Bayville resident Alina Blakesley returned from her most recent ballroom dancing competition last week with more awards from the New York Dance Festival. 

The event was held at Midtown Hilton. Amateur and professional dancers arrived ready to compete in a variety of ballroom dance styles. Blakesley won the second place medal in waltz, tango, foxtrot and quickstep in her age group as well as four first place awards in cha-cha, rumba, samba and jive.

She began taking dance lessons in 2008. In 2013, after returning from the The Eastern United States Dancesport Championships in Boston with 18 medals – 10 first place and two second place – she said, “It is my health program where I can combine fitness, stamina, and artistic expression. I plan to continue well into my seventies.”

In 2018, she fulfilled a longtime dream to compete in Blackpool, England for her 70th birthday.