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Sunday, April 11, 2004
On Easter Sunday God was good to us. Contrary to the predictions of the meteorologists, He did not send the rain. So we dressed up in our Easter outfits and joined the Easter Parade held on 5th Avenue in New York City. This was the first time I saw it in person and I was impressed by creative hats that people were wearing. Easter Parade 2005 Easter Parade 2006 Saturday, April 10, 2004
Easter Egg Painting Party 2005 Tuesday, April 6, 2004
Thursday, April 1, 2004Here I am at the JFK waiting area on my way to IHSC. I just heard that my plane's departure will be delayed for 20 minutes because they are supposedly "performing maintenance on the aircraft". So I guess I'll kill time by typing up on my laptop about how my journey has been going thus far.
I got up at around 11AM. It was difficult, since I was up until 4AM talking on the phone with a friend of mine. I started to iron a bunch of shirts that I had washed the day before. Then I started to pack my suitcase. At some point I decided that I better head out soon not to miss my plane. I got the cab right outside my apartment door as it was letting off the previous passengers. The traffic in midtown was terrible. It took 20 minutes just to get to 2nd avenue from 8th across via 52nd street. On the highway the traffic was slow too. So all in all it took me more than an hour to get to JFK. I arrived to JFK at 1:30 pm - an hour before the flight departure. I went through the e-ticket check in. I tried to switch my seat to the one with more leg room, but the flight was full and the reception person could not switch it for me. Oh well, I ended up keeping a window seat that I had originally reserved. After I checked in my suitcase, I headed towards the food court for some food. This would be my first meal of the day and I was starving. I walked by various counters and a person at a Chinese food place offered me a sample of their chicken. That marketing trick worked because after I savored the delicious taste of the piece of chicken I decided to go back to them and order a meal. After my Chinese breakfast, I headed over to the gate. When I approached the gate waiting area I was fascinated to see so many people all over the place. It looked like some flights were cancelled because of a natural disaster or something. All seats were occupied, but one next to some lady. I went straight ahead and sat on it without asking her if I could sit there. I was "inspired" do to so after my incident in the DMV while I was waiting for my license. (There'll be a separate blog entry for this later). Then her friend came and told her that she should have put her bag on that seat. I pretended that I did not hear their conversation :-). Finally the other lady came up with something smart. She pointed me to a seat on another bench and asked me if I could sit there. That seat had some piece of luggage lying against it, but there was enough room to sit. After she repeated her request with the word "please" I obliged and took that other seat. Then a lady sitting next to that seat told me that it had been taken by some other girl and that I would have to fight with her when she comes back. Ok, I just decided to sit there and wait until she comes. After some time some a woman came but she did not demand her seat. She just talked to her friend who was sitting next to me. Again they were hinting that I took the seat that had been occupied. They mentioned the piece of luggage next to it as the sign that it had been taken. This time I decided to go ahead and yield the seat thinking that I sit too much on my job already. I walked into the next room and actually found that there were more seats there and a lot of them were free. So I started to look for a seat next to the wall power outlet so I could use my laptop. I found one next to a man who was sleeping on the floor. The wall outlet was far enough from him that I was able to plug in my power supply there without waking him up. I settled down on the seat and then was subjected the sound of the man's snoring which was quite similar to the sound of a jet engine. Ok, by the time I am typing this, my plane is already 45 minutes late, which contradicts their original announcement of 20-minute delay. I guess the plane maintenance takes longer than they expected. I had talked to my dance partner Mihoko on the cell phone before I started to write this and she was already in Miami about to head out to the pool and take a nap on the deck. She had told me to let the plane crew know to deliver me in one piece for the competition. Well let's see what else can I say? Hmm, well my seat is next to the window and I have a view of the plane that I am about to board (hopefully soon). It's nice to see that it's still there and I have not missed the boarding announcements. I guess I'll ask someone if there is an internet wireless hot spot somewhere here so I can try to upload this to my blog Well just ask someone and they said that they took everything out since 911. Oh well. I guess I'll take a look at some photos stored on the laptop now . Phew.. finally the plain is taking off at 4:50, which is more than two hours late. When they originally announced the 20 minute delay, they forget to say "April Fools"! Wednesday, March 31, 2004
My partner Mihoko and I have won the first place in The Regional Hustle Compatition. Now we are on our way to Miami to compete in the International Hustle and Salsa Competition for which we got awarded a free registration. Can't wait to get to sunny and warm Florida. The Spring seems to never want to come to New York this year. Monday, March 29, 2004A friend of mine found this article that was published in an Austrian newspaper Krone. If you don't want to bother reading the English translation, you can just suffice with seeing me in the top photo. I am the second guy from the left. For my own account of the ball please click here.
