Line Dance Connection:	What's your name? Do you have any dance nicknames that you're known by?
AJ Dease:	My name is Anthony J. Dease AKA AJ.
Line Dance Connection:	Where are you from and what city do you call home?
AJ Dease:	I live in Baltimore, Maryland.
Line Dance Connection:	What do you do in your professional life? Any hobbies outside of dance?
AJ Dease:	I am a retired educator with degrees in Accounting and Recreation. I am obsessed with all forms of dance and roller skating.
Line Dance Connection:	So what do they call this dance craze in your home town? Line Dancing, Hustling, Sliding, Other?
AJ Dease:	In our area, we call this craze Line Dance or Urban Line Dance.
Line Dance Connection:	Are you affiliated with any group or groups?
AJ Dease:	I am the CEO and Founder of “Steppers On The Move”, were we teach Chicago style stepping, hand dance, ballroom dance and of course line dance.
Line Dance Connection:	How long have you been dancing?
AJ Dease:	I was enrolled in my first dance class (tap) at the age of 6, about 60 years ago.
Line Dance Connection:	How did you get involved in dancing?
AJ Dease:	I come from an entire family of dancers. My mother was affiliated with the first black dance school (The Little Folks Theater) in Baltimore and that’s where we, my sister and brothers, spent our Saturdays.
Line Dance Connection:	After you attended your very first class, how did you feel?
AJ Dease:	I was totally hooked and that’s where it started.
Line Dance Connection:	How did you get into choreography?
AJ Dease:	After graduating from college and the military in 1972, I returned to Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Maryland where I had previously taught. I started a dance and modeling troop and choreography became a must in order to compete.
Line Dance Connection:	How many dances have you created and what was the very first dance you created?
AJ Dease:	I have created many dances over the years. The first line dance I created was for the TV dance show “The Moon Man Show” in the late 70’s. The dance was called “The Moonman Walk”.
Line Dance Connection:	Of all your dances which one would you say is your favorite?
AJ Dease:	My favorite line dance is always the last one I created, so right now my favorite dance is “AJ’s A Million Fish” but I do have a new one ready for release.
Line Dance Connection:	In your own words, what makes dancing special?
AJ Dease:	I enjoy the ability to express myself and exercise my creative juices.
Line Dance Connection:	If you could change one thing about dancing, what would it be?
AJ Dease:	I think I would encourage the older/seasoned dancers to embrace our younger dancers rather than criticizing them.
Line Dance Connection:	Tell me one thing about yourself that the dance community would find surprising.
AJ Dease:	As much as I love dancing, I would never put it ahead of my family and I have a problem with people that do.