Changing Lives through Dancing by David Woodbury
Arthur Murray Santa Monica
My life has been full of inspirational students who changed my life. Their stories remain in my heart and they are never forgotten. Out of hundreds of incredible students, here are two more stories.
I had a student who wrote in her student questionnaire that she wanted to be a philanthropist. She was that. She was also a metaphysician. She always knew how I was physically, spiritually and mentally. She would “read” me all the time. She was very talented, smart, and a focused woman.
She was amazing at our first-time competition at Superama, the largest and most prestigious of all the Arthur Murray Competitions. The arrival night she wanted to see the ballroom, something I also loved doing. As we went in, she began to walk around the dance floor. I asked her what she was doing, and she said that she was visualizing winning all her dances. Then she went to each corner of the huge ballroom and touched the corners. She was claiming the whole ballroom and making it hers.
She won all her dances, All Around, Top Solo, and Top Student in her division. When we danced our solo, and we have a video of this, while we were dancing, two small birds flew into the ballroom and flew above us as we danced our routine. As we finished, the birds vanished. She won Top Solo for that performance. I have never met someone like her before, or since. She was in touch with life!
______________________________________________________________________
My next exceptional student was originally from London. Her husband was into electronics. They originally came in to learn how to dance at wedding. Then she got hooked on her dancing.
As a new student, I took her to Superama. She was very Rubenesque and she danced from a fire within her bones. She was my equal. In those years, I was a rule-breaker at Arthur Murray. I put her in the Bronze Smooth Scholarship, the Bronze Smooth Scholarship, and the Open Smooth and Open Rhythm . She won both Bronze divisions. She placed 2nd in both Open competitions. She was a star!
There was an uproar from the judging panel. You see, my phenomenal student was in the Newcomer division! She had not checked out of her Bronze I Level. She had won two top competitions and placed 2nd in two others. Our savior was the judge, Mr. Sodano, former Professional World Champion. He had coached her and verified her status. She remained the Champion in all her winnings. Trust me, the dance board changed the rules after that amazing win!
She continued competiting and she lost over 100 pounds (and I also had a dramatic weight loss). She won everything and everyone loved her for she was a truly gracious and amazing lady.
After this, she went on to become a renowned dancer on a national level. We remained close friends and we pushed each other to be best we could be in life.
These two dancers have lived on in my heart during my 48 years with Arthur Murray. There are many more stories of the incredible students I have danced with during the years.
May you always be inspired.
David Woodbury
Leave a Reply