Arthur Murray Dance Studio of Plano

Learn to dance for your spring wedding at Arthur Murray Dance Studio of Plano, Dallas and Fort Worth

2012-01-23T14:35:00.000-06:00

Everyone has heard of Arthur Murray, in fact, there are 3 studios in the DFW area alone!

So do yourself a favor ~ taking dance lessons is a gift that keeps on giving for the rest of your life. Better to be dancing with the love of your life than watching him dance with someone else! Just sayin’.

LOCAL JUNIOR STUDENTS AT ARTHUR MURRAY DANCE STUDIOS CAPTURE NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL DANCE TITLES

2011-08-03T15:12:00.000-05:00

LOCAL JUNIOR STUDENTS AT ARTHUR MURRAY DANCE STUDIOS

CAPTURE NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL DANCE TITLES

PLANO, TX, JULY 31, 2011 - - Claudia and Zack Stevens are thrilled as only parents can be that their son Nicholas Stevens, 13, and his dance partner Alexandra Gutkovich, 12, recently won the US Junior 1 & Junior 2 (NDCA National Dance Council of America) Championship in Provo, Utah, placed 1^st in the IDSF (International Dance Sport Federation) National Competition at the Junior 1 level and were runner up in the Junior 2 level.

They also placed 8^th in the Junior 1 division at the prestigious Blackpool Competition in England, the Superbowl of the international ballroom dance world! And if that wasn’t enough, this past June, the dazzling pair won first place in both the Junior 1 and Junior 2 age divisions at the Millenium Dancesport Championships and first place in the Junior 1 division at the Manhattan Dancesport championships.

It’s even more exciting for these parents, because Claudia and Zack own and are hands-on managers and teachers at the Dallas and Plano Arthur Murray Dance Studios, which has an outstanding dance program for children. Nicholas may have inherited some dance talent, but it is the training and encouragement that he and Alexandra receive at the studio that have brought them to a championship level.

“We are delighted that Nicholas and Alexandra, who have only been dancing together for about a year, have come so far, so fast,” beamed proud mother Claudia. “The program that we run for all children has brought great success and fun to all of our students. It’s a great way for children to learn self-control, develops confidence and strong social skills. Parents tell us all the time how their children seem so much more confident and sure of themselves after just a few months on the dance floor. And of course the joy of dance is something that extends throughout all ages and stages of life for our children students.”

The Dallas Arthur Murray Dance Studio is located at 6526 LBJ Freeway, Dallas TX 75240 (972-702-9660) and the Plano Arthur Murray Dance Studio is located at 3001 West Spring Creek Parkway Plano, TX 75023 (972- 312-1262). To learn more, visit http://www.dancedfw.com/.

The iconic Arthur Murray Dance schools celebrate 100 years of teaching the world to dance in 2012. Today, Arthur Murray Dance Studios can be found throughout America and Canada and in Australia, Brazil, England, Italy, Germany, Latvia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, UEA, Egypt, South Africa, Japan, Taiwan and Puerto Rico. For more information about ballroom dance, visit the Arthur Murray International website at www.arthurmurray.com.

"The Newcomer Division: The Best Kept Secret" by Chris Lynam - Arthur Murray Franchisee and Dancer

2011-07-22T16:20:00.000-05:00

The Newcomer Division: The Best Kept Secret

30MAY

You don't have to be a Pro to get this stuff

The Newcomer Divison: The best kept secret

One thing is for certain, it is very, very rare that someone walks into an Arthur Murray Dance Studio with a dance costume and a scheduled competition. However, when there are advertisements in your school about upcoming Dance-O-Ramas, most of the student body figures it’s for that mythical student mentioned at the top.

Enter: The Newcomer Division!

At Arthur Murray, you don’t need dance experience to take your first lesson. That’s what makes the program so effective. Well, if Arthur Murray were going to put together a dance competition, wouldn’t it be wise to keep that theme in tact?

Enter: The Newcomer Division!

If you’ve taken fewer than 50 lessons, and this is your first Dance-O-Rama, you qualify for the Newcomer Division. The fine print should read, “No ringers allowed”. In this “costume-optional” level students in age categories from Youth to “Young at heart” get a chance to experience a Dance-O-Rama.

At the Dance-O-Rama you’ll not only get a chance to do something you never thought was possible, but you’re also guaranteed to gain confidence by the truckload. These events differ from our in-studio, or district events because they are held over a period of 2-3 days. So, essentially, everything that you wish you would have done on day 1 can be on your to-do list for day 2.

Another great benefit of dancing in the Newcomer division is you’ll know that everyone on the floor with you will be experiencing the same nervous energy. This typically subsides after the morning activities on the first day of dancing, and, before long, you’ll be making friends with other Newcomers from all over the world.

We’ve had many students who missed the cutoff for the Newcomer division and had to start in a higher category. Every time that’s happened, they wish they would have signed up for a Dance-O-Rama sooner so they could have had an easier transition.

All in all, a Dance-O-Rama is like any Arthur Murray event – you’re going to get top caliber service, a fun and motivating atmosphere, and a raspy voice from cheering so much. So now that the secret is out,

Enter the Newcomer Division.

Fiona Gorostiza shares her dance experience at Arthur Murray Dallas

2011-07-22T16:17:00.000-05:00

The secret lives of anchors

Article

1 of 22

News anchor Tracy Kornet recently performed with Rolling Stones tribute band the Stoneleighs. Special to dfw.com/Rachel Parker

John McCaa

Age: 57

Occupation: Co-anchor, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, WFAA/Channel 8

"Secret life": Drummer

Quote: "What got me playing drums as a kid is that every single time I was sitting at the drums, I would get just that much better."

Fiona Gorostiza

Age: Didn't say

Occupation: Weather anchor/features reporter, KDFW/Channel 4's Good Day

"Secret life": Ballroom dancing

Quote: "I love learning all the different types of dance, whether it's the waltz or the cha-cha ... and I [love] the challenge of putting [a] whole routine together."

Doug Dunbar

Age: 47

Occupation: Co-anchor, 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts, KTVT/Channel 11

"Secret life": Pilot (and other things)

Quote: "I joke with my family and my friends, 'When I get to the end, when they close the lid, I just want to be able to say I tried one of everything.'"

Tracy Kornet

Age: 42

Occupation: Co-anchor, 4 p.m. newscast, KTVT/Channel 11; 7 p.m. newscast, KTXA/Channel 21

"Secret life": Singer

Quote: "That is gonna be fun, because that's just me, and I'm singing old hymns and gospel tunes." (On her upcoming gig at House of Blues' Gospel Brunch.)

Grant Johnston

Age: 34

Occupation: Weather anchor, KXAS/Channel 5

"Secret life": Seminary student

Quote: "When God starts pulling at your heart, it's tough to push that aside."

Rebecca Miller

Age: Didn't say

Occupation: Meteorologist, KDAF/Channel 33

"Secret life": Cake decorator

Quote: "It's so easy to make these cakes. I say 'easy,' once you know the tricks. You have to have a lot of patience with them."

Clarice Tinsley

Age: 57

Occupation: Co-anchor, 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts, KDFW/Channel 4

"Secret life": Painter

Quote: "[My art's] not anything that's something I've put out there. It's for me."

By Robert Philpot

dfw.com

Posted 9:06am on Wednesday, Jul. 20, 2011

Away from the studio, local TV personalities explore their personal passions, from pursuing spiritual enlightenment to rocking out. We peel back the curtain on John McCaa, Rebecca Miller, Doug Dunbar, Clarice Tinsley, Tracy Kornet, Grant Johnston and Fiona Gorostiza.

