California Star Ball

So the California Star Ball this past weekend was my 9th anniversary in competition. In 1997, I stepped onto the floor there and competed in collegiate divisions of American smooth, rhythm, and Latin, and then tried my hand at Novice Latin and Open Amateur Smooth. The funnest part of that is to look back on the Smooth. Elizabeth (and Ginger) and I placed well in all the collegiate events, and even made the final in the Novice Latin, but got last in the Open Amateur Smooth (4th out of 4). I remember at the last second not even wanting to step out onto the floor when I noticed that the other amateur couples had "routines;" the deck captain convinced us we'd do fine. Never would I have thought that in 9 years, I'd be in the same ballroom dancing with Laetitia doing the Open Professional Smooth, and placing 2nd... it's been a fun journey, and I don't even feel like it's close to over, but I just couldn't help but get nostalgic.