Happy Birthday wishes to John Crescione ,Tom Roberts, Jason Richman and Sheri Barnes.   

Good samaritan Roberto Pagan suffered a knee injury in the course of breaking up a fight. We wish this dance champion a speedy recovery.

This weeks edition of DanceTalk is sponsored by Hooked On Hustle.  http://www.gethookedonhustle.com   The spring dance party takes place on May 15th and is packed full of excitement. Hooked On Hustle is pleased to welcome the sounds of DJ Johnny "O." This will be Johnny's Philadelphia debut.  Read all about it below.

Come to the debut of Dance America Seattle Dance Convention & Competition. This new event takes place January 21-23, 2005 at Seattle’s Sea-Tac Hilton Hotel Convention Center. With over 30 workshops to be taught by top professionals for all levels of dancers in Salsa, WCS, Hustle & Cha-Cha. Competitions include Professional, Amateur, Pro-Am, Advanced (Open to all) and Amateur Novice Jack & Jill, Hustle, Salsa, West Coast Swing, Pro/Am Showcase (Solo routines) and Salsa Team competition.  Visit their  website, www.danceamericaseattle.com stay tuned for more details to come.

Take note, coming May 29th, a new website, NY Hustle   http://nyhustle.com/
Check this out for upcoming events in the world of dance and music. 

Special Leg Night at Michael's Cafe Tuesday, April 27th. Come out as the judges: Wingo Hom, Joey Cammatuci and Jaime Serna pick the best legs. Contest starts at 10:30PM. Prizes and fun for everyone. Located in Bensalem on Street Rd Penna.  

Please note the new date for Ovations, it has changed to May 7th. Visit www.renehewitt.com   That night guest DJ Wil Milton (Wave Music – Westend Records), Eddie Cruz and Rene Hewitt will spin Classics and House music. There will be a freestyle dance contest with the first prize being a bottle of Moet.

Below your find a listing of power house DJs that focus on "back in the day" classic dance music as well as tunes of today. Save this list. These DJs are available for large and small dance venues.

Make it a great week,
Ron

Happy Birthday wishes to Shari (Kahn) Miller ,Sonya Saamova and Carolyn Grimaldi .

The organizers of Hustle USA Dance Championships regretfully have announced that this years event has been postponed. David Sarul and Maria Torres plan to hold their event next year. Unforeseen circumstances have forced them to make this decision. David hopes to have new information soon.  Stay tuned for details for 2005. 

Ovation, located in downtown Brooklyn will feature DJ Rene Hewitt starting April 30th. For more information visit his website www.HouseandClassicsTV.com  
Couple dancing is back, starting April 27th at Edgewater, Community Center in NJ, Presents Lincoln's Center's Crowned "King of the Hustle" Carl Charles & Partner Regina Tirado... see details below.  

Dance Darling Diane Taccetta has lost her sister Patricia Taccetta to cancer. The dance community sends our heart felt condolences to Diane and her family.  Sympathy cards can be sent to Diane Taccetta, 121 West Hanover Ave
Morris Plaines, NJ 07850 or E-mail address  DianesDanz@aol.com

The e mail address Diane@dkndance.com and the website   www.dkndance.com   are up and running again. You can register now for the early discounts for the World Hustle Dance Championships at www.hustledanceworld.com.
This years festivities are enriched as Derrick Allen  joins the staff. 

Week number 7 rocked at Zachary's dance contest this past Saturday in Long Island, NY. The guest judges were: Debbie Ferro, Donna DeSimone, Roberto Pagan and Nancy Thomas. This weeks winners: 1st place Lori Brizzi & Ron Rosario, 2nd Walter Levy & Raluca Georgio, 3rd Robert Lawrence & Teri, 4th Eric and Nana.

KTU's Disco Ball at the Trump Taj Mahal takes place on Saturday, May 15th in Atlantic City, NJ. AN all star line up of performers will be on board. See details below. 

Carol Feldman and Dreams Come True Travel have just teamed up to raise money for the Lupus Foundation.  They are sponsoring a 7 day fund raising cruise to Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, Jamaica and Cozumel Mexico on December 5 - 12, 2004.  Their minimum goal is to raise $7,000 for the foundation.  You can get more information on the cruise by visiting www.traveldreams.tv or by e-mailing dctken@myexcel.com .  You are invited to come along and support this worthy foundation.

