Nancy Senner

Tell me a little bit about your background in dancing.

Nancy Senner: I met Eddie and we started dating. He said, "I'm going to teach you to dance because I might take you to some dance functions and men might ask you to dance." So he started teaching me social dancing. Then he said one day, "You know, you're pretty good at this. Have you ever thought about competing?" And I said, "Do this in front of people? Never. No way." But never say never, because, I really went into being a big time competitor. I was hard core and gave 110%.

With national titles.

Nancy Senner: 16 titles. I remember the first time he picked out this two piece pink fringe Latin costume. I wouldn't come out of the bathroom. Now all of this is second nature... the costumes, the hair, the makeup, everything. It's my life, now it's my world. I knew ballroom was out there, because I had watched Ohio Star Ball for years on TV, but I thought you had to train since 3 years old to dance that way. I didn't know that for ballroom you could start at any age, and any level. You can even have a profession on the side; I'm a flight attendant. So that's my background in dance.

Are you still a flight attendant?

Nancy Senner: Yes.

How do you balance being a flight attendant and a dance teacher?

Nancy Senner: Right now it's a little crazy. I haven't had a day off in a year, since I started teaching. I was going to start flying part time… drop some trips and teach more full time. But right now, I work for Northwest and the flight attendants are in contract negotiations with our airline, so they're not letting us drop any trips. They're not letting us fly part time. So until they do, I'm flying full time and I'm teaching every day I have off. It's funny, because before on my days off, Eddie would come home from work and I'd make him dinner and everything and he loved that. Well, now, I'm getting in after him and he said recently, "You know, I don't like this schedule very much!" So now, he's starting to learn to cook but I'm thinking, "Ooh, I didn't know people even ate Hamburger Helper!" But yeah, they do, because I had it the other night when he made it! But things will get better. Hopefully, I'll be able to start flying part time, and then I can ease up my schedule a little bit. I really enjoy teaching and I still enjoy flying,

How many hours a week do you teach now?

Nancy Senner: At least twenty.

Plus flying full time.

Nancy Senner: Yeah.

How long have you been together as a couple?

Nancy Senner: 18 years.

What was it like being involved with your dance teacher? Because you were doing pro/am while you were together.

Nancy: There are a lot of couples out there doing that. Years ago they said, "Oh, you can't date your student." But things have changed.

That was a big taboo.

Nancy: Big taboo. Besides, Eddie and I actually started dating before we started dancing. But it's really a lot more common now than you think. A lot of times you meet your mate at work. And this is Eddie's work, and I got involved with his work. There are a lot of pilots and flights attendants that are married to each other.

You're in a very unique position, having been a student and pro/am competitor, and now a teacher and competing pro/am with your students, and a competition organizer. From that unique perspective, what would you like to see happen in the dance world? How would you like to see it evolve?

Nancy: Of course, Eddie and I have really been big ambassadors of the pro/am. A lot of people think Eddie and I have revolutionary turned around pro/am and helped give it the respect it deserved. Without pro/am, who would be paying the way for the teachers to come to the events? Who'd be in the audience? Who would be buying the dresses?

Who everything? It's the students. They're the ones that really foot the bill for this. Eddie has a saying, "My students can afford me. I can't afford me." You know, it's true. We need to have respect for our students. The pro/am world is changing. Competition organizers now have more respect for them and are treating them better. Like treating them well as far as costs, and not making someone dance 30 heats in a row if they really aren't able, giving them a break in between or giving the teacher a break in between. The organizers loved to take their entries, but they never wanted to help them by changing heats around or anything like that. Our competition has changed that as far as giving pro/am more respect. And now other organizers are doing that too.
Of course, the pro divisions are equally as important. We love our pro divisions at Hotlanta, because amateurs want to sit and be entertained at night. Pro/am's are getting smarter, and they are not being scared any more… having to go to this event for that person's mark, or that event for this person's mark. Pro/ams are now saying, "Well, you know what? In the final six, all of us went to that person's event. Now who are they going to score first?" So the pro/ams are saying, "Hey, you know what? If this organizer doesn't treat me well, or their competition isn't run well, or I don't like that event, I'm not going to go whether I need their vote or not. Their almighty pen is not scaring me anymore." I like that. Eddie has felt that way for a long time. You aren't going to scare me into going to your event. A lot of pro/ams are starting to go to where they're treated well. And that's the way it should be.

