Emceeing/Judging
Judging Dance Competitions
Hugo and Grace have judged many dance contests over their careers. They are experienced in master instruction for over 20 years. They teach teachers how to teach and are experts at picking up errors in routines related to musicality and “dancing over the music”, instead of dancing to it. They have helped several championship couples, both professional and pro-am/troupes in both Salsa/Mambo (all styles), find the weak spots so they could win and/or place! They have judged competitions in Bachata, Salsa, Merengue, Rumba, Cha-Cha-Cha, and Salsa/Mambo, and other competitions throughout the nation. Grace was a judge for the World Salsa Preliminaries in Philadelphia with the likes of Stacey Lopez of Puerto Rico, Leslie Ferriera of www.bachatacaliente.com out of LA, and Henry Herrera of www.SalsaRacing.com. Her next competition judgeship will be at the Belly Dance National Championships www.bellydancenationals.com, Ms. Teen Florida, and local pageants. To have her judge your competition or advise you on your event, call 813-943-1117.
Talent Shows/Coach Mentoring & Scholarship Contests
Grace has experience in not only hosting the National DC Hispanic Youth Symposium www.hispanicyouth.org but also chairing the Talent Competition, where teens from all over the nation come to compete for thousands of dollars in college monies. Recently she mentored many students and helped them get ready to compete in their talent competition. She coached on POISE, GRACE, WALKING, MAKE-UP APPLICATION, COSTUME CHOICES, PROJECTION OF PERSONALITY & so much more. After the preliminary competition, a large group of teens competed in Lyrical Dance, Poetry Reading, Musical Instrument Performance, Couples Dancing, & Solo Performances of all kinds. Dancing with Grace also awarded $30,000.00 in dance scholarships to 3 lucky students who didn’t place in the original competition, but still did well enough to inspire greatness in others!.
Grace won the National Presidential Volunteer Service Award from the President of the United States for her service.
Hosting / Discussion Panels / Bag Lunch Talks
Grace has been a leader in integrity-based dance and entertainment throughout the nation. Besides hosting many large events for corporations, non-profit organizations, and private functions, she has been the facilitator of many discussion panels at Salsa Congresses &Dance/Talent events, talking about Etiquette (both in dance and entertainment fields). Her most recent discussion panel was held at the Philadelphia Salsa Fest in 2009, www.philadelphiasalsafest.com, where she was the facilitator in discussing topics w/fellow panel members Victor and Burju of www.hymstyle.com, John Narvaez and Liz Rojas of www.salsamania.org (California), and Jessica Rodriguez of www.lalunadancestudio.com. Topics discussed range in the hundreds. Here are a few:
- What do you do when someone is hurting you while you dance?
- What do you look at when you are a judge?
- Is dance becoming way too sexy? Should shows be rated?
Grace is the writer of a dance etiquette Column in The Scene Magazine, the nation’s most popular Salsa Magazine, at www.thescenemagdc.com. To read her articles, go to the website and check it out! Bag Lunch Talks: What is a bag lunch talk? Sometimes during dance events/workshops, people bring a bag lunch, and talks are held on certain subjects that are interesting to the clientele. She is set to do a Bag Lunch Talk at the New Jersey International Salsa Congress in April of 2010 on the subject of HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR DANCE SHOES www.newjerseyinternationalsalsacongress.com. Grace is an expert on dance shoes and can give you advice today!