Hello! This is Marty.
I have been dancing for a long time. I started dancing Disco in the late 70's when it hit
the Omaha nightclub scene. I took my first official West Coast class at a Fred Astaire studio
in 1980. I then moved into Ballroom, Latin, and Country. Dance is one of those intangibles in
life that you either love or hate.
I earned an undergraduate degree from University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO), in 1985, a B.S.
in Education. I then began teaching ballroom dance in the Omaha area the following year. I have
taught dance at UNO since 1988 in the campus recreation department, and in 2005 began teaching
credit classes. In 2018 I received a master's in health education from UNO.
After the documentary, "Mad Hot Ballroom," about ballroom dance with school children, Omaha
became the first location outside of New York City to utilize the program. I have been involved
with the Dancing Classrooms Omaha program from the start. I met Pierre Dulaine when he came to
Omaha to teach the first group of Omaha Teaching Artists. Since I worked full time during the
daytime school hours, I coordinated the ballroom dancers used for buddy lessons, until I left my
day job in 2008. That summer I trained with Pierre in New York City and started a career as a
Teaching Artist.
For many years I have traveled the U.S. competing in swing and country dancing. I now still
attend many dance conventions to exchange ideas with other instructors, dancers, and friends to
learn new concepts and techniques. Dance is dynamic and always growing and changing. I have
learned most of my ballroom training from world renowned ballroom dancers attending summer
intensives at Brigham Young University (BYU). My favorite instructor is Toni Dovolani from
Dancing with the Stars fame. When he came to Omaha with a show of ballroom dancers, he dropped
in on a cha-cha class I was teaching just for fun.
For many years I have traveled the U.S. competing in swing and country dancing. I now still
attend many dance conventions to exchange ideas with other instructors, dancers, and friends to
learn new concepts and techniques. Dance is dynamic and always growing and changing. I have
learned most of my ballroom training from world renowned ballroom dancers attending summer
intensives at Brigham Young University (BYU). My favorite instructor is Toni Dovolani from
Dancing with the Stars fame. When he came to Omaha with a show of ballroom dancers, he dropped
in on a cha-cha class I was teaching just for fun.
Sincerely, Marty

