Christy has two daughters who take ballroom dance lessons with DanceXS – Abbigail and Eve – and she first discovered the studio while looking for classes for her youngest. “When Eve was in primary school there was a ballroom event at the school, and Stefano was a sponsor,” she explains.
“I phoned him about ballroom dance classes and he was very personable and genuinely interested. So many people will just ring off a list of class times or tell you to look at a website, but with Stefano it was a collaborative conversation… and that’s why we decided to come along.”
First impressions on arrival were equally positive. “I thought Stefano was nuts – in a good way,” she laughs. “He’s funny, relatable and he’s fantastic with all the kids. He made sure Eve felt comfortable from the onset and asked his niece, Stefania, to partner with her to help her get settled.”
Positive lessons
For Christy, DanceXS offers much more than good dance lessons. “Stefano creates a very positive environment and he wants all the kids to understand the importance of working hard and making good decisions. He’ll bring up school work and chores. He wants to make sure they’re all pulling their weight in life.”
One way this works is with the older students who help out with lessons and dance with new arrivals. They help guide them through steps and make sure everyone is at ease.
“Stefano teaches the kids to give back,” explains Christy. “The little kids look up to the big ones when they first start. And now that Eve’s one of the big kids, for instance, she helps the younger ones and is looked up to the way she once looked up to Stefania. It creates a nurturing environment and it feels like a family, which is fantastic.”
Clever teaching… and clones
Christy describes DanceXS as a clean and well-provisioned studio with a great atmosphere – “all the mums are really friendly and welcoming, and the kids are beautiful” – but the dance teaching is the real highlight.
“Stefano is the ultimate drawcard. He’s effervescent, friendly and he has a really clever way of teaching. If he’s explaining a new step, he’ll use an analogy like the way an animal moves, and explain it in a way they can all understand. Then once they’ve got it, he’ll give them the technical name. It’s always age appropriate, and very effective. I work in human resources, so I know what it takes to make a good coach… and he’s just got it.”
Anything she could change about the studio? “Stefano does need to travel once in a while to a dance competition. If he could clone himself so here’s here 24/7, that would be fantastic!”