We wish the best to Celeste Pfefferle as she joins the professional ranks this summer at Discoamerica and WHDC.

http://www.gethookedonhustle.com Check out the new site for Hooked On Hustle

The May issue of New Jersey Monthly will feature an article on New Jersey's own, Gloria Gaynor.

This issue of DanceTalk is sponsored by the World Hustle Dance Championships.
Visit their website www.hustledanceworld.com or write organizer Diane Nardone at  dkndance@netcommail.com.

Make it a great week,
Ron

DanceTalk * 4-6-04

Wishing all of our readers a Happy and safe Easter and Passover. 

Happy birthday wishes to Tom Banner,  Disco Dave Sarul,  Dino Georgio and Judy Churchray.

Check out Dino's Georgio's new website, www.stronghealinghands.com

The dance community sends their condolences to Melody Cochran on the loss of her father.

The spring weather brings out the dancers and the passion of love. We are excited to announce the engagement of fellow dancers. Congratulations to Carolyn Grimaldi and Armando Sanchez on their recent wedding engagement. There was another proposal this past weekend. Read all about it, below in the IHSC Review below.

Check out the new website for Hooked On Hustle. Don't miss this great event in the City Of Brotherly Love on Saturday, May 15th.
http://www.geocities.com/shannoninpa/HookedOnHustle.html


Radio station WKTU in New York brings back the KTU Disco Ball at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, NJ this summer. Stay tuned for more details.

The Zachary's contest continues every Saturday evening. This past weeks winners were: first place Hrant & Fern, second place Jack & Audrey and third place was Eric & Nana. Come out every Saturday night for the best night in Long Island.

Coming soon to DanceTalk, a listing of the best Disc Jockeys spinning the hottest classic and new dance music. 

DanceTalk will be back in 2 weeks. Off to Las Vegas for some R&R.

Make it  a great 2 weeks,
Ron

      IHSC Review and Highlights

The weekend kicked off with a "Moon Over Miami" Party with 400 dancers pool side on Thursday evening dancing under the stars and the action never stopped from that point on. 
Congratulations to all the winners at this past weekends International Hustle Salsa Championships in Miami. The organizers put together another wonderful weekend in a great setting. Hats off to Billy, Katie and Randy.
Many awards were presented including the John Luchesse Award which was given to Eddie Torres. The Olgie and Margo Life Time achievement award went to
Billy Fajardo and Katie Marlow.
A special award was given by DJ Bobby Morales to Jami Josephson as he presented her with a plaque asking her for her hand in marriage... in front of 2000 dancers. The ladies in the house were brought to tears. Congratulations to Bobby and Jami.             
The winning recipients of the Van McCoy dance contest were presented by
Mrs. Taylor, the sister of the late great Van McCoy. She was so moved by the showing of love that she announced that the Van McCoy dance contest will become an annual event.
The weekend attracted over 2,500 dancers from all over the dance Community.
IHSC will return next April 2005 with a new location. Stay tuned for more details.   
Here are some of the results.

The Van McCoy Professional
1) Brian & Silvana Gallagher
2) Tybaldt Ulrich & Hazel Mede
3) Kelvin Roche & Loriann Greenhouse
4) Robert Finocchio & Tiffany Brown
5) Keith Gussoni & Simone Assboeck
6) Danny McGee & Elizabeth Darchi  


The Van McCoy  Amateur
1 Theo Stafford & Celeste Pfefferie
2 Raye Avery & Irene Griffin
3 Joey Cammatuci & Ettie Kurtz

Classic Hustle Pro Am
1 Joe Kerner & Gina Madera
2 Judy Sparacio & Murray Phillips
3 Keith Gussoni & Pumpkin Habet

Pro Am Ladies Int Hustle
1 Daniel McGee & Ginny Carey
2 Brian Gallagher & Nina Rosado
3 Christopher Bates & Patricia Caballero

Pro Just Hustle
1 Brian & Silvana Gallagher
2 Danny McGee & Elizabeth Darchi
3 Keith Gussoni & Simone Assboeck

Amateur Just Hustle
1 Wingo Hom & Angela McCabe
2 Stanley Smalanowicz & Patricia McConnell
3 Wajih & Wendy Dalal

For all the results and scores visit
Winners at http://users.erols.com/crhutch/vs2/ihs04wi.html