Wednesday, March 24, 2004Friday, March 12, 2004
For any New Yorker who loves Viennese Waltz and Viennese culture, The New Opera Ball is a place to experience the most authentic representation of both without going to an airport. An 18-person orchestra was flown in from Vienna to play at the event. The choreographer from the Vienna State Opera came to New York to conduct the rehearsals for the opening ceremony. The authentic Austrian food was prepared by the chef that cooks for the Austrian Olympic Team. The ball featured the performances of famous Viennese opera singers. The New Opera Ball in New York is the only event that is officially endorsed by the Vienna Opera Ball in Austria, which may very well be the most famous society ball in the world. The New Opera Ball took place at the Grand Ballroom of The Plaza Hotel, which is a common venue for society balls held in New York City. My friend Kerrie and I were among the 20 couples who took part in the ball's opening ceremony during which we performed a vintage court dance followed by the traditional Viennese Waltz. We attended the four two-hour rehearsals held at The Plaza on Monday through Thursday evenings. The rehearsals where directed by Alexander Hysek - the Master of Ceremonies of the original Vienna Opera Ball. He came to New York from Austria specifically to conduct the rehearsals. On Friday - the night of the ball - we had the dress rehearsal. Men were dressed in tails and women were wearing the debutante snow-white gowns. In the choreography there was one move which was called "Careful Crown". In that move the gentleman's hand went over the lady's head and we had to be careful not to knock the crowns that the ladies were wearing. There were hair dressers on sight to take care of women's hair and attach the crowns. However, to take the crowns off at the end of the ball was women's own responsibility.
After the dinner was finished, the opening ceremony began. The white grand piano that was used for the live background music during the dinner was rolled away from the middle of the dance floor and the members of The Vienna Opera Ball Orchestra entered the stage. They played the sounds of a fanfare and the ball's Master of Ceremonies Alexander Hysek made a short introductory speech sounding very similarly to Arnold Schwarzenegger. After the orchestra played the American and Austrian national anthems, the 20 debutante couples proceeded to walk out to the middle of the dance floor one behind the other to the sounds of a Polonaise played by the orchestra. Kerrie and I were number three in line. The first two couples where from Austria who flew in early to assist with the rehearsals. We were faced by hundreds of ball attendees as well as dozens of cameras in their hands and in the hands of many photographers who were right next to the stage probably blocking the view of the people sitting at the nearby tables. At the end of the procession we congregated at the base of the stage making room for the Austrian opera singers to perform two songs. The first singer was Marcela Cerno performing Frühlingsstimmenwalzer, op. 410 by Johann Strauß Jr. She was followed by Adrianne Pieczonka and Joachim Moser performing Lippen schweigen by Franz Lehár. After the singers were finished, we walked back out on the dance floor two couples in a row to form the formation for our main dance number - a vintage European court style dance performed in synch by all couples. Following the court dance the music changed to Strauss' Blue Danube and we embarked on the twirling journey around the dancefloor dancing the Viennese Waltz as the audience burst with applause. After our Walz performance, the Master of Ceremonies called "Alles Walzer" (everybody waltz) and in a matter of minutes the dancefloor was filled to the max by the people from the audience joining the debutante couples. At this point the Waltz changed into something that resembles the New York City subway during the rush hour. Dancing in the Grand Ballroom continued past midnight. At some point the Vienna Opera Orchestra was replaced by a smaller band playing a variety of ballroom dance music. After midnight the Baroque Rooom located next to the Grand Ballroom was opened. It resembled a night-club disco with light effects and a DJ playing a good mix of contemporary dance music to which the ball patrons got a chance to shake their booty free-style while still wearing their tuxedoes and ball gowns. I did not miss a chance to show off with some nice hustle dancing.
The ball continued until 4AM. After around 11 PM the dancefloor in the Grand Ballroom was not that crowded so there was plenty of room to dance. It was one of the most fun balls I've been to. 
