Elaine is such a ballroom danceaholic that she dances all four styles, plus nightclub, and she participated in 30 comps in 2023! At OSB 2023, she made the finals in three styles (Rhythm, Smooth, and Latin) and the semi-final in Ballroom. Additionally, she received the award of the top female student (Bronze). She also received the top Dancesport female student award three years in a row (2021-2023)!
1. Introduction
After her divorce in 2015, Elaine moved to Florida (Ft. Lauderdale) from Chicagoland in search of a warm climate and new experiences. Since she still had her business in Chicagoland, she traveled back and forth every two weeks. At the time, Elaine had, amongst other things, 20 retail stores, seven buildings, and a strip mall. She started the business in 1999 after she was fired from a corporate job after 11 years. She would tell you today that being fired can be a very positive thing.
Being newly divorced after 22 years of marriage, Elaine faced a new dating world: There were all these online dating services! Elaine took a plunge and met someone online. After the second date, they went out for dinner. Her date asked her to dance when an East Coast Swing song came on. She tried hard, only to realize that she had no idea what she was doing. So, they sadly sat back down. Her date then asked her if it would be okay for him to ask another lady to dance. Elaine was a bit shocked. She put down $20 to cover her drink and promptly left.
2. FADS
The next day, Elaine walked into FADS (Ft. Lauderdale) on a $99 Groupon. She was welcomed by Michael McKeever, all smiles and oozing the love of dance. They hit it off immediately, and she signed on for a 10-lesson package. Throughout these ten lessons, she danced in her tennis shoes. She loved the lessons, and Michael made them so much fun. After a few months and some strong encouragement, Elaine purchased a pair of dance shoes!
The business called. Elaine returned to Chicagoland for ten days at least twice a month – She missed her lessons with Michael. Being the thoughtful person he was, Michael arranged for Elaine to take lessons at FADS Burr Ridge, where she met Stefan Ciubotaru.
Stefan was a pure delight and fabulous teacher: Elaine would laugh out loud when he would say “chicka chicka boom.”
2.1 Traveling
So, here was the arrangement: Elaine danced with Michael in Florida and Stefan in Illinois.
Elaine worked hard, traveling back and forth while enjoying dancing. Her knowledge was growing, and she learned all the dances in Rhythm as well as Smooth. She was so excited – She even bought practice clothes!
After about five months, Stefan asked Elaine if she wanted to compete at a FADS event. She thought about it and decided to give it a try. So, she bought two used dresses from Howard at the ballroom shop because she did not want to invest much money, as she did not know if she would like it. She will never forget when Stefan gave her the first invoice, and she almost fell over as it might have been more than her first car – She had no idea how expensive ballroom dancing was! But it was too late, as she had already become a dance junkie. So, she cut a bunch of heats and paid the invoice. They forewarned her that she would be bored and she would want to dance more. But she did not want to spend the money as she had not been sold yet and did not know whether she would really like it. It was fun, but she asked herself: was it worth that much money?
2.2 First competition day
The day of her first competition came. She was so nervous that she could not stop shaking. She did her own make-up and her own hair. But when she came down to the ballroom, the studio owner liked neither and promptly fixed her make-up and netted her hair – Elaine had much to learn!
Elaine danced her 30 heats and was bored like they had forewarned her she would be. She yearned to be on the dance floor because when she was dancing, she was so very happy. Partially because of the boredom, she became lost in the music and sometimes her steps. Her son Eric came to watch and told her when she messed up he could not tell except for her face. He simply said, “Mom, just smile.” From that day on, Elaine always smiles on the dance floor.
Two weeks later, in Florida, Elaine did the FADS competition and danced with Michael. But this time, she bought that car and did 100 heats! In addition to getting her hair done properly, she had modified her dresses, as both were sleeveless, and she felt she needed sleeves. She had a fabulous time, and the journey began.
Elaine and Michael competed at both FADS events and outside.
In 2019, Elaine and Michael left FADS together to venture out on their own.
3. Restructuring her life
The travel between Florida and Illinois was quite hard on Elaine, as was dancing at two studios with two teachers. So, she decided to streamline her business. She went from 20 stores to 10, which made the business much more manageable for the team she had in place. With that restructuring, Elaine cut down her travel significantly.
Elaine opened a restaurant in Florida named “Gatsby’s Joint,” which required her to be in Florida much more. Now, with the business travel significantly reduced, Elaine and Michael were free to compete all over, and they did – They went to over 30 competitions in all seven regions! Elaine started adding Ballroom and Latin and continued to love every single minute of dancing!
4. Covid-19
In March 2020, Covid hit hard. Elaine and Michael were at the First Coast Classic, and everyone was crying. All the comps were getting canceled, and everyone was devastated. What would happen to the dance industry?
Elaine and Michael continued to dance every day throughout Covid. They kept their circle very small. But. they also attended every comp that was held during Covid. They flew on planes with four people, watched people being dragged off the airplane for not masking, learned to pack food and water (as nothing was open), were tested over and over, and even wore masks while dancing. Elaine did not care. It was all worth it to her as she loved dancing and wanted to keep the industry alive however she could. Neither she nor Michael ever got Covid!
Unfortunately, Elaine broke her foot. She was so upset but continued to dance in a medical boot. She wore the boot for six weeks until her foot healed, and she continued to dance every single day. If that is not dedication to dancing, what is?
