Pro/Am A2 (Over 35) Open Smooth Scholarship (22 couples)

1) Mary Sue Schwartz with John Berry, AZ

2) Pam Butler with Jonathan Roberts, CA

3) Elaine Sheresky with Victor Russu, NY

4) Judyth Gutoff with David Rosario, NJ

5) ? with Michael Mead, CA

6) Donna Boyd with Mazen Hamza, DE



Mary Sue & John had the best choreography, meaning to me it looked the most 'pro'. Elaine Sheresky stood out from the first round -- when she dances I see pure fun and joy, and I really enjoyed watching her.



Pro/Am Open Smooth Scholarship (10 couples)

1) Ruthie Perkins with Ben Ermis, TN

2) Heather Fields with Jason K., TX

3) Leah Turner with John Berry, AZ

4) Christine Baitis with Michael Mead, CA

5) Karen Angel with F.J. Abaya, WA

6) Elizabeth Brierly with David Weise, CA



Ruthie wore a stunning white pants outfit. She's incredibly fit and just looked amazing. However, I personally don't like the lines produced from flowing pant legs as compared to a flowing skirt. Don't get me wrong -- Ruthie is a beautiful dancer (someone turned to me and said "I want to dance like Ruthie when I grow up") and she looked striking and stylish, it's just that I prefer skirts for dancing. But if she ever wins an Academy Award her pants outfit would be perfect. Heather Fields looked good but I wonder if they had new choreography or were coming back from being sick or something because I just didn't see the intense "spark" that I saw last fall in Miami. Elizabeth Brierly also seemed to be having a bit of an off night. Karen Angel projects a really friendly vibe when she dances, it was nice to see her again.



Pro/Am Closed Silver Standard Scholarship (W/T/F/Q) (27 couples)

1) Judyth Gutoff with Francesco Flumiani, NY -- 1111

2) Margaret Sacks with Ben Ermis, TN -- 2343

3) Kathleen Vance with Jim Maranto, AZ -- 3424

4) Judith Furie with Giacomo Agrello, NY

5) Elizabeth Apesos with Christopher Ford, IN

6) Jessica Parizek with Jonathan Atkinson, CA



A DanceScaper was one of the couples in the event, but I won't blow her cover...she wore a stunning dress that she designed herself and danced very well. I hope she enjoyed her day and was satisfied with her dancing! I certainly liked watching. Also, I'm going to admit here and now that Francesco Flumiani wins my "hunkiest pro guy at Emerald" award. And he gets 10 bonus points for his glasses. Cathy Blondell was going to introduce me to him but I was too embarassed :-)



Pro/Am Closed Bronze Standard Scholarship (20 couples)

1) Ramona Mitchell with Ben Ermis, TN

2) Darlene Boetticher with Stephan Krauel, CA



I missed the rest of the results but the other finalists were:

Hiroko Lange wth Tibor Kerekes, MA

Carole Core with Chris Skates, FL

Nancy Mathison with Nigel Clarke, CA

Jean ? with Bill Milner, CA



Pro/Am Senior (I think it's over-50) Standard Scholarship (W/T/Q) (13 couples)

1) Betty Corya with Rauno Ilo, IN -- 111

2) ?

3) Margaret Resnik with Nigel Clarke, CA

4) Jeanie Bernstein with Jim Maranto, AZ

5) Gary Kusimi with Shalene Archer Ermis, TN

6) Frances Eakin w8th Alex Rubin, MD



Pro/Am Over-35 Open Standard Scolarship (24 couples)

1) Ruthie Perkis with Ben Ermis, TN -- 12111

2) Jamie Fellner with Francesco Flumiani, NY -- 23222

3) Lolita Ang with Rauno Ilo, IN

4) Jian Xie with Bill Milner, CA

5) Sue Gershowitz with Alex Rubin, MD

6) Sophia Lo with Igor Litvinov, NJ



Once again, Ruthie was stunning, in a very sleek rich sapphire blue dress. I also danced in this event, but it wasn't anything to write home about. It was a tough cut (24 to 12) to the semi and I didn't come close to making it, but at least I wasn't last either. I got what I deserved, considering how unfit I am physically and also that I spent the week before last flying to Tokyo and back rather than practicing. I thought the quality in both the final and semi-final was excellent. The event was quite inspiring and energizing to me...I can't wait to get back to work on myself and my dancing, but I 'have' to go to Europe for 10 days with my husband first :-)



Pro/Am Open Standard Scholarship (14 couples)

1) Barbara Moore with Igor Suvorov, CA -- 11211

2) Christine Warren with Victor Veyrasset, CA -- 22122

3) Lynne Jones with Giampiero Giannico, NY -- 33333

4) May-Ling Hutchins with Stephan Krauel

5) Fuki Uekusa with Erminio Stefano, NY

6) Yoko ? with Paul Holmes

7) Ozlem Koldemir with Giacomo Agrello, NY



The results of this event were not well-received by the audience. There were audible groans and boos when May-Ling was announced for 4th place; I think many people expected her to be higher. She has amazing flexibility combined with great stability and quickness, topped off by being so fit that she didn't even break a sweat during her rounds. And the fact that she's exotically adorable doesn't hurt. Overall, there was a lot of great dancing in that final, and the truth it is could have gone any of four ways that day.

The Professional Rising Star events seemed smaller -- there was only a semi-final in the Latin for instance, and that was for a the National Title. The Pro/Am seemed slightly bigger than last year. Last year there were three couples in my single dance events and 20 in my scholarship, and this year there were six couples in my single dance events and 24 in my scholarship.

Thank you for the info - I hope I can do Emerald next year - I have heard from others that it is a great comp.

Thanks so much for the results!
GO BETTY!!!! She's great, I gotta congratulate her in person. I"m so proud of her, I hope to dance like she does shortly!