Chappaqua Resident Part of "Viva Las Vegas" Ensemble

"Viva Las Vegas," a dancing salute to the "entertainment capital of the world," is coming to the Tarrytown Music Hall on Saturday, Feb. 12. Thirty-five dancers will perform including instructors and advanced students from the Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Sleepy Hollow. 

As the curtain goes up, studio owner Sasha Bylim addresses the audience: "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard right. We are in Las Vegas tonight." The stage takes on the appearance of a casino with gambling tables and slot machines as he continues, "Tonight we will take a trip through Las Vegas' history."

The performances of legendary Las Vegas singers are reminisced in the first act and the dancers pay tribute to Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion. The first act also weaves songs from Las Vegas movies into many dance numbers. The second act opens at a typical nightclub and follows with dance performances to Cirque du Soleil sound tracks.  

Ballroom dancing is the Bylim signature dance and cha cha, foxtrot, rumba, samba, swing, tango, waltz and other dance routines provide variety to the program. The show's choreographer is David Hamilton, three-time United States National Ballroom Champion and a resident of Nashville, TN.

This is the ninth annual dance exhibition presented by Bylim and his wife Olga, who are Tarrytown residents and former United States National Ballroom competition finalists. A different theme is selected for the show each year; last year the theme was "In the Neighborhood." More than 500 people attended the 2010 event.

Sasha and Olga were Ukrainian national dance champions from 1993 through 1995 and represented the Ukraine in world championship competitions.

The youngest member of the cast is 17-year-old Olesya Bylim, Sasha and Olga's daughter, winner in the category American Rhythm Youth at the 2010 Northeast Dancesports championships in Parsippany, NJ.

Dance student members of the Viva Las Vegas ensemble include:

• Ardsley: Daphne Romeo
• Armonk: Maren Hexter
• Briarcliff Manor: Connie Welsh
• Buchanan: Joyce See
• Chappaqua: Liza Peterson
• Cornwall-on-Hudson: Rosemarie Bevoni, Robert Campana
• Dobbs Ferry: Susanna Morse
• Irvington: Robin Abbott, Allen Halpern, Izabela Swiecki
• Peekskill: Clifton Hodge, Scott and Terra Laytons
• Pelham Manor: Lauren Canton
• Scarsdale: Linda Accocella
• Sleepy Hollow: Rachel Mwakitawa
• Tarrytown: Olesya Bylim, Sarah Gillespie, Janet Nadile, Eve-Marie Schaffer
• Yonkers: Lorretta Bascombe

With one exception, all of the dance instructors who appear in Viva Las Vegas are Sleepy Hollow residents: Dimitriy Saykovsky, Marina Saykovska, Eugene Yeremenko, Marisa Yatsenko, Yuriy Herhel, Anna Kryvyk and Sergei Tryl. David Johnson lives in Nyack.

Tickets for "Viva Las Vegas" cost $30 and can be purchased at www.tarrytownmusichall.org or by phone through TicketForce at 877-840-0457.

The Bylims also own a Fred Astaire franchise on Long Island, NY. 

The Fred Astaire Dance Studio of Sleepy Hollow is located at  358 N. Broadway in Sleepy Hollow, 914-366-4695, www.tarrytowndance.net