CBS-11's Doug Dunbar is talking about one of his favorite hobbies, something about how, in this wired and connected world, he can travel to a place where nobody can get to him, where he's immune to the call of a cellphone.

Except it's a little hard to get the quote exact, because we're in Dunbar's two-seater Super Decathlon airplane, flying a couple thousand feet over northern Tarrant and southern Denton counties. The ride is too noisy to record an interview, too bumpy to take notes. The journalist he's flying with, truth be told, is a little nervous about being in this small plane.

But it's easy to understand why Dunbar tries to do this at least once a week. There's a serenity up here, looking down at Lake Grapevine and Lake Lewisville to the east, seeing more treetops than you realized exist in North Texas. It's a respite from Dunbar's day job, co-anchoring evening newscasts on KTVT/Channel 11.

"I'm not a hyper guy," Dunbar says after we've landed. "I can sit and be quiet for a long time. But, to me, and this is getting real philosophical on you, life is defined by the beginning and the end, and what you make of that time is what's going to define your life.... I joke with my family and my friends, 'When I get to the end, when they close the lid, I just want to be able to say I tried one of everything.'"

Anyone who watches local news broadcasts over many years is bound to start wondering: What are these people like when they're not suited up, talking in that broadcast voice and nodding seriously at what their co-anchors say? As it turns out, Dunbar isn't the only newsperson whose off-air interests go far beyond the typical "travel-movies-eating out" stuff you'll read on official station bios. Whether playing the drums, decorating cakes or studying for a higher calling, a number of North Texas newspeople have their own special ways of achieving serenity away from the harsh glare of the studio lights.

One of Dunbar's competitors, WFAA/Channel 8 anchor John McCaa, summed it up best: "People always ask us, 'We need you to come to such-and-such [event].' But you've gotta be dressed, you've got to put on that public persona, and I don't want to do that. On the weekends, we just like to be us. I suspect you're going to hear that from everybody.... You've really just gotta chill."

John McCaa, drummer

For a guy who says he doesn't get to play the drums as often as he'd like, John McCaa sounds pretty good beating out the boom-boom-boom, boom-boom-da-boom solo that Gene Krupa famously used to kick off Benny Goodman's Sing Sing Sing.Which, McCaa says, is a good thing to do when he's a little frustrated about work.

McCaa has been playing drums since his parents gave him his first snare in sixth grade. He grew up in an Air Force family that moved around a lot, living in such places as Idaho and Spain. Military housing didn't make his hobby easy: The family was usually in a duplex; the drums were often too loud for the neighbors.

Things got a little better for him when his family moved into a house with a basement -- especially when his parents went out for the evening.

"I had two hours to jack the stereo up and play," McCaa says. "And I had to hope that the neighbors couldn't hear me because we moved the drums to the other side of the basement."

McCaa started playing with bands when he was in ninth grade. Eventually, he got to play in clubs in Madrid. But when he returned to the States to go to college, he had to leave his original $119.95 Sears drum kit behind. He poured his energies into broadcast journalism, pursuing a degree in journalism and mass communication at Creighton University in Omaha. He did television for seven years in Omaha before coming to WFAA in 1984.

These days, McCaa, who is married with an adult son, plays on an electronic drum kit in an upstairs room in his home (often wearing headphones so his wife won't have to endure the din). Usually he plays along with songs on his iPod or to pre-recorded music tracks, but it has been a couple years since he played with a band. He has also been carrying on another secret life entirely, studying for a Ph.D. in humanities, with a major in the history of ideas, at the the University of Texas at Dallas. The intense reading required -- he usually reads a book each weekend day -- has left him little time to drum with a group.

"I'm hoping to play with somebody pretty soon," he says, noting that the last time he did so was while sitting in with local group the Pit Pops, which features DFW radio personality Stubie Doak. "They send me stuff every weekend. I've thought about it. But I've been ignoring my wife, too."

Doug Dunbar, pilot and barefoot water skier

Doug Dunbar says he has loved airplanes since he was a child.

"I was always fascinated with how this big lunking piece of metal could fly through the sky," says Dunbar, who has been flying since 1992. "Even today, I know how to fly an airplane, I know what makes it fly, and I know the dynamics. But part of my brain still says, 'How does that stuff fly through the air?'"

Fortunately, Dunbar says this after we've landed, because this is the very question that makes some people afraid of flying. But Dunbar says he has only had one unexpected incident in nearly 20 years of flying -- and that was a burned-out light bulb on the control panel.

In the rear seat of Dunbar's plane is a control stick, and operating it is pretty simple -- pull back to go higher, push forward to go lower, push right to go right, etc. He likes to give nervous passengers a chance to fly the plane as soon as he can.

"If you have the power of knowledge, it makes things a lot less scary," Dunbar says. "I've taken up friends who have a deathly fear of flying. They won't get on a commercial jetliner without a death grip on a seat, that whole deal. But if you're sitting on the ground and thinking, 'I don't want to do it,' then as quick as I can, I give you some control. Because then it changes the dynamic, because then you understand that even you can't mess this up."

Of course, flying isn't the only thing Dunbar does to get away from things -- just like John McCaa, he's a man of many secret lives. Before our flight, Dunbar had already taken a 20-mile bike ride. And the whole airplane ride happened because weather conditions pre-empted plans to go barefoot-water-skiing. Dunbar, who's a former national champion in the sport, discovered barefoot-water-skiing in 1986, when he lived on a lake in Florida and the then-world champion lived nearby.

"For whatever reason, I fell in love with it," says Dunbar, who still skis, but not competitively. "The speed, 45 miles an hour across the water on your feet, the danger of it, I guess."

Oh, and Dunbar is also training for a triathlon. And he has jumped out of airplanes a few times. Dunbar says he's not an adrenalin junkie -- it's just that he thinks that there are a lot of great things in life, and he wants to touch all of them.

"I do a lot of things where people say: 'What the hell are you doing? You're crazy!'" he says. "But I don't do anything that I don't educate myself on and don't feel comfortable with."

Fiona Gorostiza, ballroom dancer

Fiona Gorostiza has also jumped out of an airplane -- for an assignment, no less, in her job as a features reporter for KDFW/Channel 4's Good Day, where she also does weathercasts. She has auditioned in front of So You Think You Can Dance judges. She is, in fact, game for just about anything but feeding sharks or eating weird Fear Factor-style food.

She also holds a third-degree black belt in taekwondo, in which she has three world-championship titles. But she hasn't practiced the martial art in years. Not that it doesn't still come up. When she recently participated in Top Hat & Tails, a Dancing With the Stars-style benefit for animal-rights charity Paws in the City, her partner saw her taekwondo background as an advantage.

"His first question to me was 'So, how flexible are you?'" Gorostiza says. "I was like, 'Well, I'm still pretty flexible.' 'Excellent! We're going to do a drop-split in the routine.'"

Gorostiza and her partner won the competition, beating out several other local personalities, including KXAS/Channel 5 traffic reporter Tammy Dombeck, KDAF/Channel 33 meteorologist Rebecca Miller and KLUV/98.7 FM morning man Jody Dean. But Gorostiza didn't need a win to fall for it quickly.

"I'd never ballroom danced in the past, but I watched some movies," she says with a laugh. "I just loved it after my first couple of lessons and decided to stick with it. It's a great way to exercise without knowing that you're exercising. And that's what I love, because I don't run unless I'm being chased, and I hate the gym."

Things went much better for her in Top Hats & Tails than it did when she "auditioned" for So You Think You Can Dance last year when the show's judges were in town for an open call at SMU's McFarlin Auditorium. Her bosses thought it would make for a fun news segment.

