This month, the Dance Amadis Ballroom Studio had the privilege of attending the Boca Ballroom Dancesport Competition. The event was hosted by Mark Nocera and Helle Rusholt-Yl at the Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa from August 18th – 20th. Owner and instructor, Mila Loguntsova, danced with her student, Gregory Clements. Dancing the waltz, tango, and foxtrot at the Bronze level, Gregory secured first place for all three. Together, Mila and Gregory also participated in three dance challenges where they were evaluated as dance partners, winning first place twice and second place once. Clearly, the hours of hard work and practice in the studio paid off!

Owners and instructors Mila Loguntsova and Germine Amadis invited Babette Brown to the studio to teach an upper body styling workshop and host private coaching lessons. The open-to-the-public workshop took place on August 24th, and the coaching lessons were on August 24th and 25th. Babette has been in the ballroom industry for over thirty years, holding titles such as Scottish Professional Latin Champion, Scottish Professional 10 Dance Representative, FADS National Latin Champion, FADS National Smooth Finalist, NDCA and WDC Adjudicator, and Dance Vision Examiner. Based in Los Angeles, California, Babette Brown took time out of her busy schedule to travel to Florida and work with aspiring dancers.

Babette Brown also offered private coaching lessons for students on August 24th and 25th. Here students were provided a one-on-one hour and a half long lesson where they were able to focus on and improve the areas of dance and movement that they were most unsure of. After attending the workshop, private lesson, or both, the students were stunned with how much they had learned about movement and dance in such a short amount of time. Babette’s decades of experience were not lost on the students, who shared their dashing reviews with the studio:

Lilianna Tarannik (dancing for 1.5 years): “After the coaching I felt a lot more confident in myself in terms of my skills and dancing overall. I felt more grounded, too, and from her input I understand dancing in a much different perspective now.” Lilianna expressed how Babette’s coaching showed her how to truly express herself when she dances, without holding back. “…the way she explained gaining confidence and creating a character also made me feel better about myself and I feel like I don’t have to be a certain way, I can just be myself and bring that out to the fullest extent.”

Ruzanna Tarannik (dancing for 1.5 years): “I loved how precise and confident she [Babette] was when she spoke and explained things. She really knows how to make you believe in their capabilities.” Ruzanna explained how she not only learned more about dance, but also about her own body. “I have a much better understanding of my body and how I can make it move to the maximum of its abilities.”

Delia Iris (dancing for 1 year): “I SO enjoyed the workshop last night. It was a great physical and mental challenge, yet Babette presented everything SO well and in such an understandable, relatable way!!” Delia went on to say that it was unlike any other workshop that has ever been brought to the Flagler County area, saying that it had “completely transformed the way I understand and look at bodywork, body control, and expression in dance.”