Retirement is wonderful if you have two essentials, many memories to cherish and much to give forward.
My first memories of the Ohio star ball were waiting for the beginning of the year when PBS would air Championship Ballroom Dancing. I would watch all of those legends dance and dreamed that one day, maybe I could dance on that floor. The first year I made the open final happened here and I feel that in coming full circle, here is the place where I say goodbye to the competitive aspect of my dancing.
My decision has been some time in the making and it feels right to go now as I have accomplished most of what I have set out to do. I am exceptionally grateful that I have had the opportunity to compete at this high level for as long as I have: 13 years in the open finals, more than half at the top. I could not have accomplished all that I have without the support and encouragement of many people to whom I will always be indebted.
I want to thank my students for their dedication and following me on my crazy dance journey, I love having you all as part of my extended family.
To the group of people often working in the back ground to help us create our image. Dore, Annabel, Donna inc, Showtime dance shoes, and Jacob Neil salon we are thankful for the sponsorship and artistic vision you provided us with.
To all of my partners, Lisa Bentley, Irina Sarukhanyan, Magdalena Piekarz, Lisa Vogel, and finally and specially to my muse Izabella I am honored that you chose me to dance with and for going on this wild ride with me, I will always treasure our dancing and what we created together. I am truly lucky to have found someone to create the magic with.
I have been able to accomplish so much of what I always wanted to do with my dancing with the understanding and patience of these incredible women.
To the friends and fans that I have made throughout the years I thank you for your support it means more than you can know
To my fellow competitors, the friendship and camaraderie is something that I always looked forward to and enjoyed in my journey, I wish you all the best and am honored to have shared the floor with all of you great dancers, for those continuing and moving up, I wish you the same friendly competitive environment that I always enjoyed and strived to be a part of.
To the coaches who supported and believed in me. Pete Taylor, Beverly Donahue, Marianne Nicole, Paul holmes, and Rufus Dustin.
And a special thank you:
To Rosendo Fumero for unconditional support,.
To Tony Meredith for being the master show maker .
To ‘papa’ David Hamilton for his principles of dance.
To ‘mama’ Olga Forapanova for always pushing me.
To Giampierro Giannico for sharing his passion.
To Martin lamb for being there in the good and the bad.
To Ruud Vermeij and Maximillian Winkelhuis, the Dutch experience that made it magical.
To Rita Algarra for help that cannot be measured.
To Eddie Simon for his guidance.
To Gary Mcdonald, for always cheering and motivating
To Heather Smith, a beautiful spirit ,
To Jonathan Roberts, for believing.
And finally to Eugene “Yoda” Katsevman, an amazing person whose compassion and guidance I will always cherish.
I would like to wish the best to Izabella as she chooses to continue on with her dance journey, I wish her all of the wonderful experiences she fully deserves. And I look forward to continuing to practice and do shows with her until her next door opens.
At the end of the day it’s not about what you have or what you’ve accomplished, it’s about who you’ve inspired, what you’ve made better. It’s about what you give back. In the future I hope to be able to give back what I have received
I have put my heart and soul into my dancing and would like to share it with you one last time with a Performance of our favorite number,
Yours in dance, Mazen Hamza