"I didn't know that the So You Think You Can Dance audition would be in front of actual dancers," she says. "I thought it would be a little room where you walk in, and it may just be the judges, and it may be some other people, and you just do your thing. I didn't realize it would be at SMU and they'd use the entire theater. I was so embarrassed. But luckily, they clapped and they laughed along."

Gorostiza plans to dance in another charity event in Rockwall in September, but this time the theme is jazz, so she'll be learning jazz dancing, which she has never done before. But, as she has shown on the air, she'll pretty much try anything once.

"Once they push you out of a plane at 21/2 miles up, I don't really sweat the small stuff after that," she says.

Clarice Tinsley, painter

Like her Fox-4 colleague Fiona Gorostiza, longtime station anchor Clarice Tinsley found her passion at a charity event.

In 2003, Tinsley was one of 95 local celebrities invited to create a work of art in the window of the downtown Dallas Neiman Marcus, which was celebrating its 95th anniversary with an art auction to benefit Children's Medical Center of Dallas. Denver-based artist Lonnie Hanzon acted as a mentor to the locals.

"So I was in a window with Lonnie, and I'd never met him before, but we just had this instant rapport," Tinsley says. "And I started doing something, and I said, 'Oh, I made a mistake.' And he said, 'Clarice, in art there's no such thing as a mistake. There's only your intention.' That liberated me. After he said that, I just went crazy."

Since then, Tinsley, whose father was a painter and a sculptor, has found solace in painting. "I've always appreciated [art]," she says, "and I think I have a little bit of an eye for color, but I just didn't think I had the confidence that I could do it. Unfortunately, I think I was comparing myself to my father, which I've learned you don't do. My voice, my eye, my vision is mine."

Many of her paintings adorn the walls of her north Dallas home. She leans toward the abstract, because she doesn't believe she has the proficiency for line or detail. She likes words -- one painting in her laundry room has the words "Act, Celebrate, Remember," inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. Another painting, a series of colorful diagonal stripes interspersed with white stripes, is her interpretation of what she saw when she flew with the Blue Angels and looked down at the Earth from about 13,000 feet up.

"The jet was shaking, but it wasn't like the turbulence that you have in a commercial airliner," she says. "When I looked at the Earth, it was misty, it was indistinct. There was no shape to it. So this painting, for me, is my interpretation of that ride."

Tinsley says she does the paintings for herself, and that most people never see them. But she has paid for her own art at least once -- during the Neiman's auction.

"They put it up for bid, and a woman bid $1,300 for it; I bid $1,400," she says with a laugh. "And my husband said, 'Y'know, you could've just done another one for free.'"

Tracy Kornet, singer

Tracy Kornet's "secret life" isn't that secret. After all, when she was performing with the band Eleven21, made up of people from KTVT/Channel 11 and KTXA/Channel 21, the stations promoted the band's appearances pretty regularly. But she can still make people do a double take.

"C'mon, how many people watch every single newscast?" says Kornet, who co-anchors the 4 p.m. newscast on KTVT and the 7-9 p.m. newscast on KTXA. "So it still surprises many folks, especially when I'm out at Sambuca [Restaurant in Dallas] or something, and there's a viewer out there saying: 'That looks like Tracy Kornet. What the heck?'"

Kornet says she has been singing nearly her whole life. She won a school talent show when she was 10 years old. The performing continued into adulthood -- she performed with Original Cast, a Broadway revue group, when she was at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. She did a stint in Japan backing up Anri, a Japanese pop star. And she even flirted with a professional singing career in Los Angeles, recording demos and coming close to signing with Epic Records.

But she struggled with the music-industry lifestyle, which often didn't jibe with her values.

"I grew up with The PTL Club," Kornet says. "My mother would drive us up to Heritage USA, with Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, every summer. I thought I'd be a PTL Club singer. Having an Evangelical Protestant upbringing and living that lifestyle in Los Angeles were two opposite ends of the spectrum. And I really wrestled. I wrestled valuewise with what was required to be a full-time entertainer."

These days, Kornet's busy work schedule -- she's at the station at least 10 hours most days -- keeps her from performing as much as she'd like. Eleven21 has evolved into the Stoneleighs, a Rolling Stones tribute band. Recently, she got to perform with them at the Barley House, a club near SMU, singing the Merry Clayton part on Gimme Shelter, among other numbers.

But her bigger gig comes Sunday, when she'll sing at the weekly Gospel Brunch at 12:30 p.m. at House of Blues in Dallas. The songs, by such artists as gospel superstar Andraé Crouch, are close to her heart.

"I was rehearsing this morning," Kornet says. "I was belting, and I've been in the best mood all day, because I'd forgotten how much I love the music."

Grant Johnston, seminary student

Grant Johnston, who has been a meteorologist at KXAS/Channel 5 since April 2010, didn't actually move to DFW to be a weather forecaster -- even though he had a lot of TV weathercasting in his background, having worked in Oklahoma City and Springfield, Mo.

"I came down here in pursuit of learning the Bible and going to seminary, and lo and behold, the job at Channel 5 opens up," says Johnston, who began studying at Dallas Theological Seminary, a nondenominational school, in 2009. "I told them right off the bat [about my studies], and they said: 'That's great. We respect that, and we'd also like to have you as part of the team here.'"

Johnston, who grew up in Kansas City, Mo., had been working in Springfield for a couple of years when he unexpectedly got a call from KFOR in Oklahoma City. It was his dream job -- a guy with a longtime fascination with weather working in the heart of Tornado Alley. It wasn't till his Oklahoma City gig, though, that he began thinking more seriously about a religious calling.

"I was going through a tough time, went through a breakup with my girlfriend at the time," Johnston says. "It was kind of a lonely season in my life, and I was fortunate to have a friend and co-worker who invited me to church. That really changed my life, woke me up and gave me a sense of purpose."

Science and religion are often portrayed as being at odds with each other, but Johnston says he sees a connection, and his love for both is rooted in his curiosity about the universe.

"I'm drawn to science, because I like to learn how things work," he says. "But eventually, you get to a point in science where there are questions that are unanswered. When you couple theology and science together, then I think that's where the answers lie."

Johnston, who has also composed music, mostly instrumentals for TV promos, says his seminary studies keep him from getting too tied up in the glamour of being on TV. He's not sure where his seminary studies will take him; he has studied preaching, and he might do that or write. But he also enjoys his NBC-5 gig.

"I kinda realized that there is something more out there, and that's where studying the Bible, for me, just really completes the picture," he says. "And it is a respite, and at the end of the day, I come home. Maybe it's a long, stressful day, tracking tornadoes or whatever -- it's important, but I also see the eternal perspective to what we do. We're only here for such a short period, a blink of an eye compared to eternity."

Rebecca Miller, baker, cake decorator

Rebecca Miller, who has been a meteorologist for KDAF/Channel 33 since 2009 and spent 17 years at KXAS/Channel 5 before that, says she has been decorating cakes for years. But she really started getting elaborate with it when she began watching cake shows on Food Network. One woman she often saw on those shows, Bronwen Weber, was from Austin -- so Miller thought the network had made a mistake when a show identified her as being from Dallas.

"And then I thought, wait, what if she is in Dallas?" Miller says. "And then I Googled her name, and sure enough, she has a bakery here in the Metroplex. It's called Frosted Art."

Turns out, Weber also teaches cake decorating. Miller took her first class in 2007, when she was still at Channel 5. After she was let go from the station in 2008, she began pursuing her longtime baking hobby more seriously. She even briefly considered going into business.

