Hugo & Jessica Win 1st Place in Rising Star Rhythm at City Lights Ball! Photo by Chris Hansen San Jose, CA - January 2010 Hugo and Jessica spent a fun and successful weekend dancing in San Jose at the City Lights Ball! They won the Rising Star Rhythm event, making this the third Rising Star Rhythm event they've won together after only five months of competing in the Professional Rhythm division. The Rhythm dances include cha cha, rumba, swing, bolero and mambo. Hugo and Jessica also placed 3rd in the Open Rhythm and 5th in Rising Star Smooth. In addition to participating in the professional events, Hugo also danced with his student Charlotte Salwasser in the Pro/Am events. Charlotte danced well and had good placements in her dances, taking 3rd in the Smooth scholarship. Both Hugo and Jessica teach ballroom and latin dance to students of all ages and levels, and they are available for shows, coaching and Pro/Am competition. For more information or to schedule a lesson, please contact Jessica at 425-785-1800 or Hugo at 559-304-5685.     Hugo & Jessica Win 1st Place in Rising Star Rhythm at Hollywood Dancesport Championships! Photo by Chris Hansen Hollywood, CA - November 2009 Hugo and Jessica won the Rising Star Rhythm at Hollywood Dancesport Championships, placing first in all five dances. The Rhythm dances include cha cha, rumba, swing, bolero and mambo. This is the second Rising Star Rhythm event the couple has won together, after only three months of competing in the Professional Rhythm division. Both Hugo and Jessica teach ballroom and latin dance to students of all ages and levels, and they are available for shows, coaching and Pro/Am competition. For more information or to schedule a lesson, please contact Jessica at 425-785-1800 or Hugo at 559-304-5685.   Hugo & Jessica Win 1st Place in Rising Star and Open Professional Rhythm at San Francisco Autumn Dance Classic! Photo by Paul Martzen San Francisco, CA - October 2009 Hugo and Jessica had a great weekend at San Francisco Autumn Dance Classic! They won the Rising Star and Open Professional Rhythm, placing first in all five dances in both events. The Rhythm dances include cha cha, rumba, swing, bolero and mambo. Hugo and Jessica also did well in the Smooth division (waltz, tango, foxtrot and viennese waltz), placing 2nd overall in the Rising Star Smooth and 3rd in the Open Professional Smooth. Hugo also danced with his student Leah Dickerson in Pro/Am Rhythm at the competition, and she won first place in all of her events, including the Open Gold Rhythm scholarship. Both Hugo and Jessica teach ballroom and latin dance to students of all ages and levels, and they are available for shows, coaching and Pro/Am competition. For more information or to schedule a lesson, please contact Jessica at 425-785-1800 or Hugo at 559-304-5685.   Hugo & Jessica Make the Finals in Their First Competition Together! Scottsdale, AZ - May 2009 Hugo and Jessica were thrilled to make the final round of the Open Professional Smooth event at their first competition together, the People's Choice Dancesport Championships in Scottsdale, AZ. The Open Smooth event was the largest professional event at the competition - of 13 competing couples, only 7 made it back to the final. Hugo and Jessica just teamed up in April, when Jessica moved to Fresno, CA from her hometown of Seattle, WA to dance with Hugo. They started out dancing Smooth together and plan to compete in American Style 9-Dance, which includes both the Rhythm (Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, Mambo) and Smooth (Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Vienesse Waltz) dances. Hugo brings fifteen years of experience teaching and competing in ballroom dancing to the partnership and is a former competitive figure skater. Jessica is a former ballerina and has been dancing since the age of 7. She is a US National Professional 9-Dance finalist for 2008, and she was the reigning Open Professional Rhythm champion in her hometown of Seattle for 2007 and 2008. Both Hugo and Jessica teach ballroom and latin dance to students of all ages and levels, and they are available for shows, coaching and Pro/Am competition. For more information or to schedule a lesson, please contact Jessica at 425-785-1800 or Hugo at 559-304-5685.   Hugo & Jessica Team Up to Compete in Professional American Style Smooth & Rhythm! Photo by Paul Martzen Fresno, CA - April 2009 Professional dancers Hugo Villanueva and Jessica McMorrow just teamed up to compete in American Style 9-Dance, which includes both the Rhythm (Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, Mambo) and Smooth (Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Vienesse Waltz) dances. Hugo brings fifteen years of experience teaching and competing in ballroom dancing to the partnership and is a former competitive figure skater. Jessica is a former ballerina and has been dancing since the age of 7. She is a US National Professional 9-Dance finalist for 2008, and she was the reigning Open Professional Rhythm champion in her hometown of Seattle for 2007 and 2008. She recently relocated to Fresno to work with Hugo, and they are preparing for their first competition at the end of May. Both Hugo and Jessica teach ballroom and latin dance to students of all ages and levels, and they are available for shows, coaching and Pro/Am competition. For more information or to schedule a lesson, please contact Jessica at 425-785-1800 or Hugo at 559-304-5685.   