Dancing has changed my life!

The ballroom was filled with the most spectacular dancers I had ever seen.  The routines were flawless; couples danced across the dance floor with ease, gracefulness, confidence and energy.  Each competion was better than the previous and the highlight were the pros as best compteted against best.  "Dancing with the Stars" one must be thinking: right?  No, much better than that:  The Arthur Murray World Dance O'Rama Las Vegas - the most awesome event I have ever witnessed.

One year ago I walked through the doors of Arthur Murray Redwood City with the idea maybe I could learn enough dance steps to help me survive a black and white ball that I had chosen to attend.  I always wanted to dance but never felt confident enough to believe I could.  The moment I walked through the doors I was greeted with professionalism and support for what I wanted to do.  After only four lessons I was convinced that I could dance and the negative thoughts I had around my own ability might be wrong.

CJ has been my instructor for the past year and because of him I am where I am today.  CJ has taught me to dance.  He has taught me the box step, slow slow quick quick, triple step, rock step and how to hold the slows.  He is an amazing teacher and I am so lucky that he was the person that I met that Saturday I walked through the front door.  More importantly CJ has taught me to believe  in myself, to trust myself and most importantly trust my body.

Since I have been at Arthur Murray my life has changed and I have developed a passion for dancing that is hard to explain.  Physically, I am in better shape that I have ever been in my life.  I am so happy and energetic.  My energy level is so high.  I work all day and go to the studio 3-4 nights a week and feel great.  My friends and family keep telling me that they see a whole different person.  This past Thanksgiving I spent time with a college friend who I haven't seen in 2 years, all he kept saying was "Deb, you look so much younger".  I am so much more confident.

Arthur Murray also offers so much socially.  I have made so many new friends.  I have even networked professionally with people, which was an unexpected surprise.  In addition to learning to dance the studio provides many social opportunities to connect with others.  The events include dance parties, evenings out in the city and an upcoming cruise.

When I began taking lessons I was so intimidated by what was called a coaching.  A coaching is a private lesson with a professional dancer such as Nick Kosovich from Dancing with the Stars.  Who could ever dream of dancing with such a pro?  Well guess what, I have had a couple of coachings with him and with others just as renowned in the field.  These coachings are incredible opportunities that Arthur Murray offers to its students.

4 months after taking lessons I thought I was hooked and had the opportunity to attend the World Dance O'Rama in Las Vegas.  This was probably the event that really hooked me.  I was in awe of every dancer I saw.  I wished that someday I could dance like the dancers I was in awe of; I wanted to be able to do what these dancers were doing.  When I saw my own instructor compete with the professionals I was even more in awe.  I was learning from the best.  If at this Dance O'Rama, anyone told me I could be here next year, I would have thought they were crazy.  Well guess what, this coming March I will be at the next Las Vegas World Dance O'Rama as a participant.

The best thing I have ever done in my life is to begin dancing a year ago.  I am so grateful to the staff of the Redwood City studio for continuing to support me and mostly yo my instructor CJ who has taught me so much, he is the best.  Dancing at Srthur Murray has changed my life!

Debby S.   December 2007

Dancing Into A Better Life

We have been dancing for 10 months now, and we can tell you that both of our lives have been transformed by the experience.   For Julie it has been a new confidence in her inner strength and body awareness.  For Jay, it has greatly improved his posture and given him the poise that he needed so badly.

Beyond that, dance has been an awesome gift to our marriage.  We needed to spend quality time together, not just time.  We would go out to the movies or to dinner, but something for us was still lacking.  Since we started dancing, our marriage has improved both verbally and physically.  Because of our dance lessons together we spend time moving together, instead of talking at each other.  Now we spend more time doing together; listening to the music as our bodies move as one across the dance floor.  Dancing at Arthur Murray, as we have explained, has made for a better marriage.

We are very appreciative of the thorough instruction and personal attention from the Arthur Murray staff.  CJ Gomez, our personal instructor, has made dancing so much fun for us.  We look forward to all the opportunities for improvement that Arthur Murray provides.

Thank you,

Jay and Julie N.  December 2007

Little Blonde Teacher

Jenny has been our dance teacher for the past couple of years. In the world of dance instruction, teachers move frequently between jobs and since they are artists this is to be expected. Our studio has not been immune to this phenomenon. My husband, Phil, and I have always preferred a strong male instructor as dance is a very foreign discipline to him and we thought he needed this type of teacher. When Jenny first came into our studio as a teacher in training we wondered if this little blond girl with braces would have what it took to not only learn the discipline of ballroom dance but to learn how to instruct others. We were to be proven very wrong. She has become not only a skilled dancer but more importantly, a wonderful, patient teacher. Jenny never looses her sense of humor and for someone so young seems to be developing an instinct for working with some very different personalities. She can see the different styles of learning and adjust her techniques to accommodate the student. She has become the light in spirit and energy of our studio. She always makes us feel special. After very hard days at work, my husband is a physician and I am a nurse, we know that Jenny will always lift our spirits and somehow renew our energy.

This little blond girl has turned into a professional dancer and instructor and we are very fortunate to have her as our dance instructor.

Sincerely,

Diane and Philip H.

Happily Dancing

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance.

It is with great delight that we provide the following comments:
We had been married for over 32 years and had never really danced with each other. With some trepidation, we decided to make an appointment at the Arthur Murray Studio in Redwood City to see if we could learn this foreign skill. Looking through the studio's windows that first night, we could see people dressed as animals leaping and twirling about. Probably a high school drama class practicing for a play, we thought. We soon found out these animals were actually the dance instructors dressed for "zoo night" at the studio! Hmm.... We were assigned to the tiger.

Thus began our introduction into ballroom dancing. The tiger was actually CJ Gomez, our dance specialist. When you take dancing lessons, you learn steps and you learn steps and you learn steps. It can go on for a long time. And then one day, you just learn to dance, and it is so different. Thanks to CJ, over a period of six months, our goal of negotiating the dance floor somewhat skillfully in response to a variety of music types has been met- what an unbelievable miracle! CJ has been the portal, the teacher, the encourager. At all times responsive to our particular learning style, he has gently cajoled us into learning and remembering steps we never in a million years thought we could do. It is apparent that he gives careful attention to tailoring our program content. His wonderful sense of humor has made every lesson pleasurable. Our sessions with him are truly a highlight of our week. CJ is an extremely positive person: when we feel we are hopeless idiots, he always finds something optimistic, encouraging and upbeat to say. He is a naturally rhythmic dancer, a joy to watch dance and a terrific role model.

Our experiences with CJ and the entire Arthur Murray staff have been enormously rewarding, impacting countless areas of our lives. This has been a terrifically smart investment.

Our immeasurable thanks,

George and Judy B.