Tag Archives: gift of dance

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Dance Lessons by Heather Wilson

Heather Wilson, an independent make-up artist with a blog at http://www.tumblr.com/blog/makeupbyheatherwilson.com won my “Gift of Dance” Contest.  Here’s what she had to say about her experience using a gift certificate for 5 free dance classes:

My husband and I recently celebrated our 25th anniversary. From the day we got engaged, we have said that some day we wanted to take dance lessons. We have always been kind of shy on the dance floor, definitely not the first ones to jump up and get out on the dance floor. In fact, we were often the ones making  excuses and sitting waiting for a slow song to come on so we could do the “8th Grade Shuffle”! (You know the moves… the girls arms around his neck, his hands on her back, and you rock to the right… rock to the left…. slowly rotate in a circle!) If a “real” song came on- we would make up any excuse to go back to our seats, or work our way deep in to the crowd so we wouldn’t be seen!  OK, so we admittedly had some insecurity issues around dancing!! In fact, we were pretty sure that this is what we looked like this when we were dancing! 

Before Dance Lessons

It was just after our anniversary that I saw a contest on Stefanies Facebook page that had only hours left to enter!  Thanks to Stephanie Lein, who has been doing ballroom dance for a few years, and enjoyed it so much that she wanted to share the opportunity, she awarded us a gift certificate to answer our long time dream! Stefanie’s love for dancing was evident when we met… and got me so excited about the classes! She was generous in giving us a coupon for 5 free lessons- and now we actually feel like we have a few dance moves! We called up the local Arthur Murray Dance Studio at Scottsdale Airport and we got set up to meet with Reece. Instantly we knew she was the teacher meant for us!  She was fun, energetic, and made us laugh! Even after the first class we felt a bit more confidence! 

It took us a bit longer than the two weeks to do the 5 free classes, due to me hurting my ankle. Thanks to the patience of Reece, we got right back in to it when I was feeling better, and were learning all kinds of new moves!!  She taught us a couple basic moves of the Salsa, the Cha Cha, the Hustle (not the one with the Left foot in… and the left foot out!! ) the Waltz, the Rumba and the Tango.  To be honest, we were still getting confused on which one was which…. but we definitely had more self control, and some fancy dance moves that we did not have before!! In fact, I am much better with “following” and not leading, and John feels more comfortable “leading” now. We even threw in a spin or two! We felt a little more like this After a couple of classes ! (and of course we wore our body suits!) We are by far not ready to do Dancing with the Stars, but if we get invited to a wedding, we will definitely be out on the dance floor showing off a few moves! We cannot wait to go back in the fall and continue the classes so that we can start showing off our dance moves! 

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The Gift Of Dance

It’s nice when the Universe sends you little signs that you are on the right path.

My husband is an avid golfer and often participates in tournaments, for charity and such, that involve prizes.  Well, on Friday he played in one such event and won…guess what….wait for it…..Dance Lessons!

Clearly, they were not meant for him!  He’s been there, done that, and it’s just not his passion.  So he smilingly, happily passed them along to me.

I had to giggle.  Seems like the Universe wants me to dance.

But, wait, I already have an instructor!  I already have my dancing home.

What should I do with this amazing gift of dance?

The answer seems obvious.

Share it!

I’m passing this gift along because it is my wish that someone experience the passion, love, beauty, thrill, and confidence that can come with dancing ballroom.

This package is yours.  All you have to do is claim it.

Valued at $350, the package entitles the bearer to 5 Introductory Dance Sessions at the Arthur Murray Studio in Scottsdale on Redfield Road.

http://www.arthurmurrayscottsdale.com/

 

What’s the catch?  Here’s all I ask:

1)  You want the certificates because you really want to try dancing.  I want to give them to someone who will actually use them!  They expire in August, so there’s a little bit of time to get all the lessons in.  You must be new to ballroom dance.

2) If you haven’t already, “Like” the Dancing With Stefanie Facebook page here.

3) Agree to write a guest blog post (including pictures or video or both) for DancingWithStefanie.com about your experience.

That’s it!

Please send to me at loveablestef@gmail.com a written note, a video, or any other means of communication that suits you explaining why you want to dance ballroom by Sunday, April 22, 2012 11:59pm MST.

I will read, watch, or listen to all the entries and declare the winner based on the most compelling story by Monday, April 23rd, 2012 11:59pm or sooner.  If I can’t decide, I may share your entry with my blog readers and they can share their opinion.

If you are the only person to take me up on the offer and actually submit something, you’ll win automatically.  Life is about urgency, people!  Take some action toward what you want.  I’m giving away $350 here and it’s yours for the taking!  Opportunities like this don’t come by every day.

So ask yourself, if not now, then when?  If you’ve ever even wanted to dance just a little bit (or know someone else who does) and live in the Phoenix area (or even if you don’t and would like to come and visit and take the classes, that’s cool too!) I encourage you to give it a try or, at a minimum, pass this opportunity along to someone who could benefit from it.

Dancing has absolutely been life-changing for me and I’d love pass the gift along.

Cheers!  Stef