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This same source indicated the Gala originated in 1994. The first event was held at Melody Lane with the “Savoys” playing the music. Another source pegged the start date at September 21, 1991. That would mean this is the 22nd Annual Gala. Now you begin to understand why I initially became suspicious. 19? 22? Why is this so difficult? The more questions I asked, the more I was met with confusion and evasion. I began to feel this entire venture was shrouded in mystery.
One source said the event was moved to a Ballroom affiliated with the old Shamrock Hilton hotel near the Medical Center. Wow! What a neat idea to hold the show at the glamorous Shamrock.Then I looked up the Shamrock on Wikipedia. It said the Shamrock was leveled in 1987. Hmm.
Considering the earliest known Red Hot dated back to 1991, that meant either the first Gala was held in 1986 or someone was trying to make a fool out of me… no easy thing to do because I snoop till I get to the bottom of everything!!
As a side note, I wish they hadn’t torn down the Shamrock. What a magnificent building. Instead that proud structure was turned into rubble and a parking lot. Typical Houston. Concrete always wins over style.
From there the event supposedly moved over to the Chandelier Ballroom in the Heights. Note that I said “supposedly”. I don’t know who to believe.
At some point in the early 2000s, the Gala moved to the lovely Arabia Shrine Center on North Braeswood. I actually attended a Red Hot event at this location only to discover this beautiful building was about to be torn down.
Curious, someone said that the real estate in this pricey area had become so valuable that the Shriners sold the property and decided to relocate. However it crossed my mind that maybe the building was torn down to disguise shadowy activities. And to think I was fooled by that real estate mumbo jumbo.
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Now that I was onto these guys, nothing would get past me.
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The Red Hot event is sponsored by an organization with a strange name. It is called “USABDA”. When you pronounce it, it sounds like ‘YouSobDah’. When referring to “USABDA”, some people spell out the initials. Others say “USA Ballroom Dance Association”. Either way, you will be forced to pause for a breath. Most people simply say “Yousobdah”. That way you don’t have to stop to breathe and you can keep on arguing whether this organization is a charitable do-gooder or perhaps a secret religious society. I don’t know about you, but I am terrified of Tango worshippers.
So far I have identified four shadowy figures who seem to run the Red Hot event.
Last week I attempted to contact all four. I offered to take them to lunch on me… a noble offer indeed. Assuming that any woman would gladly trade the chance at a free lunch in return for dishing some juicy gossip, I figured my story was a done deal. A Dish for some Dish. Boy, was I wrong! I was meant with evasion and obloquy wherever I turned.
To date I have only met with two of these murky characters.
One of the people still in hiding is Margaret Daffin. Margaret is said to have been involved with organizing this event since the mid-Nineties.
From what I gather, Margaret is the fundraiser. She has the important task of soliciting corporate contributions to help sponsor this expensive event. Personally speaking, you could not pay me a million dollars to go around asking for money, so this lady has my complete respect. Well, now that I think of it, you could pay me a million dollars and then I would simply skip town. But let’s get back to Margaret.
I wanted to meet with Margaret to learn how she actually goes about raising money. I never seem to be able to raise any money, so a personal audience might do me some good.
Margaret obviously has watched many episodes of “Mad Men” on TV. Not only does she move fluidly behind the scenes in the rarified circles of Houston’s Old Money, she has a flair for advertising.
I am told that it is the mysterious Margaret who actually coined the catchy “Red Hot Ballroom” nickname for this event. If I am reading my sketchy notes correctly, previously the event was known as something along the lines of “National Ballroom Week Dance Celebration”. Not to hurt anyone’s feelings, but “Red Hot Ballroom” is a big improvement. Margaret is obviously the master marketer as well as salesman. Or sales woman. Or sales person. Whatever.
She’s also very difficult to track down. I attempted to meet with Margaret to discuss whether USABDA was a religious cult only to find that she skipped town rather than meet with me. I got some email with the flimsy excuse of visiting family in London for the entire month of September right up till the day before the event. Oh please. I have heard that excuse one time too many.
