About Us
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Chattanooga USA Dance is a social ballroom dance club that hosts social dance events on the second Friday of every month. It’s our mission to promote ballroom dancing in the Tennessee Valley and surrounding areas so whether you’re new to ballroom dancing or an experienced dancer, we’d love to have you.
We are a chapter of USA Dance Inc., the National Governing Body for DanceSport in the United States. With more than 150 chapters throughout the country, USA Dance Inc. is also the representative organization for all social and recreational ballroom and Latin dancers in America, ranging from pre-schoolers to seniors. With approximately 19,000 U.S. members who financially support the national programs and with an outreach of more than 200,000 dancers, USA DANCE serves the industry as a leader and also as a 501c3 non-profit organization, approved by the Internal Revenue Service, and is authorized to solicit and receive donations from the public to support its promotional and educational programs. Click to learn more |
It doesn’t matter how old you are, what level you are, or if you have a partner. If you’re ready to dance, you’re ready for USA Dance.
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Our Board Members
Lori Yuzenko, President & Director of Hospitality
Lori is a Yankee transplant from Upstate NY. She began her ballroom dancing experience in 2010. Since then she has performed showcases and competed in ballroom competitions with her dance instructor, Denny Lennon and her husband, Stephen.
Lori currently works for C & H Services of North GA as their HR/DOT person. When she's not dancing, Lori enjoys bowling and spending time with her grandchildren.
Lori is a Yankee transplant from Upstate NY. She began her ballroom dancing experience in 2010. Since then she has performed showcases and competed in ballroom competitions with her dance instructor, Denny Lennon and her husband, Stephen.
Lori currently works for C & H Services of North GA as their HR/DOT person. When she's not dancing, Lori enjoys bowling and spending time with her grandchildren.
Kary delSignore, Vice President
Kary is a mother of 8 children ranging in age from 9 to 32. She and her family moved to Chattanooga from Chignik Bay, Alaska in 2013. Kary and her husband Chet started taking dance lessons in late 2013 which sparked an interest in dance for many of their children as well. Kary works for Hamilton County Department of Education as a special education teacher and loves to dance and watch her children dance in her free time.
Robin Barrett, Treasurer
Robin began line dancing about 14 years ago and then a friend invited her to a USA Dance. She fell in love with ballroom and social dancing. Robin met her husband, John, in the ballroom community. She is a CPA with over 20 years of experience in Accounting and Tax.
Rachel Ghrist, Secretary
Dance is imperative to my overall happiness. It all started in 2013 I was a recent divorcee and had lost both of my grandmothers to Alzheimer’s. I was looking for a healthy lifestyle change that would help me lose weight, and keep my brain active. I tried swimming, Zumba (fitness classes), weight training, paddle boarding, etc. While in Zumba class, I realized that I was not going to be able to do Zumba moves on the dance floor. So, I researched dance in the local community, and found dance opportunities in Chattanooga, TN. I went to my first dance lesson, I decided country and contemporary line dancing. Why, because I didn’t need a partner, of course. Then once in the dance community, I was informed that I did not need a partner to learn ballroom dance, either. So 2 years ago, I started lessons in ballroom, and found my passion for dance. I have met so many fabulous dancers and instructors in the dance community from Chicago, IL to Chattanooga, TN. As a result of dancing, I have lost 70 pounds, from a size 20 to a size 8. In addition to the weight loss, thanks to dance, I have better balance, improved posture, decreased cholesterol, and improve memory. I encourage anyone who enjoys dancing to take a lesson in whatever they might be interested in.
Del Sudkamp, Director of Music
Del spent most of his life avoiding anything to do with dancing. Then at a wedding reception in 2015 a coworker shamed him into going to a dance class at a local studio when his response to “What else do you have to do tonight?” was, “Well… Star Trek comes on at 9:00.” For an introverted engineer, the class was a stretch. But several years later, he is still taking dance classes. Del always loved music so the opportunity to provide the music for USA Dance seemed like a perfect fit.
Del currently works as an Instrumentation and Controls Engineer for Sargent & Lundy in Chattanooga and enjoys bicycle touring, movies, and Star Trek.
Alicia Coller, Director of Publicity & Membership
Alicia moved to Chattanooga in 2004 from St. Louis, MO. She completed her B.S. Biology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga . Alicia currently works with Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound Math Science at UTC. She has been dancing (sort of) since 2016.
Donald O'Connor, Board Member at Large
Donald began ballroom dancing almost 20 years ago and has taken lessons and danced at all of Chattanooga's premier ballroom studios and dancers' clubs. His favorite genre is Latin. Donald also travels around the country playing in men's baseball tournaments, playing baseball all day and dancing all night at nearby venues. Donald retired from the Tennessee Valley Authority after a 42 year career as an Engineer.