Competitors, spectors, friends and family joined Studio 22 for the Texas LoneStar Ball Competition Outing on Saturday, March 16, 2019 at the Westin-Galleria Dallas.
Attendees of the Competition Outing gained access to:
• Reserved VIP seating | daytime & evening events • Studio 22 VIP Pre-Party | Private Suite Access, Wine + Cocktails • Professional Show featuring Cabaret Champions Shane & Shannon Jensen • Studio 22 VIP After-Party | Private Suite Access, Wine + Late Night Nibblies
Studio 22 Pro/Am competitors were very succesful, placing at the top of their categories, and team performances were very well received, earning high marks. Studio 22 also earned the Top Studio Spirit award for its enthusiastic supporters.
Congratulations to our competitors & performers, and to their coaches!
What inspired you to become a dancer? I had a musical background that started with band in the 6th grade. I was successful in that as I had great teachers. As an adult, I enjoyed dancing but had no training. It was an extension of musical expression that was very emotional for me.
What is your favorite thing about teaching? Being part of the experience when someone learns to do something that they didn’t previously think they could do.
Do you have a mantra you live by or a favorite motto? It’s not what you have that matters the most; but what you do with it sure does.
Who is the most inspiring person you know? Easy. My wife.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go and why? I know this is more than the question is asking; but I would like to see the oldest and most romantic places in the world. Egypt, Paris, Italy, and finally Israel.
What is your favorite thing to do on your day off? Reflect: at a beautiful restaurant setting, at a movie, with my wife.
What is on your grocery list? Tenderloin, asparagus, broccoli, skinless boneless chicken, chocolate, pounds of flavored coffee.
What is your favorite T.V. show to binge watch? Law and Order.
What are two things not many people know about you? I qualified at the state level to compete for the USA Tae Kwon Do Team. I have an accounting degree from SMU while on scholarship.
Where did you grow up? Lake Highlands area in Dallas.
What is your secret talent? Playing the saxophone.
What is your guilty pleasure? Sugar, sugar, more sugar.
What is your weirdest habit? I am so OCD that I will count stairs as I walk. Often I will walk evenly on different stones or boards in wooden floors.
What celebrity embodies your inner rockstar? Robin Williams.
What is your go-to sing-in-the-shower song? I Can Only Imagine.
What is your favorite food/restaurant? STEAK, Fogo de Chao.
What’s on your bedside table? A reminder telling me my wife loves me more than she loves the dogs.
What did you want to be when you grew up? A lawyer.
One word people use to describe you? Active.
What never fails to get you out of a bad mood? My wife reminding me of something my dad would tell me: “I judge the size of a man by the size of the thing that makes him mad.”
What are the top three things on your bucket list? 1. New York. 2. European trip. 3. See the Northern Lights.
What is the best advice you ever received? Forgiveness is for you, not the one you are forgiving. We call that being free.
Wes offers group classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Check out our Class Calendar for more details. He is also available for private lessons, please submit a Private Lesson Request From or contact the studio at (972) 490-0022 for more details.
Local Dance Pros Perform with Cheryl Burke on Dancing With The Stars Results Show
Fans of ABC’s Dancing With The Stars can celebrate one more local tie to the popular ballroom dance show: Professional Latin dancers Michelle Hafle, Sergey Korshunov, Natalja Panina, and Arkadiy Polezhaev of Studio 22 in Dallas will dance with DWTS Pro (and 2-time winner) Cheryl Burke on the October 16, 2012 results show. “I’m so excited for everyone to watch – we’ve been working hard and it’s going to be an incredible show!” enthused Cheryl.
Sergey & Michelle have also worked with and choreographed for Mark Cuban, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin before their appearances on the Dancing With The Stars show. All four local professionals are competitors in the International Latin division, competing locally, nationally, and internationally, and consistently place at the top in competitions. They have been invited to perform and adjudicate world-wide.
DFW locals looking for a new social outlet, fun way to exercise, or romantic date can learn their own moves at Studio 22, where affordable classes offer students a chance to learn the styles they see on the show. Mark Cuban (owner of the Dallas Mavericks and former DWTS competitor) agrees: “Studio 22 is by far the best dance studio in Dallas….I highly recommend Studio 22 if you’re looking for a place to learn to dance.”
Studio 22 is the premier partner dance studio in the Dallas area, drawing top instructors to the Dallas area, and students from all over the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. The brainchild of Michelle Hafle and Sergey Korshunov, Studio 22 is modeled after the most successful dance studio in Los Angeles, and caters to beginning through competitive level students. Ranked WFAA-List’s Best Dance Studio in 2010 & 2011, Studio 22 is committed to providing quality, affordable instruction in a fun, positive environment.
Studio 22 professional Latin-American dancers Michelle Hafle, Sergey Korshunov, Natalja Panina, and Arkadiy Polezhaev were featured in several articles for their “Macy’s Stars of Dance” appearance on ABC’s hit ballroom dance show, Dancing With The Stars.
The dancers, along with two-time DWTS winner Cheryl Burke, put together a fantastic Cha Cha show to a live performance of “Oye Como Va” by Tito Puente, Jr., son of the late, great music legend Tito Puente, a song which has become associated with Puente’s late friend and iconic singer Celia Cruz.