I immediately concluded there must be a cover-up in effect here. I saw the movie about Watergate; those money people are always dodging the media! Or for that matter, there might be other reasons Margaret skipped town, but I don't even dare say in print the deeper implications. Someone might take me out.
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To her credit, Janeil did reply. But in so doing, she passed the buck. Janeil said she could not accept my invitation until someone named “Ella” gave approval. Whoa! Who’s Ella? Is this a code name for Cinderella? Does Cinderella run the show?
Janeil wrote:
Rick, we are suffering from a lag in communication. Ella was waiting to hear from you to set time and place, and I was waiting to hear from Ella as to our date. Unfortunately, your email to me did not arrive until this morning, even though you sent it Sunday morning. Next weekend Ella's Saturday is full and we have a meeting on Sunday.
Oh please. Doesn't that sound like a brush-off? I mean, this is ridiculous. First I go after Margaret. She skips town. Then I go after Janeil - offering a free lunch no less - and she dodges me. Considering how rarely a girl gets treated to a free meal in this town, how does any woman with an appetite resist this kind of temptation? Janeil must be very frightened to turn down an offer of this magnitude.
Then the second time Janeil passes the buck to Cinderella, the tough guy who won't even use his or her real name. Heck, I don't even know if 'Cinderella' is a girl. What if Cinderella turns out to be the muscle?
I decided this Janeil lady must be operating under a gag order to lose her appetite like this. Wouldn’t you draw the same conclusion?
And so does Ella contact me? Heck no. This, my friends, is the old runaround. I am chasing my own tail. There is surely a cover-up in effect. This organization has more secrecy than the Catholic Church.
Suddenly, out of the blue, I get an email from yet a fourth person. She says her name is Lydia. She identifies herself as the “President” of Yousobdah. And what does the President have to say?
Wow, why is this so difficult?! The other ladies are much more experienced with the gala, although there is a painful story about the gala and me. [Do Tell!!]
I can give you some background on USA Dance as an organization and the initiatives that our chapter is planning in the near future.
I am very flexible as to lunchtime; just tell me where and when.
Finally I have made it to the top. I have identified the one person in the organization who is not afraid of my close scrutiny. Or maybe she’s just hungry. I have heard this woman is on the “thin” side. As I figured, great hunger will cause some people to talk.
So I replied to Lydia, but received no further answer from her either! Nothing. This is the woman who urged the others to come forward only to disappear herself. Obviously someone got to her even though I had assumed she was at the top of the food chain… but then I realized no one as thin as Lydia could possibly be at the top of any food chain. I was being deceived again.
Or maybe Cinderella took her out. I began to tremble. Could there be actual danger involved here?
Obviously there was panic behind the scenes as the women argued over how to best deal with my insightful investigative reporting. What could they be hiding? Margaret skipping town with the money? Rude dancers on the floor? Russian dancers with grudges against Romanian dancers? Or maybe I was right about those footsies!!
Speaking of footsies, these ladies clearly had Cold Feet about something! This is never a good thing for a dancer.
Something was definitely going on behind the scenes. I had a feeling they were all having a powwow about how to deal with me. They knew they couldn’t fool me for much longer. I will almost certainly go down in history as the dance equivalent of Woodward and Bernstein. Thanks to me, I would get to the bottom of this and warn the Ballroom Community of Houston about these people.
That night I taught my East Coast Swing class at Melody Club. Twice I saw the door to my room open; twice a suspicious-looking woman poked her head in the door and stared at me. That was very odd. I could not help but wonder if I was safe.
After class, as we took down the walls, this same suspicious woman lurked in the shadows. If I hadn’t been on hyper-alert, I probably would not have even noticed her. Then she approached. I was immediately on guard.
“Hello,” she said. “I’m Ella. I have been sent by the organization to answer your questions.”
