Officials

Dan is a highly-qualified dance professional, with over 45 years of competition, coaching, and judging experience. He holds Chairperson certifications from USA Dance, WDSF, and WDO and is an ISTD Fellow in Standard, Smooth, Latin, and Rhythm styles. Over the course of his career, he has served as both an adjudicator and chairperson at World Championships and as a lecturer at more than 200 training camps. He continues to share his expertise with others through writing articles and columns in numerous books and other publications.

Dana is a USA Dance Chairperson, Invigilator and Adjudicator as well as an Adjudicator with the WDSF.

She  holds Licentiate degrees in Standard, Latin, Smooth, Rhythm and Theatre  Arts with the American International Dancers Association and Licentiate  degrees in International Standard and Latin with Imperial Society of  Teachers of Dancing and the World DanceSport Federation.

She  is a retired NDCA Open Professional American Smooth and Rising Star  American Rhythm Champion and a Fred Astaire Professional American and  Canadian / American Smooth Champion. She has trained her students to  achieve much success in the Am/Am and Pro/Am world including FADS Pro/Am  Smooth and Rhythm National Champions, Top competition students with the  FADS, USA DANCE, NDCA and Youth DanceSport Syllabus Champions 7 years  running at the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival. Dana has many Top  Teacher Awards from FADS and was the Top Teacher and Top Studio Arnold  Sports Festival.

   Lee Fox is originally from Georgia but now calls Ft. Lauderdale his home. He has been teaching Ballroom, Latin, and Disco since 1978, and Country/Western since 1991. He has his licentiate degrees in Standard, Latin, Rhythm, and Theater Arts with the ISTD and his master degrees in Smooth and Rhythm with the NDTA. He is the Competition Director for the International Association of Gay/Lesbian Country Western Dance Clubs (IAGLCWDC) and the treasurer of the North American Same Sex Partner Dance Association (NASSPDA). He is also a former president and a current examiner of the NDTA. He is registered to adjudicate with USA Dance and NASSPDA and has served as Chair of Judges for several mainstream and same sex competitions in the USA, Canada, and abroad. A former ballroom competitor, he has judged several competitions in the United States including the United States Dancesport Championships (USDC). He and his ballroom partner, Scott, competed in ballroom at the Gay Games in Amsterdam in 1998 and the Gay Games in Australia in 2002 making the class A finals both times. He and his country partner, Chris, were the first Championship winners in the IAGLCWDC Couples Competition in 1998 and have performed at many hoedowns and fund­raisers. 

 J.R. Hipsky is originally from Pittsburgh, PA, and started his professional dance career 24 years ago with Arthur Murray in Monroeville, PA, later transferring to Silver Spring, MD. After several years of teaching he moved to NYC to train and compete, where he met his dance partner and now wife, Christine Hipsky. Following 6 years of training and competing with some the best dancers in the world in NYC, they moved to Charlotte, NC and opened Dynamic Ballroom, an independent ballroom dance studio in Cornelius, NC, to offer fitness classes, workshops, parties, and social and competitive dance training to the ever-growing Charlotte, NC population.
JR continues to compete in Pro/am in both International and American styles. He holds Licentiate degrees in both Standard and Latin through the USISTD, now AIDA 

Kimberly Smith has been teaching dance for 44 years. She has owned and operated Dr. Dance Studio, Inc. in Birmingham, Alabama for 38 years and is a co-owner of The Magnolia Ballroom. She has enjoyed a fulfilling career as a professional competitor, pro/am competitor, teacher and currently coaches amateur and professional couples. Kimberly holds both Memberships and Fellowships with the North American Dance Teachers Association and Licentiates with The American International Dancers Association (AIDA) . She continues to proudly serve the association on the National Committee as Treasurer. As an adjudicator, Kimberly is a WDSF A, AJS certified adjudicator and has had the honor of judging the 2022 IWGA World Games Standard & Latin, WDSF Sr. I World Latin Championships, as well as many Open WDSF Championship events. Kimberly serves the WDSF as a member of the EDI Commission and is Co-Organizer of Heart of Dixie Ballroom Challenge. 

Christine Zona has been teaching and competing in ballroom dance since 1980. She has competed professionally and was a finalist at many events in the International Standard and Latin and the American Ballroom divisions. During her Pro/Am competing days, Christine and her student won the title of United States Pro/Am Male American Smooth Champion. She has also published, through Human Kinetics, a how to dance book, “Gotta Ballroom,” which includes the American style ballroom dances: Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot and Viennese Waltz.  Currently, she divides her time coaching and teaching between Pittsburgh, PA and New York City. She is a certified instructor of Maja Serve’s Body School System and an adjudicator with North American Dance Teachers Association and USA Dance. Christine is the International Ballroom dance coach at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, and is also a visiting coach at various universities. As a member of the Collegiate Network Executive Committee in USA Dance, she has helped to create programs for college students and plan USA Dance Collegiate Nationals.

Susie Buck is a professional International Standard and Latin dancer from New York. She has achieved her Ballroom Fellow Degree and Latin Licentiate Degree from the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance of London, England, and her Ballroom and Latin Licentiate Degree from the Canadian Dance Teacher’s Association. Susie is also a registered adjudicator with the National Dance Council of America and USA Dance.

Susie has achieved on the dance floor as a professional competitor by placing in the Rising Star Finals at the United States Championships, 10 dance finalist at the 2001 Star Challenge in Canada, and a 10-dance finalist at the Heritage Classic Dancesport Championships in 2005