Do you think it is bringing in social dancers, or do you think it's just bringing in people who want to compete? Because really what they're showing is competition dancing. They're not showing social dancing.

Nan: I think it's having an impact more on social dancing. And then once they come in, they change their mind and say, "Hey, you know, I want to try my hand at competing." That's what's happening in our studio.

What do you like most about teaching?

Nan: It's the first time in my life I've had a job where it's been very gratifying for me. Let me give an example. I had a young couple and I taught them a rumba routine for their wedding. They called me on their wedding night at midnight and said, "Nancy, we rocked!" I was like, "Oh my god!" That choked me up. They called me on their wedding night?! Apparently that rumba routine went off so great, and it meant so much to them; they were such a hit. It was such an impact for them that they called me to tell me that. I find it very gratifying. I had another student the other day. He is in his forties, newly divorced, overweight, depressed and he was kind of searching for something, and the dancing has done so much for him! He's met someone now. He's brought her in for lessons; they're learning to dance together. He called me the other day just to tell me how important the dancing has been. He said to me, "It's such an honor knowing you and I appreciate everything you've done for me." He and I both got choked up on the phone. It's such an amazing impact that dancing can make on people. Exercise is great for your mind as well as your body. And what it does for people makes me happy that I can help them achieve this happiness and this satisfaction in their lives. I have this guy, a financial analyst, and he comes in stressed out. He leaves tapping his feet and singing after that hour. To see that is very gratifying. In the airlines, I do fly as a lead flight attendant, so I'm always putting out fires and helping people out and calming them down, but I never see them again. I see my students a lot, so I see how dancing changes their lives for the better. And that's a really wonderful feeling.

So it's not teaching the perfect feather step that makes you happy, it's that you actually touch people's lives.

Nan: Yes. Major. Then I come home and Eddie and I always sit and talk about it. He even says, "It's so exciting to see you so excited about your students!" I've seen this with Eddie for years. But I never understood what that feeling was until now, until I started teaching. Now I understand the feeling. Of course there are days when I come home and I want to strangle a few people too! And then Eddie says, "Welcome to my world!" There are two sides.

Being a student for many years has really helped my teaching skills; because I hear my students say things to me that I've said. It's very interesting now that I know both sides. I think I'm able to be a better teacher, because I know what they're thinking. I know what they're feeling and I know what they're going through and I can empathize a little bit more with them because I know their side. I'm still learning the teacher side. Of course, I get a lot of coaching from Eddie, even how to deal with people. He'll say, "If a student says this and does that, if you say this and do that this will happen and that will happen." He's had years of instruction with people, how to deal with this or that situation. So I'm still learning how to deal with people as far as a teacher. But I definitely know the student's side of it. I had that for 15 years.

The first lesson you taught, were you nervous, were you excited, were you terrified? What were you thinking?

Nan: I was nervous because I wanted to give my student their monies worth. I wanted them to leave that hour feeling that they got out of it something. And I still feel that way. If my student leaves after an hour kind of ambiguous, I feel, "Oh, shoot." I always want to do my best job getting something across to them. So I was nervous because I wanted to make sure they got something out of that hour.

Was it their first lesson, or was it an existing student?

Nan: It was an existing student.

How long had they been taking lessons?

Nan: He had been taking lessons a long time with his wife as an amateur couple and Eddie was training them. So Eddie danced with his wife, and I was going to dance with him pro/am. So they had a big head start. I didn't really know how they were going to accept me. But they were wonderful. The whole group was wonderful. It was kind of an easy transition because it was a good way to start.

As an amateur of the pro/am team, you trained in just the lady's part basically. What did you have to go through, and what are you continuing to go through now, transitioning. Because I assume it's quite a transition for you because you have to change your mindset.

What are your plans?

How long were you an amateur before you turned pro?

Nancy Senner: About 15 years.