Uh oh! This must be the same woman that the clearly spooked Janeil had spoken about. This is the same Ella who surely took out Lydia. Ella must be the enforcer.
Well, it won’t work. I won’t be intimidated. I am on to these guys. I am so clever I even noticed they aren’t guys. This Ella was no Fella.
“Well, yes, then, I am Rick Archer. I am pleased to meet you. How can I help you?”
The woman immediately tried to throw me for a loop. “Did you just say ’Pleased to meet you’? Uh, Rick, it’s me, Ella. I took lessons at your studio for several years back in the Nineties. You were my teacher. In fact, I met my husband at your studio. Don’t you remember me?”
It was very dark in there. So I looked again. Oops.
“Uh, well, yes, Ella, now that you have reminded me, of course I remember you. You have changed the color of your hair since then and it threw me off.”
Ella replied, “I see you changed the color of your hair too.”
I hate women who turn my own words against me.
I decided this Ella didn’t look quite so dangerous anymore, so I agreed to sit down with her for a chat. Finally Yousobdah was ready to come clean.
As we sat down for a chat, Ella explained to me that her friend Allen Darnel had first come up with the idea sometime back in the Nineties. According to Allen, he had gotten the idea from Doris Pease, the publisher of “Dancing USA”, a well-respected national ballroom magazine.
Apparently, the last full week in September is known as “National Ballroom Dance Week”. Doris Pease had suggested to several people in various cities that this date gave everyone the perfect reason to throw a swanky dance, something really special. Allen Darnel agreed this was a great idea.
According to Ella, the first event here in Houston drew 500 people. Ella looked at me a little wistfully. “We’ve never beaten that record since! I’ve been chasing it my entire career. We always get 300 people and sometimes we get 400, but one of these days I want to break that darn record!” I thought about suggesting wardrobe malfunctions, but thought the better of it.
Ella explained to me that throwing this event was a massive project. It was so big, in fact, that her buddy Allen Darnel looked at her after the first event was over and said, “Next year, Ella, you are in charge.”
Allen was serious. Starting the next year, Red Hot Ballroom has been her gig ever since. Ella has been the pointfella for every single event. Along the way, Ella acquired two superb co-chairs. First came Margaret Daffin, the one hiding from me in London. The second was Janeil Bernard, the one who avoided speaking to me. I couldn't help it. No matter how gentle this Ella person had turned out to be, I still felt suspicious!
However, now I had my doubts. With Ella sitting across me pouring out her soul over this dance event, it occurred to me that this gracious lady was an unlikely cult leader. So it must be scandal they were hiding. However, I didn’t get a whiff of scandal either.
Instead, I saw a woman who for twenty some years has been overseeing the preparation of this gigantic event for 300-400-500 people. The expense involved must be frightening. Bands are expensive. Dance halls are expensive. Decorations are expensive and quite time-consuming as well. Plus people had to be hired to put up the tables and chairs, clean the building before and after, and be available to help during the event. One big mistake and "Red Hot Ballroom" might go broke... not exactly the meaning of "Red" they were hoping for.
There was a lot of risk involved. I asked Ella what her biggest fear was.
Ella confided that her biggest fear was that just one stupid article written by some nincompoop could ruin the entire event. I saw her point! What if some idiot wrote a story that was so bad no one showed up? No wonder these women were so worried!!
I tried to reassure Ella not to worry, I didn't know of anyone writing any story besides me. However my comforting words didn’t seem to help.
A little tear rolled out of her eye. I assumed that whatever was bothering her must be serious. Ella took a deep breathe, then paused for a moment to regain her poise. Then she changed the subject.
Ella said that Margaret and Janeil were her angels. Ella said that Margaret must know everyone in town. This amazing woman rounded up 90 sponsors for last year’s event. It was a painstaking task indeed. Margaret had to contact each sponsor individually to invite them to participate again, send them thank you notes plus tax receipts. Then she would fuss over her sponsors. Margaret always made sure they had seats with the best views. Then, during the party, Margaret would skip much of the dancing to schmooze with the sponsors. Margaret left nothing to chance. She made throughout the event that these people knew they were appreciated.
