Melanie A. Dale, Owner of A Step To Gold International Ballroom

Member of Imperial Society Teachers of Dancing
North American Dance Teachers Association and
Professional Dancers Federation

Originally a Ballet Major at Virginia Intermont College, Melanie continued to study at East Carolina University and danced professionally with the Savannah Ballet Company under the direction of Ballerina Karina Brock. She then found her way into the world of partnership dancing.

After teaching Ballroom for a franchise studio in Savannah, Georgia and Venice, Florida for 2 years, Melanie decided to work as an independent in 1984. In 1986 she married 11 time US 10-dance champion, Larry Silvers. He, as well as many World-Class European coaches, trained her in the International Style of Ballroom & Latin Dancing.

During the last 25 years, Melanie competed in the American Style & International Style of Ballroom Dancing and earned a Licentiate Degree with the North American Dance Teachers Association as well as an Associate Degree with the Imperial Society Teachers of Dancing. Melanie continues to be a certified championship adjudicator (judge).

In 1997, she began her study of Argentine Tango at the first US Tango Congress held in Miami. Afterwards Melanie was credited with bringing Argentine Tango into the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill area. Her students organized the "Triangle Tangueros" a nonprofit organization promoting the study of Argentine Tango.

While some people see the differences in different styles, Melanie says that she sees the similarities-the common way the bodies work to lead and follow in all partnership dances. "Each dance has its own mood and feeling which contributes to the beauty of the choreography."

Melanie's amateur students usually do very well in competition-she trained the US Preteen and Junior Champions for 4 years consecutively. Private lessons and group classes are held at her Raleigh studio, Apex, Rocky Mount, and various Raleigh area high schools. Melanie has also taught at at GlaxoSmithKline, the Capital City Club in Raleigh and the Carolina Club in Chapel Hill. She will be offering a class at SAS Institute for their employees.

Jillian Hood

Jillian Hood began dancing at the age of three. She started out with ballet as her primary focus. In middle school she added modern dance as a second form. She was a member of various dance companies from middle school through high school. At Coker College in Hartsville, SC she earned her B.A. in Dance as well as B.A. in Mathematics, graduating in 1999. Melanie was her first ballroom instructor when she was 16. During college Jillian studied abroad in Adelaide, South Australia where she trained as a student at Arthur Murray Studios. After college she trained as an instructor at Fred Astaire Studios in Pineville, NC. In 2000 Jillian moved back to the Raleigh area, where she reconnected with Melanie at A Step to Gold. Since then she has enjoyed being both a student and a teacher.

Janet Manuel

Janet has been studying and dancing for 19 years. She has been teaching Shag and Ballroom for "A Step to Gold International" for over 8 years. Janet & Neal Bodenstab work together to teach Shag and study with numerous Shag Greats. Janet has studied with Wes and Sandra May, Kim and Alice Warren and Bonnie Rhodes. She also competed in pro-am at the Heritage Classic in Asheville in Ballroom and enjoys working with beginners. Janet has an undoing amount of patience with all of the students and has been instrumental in helping this establishment succeed.

Adrianne McDaniel


Adrianne McDaniel began her journey towards the performing arts in her hometown of Kill Devil Hills, NC where she took dance lessons and participated in local talent shows and events. Her passion and desire to dance led her to North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem, NC where she attended a summer program and later graduated her senior year of high school with a concentration in Modern Dance.

After high school Adrianne ventured to Peace College in Raleigh, NC where she graduated in 2003 with a BA in Theater and Communication. While at Peace Adrianne was very active in the choral and dance programs serving as a member of The Peace College Chamber Singers for four years and the Peace College Dance Company for two years. While in College she joined her fellow Chamber Singers on a European tour of Italy, Austria, and Germany.

In addition, Adrianne spent a summer performing in the outdoor drama The Lost Colony where she was a dance company member. Adrianne's versatility at dancing doesn't stop there. During her college years she worked as a hip-hop dancer for three years in a local Raleigh club, Club Raleigh where she helped to choreograph and perform routines.

Having recently moved back to her home state of North Carolina Adrianne has spent the last two years living in the heart of New York City where she was able to further pursue her passion by becoming a member of an independent dance/performance art company. She and the company performed at the Dance Theater Workshop in New York City and most recently in Holland as part of Springdance festival, a festival held annually to bring together artists from many different parts of the world.

Adrianne is proud and thankful to have had the experiences she has had in the dance and performing arts world. She hopes to bring an abundant amount of knowledge, passion and devotion to the art of ballroom dancing and to inspire students in the same manner in which she has been inspired over the years.

Roland Paicely


Roland has been dancing & studying for over 11 years. He is a transplant from southern California. That is where he learned & taught West Coast Swing. Roland loves doing the Salsa, Tango, Samba, Cha cha & other latin themed dances. He also gives instruction in Foxtrot, Waltz, Viennese Waltz, East Coast Swing & other dances.

Students say that Roland is patient, easy-going & his lessons are fun.

