Workshop Series
This year BAM Jam will have a series of workshops following the competition! Workshops will be Sunday, March 31st @11 AM - 4 PM in the School of Public Health Volleyball Gym (Room 2101). Admission covers all five workshops.
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Admission
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Schedule
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Instructors
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Topics
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Pre-Paid - Sale ends March 28th, 11:59 PM. Buy pre-paid tickets here.
At the door -
* Must be current, active member
**Those with student tickets must be prepared to show student ID for entry
- Ballroom at Maryland Members - Free*
- Students with ID - $15**
- Regular - $25
At the door -
- Ballroom at Maryland Members - Free*
- Students with ID - $20**
- Regular - $30
* Must be current, active member
**Those with student tickets must be prepared to show student ID for entry
Time |
Style |
Workshop Title |
Instructors |
11 AM-12 PM |
Standard |
"The limits of my language are the limits of my world: Reframing lead and follow in competitive ballroom" |
Sasha Basko & Jonathan Liu |
12-1 PM |
Smooth |
"Mothership Docking and the Universal Frame" |
Nicole Barron & Steve Torres |
1-2 PM |
Invigilator Lecture |
"Bend, not Break: Using and Abusing the Syllabus for Fun and Profit" |
Alex Jacobs |
2-3 PM |
Rhythm |
"Why Rhythm?" |
Sabrina Sharmeen & Yimeng Xu |
3-4 PM |
Latin |
"Experimentation with Focus and Presentation" |
Sima Sadykhov & Mathew Kheyfets |
Standard Instructors
Sasha Basko started her dance journey when she was 5 years old in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. She moved to New York at the age of 19 in order to further pursue her career as a dancer in the International Standard style, and has continued to explore her love of learning by taking lessons from some of the greatest people in the industry.
With her partner, Sasha competed in a number of national-level competitions, made it to the finals of major Amateur events, and won championship standard at DCDI and BADC. |
Jonathan Liu began dancing as a freshman on the Yale Ballroom Dance Team in 2011 and was hooked after his first competition. It's been over a decade, and he's still having fun trying to learn how to do a natural turn.
Specializing in International Standard, he and his partner, Sasha Basko, were semifinalists at the NDCA amateur national championships, finalists in several major US competitions, and winners of Championship Standard at DCDI and BADC. |
Smooth Instructors
Nicole Barron is a Professional Smooth and Standard dancer who started dancing during her freshman year at NYU. She had originally planned on joining many activities in college, but she got hooked on ballroom and ended up spending most of her free time with the ballroom team. She was the president of her team for two years and kept dancing after she graduated college.
Nicole and her partner, Steve Torres, became two-time Amateur National Smooth Champions in 2017 and 2018 and went pro in 2021 to test their skills out in the pro field. DCDI and BAM Jam have always been two of Nicole’s favorite competitions and she’s so excited to be back judging this year! |
Steve Torres dances with Nicole Barron as a professional Smooth and Standard dancer. He started as a freshman at Indiana University where he studied piano performance and marketing. After graduating and moving to New York, he went on to win the National Amateur Championship two times in Smooth.
DCDI has always been one of his favorite competitions, so he’s excited to return to UMD to be a part of BAM Jam. In his regular life, Steve works in advertising as an Art Director coming up with ideas for ads and commercials. When you see him, say "hi"! |
Invigilation Lecturer
Alex Jacobs began dancing during the neo-swing revival in the late nineties, eventually becoming a full time dance teacher in 2007. He is one of the most highly credentialed teachers in the industry, with over a dozen certifications in smooth, rhythm, standard, and Latin, as well as specialty dances including salsa, west coast swing, and Peabody.
Currently, Alex teaches at Elegant Dancing in Fairfax, VA. He competes in both the professional country-western division and professional show dance. In addition to teaching and competing, Alex also runs Elegant's professional certification program for aspiring teachers. |
Rhythm Instructors
Sabrina Sharmeen started dancing at the age of 3 but started ballroom at Purdue University during her freshman year. At Purdue, she was vice president and webmaster for her team for 2 years. After graduation, Sabrina moved to New York to further enhance her ballroom training on the East Coast with an exceptional list of professional coaches for Latin and Rhythm.
Sabrina has won a number of Champion titles for Rhythm, including Ohio Star Ball Collegiate Challenge, Arnold DanceSport Classic, Manhattan Amateur Classic, and USA Dance Nationals. Sabrina and her partner, Stephen Sekoulopoulous, plan to compete for the national title again this year! This will be Sabrina's first time at BAM Jam and she is super excited to experience it all! |
Yimeng Xu started dancing ballroom as a freshman at Carnegie Mellon University. Since then, he has been heavily involved in the collegiate ballroom dance scene as a competitor, instructor, community leader, and most recently, competition organizer, having chaired Columbia University’s Big Apple Dancesport Challenge 2023. While a Standard specialist for a large part of his competitive career, he has committed himself to a “collegiate ballroom Avatar” journey since resuming in 2022.