In Ella’s opinion, Margaret’s role in keeping the sponsors happy is critical to the success of each year’s event. Ella added that these sponsors are the backbone of the event.
I smiled to myself as Ella talked. No, Ella, you are the backbone of this event. The sponsors are important, but it is Ella's willpower that drives this event. It was obvious to me that Ella lives and breathes Red Hot Ballroom. As Ella spoke glowingly of her pride in throwing such a lavish event, I thought it was an interesting coincidence that it is someone with the nickname 'Cinderella' who watches over Red Hot Ballroom with the care of a loving fairy godmother. Unfortunately, Ella says she is more likely to lose her mind than her shoe. Ella, Janeil, and Margaret really aim to please, but, quite frankly, it is difficult to meet the high expectations of so many people. Nevertheless, the ladies of the Red Hot Triangle try their best. Ella confided that the pressure of putting on this huge show can get to her sometimes.
Ella then began to speak glowingly of Janeil Bernard, the second corner of their Triangle. Ella said that every year Janeil is buried under a mountain of paperwork. She opens stacks of mail, answers dozen of phone calls, and spends hours answering the emails as well from people requesting tickets and information. Janeil must be an accountant because she uses extensive spreadsheets that she constantly updates. It is a neverending task. Ella said that Janeil has patience that might be called “Biblical” because some people can be very demanding. Janeil has reported being awakened at 7 am by phone calls requesting tickets and calls as late as 11 pm. Many people want to be seated next to a particular person (probably to play footsies!). Others are adamant that they be given their Usual Seat… even though the event might be tomorrow and the table assignments were made weeks ago. Apparently Janeil always makes it work. Ella added they would all be lost without this talented lady. Janeil is their “National Treasure”.
Ella said that she herself handles the publicity. Considering the extensive Ballroom Newsletters Ella puts out, I can see she is a master at this.
Ella is so thorough that whatever she sends out, she makes sure to have her volunteers translate it into Spanish, Vietnamese, and Russian as well. Not me. If you can’t read Texan, then tough.
Ella also produces the show. Each year Ella goes in search of dance professionals to perform at her event. This is never easy since there are several major Ballroom dance competitions at the end of September in the Texas area. This makes sense because everyone wants to take advantage of "National Ballroom Week". Ella pointed out that even if a dance couple is available on a weekend, they might be deep in training and unwilling to commit to any distractions.
Ella said she was about to tear her hair out one year until Michael Schedler, co-owner of the Dance Place along with Phillip Stephens, volunteered to help her round up talent and arrange the acts. Ella said Michael was “indispensable”. I don’t know what that word meant, but I assumed it meant Michael was so valuable they would never be able to afford to pay him to do what he did.
For that matter, Ella made it clear that every show is completely dependent on the countless volunteers who donate their time and good cheer to make this huge event a success. In addition to the Co-Chair Triangle, each year many people within the USABDA organization offer their services as well. It is a true community effort.
Ella said there was one important person she had not even mentioned yet and that was their President, Lydia Cascio.
Aha, there’s that name again. Lydia was the lady who needed the meal!!
Ella spoke glowing praise of her President. Ella said that Lydia had originally been President of the USABDA chapter in New Orleans. Lydia was forced to relocate to Houston after Hurricane Ike. Now she was the President of the Houston chapter.
Hmm. So one day Lydia moves to Houston, the next day she is the new president of Yousobdah. I immediately began to feel suspicious again. Who did Lydia have to kill to stage this coup d’etat?
According to my wife, most women either use the old lost Passport trick or poison if that doesn’t work. Since the Passport trick usually only works with overseas travel, I immediately asked, “Did Lydia use poison?”
