From the time Sabrina Thieven was in diapers, she danced in front of the record player.
Today Thieven, founder of Sabrina’s Dance Instruction, celebrates 30 years immersed in the ballroom dance world both as a teacher and a competitor.
It wasn’t something she planned. It’s just that partner dancing makes her feel alive and exhilarated in a way that nothing else does.
In celebration of her three-decade career, the St. Albert resident is hosting a dinner and dance tonight at Cornerstone Hall.
In addition to lightly hoofing it across the parquet floor with every dance style from the fox trot to the samba, Thieven will recapture highlights from her past professional career with a special slide show.
“This is going to be a blast from my past,” said Thieven. “I’ll even be teaching a class in the first line dance I ever learned – the Hustle – with music from the Pointer Sisters.”
Raised in Edmonton, Thieven’s first-choice career path was musical theatre. After graduation, she was accepted into Grant MacEwan College’s musical theatre program, but dropped out during the first year after catching mononucleosis.
Unable to complete the program, she saw an advertisement for ballroom dance teachers at the newly opened Cheek-to-Cheek Dance Studio and applied.
It was the beginning of a passionate three years filled with fulfilling hours of teaching and dazzling showcases and competitions.
Sporting a natural grace and athleticism from many years of studying classical ballet and jazz, she slipped easily into ballroom dancing’s discipline and competitive moves.
She even met her husband, Greg, through dancing. He was on a competitive country-dance team and Thieven used to coach one of the couples on his team.
“We ran into each other at A&B Sound and talked about a workshop we both wanted to attend. Neither of us had a partner and so we went together. That was the beginning,” Thieven said.
While she once dreamt of dancing classical ballet and starring in Broadway musicals, teaching couples dance-floor technique rapidly morphed into a new passion.
“Once I started teaching, I went from teaching to dance to loving teaching more. As a teacher you don’t do it because you love it. You teach because of who you are. Teaching is fulfilling in a way that dance doesn’t touch, and that says a lot.”
It’s that interaction between teacher and pupil that creates magic.
One older couple took lessons because their daughter was getting married. However, they were sure the lessons wouldn’t work. In their younger days, they had taken lessons and never danced again.
“After I established their trust I asked them what happened. The teacher told the man he couldn’t dance and not to bother trying. She planted the story in his head he couldn’t dance. I told him he didn’t fail. It was her failing that she couldn’t teach him. Not his.”
“I watched his confidence improve. To be able to flip someone’s old programming and totally realize he could was an exciting thing to see.”
Through the years she has taught one-off corporate gigs such as the Charleston at the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce Dinner and the minuet at Regency Encounters. But the most enriching moments are the weekly private and group lessons at St. Albert United Church.
But tonight “the focus is on dancing and having a good time.”