Scores at http://users.erols.com/crhutch/vs2/ihs04sc.html

Achievements In Radio Awards 

The New York Metro A.I.R. Awards are the prestigious radio industry acknowledgment of the best of the best. This year they created an award for the DJ who provided the best mixing skills.  A wonderful award dinner was held at the B.B. King Theater in NYC and was attended by the honorable Governor Pataki as well as many industry stars including P. Diddy AKA Puff Daddy.  The highly coveted award for "mix show on the air" was given to WKTU superstar Jenny Costa. She is the first recipient of this award. To view all the nominee and details visit  WWW.NYAIRAWARDS.COM
Jenny continues to mix on the air for WKTU and Sirius Satellite radio. She appears at the Mirage in Long Island every Thursday from 8PM till 11PM, Fridays at Mirage from 6 to 11PM. Jenny does various guest spots thru out the tri state area including out of town events like LA, Chicago, Seattle.
On behalf of DanceTalk we send our congratulations to Jenny Costa, the "First Lady of Dance." Look for her monthly record picks, right here, exclusively in DanceTalk.

DanceTalk * 3-30-04

Happy Birthday wishes to Judy Secoda ,Bill Poulter and Nino Torre .

We send our prayers out for Dee Murrey, a swing dancer friend from Wichita, that  is under going bypass surgery.

Over 125 dancers were on hand at the Paladium in Margate, Florida for the preliminary Van McCoy contest. Michael Neil and Trish Berlanga won the regional championship. Runner ups were Frank Mazzarella and Gloria Kennedy. Michael & Trish move on to the finals this coming Saturday night. This will bring together all the regional champions for the finals. The Dance world is descending on Miami for the IHSC this weekend. Good luck to all the participants, if your planning on going check out the website for all the details. http://www.hustleandsalsa.com

The Hustle birthday party for Disco Dave Sarul has been changed from Fishers to Universal Dance Center in Collingswood, NJ on April 10th. See all the details below. 

Six more weeks to go till the finals at Zachary's in Long Island. This past weeks winners were Keith Harrison and Nina Rosado. Second place honors went to Peter Altman & Denise and third place winners were Louie and Silvia Piccininni. The judges were Judith Van Dyke, Yvette Rivera and Kasey from Bogart Studios. The contest continues this Saturday night.

Roe Petrizzi (Ro Ro) is a single mother of 2 teens.  She has been hustle dancing for over 30 years. She is a hard working, thoughtful and fun loving gal with a zest for life and an undying sense of humor. She now faces the biggest challenge of her life... a spinal operation on 4/12/04.  We can all help, by coming out and dancing on April 10th.  Roe's only concerns as she weighs possible paralysis, is her two children's fate and whether she will ever dance again. Please join us at the fund raiser.  See all the details below. 

Make it a great week,
Ron

  
    "Jenny's Dance Picks" 

Your reading them here first, Mixmaster Jenny Costa gives DanceTalk readers her top picks that are rocking the dance clubs.  "The first lady" of dance is on 103.5 FM, the number one dance station in the nation, WKTU in New York. But did you know that Jenny is one of the original hustle dancers from back in the day. Way before Saturday Night Fever, she was rated one of the top dancers in NY.  Jenny currently spins Thursday evenings at the Mirage in Westbury Long Island from 9PM on... and on Friday's at Mirage from 4 to 9PM.

Here are Jenny's top 10 for March

1. Yeah - by Usher
2. Here for you - by Angela De No
3. As The Rush Comes - by Motorcycle
4. Girlfriend - by Robbie Rivera
5. White Flag Dance Mix - by Dido
6. Just a Little More Love - by David Guetta
7. Deja Vu - by Roc Project
8. Deepest Blue - by Deepest Blue
9. Just A Little White Dance Mix - by Janet Jackson
10. Dip It Low - by Christina Milian

Mad Jam Review & Highlights

Congratulations to organizer Dave Moldover on his wonderful dance event, Mad Jam 2. The weekend was full of exciting competitions, workshops and social dancing. Dave was able to bring together 3 forms of dance (Hustle, WCS, Hand Dance) under one roof. The weekend gave rise to triple crown winners Tybaldt Ulrich and Hazel Mede. They took first place in the all three of their professional categories. The Top Teacher award went to Fred Price. The audience was also treated to an impromptu exhibition of a three way dance executed by Silvana Gallagher, Rick Barney & Shawn Brenan. Many professionals were on hand to teach workshops, private lessons, compete and dance up a storm: Donna Boyle, John Lindo, Debbie Tuttle, Keith Gussoni, Fred & Tina Price, Silvana Gallagher, Debbie Ramsey, Joyce Szilli, Bobby Morales, John Festa, Tybaldt Ulrich, Brian Gallagher, Dean Garrish, Danny McGee, Erik Novoa, Laura Cozik, Bill Cameron, Donna Roesel, ........
The event introduced many to the funky Hand Dancing, the official dance of DC. It takes WCS to another level with intricate hand turns and moves. Here are some of the highlights. (For a complete list of all the results please visit the website.) http://www.AtlanticDanceJam.com   