Though he has been a finalist at the Championship level in all four styles, his goal is now to make all four finals in a single major collegiate competition. As a major participant and organizer in the collegiate ballroom scene, he is so excited to be back at BAM Jam! |
Latin Instructors
23-year-old Sima Sadykhov has been dancing for 18 years. She is a former dance delegate for the USA Dance federation. As a Media Studies Graduate from Hunter College, she has experience producing and editing videos that showcase the stories and achievements of elite dancers and athletes.
In her time dancing, she has been a multiple time champion and finalist in national and international competitions. This includes being a 4-time US National Champion, a 5-time US National Vice-Champion, and a World Latin Showdance Semi-Finalist. She says she “couldn’t have accomplished this without [her] beloved dance partner Matthew Kheyfets.” |
Mathew Kheyfets is a Brooklyn, NY, native. At the age of 7, he started to dance ballroom. Since then, he has been to many national and international competitions including Blackpool, World Championships, German Open, and more. He currently dances International Latin.
Mathew has been a USA Dance national finalist, a 3-time USA Dance Showdance Champion, and represented the United States in WDSF Showdance World Championships in 2019. He looks forward to attending and seeing everyone compete at the BAM Jam 2024! |
Standard: "The limits of my language are the limits of my world: Reframing lead and follow in competitive ballroom"
Smooth: "Mothership Docking and the Universal Frame"
Syllabus: "Bend, not Break: Using and Abusing the Syllabus for Fun and Profit"
Rhythm: "Why Rhythm?"
Latin: "Experimentation with Focus and Presentation"
- Dancers will leave the workshop with a productive mindset with respect to partnering, as well as a more precise language they can use to navigate the information they receive from their teachers.
Smooth: "Mothership Docking and the Universal Frame"
- The most awkward moments in smooth happen when you're not in frame. So in this workshop, we'll work through different pieces of choreography at different levels looking at arm styling and how to manage the transition between open and closed positions.
- Dancers will learn the rules of docking into a closed frame from an open position, choreography transitions for each level, arms related to transitions, general arm stylings, and how and to have a frame at all times in smooth.
Syllabus: "Bend, not Break: Using and Abusing the Syllabus for Fun and Profit"
- Understanding the syllabus, its role in dancing, and pushing it to its limits to become a unique dancer
- Dancers will have a better understanding of what the different syllabi are, what they're used for, and their role in competition. With this understanding, dancers will better be able to create unique routines that push limits without breaking them.
Rhythm: "Why Rhythm?"
- Why do you dance rhythm? What are the differences between Rhythm and Latin? Why bend legs? The workshop will demonstrate rhythm-specific mechanics through grounding and body action exercises.
- Dancers will have a better understanding of what makes Rhythm different than Latin, the basics of grounded footwork, the basics of rhythm body actions
Latin: "Experimentation with Focus and Presentation"
- Dancers will learn the importance of confidence when presenting yourself on the dance floor with your partner.
- Dancers will learn how to grab the attention of judges and audience members and showcase how it’ll make their dancing stand out.
Private Lessons
Would you like to get private lessons from some of the top dancers who judged at BAM Jam? Now you can! Each instructor will be taking privates while they are not teaching their workshop. If you would like to sign up for a 45 minute private, please fill out this form. Privates will run 10 AM - 5 PM. Rates can be viewed here.
Note: Fees are not per person, but rather per private lesson.
Note: Fees are not per person, but rather per private lesson.
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Standard Instructors
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Smooth Instructors
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Rhythm Instructors
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Latin Instructors
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- Nicole Barron
- Sasha Basko
- George Cometa
- Mathew Kheyfets
- Jonathan Liu
- Sima Sadykhov
- Steve Torres
- Yimeng Xu
- Daniel Balledos & Tiffany Jeung (joint lessons only)
- Nicole Barron
- George Cometa
- Steve Torres
- Yimeng Xu
- Daniel Balledos & Tiffany Jeung (joint lessons only)
- George Cometa
- Sabrina Sharmeen
- Yimeng Xu
- George Cometa
- Mathew Kheyfets
- Sima Sadykhov
- Sabrina Sharmeen
- Yimeng Xu
- Daniel Balledos & Tiffany Jeung (joint lessons only)