Sit back with me (Lane) while I tell you a story.
 It was a blustery day outside in February of 2000, but it was warm inside Dance Masters of Richmond, Va. That was because Dail Stancill had just been met with the warm smile of his future bride, Linda Burnette….
Okay, for real. Dail was living in Christiansburg but working in Richmond for VDOT and decided to pass his free time by finding a place to dance. Being from North Carolina, he had grown up dancing Carolina Shag and wanted to expand his dancing. He sought out a place to dance and found Dance Masters. Now enters Linda. Fate had it that she was his instructor that day for his first private lesson in Country 2 Step. Sparks flew (the good kind).
Skip ahead 2 months and they were engaged. Yup, you heard me right! Dail is a smart man. They married in November of 2000 and started their life together right here in Christiansburg. With Linda’s background in dance and love of teaching she had big plans.  With the help of Dail’s initiative, she began running classes out of the Christiansburg Recreation Center and the Blacksburg Community Center, four nights a week. She also began working on her MBA at Virginia Tech which she received in May of 2004. Once she and Dail put a dance floor in their house, she taught private lessons from home as well.
It wasn’t long before Linda had built up the momentum to start the studio. She invited some of the prominent dancers in the area for a round table discussion on what approach to take and what this area needed. She communicated her vision with them and rallied support. They even helped her settle on the name “Sapphire.” So with the encouragement of Dail and the backing of many dancers, including two dancers willing to teach with her (Dennis & Debbi), she opened the doors in July of 2004 and hosted her first social dance the 4th Saturday of that month. The same weekend we are now planning to celebrate this year!
 Linda’s vision all along has been to provide a quality of instruction that she had not found anywhere else. She wanted students to feel comfortable no matter their age, budget, or whether they were single or attached. This meant looking for ways of teaching and formatting classes that make dance approachable to anyone. This also meant steering away from the traditional contract studio and allowing students flexibility in buying smaller amounts of dance lessons and giving more affordable options. She also felt it was important to stay up to date with current trends and techniques, seeking training from outside coaches whenever possible.
She started the studio with these goals and more in mind, imparted them to her staff and still today (10 years, 3 kids, and opening of another studio later) she strives to improve her relationship-centered approach to teaching and continues to better her own understanding and ability in dance. When I take a look around, I see these underlying intentions woven in all that goes on here.
 And other people have noticed too. You will hear people talk about being struck by Sapphire’s desire for their students to actually learn, not just go through the motions...the desire for you to look AND feel good. Our students will sometimes express that they came through our doors in a bad mood but after dancing for a hour they have forgotten their worries. We also get surprised reactions on seeing so many age groups represented at our dances as well as the fun variety in music and styles of dance. Singles often show up expecting to feel out of place, but find that our community is full of singles and people are used to rotating partners and love dancing with new people. Because of all of this we frequently get people from out of town who are willing to drive because of the welcoming atmosphere and fun dancing.
 But of course I am biased. Having worked with Linda for 8 years, there is a lot I could say about the values that Linda has built into the studio, her staff, our students, and the whole community. The only real way for you to know for sure is to come see it and experience it for yourself! And, you don’t have wait until our anniversary to be a part of this gem of a studio (pun intended), you can do it today!
Back to Top. |
After finishing up four weeks of Carolina Shag at the Hensel Eckman YMCA in Pulaski, 
Based on all the good things we have had to say about our Wednesday morning Yoga, it is probably no surprise that we are continuing in March!