Today, we’d like to introduce you to Kathy Stetler. Kathy was introduced to us by the brilliant and talented Veronika Voskalchuk.
Kathy, can you walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was first introduced to ballroom dancing by a friend who invited me to a group class. After completing the group dance lesson, challenged and intrigued, I moved on to individual dance lessons and then into the competitive arena. Competitive ballroom dancing has since become my passion and my addiction. The people I work with have become my extended family and if this is the light I have worked for all my life to enjoy, I feel I have succeeded, and I am totally blessed.
Let’s talk about your work and career – what else should we know?
Dedication and hard work are core values that I have applied to most all endeavors throughout my life, whether it be sports, scholastics, or business acumen. I enjoyed a 32+year career as a periodontist, prior to retiring a few years ago. During my younger years and through college, I was a very successful competitive swimmer at the national level. The attributes that helped me be successful at my work and sports are the same ones that help me to be a competitive dancer. As a competitive swimmer, I developed a strong sense of discipline and dedication to training. This mindset has helped me stay committed to improving my ballroom dancing skills and continuously pushing myself to be better. Periodontics requires a great deal of focus and attention to detail. This attention has helped me in ballroom dancing, where small adjustments in posture, footwork, and timing can make a significant difference in performance. What I find in this dance world is a sense of similarity and kinship; people working independently and cooperatively towards a shared goal. As a swimmer, I loved being part of a team. As a health care provider, I loved interacting with my patients, and providing a high-quality service that positively improved their lives. I love going to dance lessons and dance competitions to interact with people who enjoy the same things that I do.
So, as we mentioned to our audience earlier, you were introduced to us by Veronika Voskalchuk and we really admire them and what they’ve built. For folks who might not be as familiar, can you tell them a bit about your experience with Veronika.
I was first introduced to Sasha and Veronika by a trusted and admired friend from the dancing community. At that point, she had been working with them, had shown considerable improvement in their particular (Standard) dance style, and suggested that I consider also taking some lessons from them. Further discussions with other respected dancers convinced me that learning Standard Ballroom would help me to improve my overall dancing and provide some basic building blocks that I was missing. And that was the start.
The three of us met soon thereafter. I was immediately smitten; by both the individuals and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn, train, compete, and partner with literally some of the best dancers in the world. Veronika explained their “couple” fast-tract teaching technique and my new responsibilities. As a born competitor, I very much liked their mission goal of “producing champions.” I loved the fact that would be able to work with both a man and a woman to master techniques and for individual explanations of critical nuances. I knew I would be essentially starting from scratch again; re-learning; re-training; baby steps, big steps, and pivots much later. But a strategic plan was made for me then and there. I was going to work with them. I would do what they told me to do, and I would achieve my goals. I had my coaches, my cheerleaders, and my teammates. Done. And the biggest bonus, was that these fabulous, wonderful, incredibly talented, intelligent, and caring people would all become my extended family.
I most admire Sasha and Veronika for not only what they have achieved, but who they are as people and their ever-so-strong moral compasses. They do not compromise their integrity or principles. They do what’s right, and what’s right for their students, and not just what’s in their own best interest. They have committed themselves to me and my teammates. Their dedication and encouragement do not waiver. They put in the hard work; they are in the trenches with you; they will repeat at nauseam, if necessary, a new part of a new routine that I just can’t seem to get. Their patience rivals Job. In addition to dancing, they encourage me to step out of my box; they quell my inner demons, teach me how to “walk like a princess;” and bough. They provide the package. They have my front, my back and if I ever need to wear a tiara, I know they will make sure it is on straight.
Competitive dancing at this stage in my life has given me a new directive and drive. It’s humbling and challenging; an obsession and addiction. Dancing keeps me in shape; keeps me goal-focused; and brings me the greatest joy. I look forward to my next lesson all week.
The biggest challenges with learning to dance and compete at this point, is the increased difficulty in learning something new at 65 vs. 15 and expecting your body to be able to actually perform how you want it to vs. how it will. Competitive dancing is HARD physically and mentally. Sasha and Veronika helped me get over some of my earlier frustration by breaking down some of the steps into smaller parts and helping me mentally focus on what I could do now vs. what I probably could have done when I was 15. Veronika had to also work extra hard to overcome some residual habits/body positions leftover from my swimming years.
My recommendations to people who just start dancing would be to just do it and have fun. Dancing has many levels and layers. What makes the difference is the people. It can be a great social outlet or as hard-core competitive as you want to get. If you want to compete, choose the people to guide you wisely. Make sure their skill level matches where you want to go and make sure they act on your personal behalf. It makes a huge difference, as my life was so positively affected as such by Sasha and Veronika.