Nancy Senner: Several reasons… one, Eddie and I had accomplished all of our goals in the pro/am division. Eddie's a real big goal setter as a professional. He doesn't set unrealistic goals, but he does set goals, which gives you something to work towards, something to achieve. I like that. We actually achieved more goals than we even set for ourselves. For example, in the American smooth, we have two U.S. titles, and several at Ohio and the U.S. nine dance title. We never ever thought we'd get a title in American smooth. Smooth is my favorite division. Of course, Eddie's is rhythm and Latin. But smooth is mine, so we did it because I enjoy it so much. I love wearing ball gowns and feeling like Cinderella at the ball.

Do you think you made him a better teacher and pushed him in different directions than he would normally have gone?

Nancy: I think he would agree with that. Eddie took some training to get better in smooth for me because he knew how much I loved it.

That's so sweet!

Nancy: Yeah, so I definitely think he improved his smooth dancing for me. It wasn't always for the win. It was for us to be better, to dance better. He did try to be a better dancer in it for me to make it more fun and challenging. I think he's a beautiful smooth dancer.

How long have you been teaching?

Nancy: One year. I had my first student at Ohio Star Ball last year, and I just danced with him now, a year later. And everybody was telling me, "Wow, what an improvement in him in a year!"

That's so gratifying.

Nan: It is. It's very gratifying for him too. He's just thrilled because he did so well.

How many days a week are you in the studio?

Nan: It depends on my flying schedule. I'm actually there every day that I'm not flying, so I would say three or four days a week.

Do you have plans to compete pro?

Nan: Eddie did. He really wanted us to do the nine dance, because the nine dance was really our thing in pro/am. It's a real high to try to perfect your skills in two different forms, two different styles. That's a real challenge. Eddie and I always like a challenge, but we don't have any time, unfortunately. We can still do it. We're still kicking and we're still fit, we're not slowing down. But to get the time for us to dance with my teaching, my flying and him with all his students, we just haven't found the time.

And have a personal life.

Nan: And have a personal life. Actually, Eddie and I have been hired to do several shows so we've been doing that. So we're very busy and we love it. Another reason I decided to turn pro and start teaching is because when Eddie and I achieved all the goals that we wanted to achieve, I knew I had to do something to stay in dance. Our relationship from day one has been dance. If I totally got out of the dance field, I was a little afraid that we wouldn't have much to talk about. We have a big connection with it and we love working together; we run our competition together, we dance together. I help him with his girls now and he helps me with my guys. There would be a big void in our lives if we both were not associated in dance somehow, some form, some way. Dance is such a big love for both of us.

With programs on TV like, Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, do you think they're having a positive influence on the dance industry, or are they taking away from that?

Nan: I think it's a major positive. In the airline business, I'm working with all non-dancers, and all they talk about is Dancing WithTthe Stars and the dance movies. They have such a different appreciation for ballroom dancing now. They have a little bit of a clue what it's like. First that this sport is not for sissies. Real men can ballroom dance...

Football players!

Nan: Yes! This is a real macho sport. It really is. And now, because of these dance shows, men are starting to realize that "Yeah, this isn't for the geeky little boy in high school with the thick rimmed glasses, the nothing kid. This is for good looking strong, talented, athletic men."

When people watch a football game on TV, it doesn't mean they're going to go join a football team. But if people are watching ballroom dancing on TV, do you think they're going to go out and learn to dance. Is it bringing people into your studio?

Nan: Yes, I think it is, because they're realizing that they can do this too. It was the same thing for me when I got into ballroom. I didn't know that you didn't have to start dancing at age 3. You can get into ballroom at any age or any level and because of the dance shows, people are starting to realize, "Wow, look at this. You can be any size, any weight, any height, any age or whatever, and you can still do this and have fun." Definitely the shows are bringing the awareness around that you can do this, whereas, we all can't go be football players. People are realizing anybody can dance and anybody can have fun at it. It depends on what level you want to do it. Whether you want to compete or whether you want to just social dance, you can have fun.

