We all have a story as why we started dancing. Whether it be for exercise, fun, or the thrill of learning something new…everyone’s reason is different. For our next Dance Family Spotlight, we are highlighting Blaise and Donna Jacobson! Take a look at their dance journey:
1)How long have you been dancing?: Donna started ballroom dancing in 2012, and Blaise started about a year and a half afterward.
2) What got you initially started on your dance journey?: Donna: I started because I needed to find something to do with myself after undergoing cancer treatment. I was pretty stressed out and emotionally and physically fragile. A good friend of mine knew that I used to dance ballet/jazz/tap as a kid until I was about 16 years old, and that I loved the salsa classes I had taken a couple of years before. She had also seen me at more than one wedding where I could be found mostly cuttin’ a rug on the dance floor! So she strenuously urged me to call a person I knew that owned a ballroom, to see if that would help. I started taking classes of all types, and then started private lessons, and the rest is history! Blaise and I were dating but not yet married when I started, but whenever I went to dance, he pretty much went golfing. His experience dancing up to that point was his infamous “Blaise Dance”. Eventually he saw how happy I was every time I came home from a social dance party at the ballroom, and got very curious, and a little bit jealous, of what I was doing that made me so happy. So I dragged him to a social, and he had a great time. Next thing I knew we were taking couples lessons with my private instructor, and we have been dancing together ever since.
3) How has ballroom dancing impacted your life?: Donna: When I started dancing, I found that I felt better. The physical pain was more bearable and the emotional impact was less as well. I met other cancer patients that had joined dance for the same reasons I did, and so I found a social network that was very supportive. I was later also diagnosed with Lyme disease, but found that dance helps me with that as well. Every doctor I have ever had has applauded the dancing, and encourages me to continue. So dance not only brings me great joy, it has been a large part of my medical treatment, not only physically but also emotionally and mentally as I continue to encounter great people every day. And it makes the relationship I have with my husband better and better. Blaise: Dancing is great because the more I dance with my wife, the happier she is with me, and the more she loves me. It has brought us closer together as a couple. It has also helped me realize I am never too old to learn something new.
4) What advice would you give to anyone who is interested in or are just starting on their dance journey?: Our best advice to new dancers is simply this: just try it and don’t ever stop. You don’t need to be the best dancer in the world, just do what you can and enjoy the time and people around you. It may seem like too much, but it’s not, and it’s the best thing you can do for yourself.
5) Why do you enjoy dancing with your spouse?: Donna: I am so happy that my husband dances with me. I smile every time we hit the dance floor, and I love the fact that I have someone to practice new moves with (yes, that would be dance moves). Blaise: I like to have something in my marriage where I am the leader and get to tell my wife what she has to do.