About
I was born and raised in sunny Florida (AKA Line Dance Heaven) to a family of line dancers. Although I was not interested in learning to dance when I was very young, I grew up around dance. My grandmother, Sandy Albano, taught a few local classes and organized a social once a month. She asked me to come to her socials and help out with odds and ends. Being a 4th grader with plenty of time on my hands, I was happy to help. For the first few months of going, I just sat and watched as dozens of dancers would dance the afternoon away. Donned in my country-est of country get ups, I sat on the sidelines and chatted.
One day, I saw a dance that caught my attention. I hadn’t even thought about actually doing any dancing until then; I was just there to help out. On the way home, I asked my grandmother if she could teach me the dance I saw. She, of course, said,”YES!” The next month on the day of her social, I went over to her house early, so she could teach me the dance. I was both excited and a little nervous. I had never tried to dance before. After what seemed like an hour, I had finally mastered(ish) the dance! I was totally ready to surprise everyone with my new dance moves. And boy were they surprised to see me walk onto the dance floor when the music came on. Being the adorable 4th grader I was, just like the name of the dance, everyone said I was, “Cute, Cute, Cute”! I had to be honest; I had a lot of fun. Sure I was nervous dancing in front of everyone for the first time, but I am SO glad I did it. The rest, as they say, is history. I was hooked.
After that, I would learn a new dance here and there and dance a little at my grandmother’s socials until my grandmother suggested I attend a local event during the day, so I could see what else was out there. After a significant amount of persuading by both my grandmother and myself, my mother finally agreed I could go. I walked into my first event not knowing what to expect. There were hundreds of people in a big hotel ballroom. I was taken back to my first experience with dancing, excited but nervous… and SO glad I did it. Not long after attending the local event, I got more serious about dancing. I didn’t like that I had to sit on the sides and watch while other people got to dance. I started going to some local classes and quickly learned anything and everything I could. If someone didn’t know a dance, they asked me if I knew it. More often than not, I did. I took 2-3 classes a week after school, and I practiced almost every day. I went to every workshop and convention I could get to, traveling all across the country to learn from and dance with the best!
Just before the local event came around again, there was an opportunity for me to teach. Being now a “seasoned” 14 year old, I jumped at the opportunity. Looking back now, it wasn’t the best workshop, but it could have gone a lot worse. I remembered all the steps, nobody seemed too confused, I counted in correctly, and I kept dancing. I’d call that a win! In no time, I was teaching at least one dance a week. By the time I graduated high school, I was teaching half the class!
Since I was the Valedictorian, I had lots of opportunities for college, and I decided to go to Boston University to study Marine Science. I was a long way from home, but I was excited and ready for my new adventure. Except for one part… there was NO line dancing in the area! I knew I had to have some kind of dancing in my life, so I joined a bunch of different dance clubs at the schools and decided I liked the Ballroom Dance Club, Soñando Salsa (BU’s salsa performance team), and dancing at the local West Coast Swing place in Harvard.
After graduating in only 2.5 years, it was time to find a job. I looked for a while to find things in my major when I stumbled upon a job posting at a ballroom dance studio. That was perfect! I could do some dancing and get paid a little while I was looking for a job in my field. After being extremely annoying by calling and emailing incessantly and even finding people who knew both me and the owner, Lilia, I was able to interview. I was so excited to find out I got the job!
One day while we were working late at the studio, Lilia asked me about the West Coast Swing scene in Boston, so I pulled up a few videos to show her. A few clicks down the rabbit hole of suggested videos later, we came across a video of some country dancers. She was really excited about country dancing and said that we should try it and do some competitions. Thinking she was joking, I said, “OMG, yes! We should!”
Fast forward two weeks, and Lilia had already had a costume designed and being made, had a country boot vendor coming to the studio to put shoes on our feet, found coaches for us, had our routines being choreographed, sourced a cowboy hat for me, and had our next two years planned out. I guess she wasn’t joking… Feeling like I couldn’t really say no to my boss, I went along with it. As it turns out, it was a great decision! We went on to perform very well in competitions together. We came in 2nd place at the world championships, so we even moved up to UCWDC Couples Open Division I after only one year of dancing together!
After working so well together in dance and working hard in the studio, I quickly earned promotion after promotion until I made partner at the studio! I am now a proud co-owner of Ballroom in Boston! Lilia and I are a great team, and we are excited for all the great things coming to our studio!
While Lilia and I were starting to compete in UCWDC couples, I competed in the United States Choreography Championships (USLDCC). I was the 2018 overall champion with my Intermediate/Advanced dance, Put The Gun Down, and was undefeated the Intermediate/Advanced category!
After moving up to Open Division I with Lilia, I decided to try UCWDC line dance competitions. Based on my status as a professional and dancing in Open Division I for couples, I entered the Open Male Advanced category. In my first year of competing I became the 2020 World Champion! At Worlds I also placed into the Advanced Jack & Jill division of the World Swing Dance Council! It was a memorable event for sure.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, I began teaching several virtual line dance classes per week, which focused on reviving the popularity of great line dances of yesteryear. These classes were met with support and rave reviews from dancers all across the globe. These classes led to two nominations to the 20th WORLDWIDE HALL of FAME AWARDS (2021) of the Line Dance Association. One in the category of “Excellent Online Instructor” and the other in “Best Choreography of Multiple Instructors of Different Countries” for my dance, Shampoo, that was co-choreographed with a slew of StreamLine instructors.
My journey is far from over, as I will now be competing in the Showcase Line Division, my last step to becoming a Superstar line dance competitor, and Lilia and I work to improve our dancing constantly on our quest to move up to the Masters Division.
I feel very blessed to have had so many wonderful opportunities, experiences, and friends from all over the globe, and I feel compelled to share the joy I get from dancing with others. See you somewhere on the dance floor!