Nan: Yes, because I think Eddie's a fabulous teacher and dancer! Eddie doesn't teach counts a lot. He teaches music. So he teaches, ta da da, bum ta da, dun ta da, instead of one two three four, he teaches beats because Eddie's very musical. And so am I. There are times we just put the music on and we'll hear it. Hear the music and feel the syncopation. I'm doing the same thing with my guys and they love it, because they feel more musical. Instead of dancing by the numbers, they're feeling like they're dancing to the beat. Also, Eddie grabs his people a lot and says, "Just follow." I do the same thing with my guys. So I definitely teach my guys the way Eddie's taught me, because I like the way Eddie's trained me. I think that's the correct way to do it. He trains dancers musically, instead of just steps.

So there's the feeling, not just the technique.

Nan: Exactly. Hearing the music. It's very important to be musical. You've got to teach your students right away. You have to get them used to the music. You can practice something without music forever, then you put music on and it's a whole new ballgame, if you haven't trained them in hearing the music.

It's a major change! It's funny, because I had no idea, all those years dancing with Eddie, how I was going along for the ride and having a good time! Because now I'm the guy, and I have to start the music, and look out for the floor-craft, and keep them on time, and know their part and wow, it's not easy being a guy! I like being a girl! So being a guy is very different for me. I'm continuously learning the guy's part. Every chance I get when I'm at the studio, I grab any guy. Our studio is owned by six partners, Eddie being one of them, and I grab those guys any chance I get. And I say, "Show me this, show me that." And they're wonderful. All of them are. We trade out, I'll help them with their girls and they help me learn the guy's part. I get things on tape. I learn them at home by myself. I go over it and over it, so I know the guy's part. A lot of things I don't know I kind of grab my guys and have them follow me. I push them and pull them around on the floor and they can figure their part out too. One advantage I have with my guys is that I danced for years with a really good guy, Eddie. So I know what a really good guy is supposed to feel like. I go by feeling, because once it feels close to what it should feel like, which is Eddie, then I know they have it. So I have a big advantage, instead of just being a teacher, I have danced with a really good guy for years. I really think I have an edge there also.

Do you think that your teaching style mirrors Eddie's?

Nancy Senner: 100%.

What do you hope to happen now that you're pro?

Hopefully, I can start flying part time if our company ever gets our contract finalized. Then I hope to get some more competing students and continue on with my social couples, because I really enjoy that. I like the 50/50. My social couples are a little bit more challenging mind-wise, but my competitive students, one on one is a little bit more challenging physically. The combination is a nice balance. I also want to continue to make Hotlanta grow; Eddie and I started a second competition in conjunction with Hotlanta in a second ballroom, called the Rising Star Newcomer's Ball. It's for newer students, newer teachers, so they don't have to come into the Hotlanta room and be intimidated, scared and nervous by all the big people. They have their own little ballroom in their division where they can dance, yet come into the Hotlanta room at night and watch the pros and watch the Hotlanta dancers.

When did you start that?

This was our first year.

Was it successful?

Major success! I think we had almost 1,000 entries in there, for our first year. Everyone in there loved it, and they all thanked us. They said, "Thank you Eddie and Nancy for remembering the little people, the new people." Without new people, how can ballroom grow? We have to constantly encourage our new people to get involved, and we don't want to scare them, we don't want to frighten them. But they still can go to a big event, come at night and watch the pro divisions and watch the big open pro/am gold people. They were thrilled to come in the ballroom at night and watch the big people, because then they could say, "Wow, I want to do that some day." There are also a lot of social competitors out there that don't want to be a big time competitor. They just want to social compete. And that's for the rising star room, where they just want to compete and have fun.

Is there any crossover between the rising star room and the regular room?

Well, we have to be careful about them doing both, because if they are a higher level, they can't go in that rising star room. Eddie knows everyone in the business, so nobody's going to sneak in that rising star room unless they belong in that room.

Is it rising star teachers, or is it rising star students?

Both. There are some pretty advanced teachers in there, but they have to have newcomer students.

There's still a newcomer division in the regular room?

There is, but our newcomer division in Hotlanta is a pretty difficult division. That's why we started this room. Right now our competition is four days long and it starts at 8 a.m. and goes until midnight every night, so there's no more room in the schedule, and we don't want to add any more days. We had this second ballroom at the competition free, and we were just going to use it for practice. It's a huge ballroom, so we turned it into this Rising Star Newcomers Ball instead of just a practice room. It's on the weekend, a Friday-Saturday event.