Roland's personal statement:
"Everyone should dance. It's fun & it keeps you feeling good and acting like a child at heart. If you want to get more enjoyment out of life invest in yourself and take some lessons."

Dennis Porch

As a college student in the fall of 2002, Dennis unwittingly followed a group of girls into his first social dance class. His dancing quickly stood out to the organizers, who approached him after the class to ask him to join the university's competitive collegiate team. He happily accepted and began to learn and compete at the bronze level until he graduated the following year.

While he did his best to remain active in the dance community, adjusting to the workplace and life after college took its toll. It was not until Dennis returned to school for his Master's degree that he could focus on improving his dance. In the following years, Dennis trained very hard to become a successful competitive dancer in the bronze, silver, and gold divisions.

Dennis has competed all over the country from New York to California and has won several regional championships in the syllabus divisions of Standard and Latin and has been a finalist at the USA Dance National Championships.

As a graduate student, he coached the newcomer and bronze levels of his university's team. He showed them the basic steps and provided them with a foundation in the technique and movements behind the figures. He is very proud that many of his former students have moved on to become strong social dancers and competitors; some have become finalists in the bronze divisions of the USA Dance Nationals.

Currently, Dennis is a lecturer of Communication at a local university and continues to strive to improve his own dancing both as an amateur competitor and as a teacher of dance. He has begun to study for his ISTD associate degree in International Standard and will soon begin training to enter the open syllabus divisions of International Latin.

Dennis has a very enthusiastic and fun teaching style and works hard to Ensure that his classes are lighthearted and enjoyable. "Over the past several years, dance has become such a large part of my life, and I enjoy it so much. I have so much fun dancing, and I absolutely love sharing my knowledge of it and the excitement it brings me."

Thanks!!!

Dennis Porch, M.S.

Clare Smith

I started Ballet training at three years old. This continued until I was 18. In the teen years Jazz Dance became the favorite. Many hours were spent in those years improvising in the basement dance studio to the Doors and other popular music of the day. In high school I started to get into Belly Dance with some friends that were taking lessons. Then at 18 I moved to Maui. There I took lessons from several teachers that would come in from the mainland. I lived with a Belly Dancer and a middle- eastern drummer. The teachers from the mainland would stay with us, which meant a lot of dancing and fun. Later, living in Denver, Colorado I took lessons from a Belly Dancer who also taught Classical Indian Dance.

There are several ethnic styles of Belly Dance. I am a Cabaret style Belly Dancer.

I also love Swing, Ballroom and Country ­Western Dancing, I have been into couple dancing since 1994. In West Coast Swing I can use some of the body movements I do in Belly Dance. Belly Dancing can help a dancer learn to isolate those parts of their body that are necessary for contra-body moves.

Steven Stamps

Kat Truitt



Kathryn Truitt started Ballroom and Latin dancing at the Metronome Ballroom in San Francisco, CA in 1998. As she began putting technique into every style of dance, the more she wanted to learn. From that point, she knew she wanted to inspire people and to teach how to move differently within themselves and together with partners.

In the spring of 2001, she was introduced to the owner of the Metronome Ballroom and creator of Ballroom Dance Teachers College in a Box, Diane Jarmolow. It wasn't until April of 2005 that she was able to start BDTC. Before she graduated in June 2006, she had managed to become DVIDA Certified at the Full Bronze Associate level in American Smooth and Rhythm.

She started teaching at Starlite Dance Club with the intention and opportunity to teach beginners social dancing and to transform her training and knowledge into a memorable experience. Afterwards she also taught at Vima Dance Studio preparing instructors for DVIDA exams and teaching group classes. Later, at Stars Ballroom she focused on creating, marketing, and promoting her Salsa and Swing Hot Core Aerobic classes.

Kathryn is currently working toward her JR Associate certification in International Standard. She is looking forward to getting certified through Silver and Gold in all styles.

Her biggest goals are to work toward competing in International Standard, to be able to judge in all styles, to become a DVIDA examiner, and to teach children and teachers. Her biggest accomplishments are the preparation and completion of exams and she looks forward to the opportunity to work with Melanie Dale and the staff & students of A Step to Gold International Ballroom.

Jack Wasser

John H. (Jack) Wasser: Melanie's student for over 9 years. He has
participated in numerous Competition Matches and Showcases with
Melanie and other partners. Jack has assisted Melanie with group
classes/programs (both in-studio and at off-site locations) for many years as an assistant/substitute instructor and music DJ.

When A Step To Gold was located @ NCDI, Jack utilized a second studio during dances to aid beginning dancers in improving to the point where they were comfortable making the transition to the main dance floor. Thus, the secondary ballroom @ Pleasant Valley became known as the "Wasser Room". As DJ Jack, he makes his extensive dance music collection and DJ equipment available to our dance community by providing music for most of the Weekend dances and sharing dance music with Melanie for classes/other dances. [Last Updated 10/24/06]