Ross & Jessica Place 5th in the USA in 9-Dance at 2008 United States Dancesport Championships! Orlando, FL, September 2-6, 2008 Ross and Jessica rose through the ranks to become US National Finalists this year, placing 5th in American Style Nine Dance at the United States Dancesport Championships in Orlando! The result was announced after two nights of strong competition in both the Rhythm (Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, Mambo) and Smooth (Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Vienesse Waltz) dances. Some highlights from the couple's previous accomplishments include: 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Open Professional Rhythm, 2008; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball, Rising Star Smooth, 2008; 1st place, Volunteer State Dance Challenge Rising Star Rhythm, 2008 (Nashville); 3rd place, Volunteer State Dance Challenge Open Rhythm, 2008; 2nd place, Open and Rising Star Rhythm, Colorado Star Ball 2008; 4th place, Rising Star Rhythm, San Francisco Open 2008; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Rising Star Rhythm, 2007; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Open Professional Rhythm, 2007; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Open Professional Showdance, 2007; 1st place, Vancouver Open Professional Rhythm Championship, 2007.     Ross & Jessica Win 1st Place in Open Rhythm and Rising Star Smooth at Seattle Star Ball! Photo by Marvin Moore Photography Seattle, WA, August 1-3, 2008 Ross Pearce & Jessica McMorrow successfully defended their Rhythm title at Seattle Star Ball this year, winning first place in the Open Professional Rhythm event and becoming Seattle's Professional Rhythm Champions for the second year in a row. They also won first place in the hotly contested Rising Star Smooth event, which was well attended by local professional couples. Some highlights from the couple's previous accomplishments include: 1st place, Volunteer State Dance Challenge Rising Star Rhythm, 2008 (Nashville); 3rd place, Volunteer State Dance Challenge Open Rhythm, 2008; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Rising Star Rhythm, 2007; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Open Professional Rhythm, 2007; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Open Professional Showdance, 2007; 1st place, Vancouver Open Professional Rhythm Championship, 2007; 2nd place, Open and Rising Star Rhythm, Colorado Star Ball 2008; 4th place, Rising Star Rhythm, San Francisco Open 2008.   Ross & Jessica Win 1st Place in Rising Star Rhythm at Volunteer State Dance Challenge in Nashville! Photo by Christopher Hansen Nashville, TN, July 25-26, 2008 Ross Pearce & Jessica McMorrow won the Rising Star Rhythm event at Volunteer State Dance Challenge in Nashville, placing 1st in all five dances. They made the finals of every event they danced in and, in addition to winning Rising Star Rhythm, they placed 3rd in the Open Rhythm and 4th in the Rising Star Smooth. Some highlights from the couple's previous accomplishments include 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Rising Star Rhythm, 2007; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Open Professional Rhythm, 2007; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Open Professional Showdance, 2007; 1st place, Vancouver Open Professional Rhythm Championship, 2007; 2nd place, Open and Rising Star Rhythm, Colorado Star Ball 2008; 4th place, Rising Star Rhythm, San Francisco Open 2008.   Ross & Jessica Place 2nd in Open and Rising Star Rhythm at Colorado Star Ball! Photo by Decadance Photography - Tony Eng Denver, CO, June 20-22, 2008 Ross Pearce & Jessica McMorrow had a great weekend at Colorado Star Ball in Denver. They placed 2nd in both the Open and Rising Star Rhythm events, and received several first place marks. They danced a semi-final and a final round in both events and placed 2nd overall in all dances (Cha Cha, Rumba, Swing, Bolero, and Mambo). They also danced in the Professional Rising Star Smooth event, where they made the finals and placed 4th in all dances. Ross and Jessica just made their debut in American Smooth (waltz, tango, foxtrot, and vienesse waltz) this month, and it was only their second competition together in this beautiful style. Some highlights from the couple's previous accomplishments include 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Rising Star Rhythm, 2007; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Open Professional Rhythm, 2007; 1st place, Seattle Star Ball Open Professional Showdance, 2007; 1st place, Vancouver Open Professional Rhythm Championship, 2007; 4th place, Rising Star Rhythm, San Francisco Open 2008.