What are The Divas doing?!!!: The Divas Road Trip to Boca - Filming the Killick Klassik DanceSport Event with Shirley Ballas, Mark Ballas, & Derek Hough!!!

In August we were invited to film promotional videos
for the Killick Klassik in Boca Raton, Florida
for Shirley Ballas!

Yes, THAT Shirley Ballas - World Latin Dance Champion

& Dance Instructor to the Stars of

Dancing With The Stars!

photo credit - Mark's Facebook

Shirley Ballas and Mark Ballas

photo credit - Shirley's Facebook
Derek Hough and Shirley Ballas

We love a good road trip, and the 11 hour drive

from Wilmington, NC to Boca Raton flew by

as Jennifer prepared us for the task at hand

by reading aloud from Derek's new book "Taking the Lead!"

We needed it because, other than being loyal fans of

"Dancing With The Stars,"

we were new to the glitz & glam world of

Ballroom DanceSport Competition!!!

The Killick Klassik is held at the fabulous

Waldorf Astoria Resort & Beach Club.

Though the Waldorf was completely booked,

we did find a place to lay our heads

- with a not too shabby view from our balcony!!!

(You can see all the pink buildings

of the Waldorf Resort in the background!)

And OUR hotel came with nightly

fresh baked chocolate chip cookies

- and a very unique nook in the lobby

equipped with books for reading bedtime stories -

"Where the Wild Things Are" and "Oh, The Places You'll Go!"

seemed like the obvious selections!!! ;););)

So in the land of Boca, where everyone is tan

and wearing light, bright clothes,

we Divas were quite the contrast -

being so white in black!!! ;););)

But we were feeling inspired - Strictly Ballroom -

this Dance Competition was pure elegance!!!

...BUT we did fit in with our Diva red lipstick!!! ;););)

While shooting the "Behind-the-Scenes" footage,

we got to know some of the people who work closely with Shirley.

Two of our favorites were Yulia Musikhina

(who lived and trained with Shirley, and won the first Italian DWTS),

and her husband and dance partner, Iannaccone Ferdinando.

To watch them dance - beauty in motion!

(You'll see what we mean when the Videos are posted!)

We got some great footage of Mark & Derek interacting

during the "Champagne Meet & Greet."

(Can you spot Diva #1 hard at work in the background?!)

It was an intimate gathering for Q & A where things got real

- including Derek discovering he had a hole in his pants

and Mark responding with a subsequent rap about it!

(Again, wait until you see the Video!!! ;););)

photo credit - Mark's instagram

It was interesting to watch

the friendship between Mark & Derek in action.

They are a great team
and it was fun to watch them work together.
They appear to be each others biggest fans,
but with a sense of humor that seems to keep things

in perspective in the midst of their celebrity.

~~~

As we wrote in a previous blog post,

we met Derek and Julianne

when we attended their "Move Live on Tour" in Raleigh

- and we brought them a cake - photo proof above!

Well, not a happy ending for that cake...

While we were interviewing Derek in Boca,

he told us as they drove away, their tour bus hit a bump

and that cake, in all its chocolate praline ganache glory, hit the floor!

It's a good thing we brought one to Florida

- at least Derek finally got a piece of a Diva cake!!!

So Julianne, we still owe you one!!!

~~~

And yes, we took the time to sample the Waldorf cuisine!!!

And of course Rebekah had to try one of their

Martinis...

...and there was no passing up dessert

with a beautifully "squiggled" Key Lime Pie

on the menu!!!

~~~

Another thing we love about being on a Road Trip

is striking up random conversations and getting to know new people!

One morning while we were at breakfast

in the huge Waldorf dining room,

a beautiful young woman sat down alone at a table near ours.

We struck up a conversation about her gorgeous dress!

That afternoon, when we saw her again,

she was being asked by a young girl to do a selfie with her -

first hint that she was a celebrity of some sort!

So yes, we just asked, "Should we know you?!!!" ;););)

Relatively new to Instagram, we didn't know that
our new friend, Anna, though only 18,
is a well known Fashion Blogger from Brazil
and has over 750,000 followers -
including Kim Kardashian!
(The photo above shows that gorgeous dress
that was responsible for our new friendship!!!)

We are now following Anna at it_girls
- and she is following us!!!
(hey, we Instagram newbies are up to 144 followers!!!)

With Anna, we made one of those amazing
connections where you instantly
feel like you will be friends for life!

She started calling us her "Fairy Godmothers"
so we thought this pose would be very appropriate!!!

We met Anna's wonderful friends,
and as we all hung out at the Killick Klassik,
they invited us to come stay with them in Brazil!!!
(Next Big Adventure? - checking Travelosity now!!! ;););)

~~~