"I thought, well, I would love to have a bakery, and I still kind of think I would love to have a bakery," she says.

Miller mostly makes cakes for friends and their children. An animal-lover, she has also made special cakes that are dog-friendly. (She has three rescues of her own.) She has made cakes as small as the chocolate cake pictured with her -- which has Italian meringue butter-cream frosting with vanilla and orange flavoring, and is covered in marshmallow fondant that tastes like a Tootsie Roll -- as well as cakes big enough to serve hundreds.

"The most elaborate one that I've made was probably a Raggedy Ann Doll cake," she says. "It was a standing Raggedy Ann Doll, and underneath it was full of PVC structure, and you just stack layers of cake on the PVC, and you frost that and sculpt it. The great thing that Bronwen does is she teaches you how to sculpt it, and she teaches you not to be afraid."

At Channel 5, Miller got up at 2 a.m. to get ready for a 5 a.m. TV gig. Now she goes to work in the afternoons, doing the weather during the 5 and 9 p.m. newscasts. She says the night shift has made it harder for her to pursue her baking hobby. But she doesn't think she'll ever stop baking or getting fancy with her cakes.

"It is therapeutic," she says. "There's a lot of rewards in it when something turns out well. And even when something doesn't turn out well, it's easy to cover mistakes, so other people are impressed."

Krystal Schlegel: Top hat and Tails! + Go MAVS!!

2011-06-20T12:14:00.000-05:00

Krystal Schlegel: Top hat and Tails! + Go MAVS!!: "Wow! It has been a busy week leading up to the final days before Top Hat & Tails - The Dancing with Stars of Dallas charity event for Paws..."

LBJ Express Project Spotlights Arthur Murray Dance Studio

2011-06-09T12:24:00.002-05:00

Local Business Spotlight

Usually the LBJ Express highlights a contractor working on the LBJ Express project. This month, the LBJ Express would like to spotlight a local business located in the heart of the LBJ corridor. We are proud to introduce the Arthur Murray Dance Studio.

The Arthur Murray Dance Studio has been in Dallas for over 18 years and at its current location on the LBJ Express for 11. This family business is owned and managed by Zack Stevens. Stevens and his wife both work at the studio while raising their four children.

Stevens admits that the construction along the LBJ Express is at times worrisome but he also understands the need for the project. "I am able to be positive during this time," Stevens said. "I can certainly see and feel the changes coming with construction, but you can't fear change, this is a necessary thing." Stevens continued.

The Arthur Murray Dance Studio is currently training many local celebrities for an upcoming fundraiser similar to the popular television show, "Dancing with the Stars." Stevens said the celebrities ask him about the construction and he tells them he is able to remain positive and look forward to the end result.

Finally, Zack Stevens noted that he appreciates the communication and efforts by the LBJ Express to keep the business community informed during the construction process.

The LBJ Express salutes The Arthur Murray Dance Studio! If you are a business owner along the LBJ Express, please visit www.lbjexpress.com for more information and to sign up for e-alerts and e-updates.

4th annual Top Hat & Tails to feature celebrity ballroom dance competition with Arthur Murray instructors!

2011-06-03T13:20:00.000-05:00

4th annual Top Hat & Tails to feature celebrity dance competition

by Rebecca Poling of Rebecca Poling, Dallas Animal Rescue Examiner

Photo credit Paws in the City

Jonnie England, Director of Animal Advocacy and Communications, Metroplex Animal Coalition

Don't miss the biggest party of the year, Saturday, June 18, when Paws In The Citypresents the fourth annual Top Hat & Tails. This year's event will once again be held at theFrontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field and will feature a silent auction, cocktails, a sit down dinner, live auction, and the wildly popular celebrity dance contest, which pairs local celebrities with Arthur Murray dance professionals.

This year's celebrity dancers include Emmy award-winning veteran of TV and radio Jody Dean; WB 33 Chief Meteorologist Rebecca Miller; journalist and online trendsetter Krystal Schlegel; movie and television star Burton Gilliam; NBC5 Gridlock Buster Tammy Dombeck; executive chef and owner of Suze Restaurant, Gilbert Garza; Fox 4's Fiona Garza; and Dallas Cowboys great Tony Casillas. Sports-casting legend Scott Murray and former Dallas Cowboys star Preston Pearson return as co-hosts, with TV personality and philanthropist Angie Barrett, former Dallas Cowboys great Drew Pearson, and Arthur Murray Dance Studio's own Claudia Marshall serving as judges for the contest.

Top Hats & Tails

SAT
JUN
18^TH
6^PM

Frontiers of Flight Museum
6911 Lemmon Avenue, Dallas, TX
$125 - $1500
Age limit: N/A

This year's honorees are Jonnie England, Director of Animal Advocacy and Communications for the Metroplex Animal Coalition and Jack Knox, long-time animal advocate and owner of Cafe Pacific.

Tickets are $125 per person, and are available online. Each ticket includes appetizers, a 3-course dinner, one drink ticket, a glass of wine with dinner, and a good bag. Dress is black tie optional, or something reminiscent of the Mad Men era. Cocktails and the silent auction begin at 6 p.m., with dinner, the live auction, and the dance competition at 7:30 p.m. The late night crowd will be able to enjoy dancing and cocktails again beginning at 10 p.m.

For more information, visit the Top Hat & Tails website.

It's time once again for Top Hat and Tails!

2011-06-01T12:17:00.000-05:00

Once again, Arthur Murray Dance Studios will be partnering with the celebrities for the annual Top Hat and Tails Dancing With The Stars Competition! The instructors and celebrities are all getting really excited as the big day draws near. Arthur Murray is proud to be a continuing part of this effort to raise money for the animals of Dallas!
Click the link for more information about this year's event!
http://www.tophatandtails.org/

Arthur Murray - The Best Way of Developing Versatile and Competitive Dancers!

2011-01-31T14:07:00.000-06:00

http://www.articlecube.com/Article/The-Best-Way-of-Developing-Versatile-and-Competitive-Dancers/1124822

Do you want to be a Hollywood dance star? You should start it with the finest and most effective methods - the Arthur Murray way. Arthur Murray Dance Studio offers dance lessons with various programs designed to improve every dancer’s skills. Our professional dance instructors have years of experience in Hollywood, Broadway, and many other reputable sets and events. Arthur Murray Studio has been franchised with over 250 studios that act as Los Angeles dance schools worldwide. At Arthur Murray, we believe that a dancing does not only require talent but the form, skills, and attitude of a true dancer as well. For more than 98 years now, we have been bringing out the real dancer in every person who has the passion to make talent into a great dancing form.

Since 1921, Arthur Murray Dance Studio has made the entertainment industry more lively, competitive, and creative with superb dancing. Whether in TV shows, movies, or theatres, dance teachers from any of Arthur Murray studios have greatly influenced dancing that has been taken into a higher level. If you want to be a competitive dancer or a flexible social dancer, it is our pleasure to help you achieve your goals while enjoying every lesson with us. At Arthur Murray, we never discriminate anyone because we believe that individuals of any gender, age, level of dancing skills, and so on have the right to satisfy their urge in dancing. Even if one is already considered a professional dancer, he or she can still enroll with us because there is always something to improve on. We cover everything about dancing including appropriate styling, choreography, techniques, and even showmanship. We are dedicated to let students learn, enjoy, and succeed in any kind of dance. We are proud to say for having taught and handled millions of students who turned out to be versatile dancers with an edge. Many of them have also had a career in conducting dance lessons, have been part of competitive dance groups, have performed in great dance opportunities, have always enjoyed what they learned from our dance programs, and so on.

