Christina Campbell Advances to the 2017 Arthur Murray All Star Championships
- Name: Christina Campbell
- Studio: Orange
- All Star History: National finalist as counselor two times.
- Year You Started in the Business: 2010
What is the AM All Star Competition?The Arthur Murray All Stars is a skills competition for every level of professional within each location around the world. The goal is to grow, develop, and reveal the professionals that demonstrate the best customer service, communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and teamwork skills. The competition begins in each studio and winners advance to small region, or District, competitions. From there the District winners advance to the large region, or Area, competition. Finally, the Area winners advance to the World Championships in Las Vegas where each Area team tests and one team is pronounced the winner.
More importantly, the real winners are the students of the Arthur Murray Dance Studios as these tests, and accompanying training, help to deliver better communication, teamwork, problem solving, and confidence from every member of the staff.
AML: First off, congratulations on moving into the finals in Last Vegas. How did you react when the announcement was made?
EC: I was both excited and relieved. Having gone to the national finals twice previously, I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well. To say the least, I was overwhelmed with joy and excitement.
AML: How did you feel going into the Semi-Finals?
EC: I felt less nervous than previous years. I felt comfortable feeling like I knew the training material but I have also grown to know the process of the testing a lot more, so nothing felt foreign.
AML: What kind of last minute things did you do to prepare?
EC: I read through all the training material again the night before and quizzed myself in the morning, but then I had to stop looking at it. The more I re-read, the more nervous I got. I tend to socialize to relieve anxiety before any competition, so making friendly conversation with fellow competitors was a part of my last minute preparations.
AML: How has this process made you a better professional?
EC: This process has made me a better professional because it really makes me own my stuff. It forces me to pay attention, to be a good listener, and learn to adapt with curve balls. It trains me to always be thinking of what my student wants and needs most in any situation.
AML: What's you All Star backstory? If you can give a little synopsis of the highs and lows of this competition over the years.
EC: As a rookie specialist many years ago, I actually made it to the Area Finals, but I had no idea how to prepare. I made it to the District Finals several times, but then didn't make time to study or make it important.
When I became a counselor, I realized how important and valuable the training was and really made an effort to understand all aspects of the process.
This year will be my third year going to the national finals at superama. I was on a team that did really well one year, and a team that didn't do so well the next year. Experiencing what it's like when a team is successful, and when a team breaks down, I think, gives a lot of valuable insight for this year's competition.
AML: What will it mean to you if the team wins it all this year?
EC: Well, four out of the six team members are from the Orange studio, so it would definitely mean a lot of Orange pride, but other than that, it would be such a privilege to honor Area 7.
AML: Who are some people that helped you get to this point?
EC: My most influential trainers over the years have been Steve Platt, Unique Platt, Tommy Belmontez, and Renzo Zegarra. More specifically to this year's All Star competition, I give the credit to my staff. The Orange ladies have been so motivated this year, so we've done a lot of training. Their willingness to allow me to help them prepare has really encouraged me to know the material front and back so I feel confident that they are prepared and besides, you learn something so much more when you have to teach it yourself.
AML: Last question: What does this mean to you? What makes it special?
EC: The All Star competition is special in general because it focuses on all the staff in a studio honing their skills to give our students the best service possible. Getting to work for an incredible company that continually invests in its employees is incredible and I feel honored to represent Area 7 in the finals.
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