Open Show Case
1) Tybaldt Ulrich & Hazel Mede
2) Dori & Summer
3) Steve Neeren & Lyng Fish

Classic Hustle
1) Tybaldt Ulrich & Hazel Mede
2) Erik Novoa & Laura Cozik

Pro Am Spot Light
1) Ed Malone & Dawn Garrish
2) Pumpkin Habit & Keith Gussoni
3) Jim Call & Tina Price

Just Hustle Open
1) Fred & Tina Price
2) Barry Douglas & Judy Burke
3) Brian & Sophie

Just Dance
1) Joel Hasband & Lana May
2) Shawn Brenan & Kelly
3) John Rajchel  & Wendy Lippincott

DanceTalk * 3-23-04

Happy Spring,

Wishing Mike Tuttle and Ron Morrison a happy Birthday. 

Congratulations to Jenn & Jeff Gessner on the birth of their baby girl Grace. She was born on Monday the 22nd. Everyone is doing great.

Hustle Dance Cruise 2005, will take place January 27 thru Jan. 31st, 2005
on Royal Caribbean's 5-Star "Enchantment of the Seas." It will sail from Fort Lauderdale to Key West to Cozumel, Mexico and back. Pre-cruise party on Fort Lauderdale Beach. Special discounts on flights and oceanfront hotels available. Plan now to escape the frigid cold next winter! Upgraded cabin reservations being taken now, call Norm or Silvia of Sunburst Travel at 954-431-7771 for more details.

Fellow hustle dancer, Steve Holmes, has just released his biography. Available on line, "Up From Welfare" shares and inspires one to never give up. Steve holds a masters degree, coaches kids football & basketball and is the executive director of a drug & alcohol rehabilitation program. Congratulations to Steve on all his accomplishments and for giving "so much" back to the community...and the guy loves to dance.  Visit the website for a preview on his book and ordering information.
http://www.1stbooks.com/bookview/16926

Hooked On Hustle returns to Philadelphia on Saturday, May 15th. Mark your calendar for this one night party extravaganza. Shannon Johnson hosts this special night at Dancesport 101.  Shannon always has a few extra surprises up her sleeve... you don't want to miss this event.

Hustle dancers, check out the new website for the IHDA . The deadline for this years listing is March 22nd. Studios, students, competitors and organizers are encouraged to get involved.  http://www.i-h-d-a.com

There are still 7 more weeks to put your skills to the test at Zachary's Saturday night Dance Contest. This weeks winners were: first place winners Joe Alexander and Lisa Paternoster, 2nd place Neil Shell and Diane Hakak and third place was Pete and Angelina.  The judges were Diane Nardone, Derrick Allen and Norma Rivera-Varrichio (Mrs New York/Mrs Puerto Rico)

Don't miss this weeks "Letter to the editor." It is right on target.

This Tuesday, March 23rd, John Festa hosts a weekly dance party at 99 Hudson, at the corner of Franklin in NYC. The party starts at 9PM with a $10 cover.

I hope to see you this coming weekend at Mad Jam.  It's not to late to join the party.
http://www.AtlanticDanceJam.com   

Make it a great week,
Ron

                 Spot Light
"DJ Rene Hewitt & The Inferno"

