Dear Mr. and Mrs. Panasuk, Chris,
Six years ago I came into the school barely knowing the difference between my left and right foot, painfully aware of my tom-boyish awkwardness, carrying around lots of self-confidence issues, and with a dream I didn’t let myself dream. I came into the Dance School, yet I’ve learned so much more than dance steps and technique!
I’ve learned about dedication to what one decides to do in life. Being in a somewhat similar position (having my own business and teaching), I really appreciate seeing you three doing your jobs day in and day out, year after year and never complain, never stop caring! You give students more time, attention and care than just a “job” would require. You create an atmosphere where people find love (!) and friendship, where we start feeling like a family, and I know how much work, both physical and emotional, it takes to do that!
I’ve learned about family values. The way you interact with each other, the way you care and support each other is truly wonderful! Looking at Chris and Alexander with Mom and Dad, I really hope my boys will grow up as respectful, caring and loving sons!
Boy, have I learned about myself! I doubt weekly visits to the shrink’s office would have taught me as much about myself as my dancing journey has. Yes, I grew as a dancer (I am in the “toddler” stage now
), but I also grew as a person.
Mrs. Panasuk! Your love and support of Tim has been incredibly special! There were a couple of times in his “dancing career” that your love and support helped him through some difficult times and made it easier for him to decide to keep dancing. Even as a young boy he has been able to see and appreciate it. From the bottom of our hearts: THANK YOU!
Chris! You made me believe in myself when I was absolutely determined not to. You’ve allowed me to create right along with you, and believe me, not a lot of teachers go for that. You’ve been sincere, honest and real. You’ve pushed me to go further, you’ve put on the breaks when I was going too far too fast, you’ve listened, you’ve… CARED. Don’t ever minimize what you do, because you DO make a difference! I have been very fortunate to have you as my teacher and a friend.
This is by no means a Goodbye. Life has it’s own agenda and it is taking me away from my dancing home for now. But one just doesn’t leave home and close the door behind for good. I really hope it will be “See you soon!” Until then, I will miss you (oh, I already do), we will be sure to visit,
Love, Irina and Tim.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Panasuk, Anna, Barbara, Christopher, Dayán, Gilles, Kyra, Laurent, May and Nellie,
Congratulations to you all on the enormous success of the 2013 Medal Ball! The entire day went off without a hitch and you made the day a wonderful experience for us.
The day was so well organized. The rehearsals were scheduled and practiced on time, there was time with the teachers, the dinner was delicious, the music and general dancing was so much fun and the professional shows were absolutely breathtaking. Thank you for making May 19, 2013 such a memorable day.
From the moment we began at the Jean Talon studio we were made to feel part of your family. Throughout these past two months, we have been encouraged to reach a higher level of dancing which has challenged us and made us appreciate the work ethic that you, as teachers, bring to the classes. Without your guidance, leadership, patience and professionalism, we would not have been able to meet our goals for the Medal Ball.
A very special thank you goes to Dayán, Anna and Barbara who have been so very supportive in our quest to improve.
Dayán demonstrated a high level of professionalism through his dedication to dance and to the teaching of this sport. Even at times when I (Connie) felt I was not moving ahead, his encouragement, patience, support and sense of humour made me re-focus on the enjoyment of dance. He has been able to attain a balance in his teaching. He can clearly teach the steps and he can easily diagnose the problems and find solutions to address them. He is never judgemental and at the same time, is able to be the coach who wants his students to meet their goals.
Anna and Barbara both showed great support and encouragement in their plan to help me (John) prepare for the exams. They took me on late in the year and worked with me to help me improve and be ready for the exams. Their professional approach and straight-frowardness were very much appreciated. They were always ready with a smile when the steps were done correctly or needed work.
It is clear that Anna, Barbara and Dayán want the best for their students and they give more than 100% of their energy to this end.
We are grateful to Anna and Dayán for encouraging us to do the “duo” dance at the Medal Ball. At one point, we did not feel deserving of performing a duo, but Dayán and Anna showed us that we were able to do this and enjoy the experience. Let us say that we more than enjoyed the experience – thank you Anna and Dayán!
We would also like to express our appreciation for the wonderful “formation” which Laurent put together for us. The Bolero routine was magical and all came together due in major part to Laurent’s time, persistence, support and patience. This type of choreography also brought us together with three amazing couples who helped us at every stage of the learning and preparation stage.
At no time did we ever feel pressure to perform from Laurent. He was insistent upon the fun and emotion expressed in the dance. His attitude only made us want to do it right for him.
Although we have had less teaching time with Christopher, Kyra, Barbara, Nellie, Mairobis and Gilles, we wish to express our appreciation for each of these teachers who contribute so much to the sense of family at the studio.
In closing, you make an amazing team of teachers who give so much of yourselves to make the dance experience a joy for us. Please know that we are happy, that we appreciate each and every one of you that we thank you for accepting us into the Jean Talon family.
Bravo on a job well done and we look forward to the next event!
Sincerely,
Connie and John