Many dance enthusiasts who have joined Arthur Murray Studio as beginners have not only enjoyed their learning experience but have achieved success in their dance aspiration and goals. Countless students we’ve had have made big names in the dance stage of various genres or styles. With professional dance instructors who know how to make anyone step up, we give much importance on foot position, rhythm and timing, and leading or following that each forms the foundation of dancing. In keeping each lesson interesting enough, we combine a variety of steps and techniques while we let each student find his or her own flair in dancing. As a result, we have been able to develop dancers who are versatile and spirited in every way possible. We have trained individual dancers, whether in groups or not, to shine and stand out in a crowd or in the dance floor. Nevertheless, confidence works hand in hand with having fun in every dance in Arthur Murray Dance Studio.

A Medical Breakthrough with Dancing!

2011-01-27T17:42:00.000-06:00

My husband, Ed Lusk, had a massive hemorrhagic stroke on July 25, 2009. The prognosis was that he had about a 10% survival rate and if he survived he would have major right side deficits. He did survive and has engaged on a very intensive rehabilitation program. Today he walks with out any assistance, climbs 22 stairs daily to his office and bedroom and putts for 18 holes of golf weekly. Dancing at the Arthur Murray Studio was the single most significant contribution to this success. Our daughter, told him in April that she wanted him to dance at her wedding in July. He began taking lessons and danced at her wedding. He has continued dancing, executing increasingly more complicated steps. The dancing lessons initially had a huge impact on his balance and confidence in not falling. His fear of going backwards, sideways and even just moving his hips have all gone away through dance. Speech was and is a major work in progress, but the positive environment of the Arthur Murray Studio also played a role in him becoming fully engaged in a new life, different, but oh so happy!!

-Alice Lusk

http://dance.blogs.fox.com/tag/national-dance-day/

2010-07-22T15:31:00.000-05:00

http://dance.blogs.fox.com/tag/national-dance-day/

More grooms taking dance lessons

2010-06-14T15:23:00.000-05:00

More grooms taking dance lessons

This is a great article on the increase in the number of Grooms taking dance lessons!
What a great way to put an extra special touch on your wedding day!
Dance Lessons are also a great way for newlyweds to spend time together and ensure a great beginning to their marriage!

Taking Dance Lessons for Your Wedding Helps Groom Feel Less Stress

2010-06-02T10:27:00.000-05:00

Great article from the Canadian Press...

Grooms who can't dance feel pressure of 'Dancing with the Stars,' YouTube videos

By Leanne Italie (CP) – 19 hours ago

Looking silly — or worse — during the first dance as a married couple rates way up there on the scale of wedding stress for grooms who are terrified of anything fancier than the high-school prom sway.

"It's not Emily Post's dance anymore," said Crista Tharp, a wedding planner in Kokomo, Ind. "Some are doing rap, hip-hop, break dancing in little snippets. Most grooms would probably nix the dance, but they're not given that option."

Motivated by television's "Dancing with the Stars" and wacky wedding dance YouTube videos, more couples are building fancy footwork into their big-day budgets, turning up the pressure on members of the wedding party with two left feet.

For those who can't dance — but will be singled out by cameras and watching guests — setting a clear goal is a good place to begin, dance instructors suggest. Are you merely looking to survive with a few basic steps, or are you going all-in with dance sequences put together with help from an instructor or a wedding choreographer?

Groom-to-be Jerry Karran, 28, a video editor in New York City, decided on regular lessons at a dance studio ahead of his wedding in July with 400 invited guests. He tried watching instructional videos online, but they left him confused.

"I'm very nervous," he said. "I'm not nervous about anything else concerning the wedding but that. I can't dance, like, at all. Everybody's looking at you. I don't want to look stupid messing up, or stepping on her toes or something."

Dance lessons helped calm Jeremy Gorelick, 30, when he got married in April at Johns Hopkins University, where he met his wife. He has always enjoyed dancing in clubs, but slow dancing was "THE worry of the wedding for both of us."

They took lessons together, but he often practised on his own with a broom. That, Gorelick said, was a misstep because it wasn't at all like leading his bride on the dance floor.

"A broom will do whatever you do, so it was actually an exercise in futility and probably did more damage," said Gorelick of New York City and White Sulphur Springs, N.Y.

Start taking lessons well in advance of the big day to make your movements more instinctive and less dependent on shaky, short-term memory, instructors recommend. Beginning at least six months ahead of a wedding is ideal, but six weeks would suffice, as long as at least four lessons are involved.

Start with group lessons, many suggest, to get comfortable on a dance floor and boost confidence. Then take private instruction to work on a specific routine or dance.

Jackie Horner, who was Gorelick's instructor, often teaches whole wedding parties how to dance. While women, too, can be dance-challenged, men are often more nervous because they must also learn how to lead, she said.

"I say to them, dancing is just walking to music," Horner said. "I have them walk around the room for me to just feel the music a little bit, because there are men who do not have any rhythm at all. Usually it's a little easier than they thought."

Gorelick said beginners should advocate for a short song. He and his wife chose "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson after their instructor steered them away from a longer tune, "based on the fact that I seemed so tense. She didn't want me to be out there for an eternity, which is sort of what it felt like."

James Joseph, who wrote the book "Every Man's Survival Guide to Ballroom Dancing" (BlueChip, 2010), said taking lessons is fine if couples have the time, money and inclination. For those in dance-floor survival mode, try embellishing the basic side step with a simple change of footwork, a slow rotation or some underarm turns.

"If anyone asks, tell them it's a foxtrot," he said.

Change steps when the music changes, from verse to chorus, for instance, to avoid getting lost. Making four or five changes, with a dip in the middle and at the end, can look more difficult than it really is.

Working with a choreographer, Joseph said, may be more trouble than it's worth.

"If you work with a teacher, there's a temptation to add choreography that you might not be able to handle," he said.

"Don't get in over your head."

Practising in wedding clothes, including shoes, also helps lessen anxiety, said Joseph, a former two-left-footer who lives in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Videotape a practice session to see what needs work — and practise, practise, practise.

Grooms aren't the only front-and-centre wedding participants who may be jittery about big dances.

In 2006, at age 62, bawdy TV personality Jerry Springer brought tears to the set of "Dancing with the Stars" with an on-air kiss for his daughter Katie after a waltz he learned so he could dance at her wedding that December.

"I've never really danced," Springer, now 66, said in an interview. "So the night of the wedding, it's time for the big father-daughter dance. In the middle of it, Katie looks up at me and says, 'Dad, nobody can see our feet.' They were covered by her big gown. My advice to dads unsure if they can dance for their daughter's wedding is to make sure they have a big gown. Then you can get by doing anything."

Shelley Kapitulik, 29, and her fiance, Michael Drazin, 27, both of Greenwich, Conn., hope to do more than just get by when they dance to the Michael Buble cover of James Taylor's "How Sweet It Is (To be Loved by You)" at their June reception. They plan a swing dance, and took lessons to get a nervous Drazin over the hump.

"The more we dance and I make mistakes, we figure out how to just keep going, which has decreased the anxiety level," he said.

Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Dallas & Plano Arthur Murray Provides Official Celebrity Dance Teachers for Paws in the City Event

2010-06-01T14:31:00.000-05:00

DALLAS AND PLANO ARTHUR MURRAY DANCE STUDIOS

OFFICIAL CELEBRITY DANCE TRAINERS AND JUDGE

FOR PAWS IN THE CITY BENEFIT

DALLAS, TX – April __ - Top Hat & Tails, the annual fundraiser for Paws in the City, will be held on Saturday, June 12th at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field. The evening event brings in the most revenue for Paws in the City each year, saving more dogs and cats from the streets as strays and from being euthanized at the Dallas shelter. And it's a fabulous social event, a chance to dance with some local "Stars."

