Deb
and Tom Selzler started dancing together in 1987 as part of a
dance team in Kelowna, British Columbia.
Both
Deb and Tom were founding members of the team, and very active
in it, performing in the Okanagan Valley and beyond.
They
started teaching together in 1989, teaching line and couples 3
nights a week. They married in 1990, and choreographed a waltz routine to
dance for their wedding.
Deb
and Tom wanted to learn more skills and dance technique so
they started traveling to other events and taking private
lessons and coaching. Many trips were taken back and forth to
Vancouver over the next few years.
They
entered their first major dance competition in Washington in
1993, entering 4 different dances, and they won 2nd
place overall in division IV.
For
the next 3 ½ years they competed in many different
competitions and traveled all over the U.S. and Canada.
Many
friendships were formed over the years, and Tom and Deb
traveled to some great events.
After
winning a 1st place overall in division II (UCWDC)
in Seattle they decided to take a break from competing
together.
Tom
decided to keep competing, so he chose to compete in Line
Dancing. He won first
place overall at the World Championships in San Antonio, Texas
and two years later he won 2nd place overall at
Worlds in Edmonton. Tom loves to choreograph dances and enter
them in choreography competitions. One of his dances, “Tell
Me Why”, was
one of the dances used at Worlds in Edmonton.
Deb
and Tom decided to take on more classes and host their own
dance events such as
Dance
Bash (a Swing , Country & Latin three-day couples event
held every third weekend in March), and
Harvest
Moon Line Dance Festival (a three-day event held every third
weekend in September).
They
teach dance 4 nights a week at their home studio.
Along
with events, they also host “One Day" workshops and evening dances
at the Ukrainian
Cultural Center in Kelowna, BC.
Deb
keeps herself busy running a child daycare business out of the
studio Monday to Friday and Tom works as a porter at Kelowna
General Hospital.
Deb and Tom continue to teach and travel for the love of
dance.
