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HERALD BEACON
Son deported, mother rallies
Meet this year’s val and sal
Full house for paint night
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Vol. 76 No. 19
MAY 7 - 13, 2026
$1.00
Baseball All Stars mark 15 seasons By SEAN KENNEDY Correspondent
Abby Gibson/Herald
The Uniondale All Stars Little League celebrated its 15th anniversary in style on Saturday, kicking off the new season with a community parade and ceremony for Opening Day. “This celebration isn’t just about the past, it’s about the future,” parade organizer Theudia Chambers said. “This is a coming together of the Uniondale community in support of our youth.” The Little League is a volunteer-run, nonprofit baseball and softball program for boys
Little League players marched in the Opening Day parade, which concluded with a ceremony commemorating the league’s 15th season.
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International Real DanceSport Challenge returns to Uniondale By STACY DRIKS sdriks@liherald.com
Jason Dai, of Uniondale, helped bring an international ballroom dance competition to his hometown last Saturday, drawing more than 500 dancers and spectators to the Long Island Marriott. Dai, who is originally from Shanghai, partnered with fellow organizer Roman Nabatov — originally from Moscow but now a resident of New Jersey — to bring the competition to Long Island from Connecticut last year. That was when Nabatov hired Dai as a partner. The event, the Real Dance-
Sport Challenge, featured professional and amateur dancers competing in a variety of ballroom styles, including an international team match between the United States and Canada. “Ever since Roman asked me to be partner with him on this competition, my ultimate dream is one day that we grow this competition big enough that we can move next door,” Dai said, “which is the Nassau Coliseum. I drive past the hotel every single day,” Dai added. “Sometimes when I drive by, my son will say, ‘Oh, Daddy, that’s our competition.’” The event operates under
the auspices of the National Dance Council of America, which oversees and sanctions ballroom events across the country. The competition also had a personal dimension for Dai, whose children — students at Academy Charter School — took part. His son, Feiandi, 6, and daughter Yilinka, 8, both competed in youth age divisions. Feiandi danced with partner Olivia Cao in the ballroom category, and the pair took first place across all five dances. He also competed in Latin events, where he placed second overall. Yilinka partnered with her brother in a Latin division, and
they earned a second-place finish. “I liked that I won second place. I also liked that my friends came to watch me dance,” Yilinka said. She also praised her father for organizing the competition. Feiandi said he was proud that his teachers from Academy Charter School came to
watch him dance. “I liked the dances and also the team matches.” Nabatov said his daughter,13, did not compete this year, but helped guide younger participants during the event. The choice to relocate the competition to Uniondale was a strategic one. With no comparable ballroom competition on COntinueD On page 9