What a day of smiling faces, grimaces, serious foot work and lots of squeals of delight. There was a very strong display of good sportsmanship and appreciation of the talent of the dancers. Kids giving each other high-fives and whoops of appreciation were everywhere. Even younger brothers and sisters were there with parents, family members and friends were swept into the frenzy of fun and energy in cheering on their favorite dancer. What a beeeeutific and contagious energy to experience.

The day’s event was emceed by a very dynamic and dignified, David Clinton-Reid, the general manager of the Indio Performing Arts Center. He gave so many compliments to the competing dancers. He then encouraged the family members to come to the center of the floor for many photo-ops fo their talented children. 

Other community sponsors of this event were, Blazers in The Westfield Mall, Indio Youth Task Force and the plaques and trophies were supplied by Desert Trophies. Community Volunteers were coordinated by Donna Hess and what a great job Donna and the volunteers did.. IPAC brought their Greeters.

Teachers in DSUSD, School Site Dance Coordinators and Judges, Kati Plonski, Tanya Phillips, Rudy Aguirre, Donna Darling and Renee Rivera and Ron Hagen all gave so generously of their time and talent to help hundreds of children learn such valuable lessons of self control, respect, manners, poise and positive self esteem as well as having fun learning the 5 dances for the competition.

Dances included the Tango, Foxtrot, Salsa, East Coast Swing and the Cha-Cha. There were four dance exhibitions performed by some of the dance instructors, Cha-Cha was danced by Donna Darling and Renee Rivera, Swing was danced by Nancy Horn and Rudy, Tango was danced by Dina and Reggie and the Foxtrot, a Ginger and Fred exhibition, by Nancy and Bob Horn. The judges had a very difficult job, yet they really rose to the occasion and did a great job. 

DSUSD Elementary and Middle schools who were represented in this competition were; Adams, Carrillo Ranch, Dr. Carreon, Eisenhower, Franklin, Hoover, Indio Middle School, Jackson, Johnson, Kennedy, Lincoln, Madison, Roosevelt and Van Buren. Each school much be so proud of the dance competitors who represented them.

Out of respect for the families and the safety of their children, no names are allowed to be published so the winners were announced by the number assigned to the couple and the name of their school.


The awards of the semifinalists and the winning couple number and school for each dance category was announced by David Clinton-Reid with much fanfare and flair. All that was missing was the drum roll.

The day’s winning couple numbers for each dance category were as follows:

Tango - winning couple number 34 from Kennedy Elementary School

Foxtrot - winning couple number 18 from Adams Elementary School

Salsa - winning couple number 48 from Kennedy Elementary School

East Coast Swing - winning couple number 24 from Franklin Elementary School

Cha-Cha - winning couple number 21 from Kennedy Elementary School

Looks like Kennedy Elementary School had the dance stars going on.

Many accolades and congratulations to Bob and Nancy Horn and their “Red Hot Ballroom, Inc”, Indio Performing Arts Center, Indio Youth Task Force, Desert Sands Unified School District, the event sponsors, dance instructors and faculty coordinators and of course the fantastic student competitors who danced with style, class, energy, panache and joy.

Also a thank you to Indio High School for lending their gymnasium for this event.

For photos of  the kids dancing Tango and Foxtrot, click here.

For photos of the kids dancing Salsa and East Coast Swing, click here.

For photos of the kids dancing Cha-Cha, click here.

For photos of Donna Darling and Renee Rivera dancing, click here.

For photos of Dina and Reggie Powell dancing, click here.

For photos of  Nancy and Bob Horn dancing, click here.

For photos of the interest and Red Hot Ballroom Staff, click here.

For the Red Hot Ballroom Dancing Contest Award photos, click here.

For more information about Red Hot Ballroom, Inc contact Bob Horn’s at 760-413-3593 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

For more information about Desert Sands Unified School District, click here

For more information about upcoming events and performances at Indio Performing Arts Center, “IPAC”, click here.