Vanessa Williams – Let’s Dance Kids! Ballroom Dance Instructor
Vanessa has been ballroom dancing for more than 20 years, having started in a school class in her native New Zealand. While completing her Master of Science degree in Psychology, she met her husband in a dance class; they became dance partners and competed successfully as amateurs in the International Standard division in New Zealand before retiring from competition to move to the United States. After working for a time in Human Resources and Business Development, she returned to the ballroom as an instructor, taking a position as a teacher at a studio in Pennsylvania, and training in the American dance styles.
In 2005, she and her husband moved to San Diego, and she took a position as a Staff Instructor, and later Senior Staff Instructor, at Champion Ballroom Academy where she worked for more than nine years before becoming an independent teacher in 2015. She loves sharing the joy of dance with students of all ages and abilities, and has helped over 150 San Diego couples make their wedding dance memorable. She is the instructor and Dance Program Director for Let’s Dance Kids! (LDK!) a non-profit (pending) foundation based in the South Bay Union School District with the goal of providing ballroom dance training to children who might not otherwise have the opportunity. Vanessa is a member of the ProDVIDA Professional Teacher Organization, and has achieved professional certifications in American Smooth and Rhythm as well as International Standard.