Elizabeth Dickinson believes ballroom dance makes everything in her life better: “Ballroom dance really does promote physical, mental and emotional health.” She began ballroom dancing in 2007. She had taken ballet as a child and later added jazz. Pursuing her undergraduate degree at Cambridge University in England, she joined a theatre group and toured as a dancer. Her mother was a ballroom dancer, and Elizabeth remembers how happy she looked on the dance floor.
Just before her 20th wedding anniversary, after a 20+ year absence from dance, she started taking ballroom lessons at Cinema Ballroom. Her instructor said she was a “natural” and asked if she would like to compete. Elizabeth said, “Why not?” She started lessons in April, and her first competition was TCO ... in July!
In her first four months of dancing, she lost 20 pounds without trying. She was taking one private lesson per week and almost all of Cinema’s group lessons.
The next year, she competed in Wisconsin and again at TCO. Two years ago, Elizabeth started training with Jeff Nehrbass at Retro Ballroom. Highlights of her competitions include winning the National Pro/Am Bronze Smooth Championship in 2010 and placing second in National Pro/Am Bronze International Standard and fourth in a different age category in 2011.
Through the years, dancing has taken a toll on Elizabeth’s body, and she has sought chiropractic and massage therapy for general tune-ups. She began seeing Connie Kauppi three months ago for Shiatsu and Thai Yoga Massage. She sees Connie twice a month and learned how ballroom dance places stress on the body through holding different positions—pretty soon, things in your back get out of whack. Connie noticed areas in Elizabeth’s back where the muscles were shorter on one side than the other, and she brought symmetry and evenness back to her body. Toxins were also released and muscles soothed.
Connie’s website is www.shiastsutym.com, and she’s located in St. Paul in the West 7th Street area. Connie says Shiatsu massage relaxes the body and returns it to the pre-workout state of balance. And before events and competitions, Shiatsu massage is a great way to calm anxious dancers.
Elizabeth resides in St. Paul with her husband of almost 25 years, Christopher Childs. She is a life coach focusing on helping people achieve their goals. She’s also a board member of the Minnesota Coaches Association and is on both the state and national boards of Clean Water Action. She’s a writer and has been a professional actor performing her own show about Emily Dickinson at the Fringe Festival. More about her can be found at www.elizabethdickinson1.wordpress.com.
