Ballroom dancing was not necessarily something new for Susanne. At the age of thirteen, Susanne started attending a ballroom group class in her native Germany. �It was the standard class that everyone took and we learned just the basics.� She stayed with the class just until the final Ball, participated in that, and never went back. Years later, she met her now husband, Antoine, and he mentioned trying dancing. �He suggested that we try going out and so I made him a gift certificate that said we would and we never did.� Fast forward � a PhD in Physics and a move to the USA – to 2012 and Susanne found herself at Arthur Murray Walnut Creek. �I knew Antoine wanted to do it and I thought to myself, �This is it! It is time to redeem that Gift Certificate I gave him over a year ago!� She bought him a gift certificate for Christmas and the rest is history!

Nowadays, Susanne says dancing does so much more for her than she ever thought it would. As a physicist, she says she is surrounded by mostly men. �When I first started [working as a physicist], it was so strange being the ONLY woman in a group of eleven. Now, I think I�ve assimilated and I don�t even notice it. Sometime I think that my colleagues don�t even see me as a woman anymore!� As a result, Susanne says she sometimes finds it uncomfortable tapping into her feminine side and dancing is providing her with the opportunity to do so. It is helping her push her boundaries; so much so that she is currently working on a steamy Tango routine with her husband and the help of their instructor, Amar. Read more: routine

Whether working on her Tango routine or her fantastic ladies only Cha Cha routine with Amar to Michael Jackson�s �Bill Jean�, or simply joining in on Group Classes and Parties, Susanne and her husband have become a staple at our studio! �I�ve seen so much progress with my confidence and I�m feeling much more comfortable from when we first started! Dancing is definitely something I see us doing for a long time!