My Photos
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Professional Photos at ofoto.com
Videos
Related Links My blog pages related to the ball and Viennese waltz: News Articles: News Articles in German (with rough English Translation):Saturday, March 6, 20043:09 PM Launched dancenyc.info
Sunday, February 15, 2004
On February 15, 2004 my friend Kerrie (pictured on the left) had her birthday party at the The Waldorf Towers. I helped her to plan and host this party which turned out to be the chance to experience the luxury life at least for one night. For those of you who don't know, the Waldorf is an official NYC landmark, as well as being the official hotel of U.S. Presidents when they are in New York City. So far there have been six decades of American Presidents staying there, not to mention many Kings and Queens from other countries. The only other place in the world that has hosted more heads of state than the Waldorf is Buckingham Palace. Besides having a reputation for huge, opulent guest suites, it is also well-known in the society circuit for hosting grand balls and galas. Harper's Bazaar said in 1897: "Nowhere else in the world has any hotel come to play so important a part in the social life of a great city." The NY Daily News said in 1981 (on the 100th anniversary of the Waldorf): "The hotel has become a symbol of all that is grand about New York." Prince Rainier & Grace Kelly held their engagement party there. Frank Sinatra & Bing Crosby used to perform and live there. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was presented as a debutante in the hotel's Grand Ballroom. Among the nobles & celebrities who have stayed and lived in residence at the hotel are the Duke & Duchess of Windsor, Queen Elizabeth & Prince Philip, Winston Churchill, the Dalai Lama, Albert Einstein, Cole Porter, Elizabeth Taylor, Ginger Rogers, and the list goes on and on... 
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 Suite
The birthday party was held in a 3-bedroom Empire Suite on a top floor, which was only accessible via a private elevator, for which you had to have a key card. The private elevator was not visible from the main lobby-- you had to enter through an unmarked mirrored door, which made the event all the more exciting since the guests did not really know where they were headed as they were being brought up one by one. Each bedroom (1, 2, 3) had its own private bathroom, and two of the bedrooms also had private dressing rooms attached. Besides the bedrooms, the suite had a large living room and separate dining room. We counted a total of 13 closets in the suite. Here are the views from a window at night and during the day. The regular tenant of that suite is the CEO of Verizon. Here is the video of the hostess giving the tour of the suite:  Stream
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Dress Code The dress code for the party was "Suspenders and Toques".
Men The birthday girl requested that all the gents wear suspenders over non-white dress shirts, with bowties optional. To encourage them to adhere to the dress code, she told them that she thought men in suspenders looked very sexy. And then she added that, since it was her birthday, they should humor her. Seven out of the nine guys came in suspenders, much to the embarassment of the two who did not!
Women Miss K is also very taken with women's vintage fashions, so she requested of the ladies to come wearing toques and ladylike shoes. For those who did not manage to procure such hats before the party, she brought a charming round hatbox containing her own personal collection of toques, and allowed the ladies to select one of hers to wear for the evening.
Here are the group photos of both men and women posing in their party outfits.
Here are some miscellaneous photos of the people at the party. Activities
Birthday
Since Kerrie is a ballroom dancer, it is a tradition to have a "birthday dance" where various people cut in to dance with her. She selected a swing song called "Bad Girl Shoes" by her late friend Peggy Cone for the dance. After her "birthday dance" with the guys ended, she replayed the same song and this time instructed all the ladies to grab a guy to dance with. Afterwards, she said it was fun having a birthday dance, but would never wear that outfit for dancing again-- the vintage hat was knocked off her head, her strapless silk blouse kept getting pulled down, and her pretty yet flimsy shoes kept falling off as she twirled. Here is the video: Stream
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We also followed the more well known tradition of presenting the birthday cake. Here is the video: Stream
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Perhaps the nicest part of being the birthday girl is opening the presents. Conclusion This was the most original and fun party I have ever been to. K impressed me with her creativity and thoroughness in planning this party-- she selected the site, envisioned the theme, designed the dress code, came up with activities and games, provided hot hors d'oeuvres & an amazing cake, and thought of what prizes to give to guests. She even made her research available to guests prior to the party, so that they were well prepared upon arrival. Info available on her website beforehand included: photos for understanding the dress code, play rules for the featured games, a food & drink menu, and a downloadable version of the Birthday Dance song (in case people wanted to come up with moves in advance!). The background music (20s-40s) was also selected way in advance and nicely complimented the vintage theme of the party as well as the charming setting of the Waldorf empire suite. The funny thing is that there were exactly 9 women and 9 men at the party, the total of which equals the number of wine charms that K bought for the party so that people could identify their glasses. The party went on without a hitch. There was always something to do and no one was being bored. This is the party that I will remember for a long time! Thursday, January 29, 2004
Added the calendar of various formal balls taking place in New York City area. Check it out here: http://raphaelpungin.com/ballcalendar. It will be updated on regular basis, so bookmark that page to get the latest changes. Monday, January 26, 2004 This article was published in New York Sun today. Click on the picture below to see the individual zoomed-in photos.
