Valley resident wins awards at ballroom competition

Staff Reports

Gardnerville resident Alicia Powers returned with awards from the Nevada Star Ball Dance Sport Championships at the Green Valley Ranch Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Aug. 20-23.

Powers competed as an amateur ballroom dance contestant with her instructor Jeffrey Munson and won a first-place trophy for solo West Coast swing.

She received firsts in her age group category in tango and danced a total of 42 dances in waltz, tango, fox trot, swing dances and several Latin dances. The championships also included well-known ballroom dancers competing at professional levels.

Powers has been taking ballroom dance lessons for three years at Never Enough Ballroom in Reno.

"I've always enjoyed dancing, and when I started lessons, I knew it was an exercise I would stick with. I've lost 48 pounds since I started," Powers said. "Ballroom dancing has created a social circle for me. I've gotten to know a lot of new friends through dancing. It's like a family."

Powers said she will be dancing the West Coast swing in a Lake Tahoe competition in November.