Dance Talk + Dance Zone - Mark's Corner

They say, if you can make it in New York, you can
make it anywhere. Well, that's exactly what this young
man set out to achieve. When just 16 years old, while
living at boarding school, Tony Marolda accompanied
his brother to some ballroom competitions. Growing up in
Queens, New York, Tony's brother was actively competing in the
junior division when Tony got the desire to compete and "go
for his own trophies." His cousin Ginny was a dance
instructor at the George Connelly Dance studio. The owner of
the studio approached Tony to partner with an
advanced student for an upcoming competition. Although
Tony was a novice, he was always up for a
challenge. "I learned six routines and off we went to
Connecticut," explains Tony. "There were 24 couples and we came in
4th". His drive and confidence would be seen through out all
of his ventures in the field of dance. In addition to
ballroom, Tony began to study jazz. He had the inclination to ask a
fellow student to practice with him. The new
partnership, with Donna, clicked. At the end of that year,
they competed and won the
Junior National Ballroom Championships. With quick success,
Tony continued to dance with Donna for the
next couple of years until her admission to nursing
school eclipsed dancing.  As a competitor Tony
befriended dancers from other studios including the highly
regarded, Joe Mehegan Dance Center. "There was a girl dancing
there in the Novice Pro/Am competition named Susan", recalls
Tony, "you could see that she was a natural
talent". He began dancing with Susan
and the chemistry was electric. They had
similar dance goals in addition
to visually complimenting one another on the
dance floor. Tony, with his machismo and powerful
interpretation complimenting Susan, with her
contagious smile, not to mention she was strikingly
beautiful. Tony had already conquered the hustle
under the accomplished eyes of Ralph Lew. With a background in music,
(he had won a scholarship), Tony was able to
synergize the music with his dancing. Applying a hard
work ethic towards his dancing he went from ordinary to
extraordinary. Tony & Susan were now ready to take on
the world. All along, Tony's brother was actively competing,
along with his "wife to be", and won the 1977 Harvest
Moon Ball in New York City. As amateurs Tony &
Susan would compete and capture the most prestigious crowns
including the USBC National Amateur Ballroom Championships and
the US National Hustle Championships. Then in 1978
they would follow in his brothers dance steps and
win The All Around title at the famous Harvest Moon
Ball. This was a special achievement as they
became the first dance team in the
rich 50 year history of the Harvest Moon
Ball to win 5 Preliminaries - Four Ballroom dances and
the Hustle Competition. In 1979 they were
invited to return to the Harvest Moon Ball for a special
competition, "The Battle of The Champions," competing against
many of the previous winners. Tony and Susan once
again prevailed.  Understanding
the value of constantly learning and improving, Tony &
Susan knew it would be advantageous to explore
training from Pierre Dulaine and Yvonne Marceau in theatre
Arts. Pierre also took the young couple to train under John
Roudis, "between the two of them we learned so much that we
won The Blackpool Exhibition Division in 1980," shares Tony.
With these championship titles under their belts the door
started knocking and the phone wouldn't stop ringing.
"We received invitations for the next few years to do shows
throughout Europe: Germany, Holland, Belgium and England,"
recalls Tony. As the disco fever heated up so did Tony
& Susan. Their popularity and success led
them to dance on National French TV after winning a Hustle contest at
Regine's in NYC.  Another huge win
was the national televised "Phil Gary's Disco
contest." By this time, Tony & Susan
Maroolda had mastered the choreography of
their incredible hustle/theater arts routine.