Tiaras, hoop skirts, white gloves: This was no ordinary night of dress-up. At the Quadrille Ball Saturday night, the young women looked like princesses, with posture and manners to match. Leaving their Ann Taylor suits and Gap jeans at home in their closets, the women arrived at the Plaza at 3 p.m. to make their Cinderella-like transformations. Some did their own hair and makeup; all rented their dresses and tiaras. They helped each other lace up their bodices, not too tight, though. "It was very "Gone With the Wind" in the dressing room," V. P. said. Sales associates, lawyers, and poets: the 20-odd men and women selected to dance the Quadrille this year were ready for their big moment, the culmination of 10 weeks of rehearsals and social outings. And unlike Cinderella, they had no curfew. The party lasted until 4 a.m. The group's camaraderie was evident as they practiced the Quadrille one last time before some 200 guests arrived for cocktails and dinner. As B. C. tripped and fell to the floor, the men rushed to her aid.The women talked of pinning up her skirt to avoid tripping at the real performance. When performed by the 2004 class, the Quadrille looked like a calm and gentle version of a square dance, except the caller, Gordon Cooper, spoke in French. There was last-minute cramming at the rehearsal. "Study the sheet you were given it will tell you where you are going," said Mr. Cooper as he watched a few couples head in disparate directions. "It's actually not as hard as it looks," said a ball committee member who danced in 2000 and attended rehearsals to help the new dancers, C. F. Although ball organizers claim more than 40 marriages have resulted from the Quadrille, relationships among this year's class seemed strictly platonic. Partners are assigned, not chosen. Several mentioned having girlfriends or boyfriends outside the group. Participants emphasized the professional and social network more than the prestige of the event. "It's a great place to meet smart, ambitious women," A. C. said. Lending import to the affair was a supporting cast of characters including the color guard cadets from West Point who are members of the German Club and the pages sporting white wigs, who are students at the Joffrey Ballet School. The color guard mounted the American and German flags on the ballroom stage. The pages, carrying fully lit candelabras, walked with the committee members as they were formally presented at the start of the ball. Bob January conducted an orchestra of 20 musicians. The band leader at the first Quadrille, in 1961, was Max Hamlisch, the father of Marvin Hamlisch. More than $3 million has been raised since the ball started, said its chairman, Carole Haarmann Acunto.The ball funds scholarships for American and German graduate students to study in each other's countries. The monies are distributed by the Germanistic Society of America, the Deutsches Haus at Columbia University, and the Institute of International Education.
Check out the photos and videos that I took at the ball. Saturday, January 24, 2004
Videos
Press New York Sun Links: Quadrille Ball 2005 Friday, January 23, 20048:22 PM Bulletin BoardI have added the Bulletin Board to the website. Post and read messages in the public section. There are also private sections for my friends as well. Registration is required to access the private section. Thursday, January 22, 2004Added Professional Division video clips of the New York Regional Hustle Competition. Monday, January 19, 2004Thursday, January 1, 2004
Wish you all a wonderful year of the
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Since ballroom dancing is one of my hobbies, I am signed up for many mailing lists with announcements on various dance events happening around New York City area. I decided to create a website and post that information there to share with the other fellow dancers. Although there are many other websites with various dance event calendars, those websites typically focus on certain dance style. My website is meant to be one-stop place to find information on events with all kinds of partner dancing. Also on my website anyone can submit an event to be included in the calendar. The website URL is 
.
well,
well,
smoothly,
less
and remember to dedicate enough
for
.
May all singles fall in
,
all ladies enjoy
and
.
Husbands & wives don't
,
and good luck for those who plan to get
or have
.
People who 
better quit this year for good because it's
for you.
No matter what lies ahead, just stay
. 
