Blog

On this episode of Dance Teachers Academy, Aimée Méndez & Jose Tolentino sit down with Justinas Duknauskas during the 30th Anniversary of Emerald Ball. Justinas shares his pursuit of other passions post retirement. Organizing Crown Cup International Dance Competitions around the world with his family, in Lithuania, Dubai, Kazakhstan, Indonesia & Spain. In addition to organizing the Dance Vision Awards with Partner, Karina Smirnoff. He also shares that he feels that he did not retire at his best and his biggest advice for others before they choose to retire is…

“Be at your peak when you choose to retire.”

-Justinas Duknauskas

They also discuss the many opportunities that now exist in the Ballroom Industry, post retirement. From teaching, performing, judging, hosting events and so much more. Watch the full video below to hear more!

What did CU Nursing’s Linda Johnson do when facing a final surgery during her third bout with cancer? Dance. She turned an opportunity to perform in Dancing with the Broomfield Stars into a much bigger journey.

After 4 1/2 years, she is still dancing. Watch the video below to hear more about Linda’s inspiring journey. Thank you Linda for sharing your story and love for ballroom with us all!

“if you really want to do it, you can make it work.”

-Linda Johnson

This September 12-14, 2019 at the Hilton LAX in Los Angeles, CA come attend the International Tango Summit & Argentine Tango World Cup. Directors Ruta Maria & Marcos Questas have gathered together for the purpose of offering dancers an inclusive tango experience featuring a new open worldwide competition, a full festival and live music all in four days and nights! Marcos & Ruta embrace the unity that tango brings in partnerships, nationalities, all levels and styles authentic to the Tango of today.​Through the art of tango, its culture and heritage our goal is to share the knowledge, embrace one another and challenge ourselves in a creative and supportive environment. Welcome to the International Tango Summit 2019!

On this episode of Dance Teachers Academy we interview Melissa Dexter and Giacomo Steccaglia. These two are a dynamic duo and emphasize movement over over analyzing in your head.I enjoyed their very energetic and impressive class and we sat down with Melissa and Giacomo directly after their class”You Are The Key” at The Dance Congress held at the 30th Anniversary Emerald Ball.

These two emphasized that to know something you must experience it! All of us have access to an incredible amount of information. But Melissa asks,” You know it, but are you doing it!” The problem or challenge that Melissa and Giacomo notice is that some dancers feel they don’t know enough ,which leads them to feelings of not being good enough. Giacomo explains one doesn’t have to know that much to be good! They emphasize dancers must ultimately practice to the speed of the music, not practice some “Quantum Physics” style of rehearsal. This was an incredibly funny and informative interview.

These two have such a great delivery of information. They reveal very helpful game plans to get out of your head. “Stop thinking, NOW you have to dance! ” Melissa and Giacomo inspired me to dance ! I know they will inspire you! Enjoy!

Watch the full episode below!

Breaking News:  DVIDA® Goes Global!  Dance Vision partners with SRDS Russia

Las Vegas NV:  Today, Dance Vision, the largest producer of ballroom dance educational materials, has announced a partnership with SRDS Russia.

Dance Vision’s DVIDA® Smooth and Rhythm Syllabus is revolutionizing how the American Style Syllabus is taught and tested around the world.

An important agreement has just been reached with SRDS Russia to represent the Dance Vision DVIDA® Smooth & Rhythm Syllabus exclusively in Russia.  SRDS is the leading company in promotion & development of Smooth Dance Style over Europe and Russia.

https://srdsrussia.ru

Did you know that the DVIDA® Smooth & Rhythm Syllabus is recognized by both the National Dance Council of America and the Canadian DanceSport Federation?

 In fact, the DVIDA® American Style Syllabus is the only official Canadian syllabus to certify professional instructors.

We are bringing the consistency of the best American Style Syllabus to countries around the world. You’ll find DVIDA® used extensively in Australia, Dubai, England, Greece, New Zealand, Poland, Trinidad and South Africa, with more countries coming on board each month.

Hui Lin Lim isn’t a typical suburban mother…she’s also a Competitive Ballroom Dancer. As a mother of 2 young children and a successful career in the metals industry, she now is able to fulfill her passion for her pastime in Ballroom Dance. Initially 6 years ago, she started out as a social dancer with no formal training and decided she wanted to do something more challenging…the competitive route.

“taking dancing away from me, basically means putting me to the graveyard. I just love it so much, it’s a part of me”

With the support of her husband and kids, Hui Lin dances everyday either with her partner or by herself. Her kids even tell her that they understand that she needs to be away because they want her to win. Hui Lin expresses that it’s healthy for a mother to have something for herself.

“the biggest joy I get, is that I was able to touch people emotionally

Her most recent competition at Emerald Ball in Los Angeles, marked her best performance to date. Watch her full interview with Julie Peterson with Audlank Media, NFP for this inspirational story.

On this episode of Dance Teachers Academy we feature Carey Stinson, the purple dinosaur, Barney, from T.V. and has devoted 28 years of his life being Barney, the well loved and world renowned purple dinosaur. We are absolutely astounded with the dedication of Carey and the professionals that surrounded him that made this cast of characters so loved and popular. The world of Barney is an incredible story of performers with a passion and a heart for children. And a huge part of Carey Stinson’s success was his mother Barbara Stinson who is a trained dancer and instructor for 70 years. She originated his choreography for his larger than life moves and patiently instructed him proper dance techniques in their family garage to accomplish Barney’s dances.

Another important lady behind the success of Barney is Sloan Coleman, Senior Vice President of Stage Tours and Live Events. Sloan asked for two things; a million dollars and the best rock and roll tour manager to create the live events. She got Jake Berry, who left The Rolling Stones Tour to tour with Barney! The curtain is lifted on the secrets of the show that have never been revealed before March of this year! Enjoy some exciting behind the scenes information on this podcast of DTA and all the great aspects of Barney on “Purple Tales Podcast“.