When you watch owner Daniel Seguin gracefully sashay and confidently twirl around the dance floor, itB次元官网网址檚 hard to believe he was once severely overweight and painfully shy.

B次元官网网址淚 started taking dance lessons because I was 5B次元官网网址�6 and getting close to 195 pounds and I had to do something,B次元官网网址� the now svelte 53-year-old says.

Daniel, who was 26 at the time and living in Ottawa, had never danced before, but after seven months of lessons, he loved it so much he decided to become an instructor at Arthur Murray.

B次元官网网址淚 always thought you had to be tall and slim to be a dance instructor, but then an instructor who was my height started at the school and I realized that wasnB次元官网网址檛 true,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淲hen you watch ballroom dancing on TV, a lot of people think you have to be a certain body type or age to do it, but thatB次元官网网址檚 just not the case. ItB次元官网网址檚 one of the biggest misconceptions people have. I didnB次元官网网址檛 fit the mold at all.B次元官网网址�

Daniel was working at Canada Post as an internal auditor for the money order division and didnB次元官网网址檛 fit the B次元官网网址渁rts moldB次元官网网址� either. HeB次元官网网址檇 grown up wanting to be a high school math teacher and loved numbers. But he didnB次元官网网址檛 realize something was missing until dance came into his life.

B次元官网网址淚 really enjoyed working with numbers and the checks and balances, but I was always a pretty creative kid growing up and it didnB次元官网网址檛 add to that,B次元官网网址� he explains. B次元官网网址淲hen I became a dance teacher, those two worlds came together because music is numbers and creating patterns and creating routines.B次元官网网址�

Choreographing cha-cha-chas and award-winning routines instead of crunching numbers on a spreadsheet, Daniel quickly found his passion.

B次元官网网址淒ance is just so freeing because youB次元官网网址檙e just able to feel the music and, for me, itB次元官网网址檚 making sure my partner feels good,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a shared experience and it can be life-changing.B次元官网网址�

For Daniel, who was never one of the popular kids in school and painfully shy in social situations, dance has given him confidence and opened up a world of opportunity.

B次元官网网址淚 probably would have been that guy who just has a couple of friends and does a lot of stuff as a loner,B次元官网网址� Daniel says. B次元官网网址淏ut dancing has helped me break out of my shell. I think thatB次元官网网址檚 one of the appeals of dancing B次元官网网址� people want the opportunity to shine in some way.B次元官网网址�

After Ottawa, Daniel moved to Chicago and then Edmonton to teach and manage studios before landing in Victoria and opening his own studio in Saanich Plaza last May.

B次元官网网址淚t was a 14-month-long search to find the right location and open our doors,B次元官网网址� Daniel says. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a great business model with lots of things I love and, as an owner, I can build on that and interact more with each student.B次元官网网址�

Teaching people of all ages and ability levels for more than 27 years, Daniel has found that everyone comes for a different reason: from simply having fun or for weight loss to coping with PTSD or trying to recharge a relationship.

B次元官网网址淪ome people are lonely or may have lost a spouse and are ready to start meeting people again,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淎nd some people are just stressed at work and, at dance, their biggest worry is which foot is their left foot. ItB次元官网网址檚 like a mini vacation in their lives.B次元官网网址�

There have been a lot of success stories over the years, including couples headed for divorce falling back in love.

B次元官网网址淔or 40 minutes, theyB次元官网网址檙e in each otherB次元官网网址檚 arms and no longer watching TV side-by-side or even in different rooms,B次元官网网址� Daniel explains. B次元官网网址淭hey start seeing the person they were interested in when they first started dating. ItB次元官网网址檚 kind of magical when you see it because itB次元官网网址檚 a really special moment youB次元官网网址檙e witnessing.B次元官网网址�

Another success story thatB次元官网网址檚 really stuck with Daniel is a student early on in his career who was incredibly shy. When she first came to the studio, the young woman could hardly look up from the floor when having a conversation.

B次元官网网址淭hrough working with her and getting her to come out of her shell, people at work started noticing she had more confidence, she became part of their social group and she got promoted,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淪he also became good friends with another student and they started dating and that gentleman became her husband and they had a child together. WeB次元官网网址檙e not psychiatrists or career builders, but the benefits she got from dancing brought out the beautiful person she already was on the inside.B次元官网网址�

Daniel says itB次元官网网址檚 life-changing stories like that that keep him going.

B次元官网网址淵ou always hope you can make a difference in life. I donB次元官网网址檛 know if I have the right words to really convey how it feels, but itB次元官网网址檚 really special.B次元官网网址�

Given his love of dance and what it can do, itB次元官网网址檚 hard to believe Daniel almost gave up on his passion early in his career. He was ready to quit after a few years, but encouragement from a dance competition judge spurred him on and convinced him to stick with it.

B次元官网网址淓veryone will tell you that to become really successful, a master will have failed more times than a beginner has ever tried and going through hardships makes the success so worthwhile,B次元官网网址� he says.

B次元官网网址淭he life lesson I got is that if there are hardships and tough times, you just have to ride through them and eventually youB次元官网网址檒l be able to realize all your dreams.B次元官网网址