Back in the day, the exciting dancers went to the clubs where the best Disc Jockeys performed their craft. When Disco and hustle dancing were at a national peak, clubs like: Starship, 1018, Studio 54, Paradise Garage and The Loft were the places to be seen. But then, one of the most exciting night clubs of all times emerged.
The Inferno
At the helm, in the DJ booth was Rene Hewitt. He was responsible for keeping the 1,500 dancers moving and coming back each week for more. I did say 1,500 dancers on the floor, at one time. We are talking about a huge club. What an enormous responsibility for any DJ.  On Friday and Saturday evenings the club opened at 11:00PM and didn't close until 8:00AM. The clubs success grew by word of mouth. There were no visible signs out side, no paid promotions, you literally needed a map to find the place.
Rene was featured on WBLS-FM radio in New York. "Street Parties," was their late night dance show run by Eddie Rivera’s (President of International Disco Record Center), in conjunction with WKTU-FM.  "This was a great way for free advertisement and people would show up at the club." Rene remembers how people would wonder how he was able to play at the club and be on the radio at the same time. "We use to laugh, because it was pre-taped," recalls Rene. Initially, he was spinning on Friday's but as his reputation grew and the owner, Angelo, saw Rene's success building the Friday night party, he was rewarded with Saturday's.
"The fire and police departments use to come to the club and close us down, claiming it was a fire hazard. There would be about 1200 people in the club and four to five hundred waiting outside to get in."
The music literally made the dance crowd scream with joy. The sound was incredible and the choice of music was moving. Some of Rene's top picks included "Devil's Gun" and "Another One Bites the Dust."
As a kid growing up in NY, Rene always dreamed of being a DJ. He began collecting records at an early age. Prior to spinning at the Inferno, Rene was the Disc jockey at  “The Chase”.  Located on 27th street in Manhattan, on the second floor, The Chase was a very small club.  The club use to get so crowded that the dance floor use to sink and "we were so afraid it would fall in." "I would play from 10PM until about 9am and would pass out when I got home". During the day he was the editor for the music industries premier dance magazine, "Discoteckin." Later on Rene started his own DJ record pool, "Associated Promotions."  Stella Winston, the notable talk show host, featured Rene's life story on her New York show, "Straight Up." She noticed that Rene had some wonderful talents and suggested that he have his own TV show. Rene jumped on the opportunity and created a new format for television, www.HouseandClassicsTV.com As producer and director of the show, he has pulled together a staff of 10 people from all sides of the music and film industry to create the show. It features mixed house or classic music by DJ's from all over the globe.  The show will feature silhouettes of dancers, visuals, and a video segment called "A Classic Moment." Over his career Rene has spun at many legendary Clubs: Starship, Illusions, Bubbles, Club X, and Ice Palace 57, Studio 54, One Hot Spot, Side Street, Club Exodus and The Warehouse.
Today, Rene keeps  busy multitasking  in the music industry. " I'm still spinning records and recently was a guest DJ at E-Man’s parties, “Bang The Party”.  I also appear on Mike Stone’s roster of DJ’s and play occasionally at his club, “The Warehouse”.  I've become the Public Relations Director for Maestro – The Documentary (www.maestro-documentary.com)  and co-produced the movies theme song “Oasis” with producer Aaron Carl. Rene also writes a record review column for NBC TV’s affiliate station KCBD.com. Two years ago, Rene was one of the finalists in the Classic DJ Competition hosted by Nino Torre.
Rene's music  can be heard on two websites, www.rogie.net   and www.globalsoul.com .  "I would like to reach out to those of you who visited or remember the Inferno.  If it wasn't for the support of Angelo (rip) the owner of the Inferno and Kenny Carpenter, I probably wouldn't have made it as a DJ.  It is friends like these that I cherish". 
Rene brings back great memories of the Inferno. The music mesmerized us and gave dancers the energy to move all night.
(the film MAESTRO has opened in New York, and it is playing at the QUAD CINEMA, W 13th St.)

Letter to the editor

To The Viewers of VH1's "When Disco Ruled the World"
I've reviewed VH1's "When Disco Ruled the World" documentary numerous times
and keep coming up with the same conclusion:  "I was told one thing ...
while VH1 did another" .... they hooked me in  believing this was going to be a different documentary.  When they didn't use any of my interview in the first half of the show I really knew they were up to their own agenda.  I contradicted just about every negative point they dwelled on.  So it is no wonder my three hour interview got reduced to a few seconds. VH1 got 75% of their contacts for that show from me ... but they never followed up on some of the ones that really should have been in it.  Who really cares about the Studio 54 doorman?  and Steve Rubell's driver?  and
Carmen D'Alessio - co-founder of, Studio 54???
I mean ... "come on... give me a break" ....  They had Studio 54 on their
minds from jump street.  They should have done a Studio 54 documentary and
gotten it over with. But they assured me Studio 54 would only get a mention
... about one minute .. at the most!!!!  I've been had!!!  There were so many other clubs which should have been included.  Stud