it!  I will style it in the same way as I did the dress pictured above this one.


My dance friend Karen and I will be watching one of the greatest contemporary Latin Ballroom champions  (Yulia) perform at the BIG professional show that always takes place at the end of these gala four day events.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQv8FSi37NA

She is so amazing!


I will be a spectator for the pro show; but I will be competing in the earlier part of the day as the amateur part of a pro-am couple with my coach, Marcel Gonzales; director of Valparaiso Ballroom.

http://www.uniteddancearts.com/ballroom.html

These are the dresses I will be wearing for the competition:

This dress is what I wear to dance American Smooth

doredesigns.com/      The hot pink dress is a Dore' dress that I purchased used from a dancer friend.

I have since had the fingers cut off if the gloves to make them into gauntlets!

My International Standard style gown

This is my favorite gown.  I will be purchasing another gown from this dressmaker at the Windy City comp if she is there this year.  She has at least a hundred beautiful gowns to choose from..it was hard choosing my dress last year; but this green one really stood out and it fit me perfectly; not one alteration was needed!

 www.izabelajaworska.com/

This year, I will wear my hair up a little higher and off of my neck to showcase my posture.  

This is helmet hair!  Super sprayed and it does not move..this is very tidy ballroom hair

Arm gauntlets and an attached float for International Standard style

For the actual competition, I will be wearing each of my two gowns.


I have two months to prepare.  I haven't competed since February...and I'm rusty.  I've been doing quite a bit of social dancing, but it's not the same; it doesn't prepare you for the challenging rounds of dances that competitors participate in.

Social dances are just fun weekend activities where dancers get together and dance, act silly and have fun hanging out with fellow dance friends, like this:

The dance floor at Gotta Dance, one of my favorite place to social dance, lit up for July 4th!

Karen; a wonderful friend and Latin dance competitor...she's a  GREAT dancer...her instructor is Ruldopho, is pictured below with his pro partner.

 My lovelies

One of my favorite social dance Waltz, Tango and Viennese Waltz partners, Rob!

These pictures are taken at Friday's dance party at Gotta Dance.  This is one of the studios where I attend social dance parties.  It's always a fun filled dance evening there.

www.gottadanceindiana.com/

The couple below; Jessica Sartori Wharton and Rudolpho Blanquicette are professional Latin competitors who are Rising Star Champions.  They both teach at Gotta Dance...and attend the Friday night parties.  They are both very talented dancers and truly NICE people.  Jessica is 'Hollywood Glamour' pretty like Marilyn Monroe or Liz Taylor and very sweet.  Rudolpho is a true entertainer on and off the floor.

There are always competitions every month at one venue or another and Jessica and Rudolpho can often be seen competing at the professional level across the United States.

Their next competition is going to be the Twin Cities Open this month!

www.twincitiesopen.com/


If you are in that area and you enjoy ballroom, or are just looking for something different and fun to do....consider attending the competition to cheer on Jessica and Rudolpho!

Ballroom comps are great fun; there is more sparkle and flash than you can imagine, and the dancing is so much more fun to watch in person.  Imagine watching the dancers fly past while you are seated at a table that is within inches of the floor!

I'm sure you have all heard enough of my ballroom obsession...

As we begin the Holiday week, I wish all of you well and stay safe!

Delightful Orchid Dress

Delightful Orchid Dress by lisaanna featuring strappy kitten heels

When I saw this dress on polyvore, I dug to the back of my closet to find this Dress Barn dress that I have never worn.  In the photo, my dress looks more blue, but in reality it is the exact same shade of orchid as the dress in the set.  The cut is similar too, but mine has a draped neck, and has rouching instead of a side gather.  I really like this dress, but since nearly all of the events I attend are dance related and there is usually dancing, I haven't worn it.  It's very stretchy, but it fits too close to the body to allow the long strides and sweeping movement that is characteristic of ballroom.  I need to just wear it.  I took this picture to help me decide if I like dress enough to keep it.  I really do like it.  Now I need to accessorize it.  I adore the emerald accessories but don't have any.  I do own silver, gold, rhinestone and black accessories and could do any of those, but the emerald is really dramatic.  I might have to make a trip to Charming Charlie for some affordable pieces in emerald.  CC's is a great place to find just about any color or accessory that you need to pull a look together.  I'm happy that I saw the dress above because it has reminded me that I have what I need for special occasions in my own closet.  I just need to dig in a get creative with accessories.