Greetings Friends:

The Pattie Wells’ Dancetime Center closed on May 15, 2014. It has been a bittersweet time for me with many fond memories from the 16 years the center was open, sadness from stepping away from it and a  new sense of freedom and time to pursue my current passion of writing.

After taking a couple of weeks off, I started teaching some private lessons at Dance For 2 Studio in early June. I decided to keep a toe in dancing and teach no more than 10 lessons a week. I have been pleasantly surprised by the overwhelming demand for lessons. It has been so much fun teaching individuals, couples and wedding private dance lessons. I raised my limit a bit and am teaching between 11 and 15 lessons weekly! Thank you to those that have recommended me to their friends, family and co-workers.

I am really enjoying my current dance teaching venue at Dance For 2 Studio. It has three ballrooms with hardwood floors, the A/C works great, spacious parking lots and a friendly staff of teachers including most of my DanceTime colleagues: Mark Pablo, David Nguyen, Trevor Davidson, Walter Meneses, Maxine & Louis, Sharon Emerson, Carol Goss (round dancers), Nina Herrera, Betty Padgett, Kristine Dougherty and when he returns to town, Lucky Pahl. Also, I hope my friend John Chaparro will do some teaching in the future, he is currently dancing on a salsa dance team with Majesty in Motion.

I miss seeing my dancing friends but had to take a break from social dancing to complete some family business. Hopefully, I will have more time soon to return to some of the social dance venues soon. Meanwhile, it is exciting that we now have a West Coast swing dance venue every Saturday night. I particularly pleased that the Movement Dance Center  (previously Dancetime) is currently a WCS venue every 3rd Saturday, read more at West Coast Swing San Diego. Check out the NEW West Coast swing venue at the Kearny Mesa Moose Lodge every 2nd Saturday with host Brick Robbins and San Diego best West Coast swing deejays!

Also, there is East Coast swing (Jitterbug) dancing every 1st & 3rd Sundays, 7 PM at Dance For 2 with hosts Dancin’ David and Margie Adams read more at Jitterbug Club San Diego, check out the party schedule at Dance For 2 party info!

Meanwhile, I am very excited to have more time now to devote to my writing! I have begun revising my poetry manuscript, writing and organizing my novel chapters and researching for some upcoming articles for Dance Talk on DanceTime.com.

One of my plans for semi-retirement was to travel to Italy, especially the northern parts of Italy to explore some of my Italian roots. I am planning a trip to Italy in May 2015, with plan to visit the Cinque Terre, Florence, Sienna (and other hill towns), Venice and Trieste.

There aren’t adequate words to express my appreciation and affection for the many friends and colleagues I have met in the San Diego dance community except maybe, a huge thank you! What an incredible journey it has been with so many wonderful memories. Here is one memory when Kathy Follmer expressed her appreciation for the joy she had from dancing at the Dancetime Center with a gift piece from the Jane Seymour collection. It was so much fun meeting Jane Seymour and Tony Dovolani while they were practicing at Dancetime for Dancing With The Stars in 2007!

(Tony Dovolani, Jane Seymour (Dancing with the Stars), Kathy Follmer and Pattie Wells)