For the first half of our New Year's Eve celebration James, Joanna and I went to NYUSABDA party held at Ballroom On 5th. The party had a buffet dinner so Joanna and I got there right after 8 PM, which is the starting time of the party, to make sure we get enough fresh food. The food was OK, but there were not enough tables for everyone to sit at. Many people had to just put a paper plate on their lap. I did make sure we got a table though by saving the seats while Joanna was changing. The lack of tables made up for some great space for dancing. The party was quite heavily attended by people of all ages - from 20-something college kids to seniors. The highlight of the evening (besides the midnight champagne toast) was a performance by US amateur Standard and UK Open finalists Craig Shaw and Katya Afanaseva. The performed a Waltz, Foxtrot and Tango. Here are some photos from the party.

After the party ended at 1AM, Joanna and I were ready to head home after exhaustive dancing. But James insisted that on New Year's Eve everyone should stay out as late as possible, so we went to a house party that our friend Yan had invited us. Getting a cab at that time was impossible so we walked from 32nd street all the way down to the Village. This was the same party Yan and I went to last year. When we got to the party, it was grooving with some nice club music - a good alternative to all the ballroom stuff we were dancing to so far. My friend Natalia was there as well as Christina who I met at this party last year. We did not stay at the party for too long because Natalia had organized a move to another place - the Italian New Year's Eve Party "Made In Italy" at club Sol. The move there was again hindered by the lack of cabs on the street and trying to organize a big group of people to go there. Joanna gave up on further partying and took the subway home. James, Yan, Natalia, Christina, Jenny carried on. After giving up on the cabs we took the subway to 28th street and then were lucky enough to get the cabs to the club.

There was a relatively small line outside and I am not sure what were the rules of who is going in first... They insisted on checking the IDs and our friend Christina had to drop out since she did not have an ID with her. She went to some other party around the corner though. So James, Yan, Natalia, Jenny and I made it inside the entrance. At that point there were more bouncers telling us to pay the cover. Natalia and Jenny were able to squeeze in without paying. Yan and I paid, but James decided not to go in, so we said goodbye to him and entered the club.

The club was very cool. It was one giant room with a bar in front followed by a dancefloor with a raised stage for those who want to show off or have a better vantage point to find their friends. On the perimeter were couches with small tables to put drinks on. The club had a winter theme to it with big snow flakes hanging from the ceiling, a polar bear and the snow made out of cotton web. The crowd was very festive and nice looking. The music was very good - no hip hop, just pure house and techno - I love being at a European party. At around 4 AM there was more room and Yan and I did some nice improvised creative partner dancing utilizing the open space. We stayed at the club until almost 5 AM. Here are all photos from the club.