When Steve and Tracy started dancing in September 2014, they were simply looking for something different to do for date night; something fun and active, something that didn’t involve just sitting across from each other at a restaurant. Thus, Steve’s solution: when a gift certificate for dance lessons came up at a nonprofit auction, he bought it.
Tracy was not exactly thrilled.
She was convinced he had wasted his money because, as she puts it, “I was so bad at dancing!”
Luckily, they did decide to redeem the gift certificate, and it did not take long for them to discover that maybe this dancing thing was worth sticking with. They were having fun, they were active, and even though they felt like they were terrible at first, they loved it.
Eventually, dancing led them to something neither of them had really planned on: competing.
For Steve, competition was not entirely unfamiliar. Having already competed in rowing, adventure racing and kayaking, putting himself out there came fairly naturally. Tracy, however, has always been more comfortable in the background. When she was the coxswain for one of Steve’s rowing crews, she remembers being so nervous before races that she would almost throw up!
Dance was a little different. Through studio parties and events, they gradually got used to dancing in front of other people without making a big deal out of it. Before they knew it, they were becoming more comfortable, improving, and eventually decided to try their first big competition about a year and a half after they started dancing.
Tracy was still nervous enough to almost throw up.
But, they discovered they were not in fact terrible at dancing, and more importantly, they were having the best time doing it.
That first competition opened the door to a whole new part of their dancing journey. After several years with Arthur Murray, Steve and Tracy wanted to explore competitions outside of the studio system, which eventually brought them to Aria Ballroom and to working with Simeon.
They were immediately impressed by how much there was still to learn.
“We would leave lessons with our brains hurting trying to remember everything,” Tracy says.
Simeon challenged them to improve in every lesson, and they have come a long way since those early days. To this day, their love of learning is still one of the things that keeps them dancing. There is always another step to learn, another piece of technique to work on or another routine to figure out. Even when it is difficult or frustrating, they are still learning, still improving and, as Tracy points out, still exercising both their bodies and their brains.
Their favorite dances are American Tango, which they love for its drama, and American Viennese Waltz, which they love for its speed and athleticism. There is something pretty special about flying across the floor together.
Of course, dancing has brought them much more than steps and competitions. For Tracy especially, it has brought a confidence she never expected. She has made lifelong friends, discovered that she can do hard things and learned to step outside her comfort zone.
One of her favorite moments comes at competitions when she and Simeon step onto a dark dance floor and quietly tell each other, “let’s just have fun.” Then they go out and do exactly that. No worrying about what anyone thinks. No overthinking. Just dancing and enjoying the moment.
This feeling carries over into their everyday lives, too. Steve and Tracy both love that dancing is such a great stress reliever. Once they are on the floor, there is simply too much going on to worry about everything else.
They have found that same combination of focus and fun at Aria. Tracy loves that the studio is friendly and relaxed while still being filled with people who genuinely care about dancing. Everyone works hard, but everyone is also there because they love what they are doing. She says the teachers and staff are amazing and accomplished, and that she always leaves the studio feeling better than when she arrived.
Right now, Tracy is working on new open routines for Summit, which has been a great challenge and a lot of fun. Looking further ahead, their goal is to get Steve healthy enough that they can return to competing together as an amateur couple.
Nearly twelve years later, Steve and Tracy have built a shared passion, lifelong friendships and a whole lot of memories on the dance floor. Steve’s questionable date night purchase turned out to be a pretty good investment after all.
