When you watch owner Daniel Seguin gracefully sashay and confidently twirl around the dance floor, it91裸聊视频檚 hard to believe he was once severely overweight and painfully shy.

91裸聊视频淚 started taking dance lessons because I was 591裸聊视频�6 and getting close to 195 pounds and I had to do something,91裸聊视频� the now svelte 53-year-old says.

Daniel, who was 26 at the time and living in Ottawa, had never danced before, but after seven months of lessons, he loved it so much he decided to become an instructor at Arthur Murray.

91裸聊视频淚 always thought you had to be tall and slim to be a dance instructor, but then an instructor who was my height started at the school and I realized that wasn91裸聊视频檛 true,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淲hen you watch ballroom dancing on TV, a lot of people think you have to be a certain body type or age to do it, but that91裸聊视频檚 just not the case. It91裸聊视频檚 one of the biggest misconceptions people have. I didn91裸聊视频檛 fit the mold at all.91裸聊视频�

Daniel was working at Canada Post as an internal auditor for the money order division and didn91裸聊视频檛 fit the 91裸聊视频渁rts mold91裸聊视频� either. He91裸聊视频檇 grown up wanting to be a high school math teacher and loved numbers. But he didn91裸聊视频檛 realize something was missing until dance came into his life.

91裸聊视频淚 really enjoyed working with numbers and the checks and balances, but I was always a pretty creative kid growing up and it didn91裸聊视频檛 add to that,91裸聊视频� he explains. 91裸聊视频淲hen I became a dance teacher, those two worlds came together because music is numbers and creating patterns and creating routines.91裸聊视频�

Choreographing cha-cha-chas and award-winning routines instead of crunching numbers on a spreadsheet, Daniel quickly found his passion.

91裸聊视频淒ance is just so freeing because you91裸聊视频檙e just able to feel the music and, for me, it91裸聊视频檚 making sure my partner feels good,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a shared experience and it can be life-changing.91裸聊视频�

For Daniel, who was never one of the popular kids in school and painfully shy in social situations, dance has given him confidence and opened up a world of opportunity.

91裸聊视频淚 probably would have been that guy who just has a couple of friends and does a lot of stuff as a loner,91裸聊视频� Daniel says. 91裸聊视频淏ut dancing has helped me break out of my shell. I think that91裸聊视频檚 one of the appeals of dancing 91裸聊视频� people want the opportunity to shine in some way.91裸聊视频�

After Ottawa, Daniel moved to Chicago and then Edmonton to teach and manage studios before landing in Victoria and opening his own studio in Saanich Plaza last May.

91裸聊视频淚t was a 14-month-long search to find the right location and open our doors,91裸聊视频� Daniel says. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 a great business model with lots of things I love and, as an owner, I can build on that and interact more with each student.91裸聊视频�

Teaching people of all ages and ability levels for more than 27 years, Daniel has found that everyone comes for a different reason: from simply having fun or for weight loss to coping with PTSD or trying to recharge a relationship.

91裸聊视频淪ome people are lonely or may have lost a spouse and are ready to start meeting people again,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淎nd some people are just stressed at work and, at dance, their biggest worry is which foot is their left foot. It91裸聊视频檚 like a mini vacation in their lives.91裸聊视频�

There have been a lot of success stories over the years, including couples headed for divorce falling back in love.

91裸聊视频淔or 40 minutes, they91裸聊视频檙e in each other91裸聊视频檚 arms and no longer watching TV side-by-side or even in different rooms,91裸聊视频� Daniel explains. 91裸聊视频淭hey start seeing the person they were interested in when they first started dating. It91裸聊视频檚 kind of magical when you see it because it91裸聊视频檚 a really special moment you91裸聊视频檙e witnessing.91裸聊视频�

Another success story that91裸聊视频檚 really stuck with Daniel is a student early on in his career who was incredibly shy. When she first came to the studio, the young woman could hardly look up from the floor when having a conversation.

91裸聊视频淭hrough working with her and getting her to come out of her shell, people at work started noticing she had more confidence, she became part of their social group and she got promoted,91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淪he also became good friends with another student and they started dating and that gentleman became her husband and they had a child together. We91裸聊视频檙e not psychiatrists or career builders, but the benefits she got from dancing brought out the beautiful person she already was on the inside.91裸聊视频�

Daniel says it91裸聊视频檚 life-changing stories like that that keep him going.

91裸聊视频淵ou always hope you can make a difference in life. I don91裸聊视频檛 know if I have the right words to really convey how it feels, but it91裸聊视频檚 really special.91裸聊视频�

Given his love of dance and what it can do, it91裸聊视频檚 hard to believe Daniel almost gave up on his passion early in his career. He was ready to quit after a few years, but encouragement from a dance competition judge spurred him on and convinced him to stick with it.

91裸聊视频淓veryone will tell you that to become really successful, a master will have failed more times than a beginner has ever tried and going through hardships makes the success so worthwhile,91裸聊视频� he says.

91裸聊视频淭he life lesson I got is that if there are hardships and tough times, you just have to ride through them and eventually you91裸聊视频檒l be able to realize all your dreams.91裸聊视频