Judge Claudia Marshall, owner of the Arthur Murray Studio in Dallas and Plano, will serve on the panel of official dance judges, and the celebrities will be paired with several Arthur Murray dance instructors, who will teach the stars how to put their best performance on the dance floor.

"We are honored to be a part of this great annual event both for judging and teaching the celebrities how to look great when they step out on the dance floor, like they know what they're doing" said Claudia Marshall.

"We had a great time last year at Paws and are looking forward to another successful fun filled evening. This year the competition seems to be even greater. A few of the Celebs have started taking some brush up 50's Rock and Roll, Twist, and slow dance lessons at our studio."

The Flight Museum will be transformed back to the 1950's featuring a star-studded celebrity dance contest along with cocktails, and a live and silent auction. The dance floor will be open to all before dinner and after the dance competition...an excellent opportunity to dance with our local stars.

Dancers for 2010 so far are:

• Carly Patterson: all around Olympic Gold Medalist

• Dee Lincoln: Founder, Dee Lincoln's Tasting Room & Bubble Bar, Del Frisco's Steak House and The Dinghy

• Gary Seith: CBS 11 Meteorologist

• Michelle Witten: Wife of Dallas Cowboy, Jason Witten

• Richard Chamberlain: Chef/Proprietor Chamberlain's Restaurants

• Jocelyn White: Texas TV and Radio Personality and President of Jocelyn White Media

• Brendan Higgins: Television Anchor and personality

• Kim Fischer: Reporter for KXAS NBC 5

Judge Claudia Marshall, owner of the Arthur Murray Studios in Dallas and Plano, is joined by fellow judges Charles Lewis Haley, five time Superbowl winner and Former Dallas Cowboy, and Kellie Rasberry, host of KDD’s Kidd Kraddick morning show. These three strong personalities bring their quick witted critiques, comments and "step by step-coverage" to highlight the evening. The judges’ scores are combined with guest's votes to determine the winner, who is presented with the Lucy Award, named after a beloved dog owned by our emcee, Preston Pierson.

The Dallas Arthur Murray Dance Studio is located at 6526 LBJ Freeway, Dallas TX 75240 (972-702-9660) and the Plano Arthur Murray Dance Studio is located at 3001 West Spring Creek Parkway Plano, TX 75023 (972- 312-1262). To learn more, visit http://www.dancedfw.com/. For more details on Paws, visit http://tophatandtails.org.

Arthur Murray Dance Studios can be found throughout America and Canada and in Australia, Brazil, Italy, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, South Africa, Japan, and Puerto Rico. For more information about ballroom dance, visit the Arthur Murray International website at www.arthurmurray.com.

Wedding Dance Lessons in Dallas - Bride and Groom Have Fun Learning to Dance

2010-04-28T14:53:00.000-05:00

Visit our website at http://www.dancedfw.com/ for more information about our Wedding Dance Programs in our Plano, Dallas and Ft. Worth schools.

Try Dancing for that Inferiority Complex (Nov, 1934)

2010-04-26T17:19:00.000-05:00

Who should learn to dance? Everyone! Why? Check out this article by Arthur Murray himself. Although it was written over 80 years ago, much of what it says still rings true for many of you today.

Try Dancing for that Inferiority Complex (Nov, 1934)

Dancing With the Stars and Arthur Murray Dallas and Plano

2010-03-23T10:57:00.000-05:00

I was pretty excited about this seasons cast of characters for Dancing With the Stars. After watching the show last night I am still thrilled with who they chose! Even though the show has been on now for several years, the intrigue of watching other people learn to dance hasn't changed! What has changed is the public's general perception of what dancing can do for you in your life!

I remember the first season of the show. We had many, many people come into the studio wanting to "dance like the people on TV". Most of them thought it was something they could accomplish in about a week's time. After all, isn't that how long it takes them on the show?!?! As you can imagine, many were disappointed when we had to give them a little bit of education. Yeah, you can learn a routine to a dance in one week's time...if you work at it for 8 hours a day like it was your full time job. Then, you could dance that routine with your teacher, but no one else because you haven't really learned how to lead/follow. etc., etc., etc.

However, as the seasons have progressed and the Stars have opened up and shared their own personal experiences of how dancing has impacted them, the public has also started to see beyond the glitz and glamour and into the more substantial side of social dancing! We've seen stars experience a total body make-over, weight loss after having kids, a self-esteem boost, the feeling of accomplishment that comes from learning something new, a way to push through tough times, and much more. So, now, when people come in because they love to watch Dancing With the Stars, it's because they see dancing as a way to win whatever personal battle they are struggling with at that time. It could be weight loss, meeting new people, improved confidence, exercise, realxation, or any of the other wonderful benefits that dancing has to offer.

Last year, Kelly Osbourn was my favorite. I guess I am truly a dance teacher at heart, because I don't look at the flashiest costume, the most wiggly hips, the best showmanship, or the most popular star. I look for the one who is experiencing the most inner change and the most growth. Last night, Chelsea Hightower told her partner Jake that the competition is not about who does the best first performance...it's about who grows the most as a dancer over the course of the show. I totally agree! This year, there are a lot of great Stars who will put on a grand show. The debut night last night was one of the best so far. There is a lot of talent out there! But, my prediction this year for the Star who will experience the most change during the show (if she let's the dancing work its magic) is Kate Gosselin. I'm not saying she will win, but I think this is a woman who has been through a lot of emotional crap in the last year or so, and I think if she opens up her heart and lets dancing in, she will find out just how strong she really is. I think it will heal a lot of hurt for her and give her a positive outlook on life again.

Among the other contestants, I thought that Evan Lysacek and Nicole Scherzinger did a great job last night...but I also think they have a little bit of an advantage over the others. Ochocinco surprised me, and the rest of the playing field seems pretty even to me.

Anyway, I hope you are realdy for a great season and if you aren't already learning to dance with us at Arthur Murray, come on in and give it a shot...if everyone else is doing it, why aren't you? You deserve to experience what life is like when you have the confidence to dance, don't you?

How Has Dancing Changed Your Life?

2010-03-17T11:13:00.000-05:00

The coolest thing happened the other day. I was working the Arthur Murray booth at the Plano Bridal Show with 3 of our executives, Nikki, Justin and Ian. We were having a good old time meeting brides to be and dancing to the Violin Guy's music. As the day started to wind down, and there weren't so many people coming by the booth, we all just started chatting about dancing. I commented that it is really hard for me to put into words the way my life is different because I know how to dance. What ensued was probably one of the most awesome and inspiring conversations I have ever had!

I know a lot of our students probably look at us teachers and feel like we were born doing this (or at least that it came easily for us). Wrong!!! And, like you, most of us started social dancing later in life, as adults. Dancing has done everything for us that it can do for you. Some of us have changed the shape of our body, we've gained confidence, we've learned better social skills, we've tried new things, we've let go of stress, we've coped with difficult life changes...all through dancing and the support of the studio. We can easily tell you about all of these things, whether from our own experience or through the stories of the countless other Arthur Murray students who have experience some kind of change by learning how to dance. It's the bigger things that are harder to quantify, harder to explain, and harder for you to imagine since you haven't been there yet.

