Debbie is the Administrative Secretary for Rapid City Parks and Recreation. She
is also a dance instructor part-time, which she does as a hobby. Debbie and her
husband , Mark, have lived in this area since 1973. Debbie and Mark began
dancing in 1992 when they took a Basic I class from LeRoy Olesen with Wayne and
Roxie King. Debbie says she was "hooked" immediately. Because Mark wasn't
hooked on dancing, Debbie pursued line dancing. She took one set of line dance
classes from June Seney and started teaching her friends so she would have
someone to dance with. One night Debbie was teaching some friends at the Reunion
Lounge. A lady from the Community Education Office was there and asked Debbie to
offer a line dance class. She advertised the class and registered 90 people!
Debbie split the class, recruited some helpers, and began teaching. She has been
teaching since, recently expanding her classes to include Jitterbug, Two-step,
and Waltz.
Debbie started the Heartland Dance team in August, 1993. They were invited to
dance at the Central States Fair as entertainment during breaks for the RCC Style
Show. The Heartland Dancers have been asked back to do their own segment every
year since. In 1997, Debbie formed the Hot Shots Dance Team. The first team had
seven dancers. She states, "we now have 25 team members and hold try-outs for a
position on the team. The age range on the team is 7-14 years of age."
When asked what she likes most about dancing, Debbie states, " The feeling I get
when moving to the beat of the music. It's hard to describe--feeling special,
confident, happy; it's fun! The dance people are great." Her most memorable
dance moment was doing a spotlight dance with the Heartland Dancers in Casper, WY.
"We did our best performance ever!"
Debbie loves all types of music and dance. Her favorite dance activities are:
the Black Hills Dance Festival, the Rocky Mountain Regional Dance Festival in
Casper, the Dakota Country Festival in Sioux Falls and the Desert Sands in Las Vegas.
"Keep on Dancing!"
