Dancing with the Stars

In the summer of 2020 Vernon Davis officially signed onto the season 29 cast of Dancing with the Stars. As anyone in this extraordinary position would naturally do next, he searched for local dancers to help him prepare and get a leg up on the competition. This is when he contacted two professional dance instructors, Dance at Home and my dance partner at Art in Motion, for an intensive set of Ballroom dancing lessons before stepping onto one of the most well known stages.

“I just want to win this,” Vernon said at the beginning of our first lesson. While he was extremely determined at every moment, he remained humble and ready to learn. "America is going to love you," we assured him, and we immediately got to work.

At the start of every lesson, we practiced his favorite dance, the Foxtrot. The trick to learning Ballroom is to break each dance down into easy-to-learn elements, then use them to build beautiful patterns. Vernon was able to accomplish learning patterns relatively quickly, so we quickly turned our focus to building confidence and developing style. Happily, this is what Vernon wanted to learn most, and it is what I enjoy working on the most because I believe that dance should not just look like you're having fun but truly become fun for anyone, whether you are a new or well-seasoned dancer. As we continued to dance together, Vernon went on to practice Rumba, Cha Cha, and, with the help of my dance partner, some Hip Hop steps. In the end, we were successful in helping Vernon feel fully confident. However, the best thing to come out of these lessons with Vernon was the pure joy in dancing with him and watching him smile as he dreamed of winning Dancing with the Stars.

We are so glad, Vernon, that you chose us to prepare you for this extraordinary experience, and we are cheering you on from afar... "America definitely loves you, Vernon!