The opportunities that just arise out of nowhere when you know how to dance are amazing. The boost in confidence just knowing that you can dance..and not even having to actually dance...just knowing you could if you wanted to, is like an elixir for the soul! Being able to hear a song and just feel how your body could move to it. Feeling the freedom to do silly, crazy, fun dances like the "lawnmower", the "running man", the "sprinkler", the "Cabbage Patch" (ok, I'm giving away my age now...) because you don't mind it anymore if people laugh at/with you because you know that you can knock their socks off if need be, is so freeing! Meeting great people and being able to enjoy yourself anywhere...

All of these things and more. Hearing the raw, true experiences of the other executives and attempting to explain the difference in my own life was a really neat experience. So, the next time you are tempted to doubt that dancing was ever "hard" for us, or that we were never "shy" or that we "just don't know where you are coming from when you say you don't want to...", please remember that we have been there, we have done that, and we have come out on the other side with a wealth of experience and knowledge to share. It's kind of like we've been to outer space and come back. You've seen pictures of it, but you haven't actually been there yet. And even though it is hard for us to describe what it feels like to be weightless, we really, really want you to know how cool it feels, too!

Keep dancing, keep moving forward, keep your mind open, and we will help you get to that place, to!

Arthur Murray Dance Schools in Dallas and Plano Host Fundraiser this Friday

2010-03-16T10:09:00.002-05:00

Arthur Murray to Host Dance Marathon to

Help Children With Life-threatening Illnesses

Local Dance Studio event will benefit Give Kids the World

(Dallas, Texas) ––Arthur Murray Dance Studio of Dallas/Plano will participate in the second annual Dancing For Dreams dance marathon to benefit Give Kids the World. The event will be held on Friday, March 19 from 9pm-11pm at the Dallas location, 6562 LBJ Freeway. Arthur Murray staff, students and their guests will have the chance to kick up their heels and enjoy an evening of dancing and a show from Arthur Murray’s professionals, while raising money for Give Kids the World. Last year, Arthur Murray Dance Studios nationwide raised more than $50,000 for the non-profit organization that makes dreams come true for children with life-threatening illnesses.

Arthur Murray Dance Studio is a proud sponsor of Give Kids the World and its mission to provide memorable, joyful, cost-free visits to the Central Florida attractions for children who need it most.

Not only will the participants be collecting pledges and donations, but there will be raffles and silent auctions. Some of the amazing items that have been donated include:

Dallas Cowboys - 4 tickets to a game in the 2010 season.

Dallas Stars - 2 tickets to a game in the 2010 season.

Southwest Airlines - 2 Round trip tickets anywhere Southwest Airlines Flies

Ginger Rogers & Fred Astaire - A museum quality framed original Time Magazine Cover from December, 1947, picturing Ginger Rogers and signed by her; and a bio-picture of Fred Astaire signed by him.

Dinner for 20 delivered to your home or office

Mansion on Turtle Creek - an overnight stay, including champagne, a 3-course dinner in the restaurant and overnight valet parking.

Arthur Murray - 10 dance lessons

Afternoon Cocktail Cruise for 2

Horseback Riding - a morning of riding at a private ranch followed by lunch.

To learn more or to make a donation, log on to www.givekidstheworld.org/dancingfordreams.

About Give Kids The World

Give Kids the World Village is a 70-acre, nonprofit resort in Central Florida that creates magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Give Kids the World provides accommodations at its whimsical resort, donated attractions tickets, meals and more for a weeklong, cost-free fantasy vacation. With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, Give Kids the World has welcomed more than 100,000 families from all 50 states and 70 countries.

About Arthur Murray

Arthur Murray School of Dance has been teaching the world to dance for 98 years! We provide instruction in Ballroom, Latin, Swing, Country Western, Salsa, Tango, Social and Wedding Preparation to singles and couples. Our unique approach to instruction and our masterfully created curriculum can be tailored to meet each student’s individual needs, making it fast, fun and easy to learn. With 3 metro-plex locations and over 250 schools worldwide, there is an Arthur Murray near you! What are you waiting for? You could be dancing!

At Your Wedding, Let Arthur Murray Dance Studios Help You Avoid a First Dance Disaster

2010-03-08T10:55:00.000-06:00

SPECIAL OFFER AT END OF BLOG

First Dance A Little Rough?

Let Arthur Murray Make It Smooth!

As a current bride to be myself, I understand completely just how much "stuff" you have to think about as you prepare for your wedding. But, having worked as an instructor at Arthur Murray for the past 10 years, I also know how often the first dance gets pushed aside until the last minute.

Your first dance as husband and wife should be a moment that you can both cherish for the rest of your lives. You and your new husband, swaying together to your favorite song, under the admiring eyes of ALL your friends and family...

Ok, reality check time, for most of you - without at least a few lessons under your belt, the first dance will be awkward, stressful, and maybe just a little bit clumsy. Let's face it, how often do couples actually get the opportunity to hold each other and dance romantically? It's kind of a lost art...but not at Arthur Murray!

In just a few short weeks, we can have you and your betrothed feeling glamorous, confident and smooth on the dance floor!

We usually recommend getting a 3-6 month head start so you have enough time to dance the way you want to, but even if the big day is swiftly approaching, give us a call and we can help!!!

Plano and Dallas: http://www.dancedfw.com/

Ft. Worth: http://www.fwdance.com/

for other studio locations and listings, please visit our corporate website: http://www.arthurmurray.com/

FREE BRIDAL CONSULTATION AND INTRODUCTORY LESSON

Simply mention that you read about us on our Blog!

(Dallas, Plano & Ft. Worth Locations Only)

(New Students Only, Please)

New Cast Announced for Dancing With the Stars

2010-03-03T10:31:00.000-06:00

I am pretty excited about the new cast members for this season of Dancing With the Stars! In case you haven't read about it yet, allow your trusty Arthur Murray friends to present you with the list:
Pamela Anderson - actress
Jake Pavelka - the most recent "Bachelor"
Kate Gosselin - of TV's "Jon & Kate Plus Eight"
Chad Ochocinco - NFL Star
Aiden Turner - Soap Opera Star
Erin Andrews - ESPN Reporter
Shannen Doherty - actress
Buzz Aldrin - former astronaut (also 80 years old)
Niecy Nash - of TV's "Reno 911"
Nicole Scherzinger - of "The Pussycat Dolls"
Evan Lysacek - Olympic Gold Medal Figure Skater

All in all, I think this will shape up to be a pretty competitive season! We will just have to tune in to see if history repeats itself...will the soap star, the football player, the Olympian or the Pop Star win the hearts of America this time???

Things to consider when choosing where to take ballroom dance lessons.

2010-02-26T16:27:00.000-06:00

After 10 years as a dance instructor at Arthur Murray, and innumerable encounters with students who had less than fabulous experiences learning to dance at other venues, it became apparent that there was a need for some guidelines. Although every prospective student is looking for something different, there are some common traits that anyone should look for to make sure they are getting a quality ballroom dancing experience. Whether you want private instruction or group classes, whether you are a beginning dancer or one with experience, here are seven things you should consider when choosing a dance studio.

1) Are the instructors certified? By what governing body?

Certified Instructors are trained in their craft and understand the proper way to impart information to you and to eliminate bad habits from the beginning. There are various certifications available to dance instructors – the most credible being the World Professional Dance Teachers Association and the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. An instructor who has undergone the rigorous training required to become certified certainly demonstrates a level of commitment, passion, professionalism and excellence that will translate into your learning experience.

2) How many instructors are available for you to learn from, and does their schedule accommodate yours?

Learning to dance well requires consistency in your lessons. If your instructor becomes ill or injured, will the studio be able to supply you with an equally accredited instructor who can follow through with your program? Are the instructors in the studio on a full-time basis? Are the hours of operation convenient for your schedule?

