OUR MISSION STATEMENT

Becky has been with UCBD since Fall 2016 and has been teaching ballroom for the last 3-4 years. As a dancer, she is currently jumping to Open Smooth and Standard and dances Silver/Gold Rhythm and Latin. Her favorite style of dance is Smooth, but she particularly enjoys Viennese Waltz, Samba, Bachata, and Quickstep! She loves the complete and utter acceptance of everyone in UConn Ballroom Dance, and appreciates that all the members genuinely want to support and help each other grow. When asked what she’s learned from ballroom dance, she responded “Sometimes the traits we've always wanted to see in ourselves, were there all along. Turns out, you just need a little bit of encouragement to grow and build to who you want to be.” 

Becky loves being able to teach and seeing the excitement when something clicks for whoever she might be helping. Outside of ballroom, she enjoys art, tabletop games, social dancing (both ballroom and other), sewing, baking, mead making, and even had seven years of martial arts before doing ballroom!  

Edward has been with UCBD since 2017 and is currently a Graduate student studying for his Physics PhD. He loves Standard, particularly Quickstep and Foxtrot, and is currently making the jump to Open in both Standard and Latin. 

Edward loves the sense of comradery among UCBD dancers, especially during competitions, and, as an instructor, he enjoys when the students come to understand why certain moves are danced the way they are. Through ballroom, Edward has learned to have confidence and not second guess every decision. 

A couple fun facts about Edward: he loves hiking in his free time and is a sword collector!

Steven is a Husky Alumni, works as an electrical engineer, and has been with UCBD for the past 7 years. He’s been teaching ballroom for about 4 years and currently dances Open Latin and Smooth. His favorite dances are basically all of the Latin dances plus Viennese Waltz! Something he’s learned from ballroom, that he’s been able to apply to many areas of life, is the ability to take something that appears complicated on the surface and break it down piece by piece to gain a deeper understanding.

Steven loves being able to meet so many different people through UCBD, and, as a teacher, he enjoys when others are able to discover something new and how they continue to grow as dancers and individuals. Outside of ballroom, he enjoys video games, electronics, and cooking/baking. Fun fact: Steven can read and speak German, thanks to over 10 years of studying the language!

Deshauna is a Husky Alumni, is currently working as a Field Examiner – CID, and dances Open Latin and Open Smooth (her favorite styles!). She has been with UCBD for 7 years and has been teaching ballroom for the last 4 years. Her favorite part about UCBD is its sense of friendship and community and how encouraging all the members are to each other. As a teacher, Deshauna loves watching people grow and learn and seeing the excitement in their eyes when they finally understand something they’ve been working on! She also loves the ability to help others on their dance journeys. As a ballroom dancer, she has learned that “Confidence is key. Go out in life, or onto the dance floor, like you own the place, and everyone will believe you.”

When she’s not dancing, Deshauna enjoys doing hair, sewing, and going to the beach. She also has an adorable cat named Tommy!