Ella shook her head. It wasn’t like that. Almost from the moment Lydia showed up, Yvonne Kubicek, the president at that time, tried to persuade Lydia to take over. Yvonne was swamped with work and was having trouble keeping up with the demands of her post. When Lydia decided to retire from her 'Real Job', she agreed to take over the reins. By all accounts, Yvonne lit candles in gratitude. Apparently running this show is a tough, sometimes exhausting job.
Lydia has brought a warm, inviting presence to the job combined with a keen ability to keep everyone organized.
You would have thought Ella was giving me an introductory speech because now, almost as if on cue, an attractive, very thin lady walked up to us. Ella exclaimed, “Lydia! Where did you come from?”
I was suspicious again. This had to be staged. What was their secret signal? Hmm. These girls were teaming up on me. Obviously Ella and Lydia had danced this pas de deux more than once. I knew I was being handled. The timing was too perfect.
No matter. Lydia turned out to be almost as gracious as she is thin. To my surprise, I realized I actually had met this lady previously. In fact, we had even danced before!
Back in January 2012, Marla had flown to California to visit with her brother. Left with nothing to do on a Saturday night, I decided to visit the Dance Place for the USABDA Second Saturday Ballroom dance. I had never been before and was curious how they ran their event.
The moment I walked in, I was paralyzed with awkwardness. What was I doing here? I barely knew anyone. For thirty years, I had been strictly a Swing and Western dance instructor. This Ballroom World held few familiar faces for me. As a stranger to the event, I felt extremely uncomfortable asking women that I did not know to dance. They would take one look at the ring on my finger and wonder what gives. I felt like putting a sign on my shirt. “I am a happily married man whose wife is out town, but do you want to dance anyway?”
All I really wanted to do was see what the dancing was like and to see if I recognized anyone. It only took me fifteen minutes to notice that the dancing was excellent, the floor was more than spacious, and the facility was attractive. Now, since I barely knew anyone, it was time to go.
I had one foot out the door when a friendly lady came up to me and said, “You must be new. I haven’t seen you here before. My name is Lydia. I am the President of USABA. Welcome!”
I smiled at the warm greeting and decided to come clean. I explained to Lydia who I was and why I was here. Lydia said, “Well, I am glad you came by to check it out. Would you like to dance?”
It was a Cha-Cha. I actually know how to Cha Cha, but it had been so long. I knew I was terribly rusty, but hoped perhaps some of my old patterns would re-emerge if I gave it a try. At any rate, to say 'no' after such a warm greeting would be rude, so I said sure.
Unfortunately, I was a mess. None of the old moves reappeared. To be honest, I felt intimidated at dancing with ‘El Presidente’, the Tsarina herself. I assumed Lydia has danced with the best Latin Ballroom dancers in the city and would soon conclude I should have stuck to Country-Western. I was so frustrated! Thank goodness, to Lydia’s credit, she continued to smile. The girl is a pro. Bless her heart.
I began to pray. Oh Lord, please send me a pattern. I racked my brain for one good Cha Cha move to impress the woman, but it was not to be. My Cha Cha had decided to take the night off. I had no choice but to stick to moves no more complicated than you might find taught in an Intermediate Cha Cha class.
I was so humiliated at my futile performance. After the dance, I apologized to Lydia that I didn't know more Cha Cha.
Lydia smiled. "Nonsense, Rick. You lead well, you keep the beat, and you even moved your hips. Ask me to dance anytime."
I smiled back. This was the perfect face-saving response. This lady was obviously a gifted hostess to be able to rescue my bruised ego with such aplomb. I remember thinking this organization was lucky to have someone like Lydia to represent them.
And now this same woman had come over to greet me here at Melody. I invited Lydia to sit down and talk to me about “Yousobdah”. Lydia said she would be delighted. Lydia began by saying above all the goal of USABDA is the advancement of Ballroom dancing as an art form. Lydia made it clear their emphasis is more about the Social aspect of Ballroom Dancing than the competitive side.
