Brent and Barbara
Brent and Barbara grew up in the rural prairies and met while attending the University of Saskatchewan, just out of high school. Brent studied to be a future psychologist, and Barbara an accountant. For fun, each had joined the U of S Ballroom Dance Club and, along with a group of good friends, spent their first few dancing years obsessively on the social dance floor at least a few times each and every week.
Their passion for improving their skills soon led them to the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Saskatoon, starting as students, where they were avid participants in the lessons, social dances and showcases. Their knack for helping host the social events, integrating new students and sharing their dance experience with others made the transition to staff training an inevitable and natural one. While there, they had the opportunity to train with Janet Musgrove and Herb Clarke, along with visiting coaches to the area.
A second big chapter opened as circumstances led to an opportunity for a move to downtown Vancouver to teach at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio there. Chris and Sheryle Gallivan had purchased that studio and were expanding. Here Brent and Barbara had the opportunity to train with them, with Lola Valair as the supervisor and with countless visiting, top-level coaches. There have also been so many other well-respected dance professionals who have honed their craft at this powerhouse studio, some of them peers of Brent and Barbara during their tenure. The momentum of their dancing increased over those years with teaching careers, a competition and show couple career together, supervisory roles in the Vancouver studio, studying and taking certifications. This eventually led to coaching and administering exams in other studios and judging competitions.
Chapter three began in 2004, when Brent and Barbara opened their own Arthur Murray Dance Studio in the Tri-Cities. The goal: to provide a high-growth experience for students and staff, combining all the best qualities of the two great dance schools from which they received their training and the dozens of others they have visited as trainers. This is an ongoing endeavor, as the studio made the move to 1090 Lougheed Highway – Unit 212, Coquitlam in 2014, with plenty of room to grow!