David Vanderzell

David Vanderzell is the owner/director of D&D’s Dance Center, which has been located in Riverside, CA since 1995. He has been involved in the ballroom dance industry  teaching, performing, competing, consulting,  managing and owning studios for over 30 years. He currently enjoys working with students from beginners to professionals and has taught and performed throughout the US, Canada, and Europe.

David began his dance career while attending college at Franklin and Marshall College, in Lancaster, PA. After a year of teaching part time in the evenings and attending school full time during the day, David made the decision to leave school and do what he truly enjoyed, which was working with people and teaching them how ballroom dancing could have a positive impact on their lives. While teaching, David was introduced to the competitive side of ballroom dancing. Being a former athlete himself, this was very appealing as it added the physical demands and the discipline that he was use to in other sports. The next 6 years were spent training, often times having to travel to Washington DC, New York, Ohio, Boston, and Montreal, in order to work with some of the best coaches in the US and from around the world when they would visit the US. The hard work and long hours paid off as David and his partner collected numerous titles including, Eastern United States Champion, New England Champion, Virginia State Champion, and Ohio Star Ball Rising Star Champion. David’s reputation as a teacher also grew and by now he was traveling all over the country teaching students and training other professionals.

In order to take his career to the next level, David moved to California in 1986. There he had the opportunity to work in TV, movies, and a consulting position for 6 dance studios as well as be close to his favorite coaches. After becoming a grand finalist in the United States Championships, David decided to concentrate on teaching and sharing his knowledge with others. He also decided through all his travels that California was where he wanted to call home.

Since opening the doors of the studio in Riverside, David and the staff, have taught literally thousands of students, through classes and individual lessons, from the beginner to the advanced levels. Since 2005, the studio began to emphasize competition dancing for their amateur students and since that time have won top studio awards at various events including, California Star Ball top studio, Nevada Star Ball top studio, and Las Vegas Open top studio. David has also been awarded top teacher at each of these events.

Looking to the future, David’s goals for the studio remain the same as they have been for the last 15 years, to offer the highest quality instruction in a fun friendly atmosphere for anyone who wants to learn.

 
  Travis & Symphony Runnells 

Travis & Symphony Runnells met 6 years ago at a social dance party and have been dancing together ever since. This husband and wife team, have been certified professional ballroom instructors, competitors and consultants for a combined total of 23 years.

 Travis started dancing in 1992 as a sophomore in high school. His first love was country western and he quickly secured line dance championships in both the Redneck Girl and the Achy Breaky Heart at the Tustin Tiller Days Competition in 1994. Two years later, Travis became a professional dance instructor with Arthur Murray Dance Studio.  Over the next 14 years, he taught in Riverside, Orange and San Diego counties as an instructor, coach and studio manager. During this time, Travis placed in several professional competitions including 2nd Place in Open Professional West Coast Swing Championship at the Arthur Murray International World Championships.  His students have also received multiple awards for Top Student, Top Solo Routine and Scholarship and All-Around winners and finalists. Travis personally received three Top 20 Executive Awards, five Unique Performance Awards and eight Top Teacher Awards and under his management a Million Dollar Studio Award.

 Symphony began her dancing journey with the San Francisco Ballet as a young child. After gaining years of stage and performance experience, she decided to try her hand at other forms of dance. Over the next decade, she studied and taught jazz, hip-hop, cabaret, modern, contemporary and song leading. In 1999, Symphony joined as a member of a professional cheerleading team, Cheer San Francisco, a team recently featured on America’s Got Talent as a semi-finalist. After coaching cheer and dance for three years at Moreau Catholic High School, Symphony began her career in the Bay Area teaching ballroom dance. She taught for the San Jose Arthur Murray for three years before moving to Orange County in 2005. There, Symphony was a Staff Trainer and Dance Director, Guest Director and Studio Manager of a million dollar school. She also received numerous awards including Top Teacher, Top Solo Routine, Unique Performance and Top 20 Counselor. Most recently, Symphony’s student, Tom Brisco, received Top Silver Student and Top 20 Dance Sport Series at both 2011 Desert Classic and 2011 Nevada Star Ball.

 Since moving to the Inland Empire at the beginning of 2011, Travis and Symphony have been featured dancers at the Fox Theatre in Riverside and the Palm Springs Art Museum Charity Fundraiser as well as receiving publishing’s in The Desert Sun Magazine and Inland Empire Magazine. They love teaching all styles of partner dancing from Quickstep to Country Western and everything in between. They believe that learning to dance is a life-changing journey and their passion for sharing this gift motivates their desire to teach. If asked, the two would say that they enjoy social dancing the most but also specialize in competitive styles as Travis and Symphony are professional certified instructors and registered competitors with the National Dance Counsel of America.