A St. Albert resident received a double tribute at the 2011 Northern Lights Classic, the only nationally recognized ballroom and Latin dance competition in Alberta.
Devon Panko of Panko Dance Sport Studio received the top teacher and top studio award. He’s been teaching since 1989 and has personally competed in many competitions across North America including the prestigious Nevada Star Ball.
“I was obviously very happy to receive to receive the top teacher award. And I don’t want to sound as if I’m conceited but I was expecting it. Whenever I go into a competition, it’s not unusual to win.”
“However, the top studio award I was very excited about. I didn’t expect that. That was, for me, an excellent achievement and I had the most pride when my 16-year-olds won a trophy. I was very proud of them. Just the look on their faces — that perpetual grin. You could not wipe it off their face.”
Panko is referring to Jared Groves, 16, and St. Albert’s Melyssa Clare, 16, who won first place in cha cha. Micala Toal and St. Albert resident Etienne Leclerc received top honours for the waltz and Leclerc’s brother Joel and his partner Talia Gotzuk carried home bronze.
Panko started life as a musician touring Canada with rock band Riff Raff, an AC/DC tribute band. He applied to Grant MacEwan’s music program and while waiting for the season to begin, accepted a part-time position at a dance studio. “I tried it. I loved it and didn’t go to school.”
“Even though I was a heavy metal guy, I liked the whole etiquette of what dance provided — the grace, poise and dignity. All those things struck me,” says Panko, admitting that the first seeds were probably planted when he watched Lawrence Welk’s weekly TV broadcast with his mother.
In his early years teaching 22 years ago, the clientele consisted of mainly older dance aficionados, “But today there’s lots of young people doing it. My youngest student is 10 years old.”
And popular culture is the saviour. “They’re attracted by lots of exposure from TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance. Kids see it on TV and want to explore their options.”
And Panko has developed enough clout in the past two decades to attract luminaries such as Jean-Marc Genereaux, dance champion and choreographer for So You Think You Can Dance, for leading edge workshops.
“Dance sport promotes health, fitness and competition. I just teach techniques and style to make it look sharper and more elegant.”
