I SAW THE SIGN... AT DAZA DANCE!

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!... 

What a wonderful team of people I get to share the dance floor with 
every day of my life!

About a month ago, maybe a few days after our Showcase, Mario and I were both teaching lessons to our students at the same time.  If you know anything about the structure of the lessons, you know that there are a lot of conversations going on as well as a lot of dancing simultaneously. During a minute of break between dances, we all started talking about how wonderful everything went during the Showcase event and how much fun the whole experience was, not only for the participants, but also for all of the guests who came to support the students and instructors.

All of a sudden Mario’s student made a statement about how important it is for the studio to have a sign on the building with the company name so people could find us easier. She added that some of her friends had an issue finding us when they visited a few days before. (Take into consideration that by this time we had been in the new space for a little over a year with no sign, so obviously she had a point.)

After our students finished telling us their opinions about the sign, I told them that I was currently working on it, but the project had been delayed a little because of other major expenses in the studio that required more financial attention. I assured them, as soon as I was able to come up with the funds, I would not hesitate to finish it. In addition to that, I added the fact that it was taking a little longer to get the city permits. The building we are in is very old, and the city of Atlanta was asking for too many documents and drawings that just simply did not exist, so the sign vendor was trying to get it all done and taken care of.

Here is the best part:  as soon as I finished sharing my thoughts, Mario’s student said, “Well Antonio, we need to get that done, even if that means I have to pay for it!” For a minute I questioned her in my head: “Is she being real? Then she repeated it as she saw my perplexed face: “Antonio I’ll pay for it!” At that point, I knew she was not joking!

I was speechless for about two minutes while Mario told her in front of my student and me that if she was being truthful to go ahead and do it. Well, by that time we had spent too much of the lesson talking about it, so I just said thank you as well as how appreciative I was of the gesture and just walked away with my student to continue with my program. I did not give any more thought to the proposal.

One week later I went out of town to Florida and then immediately continued on to a dance competition in Argentina. While my student and I were gone, Mario found the information about the sign vendor, the invoice, and all the information related to getting the sign ordered. He talked to almost all of the current Daza Dance students and collected enough money to pay for the permits and construction of the sign. He told everyone that getting the sign on the building would be a very nice birthday gift for me and he wanted to get it done before I came back from Argentina.

Our students were so wonderful that they did not hesitate in collaborating with Mario. Everyone contributed as much as they could, and by the time I came back the sign was up and shinning on top of the building… right on Peachtree Road!

Mario covered his bases by making sure that no one from the studio told me anything; he wanted to keep it a surprise until the day I returned. Well, that did not work out that well, because someone else, totally unrelated to the studio, posted a picture on Facebook. Of course I saw this picture online while I was out of town and started to freak out but decided that I would take care of whatever was going on when I came back…

And so I did. As soon as I got back in the country I called Mario and asked him how he was able to get that done without my authorization and without money (haha). And that’s when I found out the whole story.

I was very shocked… no one had ever done something like that for me! It was very emotional to see so much support and solidarity from our students. I had no idea that anyone would be game to go along with such a crazy approach. It is an amazing feeling to be surrounded by all these wonderful people, and very humbling to feel that I am making such a positive impact in their lives that they are willing to return that appreciation in this unique and caring way.

So, today is my birthday, and I would like to thank Mario Recoba and all the students that very generously contributed to one of the most special gifts I have ever received. You all have made me realize I am not alone in this world, and I am doing something good. Sometimes I get caught up in the everyday responsibilities of the business and do not spend enough time appreciating the beautiful things happening right underneath my nose .We are a big family at Daza Dance and I am so happy to share this journey with all of you… the ups, the downs, the tears and the laughs. We are all together in this magical place for a reason… let’s embrace it!

Thank you for being part of my life; thank you for making my dreams come true; and thank you for helping me build a space were we all can share a piece of the world as we re-discover ourselves on the dance floor, allowing dance to become our muse and fill our lives with peace and joy.

Special Thanks to:
Susan and Jim Roberson, Mekel Wakshlag, Ashley Plunkett, Leah and Ted Blum, Tango Evolution, Angel Montero, Orlando Vanin, Stephi Jia, Lynne Ragan and Jay Sampson, Susan Tanner, Ed and Kin Labry, Jackie Levi, Bonnie Emerson, Alison Glancz, Jackie and Bob Chinn, Michael McCullers, Nadia Batta, Linda and Gene Davidson, Joon and Michelle Lee ,Patrick and Cindy Battey and Dawud Ansari.