To say it was easy to dance during Covid would be a huge understatement. There was nothing harder. It was scary and lonely, and many people thought they were wrong – Hey, everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion!
2020 was very difficult for Michael and Elaine. Then vaccines came out, and people started to dance again. Elaine’s dancing had not progressed as she had hoped. She was almost always last, or at least it felt that way. So, Michael brought in two coaches to help: Michael Neil, with whom Elaine’s friend Wendy Anderson danced, and Olga Bogdanov, who was introduced to them at the Snow Ball. Both consistently coached Elaine and Michael for about six months.
5. From Michael 1 to Michael 2
In early 2021, Michael decided to start a business venture: the Florida Ballroom Club. He wanted a social dancing club environment. Elaine knew that this would take a lot of his time, and she wanted to improve as she had been hopelessly addicted to dancing by then. So, she and Michael parted ways. Parting with Michael felt like her divorce all over again. It was terrifying. She did not know what was next, and she did not have a dance partner. She was really upset.
But fate or luck, her friend Wendy had just left Michael Neil to dance with someone else. So, Elaine asked Michael Neil if he would dance with her. At first, Michael was a bit reluctant as Elaine was not a very accomplished dancer, and she did 200 plus heats at comps and traveled all over. But he decided to try it with the compromise that they do fewer comps and heats, to which Elaine agreed.
6. A new journey
After Elaine started dancing with Michael Neil, she realized how much she really did not know – She did not know anything! She had a lot of misconceptions, as all beginner dancers do. She also realized that she needed to lose 50 pounds and get fit. So, she lost 50 pounds and started yoga, power walking, and lifting weights to make her a better dancer. Elaine basically restricted her life around dancing, and it was beginning to pay off!
At first, Elaine took four hours of lessons daily, six days a week. Then, she cut it down to three hours a day, thanks to the limitation of her attention span. While continuing to use Olga, Michael brought in another women’s coach, Oksana Zolotarevskaya. Both consistently came two to three times a week. Elaine’s technique began to improve, and everyone started noticing. Her placements also began to improve – She was no longer the last! In 2021, Elaine won Bronze Rhythm from a semi-final at Heritage, which was a large competition at the time.
With more lessons, coaching, and epiphanies, Elaine began placing in the top three and even winning, sometimes! But winning was just a by-product – Elaine truly wanted to learn to dance! To do that, she had to open her mind to the real way to do things and not try to recreate what we think we see. She knew that would be hard, but she was determined. Elaine’s physical appearance had changed drastically, and people were noticing and talking. Not only was there a weight loss of 50 plus pounds, but Elaine also walked straighter, and her posture had never been better, all because of dancing!
Elaine laughs every day about all the wonderful and spontaneous situations she has experienced …
7. The “cat woman”
At Volunteer Dancesport, Michael and Elaine arrived on a Thursday. They quickly unpacked and then danced nightclub until 11 pm that night.
The next morning, Elaine woke up and was in the shower, only to see a big black cat standing on the tub looking at her. Elaine was so shocked that she almost fell over!
She quickly ended the shower and found the black cat under her bed. She coaxed it out and fed it with some of her snacks … In fact, the cat had apparently found those the day before, as Elaine had come in at night and found them all over the desk. But she thought she had made a mess due to one glass of wine too many!
Elaine called Michael at 5 am and asked him to come get the cat out of her room, as she had to go to the hair and make-up! Michael came and really thought Elaine was kidding. But she was not. Michael got the cat and took it to the front desk.
Apparently, the people who had the room prior to Elaine brought a cat and left it by accident, and they were coming to get it …
After sharing the story with the folks at the Volunteer Dancesport, Elaine was called the “cat woman”!
8. Elaine’s teacher Michael Neil
Michael grew up in the dance industry and has spent his entire life competing and teaching. He is just a consummate professional and a wonderful person to be around.
At first, Elaine wanted to do a nightclub, but Michael was hesitant, as there is some talk that “quality” ballroom dancers do not do nightclubs. But Elaine felt that nightclub was a great way to relax, without routines to work on the connections. And who, if anyone, has the perfect connection?
Michael agreed …
Now, Michael and Elaine have become the nightclub king and queen!
Having said that, Elaine is very serious about her dancing and continued growth. She is healthier, more fit, and happier than she has ever been in her entire life, all because of dancing!
Elaine loves every single minute on the dance floor with Michael. He never scolds her or makes her feel bad. He always has the right words to say when she feels she has not done her best.
9. The journey continues
Elaine’s dancing continues to advance in all four styles, plus the nightclub. She now consistently makes finals in almost all comps, and often places in the top three.
At USDC 2023, Elaine made scholarship finals in two styles (i.e., Rhythm and Smooth).
At OSB 2023, she made scholarship finals from quarter-finals in three of the four styles, with Ballroom being in the semi-final. Elaine and Michael also did a BoB at OSB 2022, placing 4th out of 26 couples!
In 2023, Elaine and Michael attended 30 competitions.
Elaine is having more fun in life than she had ever imagined. Additionally, she has met so many new friends and has had so many new experiences, thanks to ballroom dancing!
10. Elaine’s album of fun photos
11. Closing
Elaine simply cannot imagine her life without ballroom dancing, and will continue to dance forever!
