City Lights Ball

DANCE COMPETITION, SHOW & DANCE CAMP

January 25 - 27, 2013

Friday to Sunday (Multi-day Dance approved)

San Jose, CaLifornia (near to San Francisco)

Happy New Year From CITY LIGHTS BALL!

City Lights Ball is An Approved NDCA Multi-Day Dance Competition & World DanceSPORT Series Qualifer

Spectators: See Spectator tab on this site for more detail. Order tickets for the competition and Show ONLINE where you can use MasterCard or Visa. Online ordering closes a week prior to the competition. Order early, as the Show night (Sat.) sells out in advance. Tickets are held at the door. Do not mail a check after 1/15/13. 

Competitors: Pros - Be sure you are registered with the NDCA and include your number in registration. Tickets for Sat. night sell out in advance - don't wait until night of competition. See Competitor tab for more detail. Registration is still open. Fax in your entries until Monday Evening. Pay at the door allowing plenty of time in advance.  Do not mail a check after 1/15/13. Online registration and ticket ordering with credit card payment closes a week prior to the competition. Heat lists and dancing times in a revised schedule will be posted 5 to 7 days in advance, after the program closes.

Competing Kids: New this year - Kids' admission fee for dancers is FREE! New events added. See FORMS.

Competition - Friday, Jan. 25 - Sunday, Jan. 27

• All Judges are former National or World Champions.
• Competition starts Friday morning and ends Sunday evening. See Schedule for more detail.
• Enter online (MasterCard & Visa accepted) or print FORMS from website and mail or fax in to numbers/address. 
• Tickets held at door (not mailed). 
• All FORMS to enter competition, buy tickets for the Competition/Show and DanceCamp under Spectators and Competitors. Fax or Mail forms to number and address on Forms.
• Special packages for Studios, Top Teachers/Students, and groups. Contact us via email or call Glenn 650-223-4950. 

World Class Show - Saturday Evening Session

• Saturday evening, we are hosting World Professional Internatonal Standard Finalists (3rd Place), Andrea Ghigiarelli and Sara Andracchio, representing England. Seeing this exciting couple dance is a RARE opportunity that you don't want to miss.
• Tickets for the show each year sells out in advance, particularly FRONT ROW seats.
• New this year - FRONT ROW RISERS. See FORMS to order tickets to Saturday Evening's competition. 

Dance Camp - Group Classes, Friday, Jan. 25 - Sunday, Jan. 27 - Day Sessions.

• Numerous group lessons take place throughout the competition, with timing so that dance style training is not when competition takes place.
• Camp is open to both competitors and non competitors; no partner necessary.
• All instructors are National or US Champions!
• See Dance Camp tab for more information on instructors and times. 
• Order Online (MasterCard & Visa) or fax/mail in FORMS for tickets.

EMAIL US OR LIKE US ON FACEBOOK - RECEIVE UPDATES & SPECIAL OFFERS 

PLEASE CONTACT US so we can send you personal information.

We look forward to seeing you soon. Thanks for your interest in City Lights Ball 2013!

History of City Lights Ball:

City Lights Ball (CLB) was started in 1995 by Sherrie Paregian, in San Francisco. 

Glenn Weiss (former Amateur World Ballroom Champion and World Professional Finalist, Current Adjudicator, Instuctor/Coach & Choreographer) and Barbara Gore (former Internet entrepreneur & current Amateur dancer) purchased City Lights Ball in 2006. 

Staying in character, Glenn and Barbara kept the competition for two years at the Regency Hall in San Francisco, a beautiful multi-level venue with an elegant, old-world look. The hotel was located nearby. Locals from all over California came to the competition.

Glenn had the vision to have CLB be a competition like in Europe where many people could attend. The competition was moved to San Jose Civic Center, with a fabulous floor and lights and catering brought in. People said they had never seen the Civic Center look so elegant! But, because the hotel was not attached (same as the Regency Ballroom), it made the logistics of going to and from a room difficult. 

Glenn and Barbara also wanted to expand the competition to include world-class entertainment of "Shows", with dancers at the World finalist or Champion levels performing shows who had never seen in the United States. Ticket sales through the years have sold out for the shows well in advance, and City Lights Ball has been known for having the best and most unique shows around.

To attract dancers from outside the area, Glenn and Barbara moved the competition again to the DoubleTree Hotel, also providing a very comfortable environment for having the competition and affordable hotel all in one place. They added a Dance Camp with expert level instructors in all areas of dancing during the competition. People have said CLB is the best value for a dance competition, show and camp that there is out there!

Another area with high standards for CLB is for Judging. CLB brings in National or World Champions in various dance styles. In addition, the CLB Dance Camp is during the competition and in GROUP classes, giving everyone an opportunity to hear what these instructors look for and believe in with dancing. No private lessons take place in advance, giving what could be perceived as an unfair advantage to someone just prior to the competition. 

City Lights Ball has been known for doing things differently! Participation gifts have been practical items that are dance related but also that provide ongoing value to one's life during the year. They introduced a photo-session for Pro/Am dancers to take a portrait or other non-dancing photo shot as one of our gifts. CLB has uniquely handed out prizes and fun items in the evenings and have given yummy gourmet chocolates/snacks to attendees. Both dancers and spectators have fun at the competitions! There have been Jack and Jill events. New voices and styles for MCs have been introduced. The best floors and lights in the business are brought in with candles and decorations creating a beautiful ambiance. One year the entire competition and shows were filmed in 3D! (More on that later!!) Live music was introduced (in the US) for dancing introductions and shows. Welcome parties and evening "after hours" lounge dancing and partying, again with live music, takes place at night. Or for those wanting a quiet evening, there is a wonderful fireplace in the lobby of the hotel!!

Most importantly, CLB wants to hear from you with your opinions. This is how the experience improves each time. One year to save time, day time awards were given outside the ballroom. The lines go so long out there that many didn't pick up their awards. So, adjustments were made. You wanted to be able to pay by credit card and even order online. That was added.

Please don't hesitate to contact CLB via email, phone or Like Us on Facebook and post your comments! Thank you for caring to learn about our competition!

Shows: See Videos

Benji (Winner "So You Think You Can Dance")

Tomas & Aira - Professional Ballroom Champions

Max & Yulia - World Professional ShowDance Champions & Latin Finalists; Anna & Victor - World Professional Ballroom Finalists

Max & Beata - World Professional ShowDance Champions & Latin Finalists

Mirko & Alesia - World Professional Ballroom Champions

Michael Malitowski & Joanna Leunis - World Professional Latin Champions 

Arunas & Katusha - World Professional Ballroom Champions

Mirko & Edita - World Professional Ballroom Finalists

Victor & Anastasia - World Proessional Ballroom Finalists

Ricardo & Yulia - World Professional Latin Champions; Victor & Anastasia - World Professional Ballroom Finalists.

Locations:

2007: Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, Ca.

2008: Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, Ca.

2009: San Jose Civic Center, San Jose, Ca. 

2010: DoubleTree Hotel, San Jose, Ca.

2011: DoubleTree Hotel, San Jose, Ca.

2012: DoubleTree Hotel, San Jose, Ca.

2013: DoubleTree Hotel, San Jose, Ca.