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Line Dance Connection: |
What's your name? Do you have any
dance nicknames that you're known by? |
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Danielle Thomas: |
My name is Danielle Thomas.
My dance nicknames are Dani and Danigirl. |
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Michele Thomas: |
My name is Michele Thomas
and I also go by Shells and Shellypop. |
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Thomas Twins: |
As far as nicknames go, “Twin”
applies to both of us! J |
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Line Dance Connection: |
Where are you
from and what city do you call home? |
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Thomas Twins: |
We were born and raised in
Toledo, Ohio, but we now call Chicago our home. |
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Line Dance Connection: |
What do you do in your
professional life? Any hobbies outside of dance? |
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Thomas Twins: |
We both work at The Boeing
Company in the Global Corporate Citizenship Department (the philanthropic arm
of the company). Watching true crime shows
(TVs stay on Investigative ID) and reading true crime stories are both of our
hobbies. |
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Line Dance Connection: |
So what do they call this dance
craze in your home town? Line Dancing, Hustling, Sliding, Other? |
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Thomas Twins: |
We call it Line Dancing in
Chicago. |
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Line Dance Connection: |
Are you affiliated with any group
or groups? |
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Thomas Twins: |
Not really, but we do call
ourselves honorary members of LRC. J |
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Line Dance Connection: |
How long have you been dancing? |
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Thomas Twins: |
We started ballet at the
age of 7, and began tap and jazz shortly after. We stopped taking those classes in junior high
school, and started cheerleading, and joined the dance team in high
school. Line Dancing began for us in
2006. |
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Line Dance Connection: |
How did you get involved in
dancing? |
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Thomas Twins: |
Following Dani’s cancer treatments, we were encouraged by her
doctors to try to find a hobby that would help build her strength. We stumbled on a line dance class at the
Dorchester and have been hooked ever since. |
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Line Dance Connection: |
After you attended your very first
class, how did you feel? |
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Thomas Twins: |
Extremely overwhelmed. Line dancing for 4 hours straight for
FREE!! It took us a couple of weeks to
actually get on the floor though. LOL |
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Line Dance Connection: |
How did you get into choreography? |
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Thomas Twins: |
We were inspired to create
a dance for our 40th birthday to share with the students in our
very first line dance class. |
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Line Dance Connection: |
How many dances have you created
and what was the very first dance you created? |
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Thomas Twins: |
We have created 10 dances
and You Rock It was our very first creation. |
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Line Dance Connection: |
Of all your dances which one would
you say is your favorite? |
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Thomas Twins: |
Juke Sumthin. |
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Line Dance Connection: |
In your own words, what makes
dancing special? |
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Thomas Twins: |
There’s no right or wrong
way to dance. Your movements are just that – YOURS. Dancing exposes you to so many different
genres of music. You can just get lost
in the song and the steps and get a vibe from the people on the floor with
you. All of that is pretty special. |
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Line Dance Connection: |
If you could change one thing
about dancing, what would it be? |
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Thomas Twins: |
The competitiveness and
folks forgetting what this line dance craze is about. It’s about building friendships, respecting
the diversity of different dances, encouraging the younger generation,
STAYING HEALTHY, and remembering that this should all be done in the spirit
of having fun. |
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Line Dance Connection: |
Tell me one thing about yourself
that the dance community would find surprising. |
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Thomas Twins: |
Michele and I are over an
hour a part – I was born at home, she was born at the hospital. Mom didn’t know she was having twins! |
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