Events
Personal Competition Critique
You will get one round of dancing on the competition dance floor, and meet with one of our judges to get personalized feedback on how you danced. This is meant to be your last round of dancing in any of the genres (smooth, rhythm, standard, latin, night club or country).
What are the benefits of this? You will be dancing in the competition atmosphere: on the floor with other couples, in front of a crowd, and the jitters that come with being in a competition. The judge assigned to watching only you will give specific feedback on your competition dancing. There will be no guessing what you did well and what you need to improve on based on your placement. It is personalized feedback. It is specific feedback. It is in-the-moment feedback.
Competition
Get out on the floor and dance your heart out! There are a few reasons to compete at this event: see how you've improved since last year, beat your personal best dancing, try out competition for the first time, or get ready for a larger competition.
What are the benefits of this? Competition gives you a point in time to work towards on specific technique or a certain move. This will give you a snapshot of how you have grown in your dancing, and as a couple, since the last time you competed. If you haven't competed before, this will give you a great idea of how your dancing currently looks.
Showcases
Just like any other showcase event, dance your heart out to your favorite song and show the crowd what you can do! You will receive feedback from our judges on your performance.
What are the benefits of this? A showcase is meant to be fun. This will give you something to work on that doesn't have to focus on technique, the chance to learn how to work through nerves, and one more opportunity to dance.
2025 judges
Rae Lyons
Rae Lyons has had a passion for dancing since she took her first jazz class at the age of 5. After completing her undergraduate degree from the University of St. Thomas, Rae decided to try ballroom dancing and absolutely fell in love with it. Rae had wanted to be a teacher of some variety for most of her life, and it didn’t take long to realize that teaching dance would be a perfect fit! After teaching ballroom in Minneapolis, MN for several years, Rae decided to move to Duluth to continue teaching and pursue a professional partnership with Benjamin Welch in 2016.
Since then, she has become a certified dance instructor, a top female teacher at competitions and is currently a professional 9-dance competitor with her partner, Benjamin Welch.
Benjamin Welch
Benjamin Welch started dancing in 2009 during his freshman year of college at the University of Minnesota Duluth Swing Club, having had no prior dance experience. It didn’t take long for him to fall in love with dance, even becoming president of the club for the next two years. After seeking out private instruction from a local ballroom studio, Benjamin founded the UMD Ballroom Dance Club and competed as a student in several large competitions.
Benjamin soon realized that he wanted to make ballroom dancing his career and began teaching professionally in 2015. Over the last couple of years, Benjamin has become a certified dance instructor, a nationally recognized top teacher at numerous competitions nationwide and is currently a professional 9-dance competitor with his partner, Rae Lyons.
Photo by Dan Browning at danzantephotography.com
Anne Bates
Anne’s dancing journey began in 2006 at the Des Moines Ballroom. For two years she studied, took lessons, performed in showcases, and competed as part of a pro/am couple at the national level. In 2008, she made the transition to professional ballroom dance instructor, teaching group classes and private lessons to people of all ages and abilities. Anne developed and currently directs the youth dance program in Des Moines, and has trained couples for social dancing, wedding dances, performances, and competitions. Anne is also known for her choreography skills. She directs formation performance teams for adults, collegiate, and youth dancers. She is currently the coach for the Iowa State University Cardinal Ballroom Team. “I wanted to help create a high level but fun competition that encourages all dancers, be they youth, Am/Am, collegiate, or Pro/Am, to compete and thrive in a fair, economic, and diverse format.”
Hotel suggestions
This is a courtesy list of hotels within 10-15 minutes of Valley Southwoods. We do not have any rooms blocked off, nor do we have personal experience with any of those listed. Please make your own arrangements if you need a place to stay. There are also a variety of Airbnb's in the area if you prefer that arrangement.
2025 Award Winners
Congratulations to all our winners!
- Newcomer
- 1st: Rachael
- 2nd: Tony
- 3rd: Grace
- Best Footwork
- 1st: Corey
- 2nd: Lisa D
- 3rd: Ethan
- Best Performance
- 1st: Samantha
- 2nd: Joey
- 3rd: Marilyn
- Best Spirit
- 1st: Rylie
- 2nd: Alice
- 3rd: Tim
- Best Arm Styling
- 1st: Katheryn
- 2nd: Alice
- 3rd: Chandra
- Endurance Amateur Female
- 1st: Samantha
- 2nd: Eleanor & Rylie
- 3rd: Katheryn
- Endurance Amateur Male
- 1st: Joey
- 2nd: Brett
- 3rd: Ty
- Best Chemistry
- 1st: Tony & Helen
- 2nd: Ty & Katheryn
- 3rd: Corey & Rachael
- Endurance Professional Female
- 1st: Mary
- 2nd: Tonya
- 3rd: Tallis
- Endurance Professional Male
- 1st: Stan
- 2nd: Derek
- 3rd: Wyatt
- People's Choice Best Female
- 1st: Samantha
- 2nd: Helen
- 3rd: Chandra
- People's Choice Best Male
- 1st: Tony
- 2nd: Joey
- 3rd: Walter
- People's Choice Formation Team
- 1st: AFT #2
- 2nd: AFT #1
- 3rd: Youth Performance Team
- People's Choice Am/Am Solo Performance
- 1st: Henry/ Arianna, Kelly/ Chelsie
- 2nd:
- 3rd: Silla/ Dee
- People's Choice Pro/Am Solo Performance
- 1st: Bernie/ Tallis
- 2nd: Marilyn/ Derek
- People's Choice Top Female Professional
- 1st: Sarah
- 2nd: Tallis
- 3rd: Tonya
- People's Choice Top Male Professional
- 1st: Derek
- 2nd: Wyatt
- 3rd: Stan
- Team Match
- 1st: Yellow
- 2nd: Red
- 3rd: Purple
- 4th: Pink
- 5th: Black
- 6th: Green
- 7th: Blue
