The Arthur Murray All Star Quarterfinal Results
Arthur Murray Hayward played host to a selected professionals from a dozen different locations in the Quarterfinal round of the George B. Theiss All Star Competition. The event is a skills competition placing an emphasis on a teacher, executive, or administrator's ability to communicate effectively, solve problems, and show their personality in the process.
The skills were on full display, and that didn't make things any easier on the judges.
The Judging Panel
While the testing began at 10:00am, the judging panel arrived at 9:00am to prepare themselves for each area of testing: Administrator, New Student Specialist, New Student Counselor, Instructor, Supervisor, and Rookie Specialist.
Each testing area consisted of two franchisee judges, and selected instructors not in the competition acting as students.
The Quarterfinalist Results
Hours of testing, and months of preparation, brought dozens of professionals to the quarterfinals, but only a select few could qualify for the semi-finals in Portland, Oregon. As with any competition, there will be some expected results, and some unexpected. We even named 6 Arthur Murray Pros to watch, but it would have taken a billion to one shot to have predicted this outcome.
The New Student Counselor Competition
In early 2016, Evan Healy transitioned from the Supervisor in Hayward to the New Student Counselor. This meant that this former All Star winner would not be competing as a Supervisor, and that he'd be going up against another former All Star, Joey Sena. While both excelled in the testing, Joey finished as the top New Student Counselor and will be heading to Portland to represent the Bay Area.
Top New Student Counselor: Joey Sena - Livermore
The Supervisor Competition
With a mix of new and long time Supervisors, this division was no shoo-in. Yet, two former co-workers in Redwood City rose to the top - Kayla North, Supervisor in Carmichael, and Evan Boyer, Supervisor in Hayward. Their scores were so close that they required more than one recount. Although Kayla ended winning by a slim margin, she had removed herself from contention due to a family obligation, and so Evan Boyer moves on to Portland.
Top Supervisor: Evan Boyer
The Instructor Competition
Melisandra Russell and Jace Guerrero are both up and coming teachers in their studios, and while they placed in the top 3, the number one spot went to long time instructor, Genevieve Paz from San Jose.
Top Instructor: Genevieve Paz
The New Student Specialist Competition
Chalk this up to the "what are the odds" scenario. There was a tie in the Specialist competition, and both will be advancing through to the Semi-Finals in this ultra-competitive category. Ashlyn Smith (Los Gatos), and Alex Coloma (Fremont) are the co-Bay Area representatives moving on to Portland for the Semi-Finals.
Top New Student Specialist: Ashlyn Smith & Alex Coloma
The Administrative Competition
Who would think that this would be the most unpredictable category? With long time Administrative All Star Brienne Thompson unavailable for the competition, that left the door wide open for plenty of competition.
And there was plenty.
First off, there was something unprecedented. Never, in Northern California, has the Top Rookie come from any category other than the New Student Specialist - until now. Carolyn Serquina, Office Manager in Walnut Creek, becomes the first Administrator to advance from the Quarterfinal round as the Top Rookie.
Top Rookie: Carolyn Serquina
And then there was another tie.
Charlotte Keezer is a longtime office manager and former teacher. Christina Chapman is a longtime teacher and new administrator. They both tied and will be the co-representatives in the Admin category in the Semi-Final round.
Top Admin: Charlotte Keezer & Christina Champman
Final Thought
Behind this entire competition is one thing: Students. This entire event is built to deliver an extraordinary experience on real dance lessons at any Arthur Murray Dance Studio. Having it as a competition makes us all care, cheer, and applaud the efforts of these fantastic professionals.
But whether your favorite teacher, executive, or administrator is moving on to represent Northern California, or not, all students will feel the ripple effects of this event, and that's by design.