In 2005,  I went to a wedding and I had the opportunity to dance; a mostly fake it and shake it experience – but I enjoyed  it. I decided I’d look for dance lessons. I did the Internet searches and came up with several locations. I tried several different teachers and location looking for "that fit".

I began with “Social Dance classes ” but within a year, I moved to “Ballroom Studios”. Here I discovered several key aspects of dance education. I learned that each dance has it’s own characteristics; that there are movement skills which make it easier to do the dance and enhance the appearance of the dance. All that together, made dancing more enjoyable for us.

A year or so later, I decided to pursue getting certified as a ballroom dance instructor. Certification required passing an oral and performance-based exam , which was adjudicated by a Certified Examiner. I had to demonstrate knowledge of the each dance's history, musical and technical knowledge, and be able to dance both lead and follow all 15 figures of each of the dances we teach. And finally, I had to show how that I could teach both lead and follow parts. The process took approx. two years, hundreds of hours of private instruction, and $10,000 to complete.

I've been teaching ballroom dance since 2007, which includes 15 dances at the bronze and silver level (beginning-intermediate-advanced levels). my emphasis is on social dancing, verses competative, but we include good technique for efficient and elegant dancing. i teach to "dancing for the long-term" and what's needed to avoid injury to self or others around us.

Just in case you want to know a touch of pre-dance history, I retired from the Navy in ’94 and took up residence in Silverdale (Kitsap Peninsula). I moved to the south end of the island in 2000 and then relocated to Oak Harbor in 2010.

I’ve worked in the computer industry, transportation, banking, public speaking and free-lance writing. I’ve accumulated 3 master’s degrees over my working life and, therefore, over qualified for anything I want to do. At 62, all I really want to do is dance, teach others to dance, and grow a dance studio business. Hopefully, I’ll die on the dance floor, doing the tango. If I do, please make sure no one calls 911 until you’re positive I’m dead.

I'm a member of three dance organizations:
The National Dance Council of America http://ndca.org/ ), which is the overarching US dance organization for all competitions;

USA Dance (http://usabda.org/ ), whose goals are to promote social and competitive dancing;

and ProDVIDA (the source of my certifications) http://dancevision.com/ ). Dance Vision International Dance Association provides  professional training, educational materials and supports competitive dancing.

I hold the Full Associate Certification (DVIDA) in American Style Smooth and Latin Dances.

Essentially, that means I teach, at the Bronze Level, in all of our dances - Foxtrot, Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, East Coast Swing, Rumba, Cha Cha, Bolero, Mambo, Merengue, Samba, West Coast Swing, Night Club Two-Step,  Salsa, and Hustle.

We also teach American silver level in Foxtrot , Waltz, Cha Cha and Rumba. We teach International style Quickstep.