3) Does the studio have a curriculum or syllabus they can show you that outlines their method of teaching?

A good studio should have a scholastic approach to your learning; a system that makes learning the dances fun, fast and easy. Be on the lookout for a teacher who asks you “What do you want to work on today?” You are investing your money for a professional instructor to teach you a skill that you do not know. What would you say if your doctor looked at you and said “Well, it looks like you have a broken bone, how do you want to fix it?” Not very re-assuring, is it?

4) Is the facility suitable with proper floors and a music system?

A dance studio should have a special floor that provides added cushioning for your joints as you dance. It also should be well lit, with an up-to-date sound system. Beware of dance lessons that are taught in a garage, living room, or other non-dance specialized space. The atmosphere of the studio should make you feel comfortable and at ease. The room should be equipped with mirrors to aid in your learning.

5) Does the studio provide you with clear cut cancellation policies and billing procedures, etc. in writing?

There is a lot of hype out there about contracts. Keep in mind that a formal, written agreement is used to protect the client as well as the business. It will help to avoid any confusion by having the policies and agreed upon services in writing. Also, find out if the facility offers refunds and under what circumstances. A good studio should be okay with smaller tuition payments for only several lessons at a time. Also, ask about the longevity of the studio. How long have they been in business and how long have they been at the current facility? Unless you feel totally comfortable with the studios policies, or are dealing with a franchised studio, do not pay for an exorbitant number of lessons up front.

6) Do the instructors / management help you to set realistic goals and follow through on helping you achieve those goals?

Search for a dance facility that feels more like a school than just a place that gives lessons. Look for a studio that offers private lessons, group classes, and social dance sessions. Notice if the instructors appear to work well as a team? Do they communicate and listen well? Dancing well takes time, and a professional staff will help you understand just how long it will take you to reach your specific goals.

7) How many other studios are there where you can use your lessons?

If you travel, move, or otherwise, does your studio allow you to transfer your lessons to another location? How many other locations do they have? Does the company have a standard and system of teaching that allows you to continue your learning in another location without missing a beat? Although this may seem like a small thing to consider, many jobs today are transient and it can be nice to have one thing that stays the same in a world of change!

Remember: you are investing your money into dance lessons and into yourself.

Do not make your decision based on price alone, you often get what you pay for.

If possible, see if the studio offers a sample lesson so you can make an educated decision based on experience.

Do not be afraid to ask these questions. A good studio will not shy away from answering your questions thoroughly and without hesitation.

Protect your investment by choosing wisely the first time.

Success!!!

2009-12-14T18:10:00.000-06:00

Thank you so much to all of the students from Dallas and Plano who attended Arthur Murray's Executive Dance Camp this past Saturday! What a treat to have so many eager students! Justin taught a fantastic Argentine Tango class and I know that many of you were practicing during the break! Nikki really steamed things up with her West Coast Swing class! I have never seen so much wiggling in one class before! How fun was that!!!! And I had a blast teaching you all some fun alternatives in Cha Cha! Everyone did a great job with the material and we really enjoyed working with you! Keep your eyes out for more sessions like this next year as a part of our Loyalty Program! We look forward to serving you in 2010 and hope you have a great holiday season!
Thanks again for showing your support!

FREE DANCE CAMP ON DECEMBER 12th

2009-12-03T17:54:00.001-06:00

Hey! So glad you will be joining us for the FREE Executive taught dance camp. Respond in the poll to the right and please leave a comment with your name and any thoughts you may have about this event!

***If you found this post randomly - please note that this event is CLOSED to Arthur Murray Dallas and Plano student only! You can contact the studios for more information on how to get involved!

Dallas 972-702-9660
Plano 972-312-1262
http://www.dancedfw.com/

Donny, Mya or Kelly?

2009-11-21T12:12:00.000-06:00

I have to tell you, I was on the edge of my seat watching last weeks results show! I knew that Donnie & Mya were safe, but when it came down to Kelly or Joanna....

Well, you all know that I favor Kelly, and I was so happy that she made it to the finals! Of all the dancers, she has grown the most, overcome the most challenges, and I think she has really felt a big impact on her confidence and her self esteem!

Now we have to wait until Tuesday to find out who wins it all...

Oh, the torture!!!

Urs & Agnes on Dancing With The Stars

2009-11-11T13:01:00.000-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8YiEzzxtmE

Urs & Agnes were wonderful!!!!

Well, I am really happy that Aaron was the one to go last night! I really enjoyed Joanna's Futuristic Paso, but I still don't feel any connection to her or Mya. I say Kelly & Donny are the two finalists!!!

Are you watching Arthur Murray Dallas & Plano on Good Morning Texas Wednesday Mornings???
Make sure you check it out next week!

Watch Arthur Murray on Good Morning Texas

2009-11-05T15:46:00.002-06:00

Click on this link: http://www.wfaa.com/video/gmtgeneral-index.html?nvid=411486 to watch Zack Stevens from Arthur Murray Plano and Arthur Murray Dallas and Gretchen Malone from Arthur Murray Ft. Worth!
We will be doing this segment for the next three weeks until the finale of Dancing With The Stars!

GO TEAM TANGO!!!

2009-11-03T09:25:00.000-06:00

Last nights show was great! I was really impressed by the improvement in Michael Irvin. And I thought Aaron Carter's Jive was fun! The team match was also a neat idea. I'm really glad they are doing more team dancing and adding new layers other than just head to head competition. I think it adds alot to the show! Tomorrow morning Arthur Murray Dallas/Plano & Ft. Worth will be live on Good Morning Texas on ABC 9am! Zack & Britt will be discussing the show (Dancing with the Stars) and giving their critiques and predictions! They'll also be talking about the studios! Yay! You never know where you will see us next! Tune in and watch! Keep voting for your favorite dancers, and keep dancing!

This week's show...

2009-10-30T16:59:00.000-05:00

Well, I wasn't really overly impressed by the routines this week. But, I was so happy to see the head to head mambo at the end! For the first time we are actually seeing the stars lead & follow and not just rely on choreography! This is a huge step for the show! I was a little disappointed in the judges choice for winner though. I really thought that Mya was easier on the eyes than the model. She looked more relaxed and softer.

By the way, make sure to tune into Good Morning Texas on 11/4, 11/11, 11/18 and 11/25! Our very own Zack Stevens and Ft. Worth's Britt Evans will be critiquing that weeks show and talking about Arthur Murray! Watch it, Tivo it, whatever you do, don't miss it!!!

Dancing With The Stars Week 5

2009-10-21T18:49:00.000-05:00

So, this week...here are my thoughts. I love the fact that they are branching out and doing more dances! I think that most of the stars got the idea of the character of their dance. My awards go out to: Best Performance: Mya / Donny Osmond
Funniest Out-take: Michael Irvin and his "nickel"
Underdog of the Season: Kelly Osborne
Most Intense: The Iron Chef Guy

The rest I could take or leave.
Keep voting in the poll, we'll see how the season continues to shape up!

What do you think?

2009-10-13T15:56:00.000-05:00

So, last night after a great day at the studio, I went home to watch my DVR's episode of Dancing With the Stars. Wow! Was I impressed! Up to this point, Kelly Osborne and Donny Osmond were my favorites! But last night - they did the Charleston!!! I thought that Melissa Joan Hart did an awesome job!!! I still like Donny for the guys, but I think Mya is the frontrunner for the ladies! Take the poll to the right of this post and leave me a comment, and let's see what y'all think!!!