Hi! My name is Charlotte. I’m new here at Dance FX Studios and I have been writing the blogs for the last two weeks. I tell you this to eliminate any confusion over who the website blog information says is writing these posts because today’s entry is an interview with Nicole, the owner of Dance FX Studios in Mesa, Arizona!

I cornered Nicole on the studio dance floor between two Wedding Dance Lessons, one of our specialties here at Dance FX Studios 🙂 . She and her husband Adam opened Dance FX Studios in July of 2001.  If you have never met her, you are missing out. She is charming, intelligent and socially astute (additionally she is also beautiful).

Q: So why dancing? What brought you to open a dance studio here in the Phoenix East Valley?

Nicole: Dancing has always been a passion of mine and I wanted to be able to share it with others so they would receive the benefits that I have found through social ballroom dancing. I also wanted to make a living doing something that I love, rather than be stuck in an office behind a desk.  Through becoming an instructor and teaching Latin, Country, Swing, Ballroom and Argentine Tango (my personal fave), and helping beginner dancers learn to dance, I could see how I was positively impacting people by increasing their confidence, widening their social circles,  and helping to add romance to their lives. It was so rewarding that I decided I wanted to keep doing more and more!

Q: Tell me one thing, that by becoming a dance instructor, has changed about you?

Nicole:  People would be surprised to learn how overwhelming shy I was. I actually do not enjoy performing in front of others. I love to Ballroom dance, but my former shyness still affects me when it comes to having an audience. I do not enjoy people watching me as much as one would think, being that this has been my profession for almost 20 years. But, by learning to Ballroom dance, I personally went from being very shy to very confident. After becoming an instructor, I learned how easy it was to make conversation with anyone. I also learned that people sometimes just need a little help to come out of their shell. I started to notice how by going out Salsa or Swing dancing myself,  I could help others become confident too.  Dancing also helped me with my self-expression. For example, being able to communicate what I was feeling to others with body language was a positive outlet, a release. It’s an important communication skill that I did not have before.

Q: What is your favorite dance to teach?

Nicole: The Country Two-Step is my favorite dance to teach because there are infinite variations that are all so fun to do! The other dances like Country Swing, Salsa and Jitterbug have lots of variations too, but this is the particular Country dance I am having the most fun with at this point in my dance career.

Q: What dance is your personal favorite? In other words if you were alone and could put on any song and just go for it, what social Ballroom dance would you dance to?

Nicole: My favorite dance is done with my husband: the Argentine Tango. However my personal favorite, especially if I am alone and releasing stress, is the Salsa. I love Salsa dancing in particular because it’s wild and freeing. Freedom of expression, letting go, that is what it is for me, a stress releaser. Lots of hips, it’s sexy. I am a Latin Dancer … I love Salsa, that is what I do!

Q: Please share a story with me about a past or current student who you noticed was the most impacted by private dance lessons with you.

Nicole: A lot of people come to mind. I am searching my memory for the most stand-out change by a student. I think it was probably Steve who was my student 18 years ago. He and his wife came to us for general Ballroom dance lessons and to do something fun together as a couple. He was very passive and she was very dominant. Within three years of lessons, he became a true leader and she became a true follower on the dance floor. Their roles were reversed though their desire to share dancing with each other. This consequently led to a happier more joy-filled marriage. After four years of their lessons together, Steve passed away during a vacation. I attended his funeral and was so touched when his wife shared with me that he was being buried in his dancing shoes. It still makes me cry when I think of it today. This is the joy I receive by sharing my passion for dance with others, when it impacts others’ lives in ways you simply cannot imagine.

Learning to dance helped Nicole grow as a person and as a surprise bonus she found her life partner through dancing. Choosing a dance career and becoming a dance instructor also lead her to a meaningful way to making living. Opening Dance FX Studios has been personally rewarding for Nicole and the joy it spreads to other comes back to her in numerous ways. Dancing is uplifting, it transforms lives and inspires others, which is what she seeks to share at Dance FX Studios.

Maybe you are seeing ways that learning to become a great social dancer may improve your life. Maybe taking private dance lessons as your hobby will lead to a better social life. Maybe learning a customized wedding dance will start your lives with an experience that will give you skills as a couple to use together for many future occasions. A decision to take up a new hobby, like social dancing, will bring new behaviors into your life that will have overlapping, even unexpected benefits which will transfer into many areas of your life just as it did for Nicole and Adam Dekavallas, owners of Dance FX Studios.

In five years come to the dance studio and ask me, Charlotte, how my life has changed because of dancing and hopefully I will have some entertaining and insightful stories to share just like Nicole. Why not give it a try yourself? Schedule a New Student Offer for a private dance lesson and discover Country dancing, Swing dancing and Latin dance styles that are popular and useful in any social dance situation. You too can start changing your life in exciting ways! We’d love to hear in a few months that you have a new boyfriend or girlfriend, or as one excited couple shared with us recently “people were videotaping us because they thought we were such great dancers!” Did you set a goal for the New Year to make some big changes in your life? If so, pick up the phone and book your introductory lesson today … 480/968-6177.

You can find Dance FX Studios on the Tempe/Mesa border, on the corner of Guadalupe Rd. and Dobson Rd. at 1859 West Guadalupe Road, Suite #105, Mesa, Arizona, 85202. Get started today learning Latin, Country or Social Ballroom styles or maybe Nicole’s favorite, the Argentine Tango. We hope to help you to become a confident social dancer!