Thursday, November 22, 2012

Rhapsody Ballroom's 20th Anniversary!

On November 14, Rhapsody Ballroom was blessed to celebrate its 20th anniversary! Richard and I were so delighted that about 150 new and old dancing friends joined us on this special occasion. Rhapsody teachers Jason Bundy, Sergey and Yulia Kopylov, Kathryn Schaffer, Chris Skates, and Frank Sliwa created special dance team numbers with their students to the theme of “Classic Memories.”


Richard and I also performed our Theatre Arts piece, “Transformed,” in honor of remembering how Stan’s Gym was transformed into Rhapsody Ballroom; thanking God for transforming our lives; and wishing all our dance family the joy and peace of that transformation.

To commemorate the 20 years of Rhapsody Ballroom’s history, its cast of characters, and regularly scheduled and special events, we designed a slide show which ran continuously throughout the evening. Our hope is to be able to post this online in the near future, as well as video and photos from the event as they become available.

A special highlight of the evening was a beautiful plaque presented to Richard and me by the SouthernStar Chapter of USA Dance. We are truly blessed not only by this gift that we will always cherish, but by all of you who honored us with your presence at the celebration; by the kind words and comments you shared with us; and by the memories we will treasure always.

We are so uplifted and inspired by all of the essays written for our contest on “What Rhapsody Ballroom Means to Me.” The Grand Prize winner of 1 year’s free admission to Wednesday evening dances was Egland L Alfaro Roman (Egland Sliwa), and her essay will be posted on this blog shortly, to be followed by Honorable Mention winners.

Through God's grace, the Rhapsody Ballroom community has given us a wonderful environment to grow not only in our dancing, but also emotionally and spiritually, and it is our prayer that it has offered the same opportunity to all those in our dance family. We are so very blessed to be surrounded by such warm, inspiring and caring people who share our love and passion for dance. We pray that the years ahead bring as much joy, happiness and fellowship as the past 20 years.

Thank you all so much!

Richard and Laurie Collett


23 comments:

Unknown said...

This is so neat that you guys have such a wonderful talent that you can share! I'm sure it was wonderful :)
Thanks for linking up with the #MTMmixer.

Paula said...

How lovely to be presented with a plaque :)) Talents such as your must be recognized. I know I appreciate those who can dance, as I can NOT lol.

Paula
lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com

Michelle said...

Happy Anniversary to you too. I have always loved ballroom dancing, but have not been brave enough to tempt it. Way to go and thank you for sharing it with us on the prairies this week.

Katherines Corner said...

Laurie happy anniversary. What a wonderful celebration you had . Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things Blog hop xo

Nicole said...

Nice blog. Ballroom dancing is a beautiful art. I'm so glad you linked up at Show Off Friday!

Unknown said...

Awesome! I love when we live into our callings and use the talents that God has given us. Congratulations!

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Meredith,
Thanks so much for your visit, for your encouragement, and for hosting! God bless,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Paula,
We were blessed & humbled by the plaque, and especially by the good wishes and support of those who presented it. I'm sure you could dance with a little instruction & encouragement -- grace in writing, which I know you have, and grace on the dance floor often go together!
Thanks for your comment & for hosting!
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Hi Michelle,
Thanks for the good wishes & for hosting! If you love dancing, you should try it -- life is short!
God bless you,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Katherine,
Thank you so much for the good wishes & for hosting!
Love in Him,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Nicole, for your kind comments about this blog and about ballroom dancing. Thanks for hosting & God bless!
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Jen,
Amen! Whatever we do, may we do it to His glory, using the gifts and talents He has given us! May God bless you for using your writing gift to spread His Word!

caryjo said...

I'm very happy for you. It would be such a blessing to be involved in this very life style that could/would touch hearts.

God's creativity, spread out and about to His children, is a great wonder. And greatly appreciated.

a joyful noise said...

What an exciting event to be able to celebrate 20 years of joy! Thank you for sharing with Tell Me a Story.

Laurie Collett said...

Dear caryjo,
Thank you for your encouraging comment! It is amazing, looking back on our journey, how God prepared and trained us for this ministry long before we were even saved. It is also amazing how He endows each of His children with different gifts and opportunities to spread His Word where He has placed them.
Blessings to you,
Laurie

Laurie Collett said...

Dear Hazel,
Thanks for your sweet comment and for hosting! God bless,
Laurie

Katherines Corner said...

thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop.xo

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks, Katherine, for your comment & for hosting! God bless,
Laurie

Adorned From Above said...

Hi Laurie,
I just wanted to let you know that this post is one of my featured bloggers for tomorrow at Wednesday's Adorned From Above Blog Hop. You can see the post at
http://www.adornedfromabove.com
Thanks so much for sharing with Adorned From Above.
Debi
I know that you are being featured twice in one day, but both post had lots of page views.

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks so much, Debi, for featuring both blogs! May God bless you richly for providing such a lovely community where all can share & grow together,
Laurie

addy watson said...

ballroom dancing is a syncretic dance form with origins from Cuba and Puerto Rico. It is fast becoming a global phenomenon.
ballet classes in orange county

Laurie Collett said...

Thanks for your comment, Addy! Dance is a universal language!
Laurie

Unknown said...
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