Meet Tami Stevens of Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tami Stevens.

Tami, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My sister Erin Stevens and I started PBDA in 1983 for couples and singles of all ages to learn the art of American Social Dancing. Our mother was a ballet dancer in Hollywood in the 1940s, and we’d grown up dancing, but we were particularly interested in the history of Swing Dance and began seeking some of the original Lindy Hoppers to study under. Currently there are many schools and studios, but in the 198o’s there were few choices for learning to Swing and Ballroom, so when we opened our school (and brought the “Father of the Lindy Hop” Frankie Manning in as an occasional guest instructor) it was very unique and we were immediately successful. My sister and I were in our early 20’s and we originally taught the classes together onstage (She led, I followed). Quickly however the classes got very large, so we split up (she’d teach in one location, I in another, and we’d use some of the best male students from the classes to demo with). Our mom and dad were very involved, helping to ‘check students in at the door’ (and dad always set up the equipment for us). We used church and civic halls in Pasadena, and have taught for many years now at a gymnasium behind a church at 73 N. Hill Ave. We have classes almost every night of the week, and we host live band Swing Dances open to the entire community EVERY Saturday night featuring some of the best of the LA area’s Swing musicians.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
For us, being a family business has made our work more fun and easier as we get along remarkably well. My sister and I plan our classes together, (our dad passed away some years ago now, but our 91 year old mom still checks the students in every night), and we call each other most nights after the classes to hear how the evenings went. We use one hall now (I teach Sundays, Wed. nights, and Thursday nights, while my sister teaches on Monday nights, Tuesday nights, and Saturdays.) We are both always at the Saturday Night Dances where we teach a Swing Lesson prior to the bands starting. The biggest bump in the road for us was when after 25 years we had to change our school’s location. It took us awhile to find and settle into another spot, and we had to keep our students thinking about us in the meantime. It all worked out well however, as we LOVE the location we’re in now (we’ve been 6 years at our current hall), and we will celebrate 35 years of Pasadena Ballroom Dance this coming March.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Pasadena Ballroom Dance Association – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We teach couples and singles of all ages the art of partnered dancing, but its American SOCIAL dance (based on lead and follow)–the sort of dancing you’d do at restaurants, weddings, and parties, rather than “international” competitive styles of Ballroom Dance. We are best known for our expertise in Lindy Hop, and are recognized for our role in helping to usher in the 2nd Era of Swing (in the 1990s), bringing Frankie Manning out of dance retirement. When Swing had the huge resurgence in the 1990s, we were at the forefront of that Era. We were hired to teach Swing to tourists at Disneyland’s Carnation Plaza, we were featured dancers on TV’s Home and Family Show, we were asked to dance (twice!) on parade floats in the New Year’s Tournament of Roses Parade, we were invited to teach and perform Swing around the globe, and we hosted our own “Swing Camp Catalina” on Catalina Island for over 10 years, which at its peak in the year 1999 brought 2,400 Swing students from around the world to the island. We were also contracted to write “The History of Swing Dancing” for ABC-Clio publishers in 2011, and it is used as a textbook on many university campuses. We’re an unusual school in that we’ve always had LARGE classes, and are well renowned for making all students who walk through our doors feel comfortable (the ‘family’ business has always provided a non-threatening environment), and making all styles of partnered dancing FUN.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are planning a 35th anniversary Swing Dance Party for ourselves on March 31st this year (featuring the George Gee Swing Orchestra from New York City). But other than that, we’ll continue to teach classes every night of the week, and host Swing Dances on Saturday nights!

Contact Info:

• Address: 73 N. Hill Ave., Pasadena, CA
• Website: www.pasadenaballroomdance.com
• Phone: 626 799-5689
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
Mike Kendall

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