What an incredible weekend in Kansas City! This past weekend, Ballroom by Amy returned to the
Heart of America DanceSport Championships
for several days of ballroom dancing, competition, friendship and some pretty special accomplishments.
Heart of America will always be one of my favorite competitions. I called Kansas City home for several years, so coming back means more to me than simply attending another dance competition. It means reconnecting with old friends, seeing people who have been part of my dance journey and getting to share a place that means a lot to me with my Minnesota students.
The 2026 Heart of America DanceSport Championships took place August 12–15 in Kansas City, and it gave our Ballroom by Amy group plenty of reasons to celebrate.
A Great Weekend for the Ballroom by Amy Team
My students brought their energy, hard work and personalities to the dance floor all weekend.
Davey and Fabiola had an amazing Nightclub Night and were so much fun to watch out on the floor.
Randall nailed his Standard routines and represented Ballroom by Amy beautifully.
A group of ladies even made the drive from Minnesota to Kansas City to perform our pirate medley formation. Thank you, ladies, for making the trip! 🏴☠️
What a Weekend for Jerry Bursh
Jerry danced his little heart out through every single entry, and all of that hard work led to an outstanding weekend.
Top Silver Male Student
Overall Top Student
Jerry is also having an incredible season on the
Dancer’s Cup Tour.
Heart of America is one of the competitions on the tour, where dancers and teachers accumulate points throughout the season.
4,998 points
5,439 points
Those standings make Jerry’s Kansas City weekend even more exciting, and I am incredibly grateful that the hard work of all of my students has also helped put me among the tour’s current top teachers.
William and I Take the Floor Again
This weekend was especially meaningful for me because William Schendel and I competed together for the second time since beginning our professional partnership.
It has been so much fun dancing with William and discovering how we work together as a partnership. Every time we get on the floor, things feel a little more comfortable, a little more natural and a little more like the vision we had when we decided to do this.
Amy Hanson and William Schendel dancing together. Video via Instagram.
I’m incredibly proud of us for putting ourselves out there, challenging ourselves and making this dream a reality.
Thanks to the dedication and hard work of all of my students, I was also honored to finish Heart of America as the 2nd Place Top Teacher.
A Special Thank You
Thank you to Dawn Smart with
Dore Designs
for my beautiful dress, and to Lauren Baker with Bakerette Beauty for always making my hair and makeup look amazing. Those details are part of what makes stepping onto a competition floor feel so special.
Two Tours, and Plenty of Dancing Ahead
Heart of America is part of the Dancer’s Cup Tour, but it is also included on the
Dance Vision Circuit.
That means there are several different competition calendars and season-long goals happening at the same time.
The Dancer’s Cup Tour continues after Heart of America with more events ahead. One of the upcoming competitions is
Cleveland Dancesport,
giving dancers another opportunity to add to their season and continue building toward their tour goals.
My next planned stop on the Dance Vision Circuit is one I’ve really been looking forward to: Hawaii.
So now it’s back to the studio, back to practicing and back to preparing for the next opportunity to step onto the floor.
For now, I’m leaving Kansas City feeling incredibly grateful — grateful for my students, grateful for my partnership with William, grateful for the friends I was able to see again in a city I once called home, and grateful for all of the memories ballroom dancing continues to create.
Want to Try Ballroom Dancing in St. Paul?
You don’t have to be preparing for a competition to discover how much fun ballroom dancing can be. Whether you’re a complete beginner, getting ready for a wedding, looking for something fun to do with your partner or interested in competitive ballroom dancing, we’ll start exactly where you are.
Learn More About Ballroom by Amy
Ballroom by Amy
St. Paul, Minnesota
612-308-7708 | Amy@BallroomByAmy.com
Amy is a three-time defending Dancer’s Cup Tour Top Teacher who loves helping people discover ballroom dancing at every level. Beginners are always welcome, and no previous dance experience is required.
Sources & Further Reading
Event dates, tour information, standings and other competition details were reviewed using the following independent source websites:
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed and edited by Ballroom by Amy. Competition dates, schedules, rankings, rules, results and other third-party information can change and may occasionally contain errors. Readers should independently verify important information directly with the competition, tour, organizer or other linked source before making travel plans, registering for an event, spending money or otherwise relying on the information presented here. Ballroom by Amy does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or continued availability of third-party information. Use this information at your own discretion and risk.