How are you marketing this new event?

Good question! I guess the same way we marketed Hotlanta.

It's a different audience, though, isn't it? Different demographic?

It is, totally. So we're trying to find out where the newcomer rising star people are. What studios those are, and tell them about us, because we think they'd have a great time. It's a competition specially designed for them. So we want to try to find them.

It's amazing in your first year that you had that many entries.

It was a lot by word of mouth. Eddie and I had done several shows the past years in smaller studios and so we were able to tell them about it and they told their friends. Hopefully, the people that came this year will tell their friends, and by more word of mouth we'll get an even bigger turnout next year.

Now that you're a teacher, have there been any disadvantages having been on the other side?

Yeah. Probably I was spoiled being a student. I had no idea how much Eddie took care of me out there and how much I went along for the ride. I don't want to say it was easy. It wasn't easy, but it was just very different. Whereas now, as a teacher, it is a lot more work. I can't relax for a minute, because it's all about my guy now. It's not about me anymore. It's about him. It's about me taking care of him. I was taken care of...

Multiple hims!

Yeah, multiple hims', you're right! It's very different. The disadvantage is that it is more work, because I'm taking care of them now instead of being taken care of.

Do you ever regret making the jump?

No, because I was 100% ready to go. I had thought about retiring from pro/am for several years, and I didn't. I kept hanging on, so finally, when I retired, I was ready. I had no regrets. I never once looked back and said, "Well, maybe if I would have done that division one more time, or this division one more time." I hung in there for a very long time. I hung in until I was ready to go. I didn't get out too soon.

We touched a little bit about pro competition. You said there's still time if you want to do it. I'm assuming that if you do it, it would be with Eddie. What if another pro approached you, would you be open to dancing with someone else?

If I did it, it would definitely be with Eddie. And Eddie would give you that same answer, "No, she's only dancing with me!" So that would be it.

Do you miss dancing with him?

Yes. Yes. The other day we did a little show number at the studio and when we got home that night I said, "Oh my god, Eddie, being back in your arms dancing again! It was such a treat!" We did bolero. That was always our favorite dance. Everybody afterwards said, "God, the emotion in that bolero." And Eddie and I kind of looked at each other and laughed because none of it was fake. There was so much emotion between us because we both were feeling, "it's so great to dance with you again." We danced together for so long, we can look in each other's eyes and know exactly where each other was and what we were thinking, what we were feeling. So if I ever did dance pro, it would definitely be with him. I'm actually getting checked out and taking my tests for judging. So that's another thing....

You work seven days a week, you fly full time, you teach 20 hours a week, you're married, trying to make time for your husband, and you're doing this?

Yes. But I love every minute of it! Otherwise I wouldn't be doing it. It will ease up. Like I said, hopefully I'll start flying part time and then my schedule will get a little bit better.

Do you foresee a time when you'll stop flying completely?

If you ask Eddie, tomorrow, he hates me being gone. Like I said, if I'm gone, we get hamburger helper! It's a hard job to quit, because you can't go back to it. So I'm going to hang in there as long as I can.

You talked about pro/am being the driving force, what about the college kids now?

Yeah, that is a growing division too. Unfortunately, ballroom is expensive. It's an expensive hobby. Sometimes that's kind of hard for the college kids. It would be great to see more programs for the kids, more group classes and things like that. I always hear that complaint from starving artists that they can't afford the sport.

How can we make it more affordable? Until we make it more affordable, I don't think it's actually going to get out to the masses as much.

Get more men involved, because if we get more men involved, we can get more amateur partners together. Instead of the girls all having to get a teacher or pro/am guy so they can dance, if they can get a partner, it's going to be a lot more inexpensive. So if we can get more guys involved through the TV programs, maybe we can get more couples and then we'll get more dancing. We definitely need more men, in every aspect… the studio parties, the competing, everything. We need more men.

In all the arts.

In all the arts, it's true. And I think men are starting to find out, "Wow, this is the sport to get into. Look at the women!"