I asked Lydia what her role at Red Hot Ballroom is. “Well, one year I was the emcee, but I was so bad at that, I have stuck to visiting the tables and welcoming the guests since then.”
My ears perked up. Maybe this was the big secret! “What went wrong with the emcee duty?”
“I was new to Houston and didn’t know everyone yet. I was handed this script listing the names of the performers, the order they were going to dance, and the dance they were going to perform. One of the couples didn’t show up, but no one bothered to tell me. As a result, everyone I introduced had the wrong name and still no one corrected me. I couldn’t figure out why everyone in the crowd was laughing so hard. I just stood up there with my little frozen smile and pretended not to notice the crowd roared every time I spoke. Then I realized I was calling out ‘Cha Cha’ and they danced Waltz. Or I called out ‘Foxtrot’ and they danced Tango. I didn’t even notice what was wrong until this happened three or four times. I turned crimson with embarrassment.
When I realized my mistake, I was so flustered that the night felt like an ordeal. The whole evening became one Lydia joke after another. One joke was they have different names for all the dances in Louisiana. Another was that I read the cue cards upside down. Very funny. It was so traumatic that I have left the emcee duty to someone else ever since. My blood pressure can’t take it.”
Lydia went on to say that she survived and that only once in a while does she still get teased. For example, she might ask a man to Foxtrot and he will ask back if she really means Tango. Ha ha.
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And that’s why Lydia was here at Melody tonight. She came to dance. Lydia likes Melody because it gives social Ballroom dancers a place to practice their hobby during the week.
Lydia added she had just walked in to the Tuesday Night Social when she noticed Ella speaking with me. Since I had never seen Lydia here before, I had a hunch this little meeting was not a coincidence. However since I liked Lydia and Ella, I decided to let it ride.
Lydia pointed to several couples as they passed. “That couple was at last year’s Red Hot Ballroom event. So was that couple.” Lydia obviously felt the same pride that Ella did. There is a great satisfaction that comes from knowing that you have thrown a great party. I think it is that satisfaction that continues to fuel the dedication of Lydia and the Triangles.
Although I didn’t know the names of most of the people at Melody, I got the feeling from Lydia that there is an entire family of Ballroom dancers here in Houston. I had not realized how close-knit the community is, but it makes sense. I know a wide circle of friends who like to dance Western together at Westwind on Tuesdays. Then there is the East Coast Swing group that Charley Denton organizes and the West Coast Swing group that Mario Robau keeps busy. And I am sure there is a family of Salsa dancers out there as well.
I was pleased to discover there is a Ballroom family as well. My talk with first Ella and now Lydia had put my suspicions to rest. I had concluded the people at USABDA clearly have their hearts in the right place. These ladies really go the extra mile to encourage the growth of Ballroom dancing here in Houston.
As I wrap this story up, if you are interested in learning more about the Red Hot Ballroom Gala on September 29th, a simple visit to the USABDA-Houston website will do the trick. Be sure to click “Events”.
Or I suppose an email to the shy but highly efficient Janeil Bernard would be another effective way to inquire about seats and tables. janeilhb@gmail.com
As much as any other city in America, I would like to remind everyone we are all fortunate to live in Houston where there is a tremendous tradition of social dance. Although I fully admit I was strictly Rock’n Roll in my youth, I find myself increasingly drawn to Formal Dance in my mature years because I like the grace and intricacy of Ballroom Dance. I also like holding ladies in my arms; it’s a great feeling!
I might add that I like the challenge of learning a new form of dancing. Therefore I am pleased to discover that Ballroom Dancing is in good hands here in Houston.
Now that I am getting the lay of the land, from here on out, I hope to see a lot of Lydia and the Red Hot Ballroom Triangle in the near future. Maybe I can lure Margaret and Janeil out of hiding. For that matter, maybe you can join me too!
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