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Volunteer Report

Ballroom Blast 2015

By the Ballroom Blast Team

Dancers at Blast
This past October 24th was a blast! We introduced nearly one hundred fifty new people to ballroom dancing in a way they will never forget. We also increased the participation of adults and collegiate students alike. We had over two hundred sixty registrants in all, plus over two hundred fifty spectators—more than double last year's number. We're most proud of the incredible expansion of mixed proficiency; with over twice as many participants, MP has become a staple used by college groups and adults alike to expose their friends and family to the world of dancesport.

Ballroom Blast has grown greatly in the four years since its inception. Initially conceived as a way to target new collegiate markets for participation in ballroom dance, the program has expanded to include workshops and lectures, a social dinner to promote interaction among the diverse groups in our community, and a Halloween Ball to cement those wonderful new ties. In future years, we hope to develop a strong adult-mixed-proficiency program and provide adults with new opportunities to participate and explore the wonderful world of ballroom dance in a low-stress and fun environment.

There are too many people to thank in this article who made this year's Ballroom Blast a huge success, but we wanted to thank some of its biggest contributors.

First, a big thank you to our participants and spectators. We continue to be inspired by your love and enthusiasm for dance, as well as your kindness and sportsmanship.

Thank you to this year's core Blast volunteer team: Daniel O'Connell, who did a wonderful job bringing in collegiate participants; Rosemary O'Connell, without whom there would be no registration or competitor packets; Nic Westlake, who organized all the heats; Craig Hagensick and Alexzandra Enger, who managed all things money; Karen Maldonado, who designed the wonderful decoration scheme; Olivia Wicker, for her tremendous job designing the graphics and our program; Elizabeth Wanninger, responsible for our fantastic Halloween Ball; Rachel Marusinec, for designing the layout as well as securing Blast's 2016 date: Saturday, October 22nd; Taylor Wall, for securing our wonderful volunteers; Jackson Fossen, for making sure the DJ had everything he needed to make the music happen; Neli Petkova, for keeping everyone updated on Facebook; and Theresa Kimler, who made sure we stayed organized and on track. Thank you to our wonderful on-deck personnel, Cathy Dessert, Len Farrington, Bridget Knickerbocker, and Jeff Knickerbocker, who managed to get all the participants on the floor for their dancing on time with no holdups. Last but not least, thank you to Maria Russett for being the best scrutineer's assistant we could ever hope for.

This year was also made possible by some very generous sponsorship and grants. The University of Minnesota Student Union Activities Board, Coca Cola, and U Partner Dance, Inc., provided significant financial assistance to help make this event a reality. Without the assistance of these wonderful organizations, we could not have provided this opportunity at all, let alone so affordably.

We also want to thank Bill Dessert and his team at Rapit Printing for printing such amazing banners and programs. Our thanks go out to the University of Minnesota Ballroom Dance Club for their key volunteerism and participation. Their support is what made Ballroom Blast possible in the first place.

Most importantly, we want to thank our critiquing professionals, Elena Bersten, Kate Bratt, Jennifer Foster, Eric Hudson, Jeff Nehrbass, Cynthia Nehrbass, and Mariusz Olszewski; our wonderful MC, Gene Bersten; our DJ, Shane Meuwissen; and all of our evening show performers. Their investment in the future of partner dancing will go a long way toward enhancing the ballroom dance community.

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