This flawless number was created by Tony and
featured their signature moves. Susan had a "Vegas
- style" fire red sequin body suit that blazed, setting a
new fashion trend in dance.  Viewers
were spell bound by this complete package -
they had the look. Tony's ingenuity and powerful
expression set them apart from other couples.  After
winning the hearts of television producers and audiences at
home, Tony & Susan were invited to Brazil to
dance on National Brazilian TV and to judge the Brazilian
Disco Championships. "That was a real blast, shares Tony, "...the
contestants would stop our car in the streets and make us dance right
there". The opportunities didn't stop coming. While in
Blackpool, England, the couple was approached by a
cute little woman that had
observed them perform and invited them
to do a show in Indonesia. Sure
enough, one month later they received a
call that airline tickets were in the mail. They did a week of
shows in Indonesia and judged the Indonesia Disco
Championships. The opportunities kept coming including
performances on popular TV shows like "Soul Alive" and the
"Soap Factory". They then won a
special competition at Regine's Discotheque, in NYC,
to appear on the initial taping of the new Merv
Griffin production, a show nobody quite heard of yet
called "Dance Fever".<br>
Staying in the spotlight kept them busy doing shows all over the
country. Then it was time to move on as these world
champions would retire their partnership after a
final performance at the UCBC's. Along the
way they had stacked up many home runs. Together, Tony
& Susan operated their own dance studio for
10 years - called TJ's Dance Center. In 1980
Tony produced his own Dance Competition called "The American Star
Ball".  A restless Tony was still anxious to keep
dancing. While coaching in Nashville at David Elkin's studio.
Tony was out for a drink at a Country Dance Club when
he was amazed to see so many young people waiting to get in
to dance the Two-step. Once back
home, he took a Two-step lesson with his friend
Sharon. They were encourage to compete and
do Division 4 at a country dance weekend in the
Catskills. They had to do 5 dances
- Polka, Cha-cha, Waltz, Two-step and Swing. "We
watched what they were doing on the floor on Friday night and went in
the back and put 4 quick routines together," recalls Tony. Neither one
of them had ever competed in Polka - 2 Step before. After
dancing each dance multiple times, Tony
& Sharon Leigh took 2nd place out of a competitive
field of 20 couples. "A girl from a Ballroom Studio heard this
and came running up to the stage and said,'Tony is
that you, I never thought I would see you in a Cowboy
Hat and Boots", explains Tony. " I turned to Sharon and said, That's
it, I'm changing my name". At the next event, they signed up
as Anthony Lee & Sharon Leigh. It was a cute play on
words which seemed innocent since they hadn't planned
on doing much more together. Little did they anticipate that
the following year they would win The Country
World Grand Championships and ultimately go on
to the Master Division winning several
Master Competitions including the Worlds Master Waltz
competition.<br>
For the past 15 years Tony has been producing The Big Apple
Dance Festival which takes place each year in mid
July. He has also been directing The Country World
Championships for the last 6 years and the World
Swing Invitational Championship. He has been the recipient of
three Hall of Fame awards:  World Hustle Hall of
Fame, World Country Hall of Fame and the Hustle Hall
Of Fame - Life Time Division . "It takes Two to Two-step and I
owe these accomplishments to my partners as well", a humble Tony
shares. " I have been able to win World and National Titles in
four different genre's of dance: Ballroom, Hustle, Theatre
Arts and Country. I have been very lucky and
fortunate to have talented, wonderful and great dance partners
in my life. Besides Donna, Susan and Sharon I have also
performed routines with Debbie Monk, Resa Henderson, Sarah
Fenn Tye, Diane Nardone and Lynn Heyden."<br>
Tony has always had a deep rooted connection with dance. He
has taught, performed, competed, coached, choreographed and continues
to produce his own events. With a great sense of humor and the
ability to create on the fly, he has been an instrumental leader at
many of the events. "Dancing has been a great joy and sense of
accomplishment in my life, but for all of it nothing compares to one
day with best two people in my life, my son Anthony and my
daughter Nicole. I could not be more proud of them and it is they who
make my life worthwhile. Thanks guys".<br>
The curiosity factor and the challenge is what drew Tony into the world
of dance. He didn't realize at the time that he would spend
the majority of his life involved in this visual art. He has
inspired and touched many people throughout the various fields
of dance. He continues to push the envelope and we
anticipate more great things to come. Tony says it
best."... I am grateful for all the friends I have made
throughout the World and hopefully somewhere along the
way some hearts were touched ... because people will sooner -
later forget who won - lost but they will always remember who made them
feel something. To this end... I dedicate all of this to my
greatest fan ... my Mother Rose."

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