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An interview with ballroom dancer Marisa Noelle

I started at Boston Ballet, where I studied for over 12 years, and where I did "The Nutcracker" every year for a decade. It was a wonderful program. I also did modern, jazz, character, flamenco - all at Boston Ballet. That was at a time when the intensive program was very much intensive. There was also pointe work, variationsand partnering. When I was 17 I went to Butler University in Indiana, where I majored in dance performance with a concentration in teaching. Michelle Jarvis, Rochelle Zied-Boothand Marek Cholewa were my main teachers there. In my third year I was also accepted as an apprentice at Milwaukee Ballet, and after that I returned to Butler to finish my degree. Milwaukee Ballet is an amazing company; we did "Swan Lake" there and they liked me, since I learned the whole thing in a week. It's a trademark of mine, to learn things quickly and adapt myself.

Well, I spent the next few years after college dancing and teaching in a variety of different companies. At the end of 2004, I slipped on the ice, just a simple accident, but I hurt my ankle. Doctors found a small fracture, and it impeded my pointe work. I was in a boot for about four months. I was looking at my options then with European companies, but since my foot was unstable, I was in flux. I had lost the pivot in my ankle, and in spring of 2005 I started doing salsa at Fred Astaire (Dance Studios). It was mostly for rehabilitation, but also for social reasons. I quickly fell in love with ballroom and made that my focus, not only as dance, but also to learn and teach professionally as well. Just this past year I became a professional.

As a performer, you can dance any time, at competitions and showcases and so forth. But you are considered professional only when you start teaching. Since I already had a degree in dance, I had learned all the syllabi, both International and American styles, and I'll be doing the exams soon.

I tried to get back to ballet, but after 30 minutes at the barre, my foot would cramp and ache. I knew it wasn't possible, but I wouldn't allow myself not to dance. I have to dance! I had never taught ballroom, but I knew that it involved a lot of pivoting and rotation in the foot, and after only six months I looked for a good partner. Eventually, I found Peter Kornel.

Peter is a Latin and Standard ballroom instructor, and he also teaches other styles, such as American, Rhythm and Smooth. He started as a folk dancer in Hungary, doing the Czardas. He also did gymnastics and martial arts before starting ballroom. He was 17 when he won several competitions. We're both members of the National Dance Council of America. In order to compete professionally, you need to be a member of NDCA. I saw Peter teach at Supershag Dance Studios in Waltham, Massachusetts, while I was looking for a good, quality teacher. I asked him if he would teach me, since he speaks the language of authenticity and technique, and that is the language I understand, coming from a ballet background. I wanted a good technical foundation, and he was the teacher who could give me that.

Right away, we had success, winning silver, gold, and open gold divisions. We came in second in open gold in Ohio Star Ball of 2006. The first time I went there was in 2005, and that first year I competed in bronze and pre-silver, taking first in all five dances in pre-silver. To prepare, I had private lessons five times a week and six group classes each week. It's very expensive, time-consuming and not easy. People ask me how it was done, and I say by sheer will and determination. I was committed to my goal of becoming a professional ballroom dancer, and I was ready to do the work. I competed in Ohio, Nevada, Connecticut and Florida. Almost every day of the week I was in the studio taking private lessons with Peter. I made notes on all my sessions, and even videotaped myself. We learned three styles back-to-back: Rhythm, Latin and Smooth. I competed in all three, which is 15 routines to learn, by the way. I wanted to stay with the one I am best at, which is International Latin.

When we were training for Open Gold, it was almost like he no longer needed to teach me. He led me to the steps and I reacted to the dance naturally. As Peter has been training me, he's been leading me to his personal style. Also, he was just as committed to becoming professional as me. There are so many components to the partnership. Do you look well together? Do you represent the same things? What are your common goals? Something we both believe in is "musical rhythmicality" and authenticity.

Peter and I strive to work with the best people in International Latin. With various teachers, each having their own special thoughts about the dances, we are passed on the legacy of knowledge, just as in ballet. It's very important to work with a great coach, someone who really knows the genre. For example, Peter and I have studied many syllabi on Cha-cha, and we are very attracted to Walter Laird's technique in his syllabus. Authenticity is both musical and cultural. Cha-cha is actually derived from Mambo. It has a Cuban edge to it, and some of the musical instruments are associated with certain parts of the body. We like to say, for example, that, "the cowbell is the hips." We also like to think that if you turned the music off and saw us dancing in silence, you would know its Cha-cha just from seeing the rhythm in our bodies.

Well, Peter and I have agreed that we both wanted the same adventure, and we're excited to work together and show our qualities to the public. It takes at least six to nine months to get ready for a competition, working alone as a couple and then working with coaches. You train together for at least three hours a day. Also we need personal training in yoga and Pilates. Being a ballet dancer, I did drag Peter to his first ballet class, and he was amazing! He picks things up very quickly. If he hadn't moved to ballroom, I can tell you that he would have been a powerful, magnetic ballet dancer!