Love on the Dance Floor
Arthur Murray’s offers lessons for couples trying to connect
Story by DAVID STONE | Photos by Skeebo
There’s nothing more romantic than strutting those ballroom moves with your favorite guy or gal. And, if your dancing skills are a bit on the rusty side, dance lessons just might make for a perfect date night adventure.
MJ and Johnny Gonzales, owners of Arthur Murray Dance Center in Temple, teach more than 30 dances that are popular worldwide. And while their classes are extremely popular, MJ said it often starts with a single date night.
“That’s usually how it starts — as a surprise for the wife or vice versa,” she said. “Not all couples have the intention of continuing, but it often leads to weekly lessons.”
“Dancing is a romantic way to stay in shape and spend quality time with a loved one,” she said. “I think what you learn on the dance floor reflects how you communicate in life.”
“Dancing for many couples is an opportunity to reconnect,” MJ added. “They are spending that time together and learning a fun hobby they can share throughout life. Some couples have kids who are older, or they are empty nesters, and now they have time to spend on themselves.”
Arthur Murray’s offers gift certificates that give couples — or singles — an opportunity to give lessons a try before making a big time commitment.
“They can try two lessons and attend one of our weekly parties,” she said. “Every Friday night we have parties that are open to the public. We start with a free group lesson at 7:45 — attendance is not required — and the social dance is at 8:30 p.m.”
MJ opened the studio about two-and-a-half years ago, and right now the dance center has about 50 regular customers. She and Johnny both teach lessons, and MJ teaches a Barre class on Saturday morning.
“I’ve been a dancer all of my life — mostly ballet — and I decided to make a career out of teaching dance,” she said. “We mostly teach adults here, and I love seeing the impact dancing has had on their lives. With dancing, it’s never too late to start — we teach folks from all different backgrounds.”
“People are making friends here and creating a new social network. We even had two single people meet here and get married.”
Dancing has definitely made an impact on the lives of Jennifer and Chris Wilson, a Temple couple who has been taking dancing lessons at Arthur Murray’s for about two years.
“We keep going because we are always learning something new,” Jennifer said. “It’s challenging, but it’s fun at the same time. There are so many different dances — you could never learn it all. I also love all of the music.”
“Chris and I both learn differently, so it can be a lesson in patience,” she said with a smile. “It’s a lot of fun doing it together.”
Chris says dance lessons have brought them closer together.
“It’s a date each time we go in,” he said. “It’s an activity we have to engage in together — it’s problem solving through non-verbal cues.”
“Ballroom dancing is great exercise, but it’s also a good mental activity,” he said. “We are on our fifth type of dance now — we have learned East Coast swing, waltz, rhumba, fox trot and we are currently learning the tango.”
“It’s such a great social activity,” he added. “We are getting to meet a lot of different people.”
MJ said her day can be quite tiring, but it’s always a fun experience.
“I’m on the dance floor about four straight hours a day,” she said. “We are having so much fun, and it’s always great to see new faces.”
So what moves are the most requested?
“We specialize in ballroom and partner social dancing such as salsa, samba, swing, polka, classic ballroom, the tango and country dancing — including the two-step and three-step,” she said. “Arthur Murray is an international franchise and they have a syllabus for the most popular dances around the world.”
“They don’t have a syllabus for regional dances, but that doesn’t mean we can’t teach it. The Shag, for instance, is huge in the Carolinas. Arthur Murray doesn’t have a syllabus for that dance, but I’m pretty sure they teach it there.”
In Temple, MJ has received regional requests for the Cumbia, a Tejano-style dance.
MJ and Johnny have been dancing together for several years for fun and in competitions.
“We met through community theater in Killeen,” Johnny said. “We were both involved in ‘West Side Story,’ and we started dancing together. We’re both from right here in Central Texas.”
The couple took their relationship beyond the dance floor about a year ago and got married.
Arthur Murray Dance Center
Phone: 254-721-9524
Email: arthurmurraytemple@gmail.com
Website: arthurmurraytemple.com
Address: 2102 SW HK Dodgen Loop, Suite 100, Temple
