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Synopsis

Cast

• Instructor: Mary Hoedeman | bio

  Mary Hoedeman's 25 year dance career began in Houston, Texas when she answered an ad saying"Dance Instructors Wanted, Will Train". Within months she was winning professional competitions. Mary won her first Country & Western Grand Championship in 1989 in Las Vegas, Nevada Trained by a former World Champion Ballroom dancer, Mary, together with several colleagues, was instrumental in developing and introducing a style of country dance that blended traditional forms with ballroom technique. This style remains the dominant competitive style. Mary's competitive career continued. She and her partner repeatedly placed in the top 5 competitors in the world. Mary also enjoyed a 12 year, 340 day per year, teaching and performing touring schedule throughout the US and Canada. In 1993 the Pepsi Cola Company made her a national spokesperson. In 1990 Mary became her own film producer when she, and her company, Country & Western Dancing U.S.A., filmed the instructional video "No One Has Two Left Feet". There are now 9 videos in this series. Mary's video library eventually grew to number 23 instructional videos with combined worldwide sales totaling well over 300,000 copies. Her latest DVD, done to celebrate Mary's 25th year as an "ambassador of dance" is #24. Personally responsible for instructing and coaching over 10,000 students and instructors, many of whom have won titles of their own, Mary also competes with her amatuer students. In 2005 Mary's pro-am student won his own World Championship in Nashville, Tennessee with Mary as his partner. Mary also does choreography, She is responsible for creating the line dance for Ricky Van Shelton's music video, Wild Man. For over 12 years Mary hosted a week long dance retreat week in Music City; Nashville, Tennessee. For 10 of those years Mary and her students capped off the week by performing live for television at the world famous Wild Horse Saloon. But Dance Camp lives on. Today ..... Mary has a husband and two young children so her touring schedule is somewhat less than 340 days per year. But Mary teaches locally in her hometown of Fairmont, MN; tours one weekend per month, continues to host a yearly Dance Camp, hosts her own dance instructional TV show on Charter Cable, and has produced this new DVD, "The Beauty of Dance is only a Step Away"

• Dance Assistants: Steve & Suzan Sommers | bio

  Steve and Suz attended their first dance class together in 1992 and immediately fell in love with the relationship between the music, the movement and each other on the dance floor. That same year they met the dynamic Mary Hoedeman and started their dance training. Within a year they were being asked to teach in the local area of Albany NY. In 1994 they moved to Nashville to train more intensely with Mary, and to co host Dance Retreat Week since its inception in 1995. Along with 20 Dance Camps, Steve and Suz have taught and performed in several States in the Eastern US and in Ontario, Canada. Steve and Suz have been bodywork professionals since 1990 and are licensed as Massage Therapists in TN and NY. For 11 years, they have taught classes for developing and licensed professionals at the Cumberland Institute for Holistic Therapies in Brentwood, TN. Additionally, they have taught massage or acupressure classes in 7 States. Steve is Authorized by the JSDF as a Senior Teacher of Jin Shin Do® Bodymind Acupressure and recently completed his Master's Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. He also wrote, narrated, and published "Hara Breathing: Restoration for Bodymindspitit" a guided meditation CD available at the "Filmbaby" sister site "CDBaby." Suz is continuing to expand her career as a visual artist. Starting with a one woman show in 2005 at "A Fresh Look" gallery in Nashville, she has continued to show her work as a member of "Full Circle Art" (www.fullcircleart.org). Suz will have her third one woman show coinciding with this year's first dance camp in Fairmont, MN.

Crew

• Director: Janet Ruth, Mary Hoedeman
• Writer: Carol Howard, Mary Hoedeman
• Production Company: Country & Western Dancing U.S.A.
• Copyright: Country & Western Dancing U.S.A.
• Executive Producer: Mary Hoedeman | bio

  Mary Hoedeman's 25 year dance career began in Houston, Texas when she answered an ad saying"Dance Instructors Wanted, Will Train". Within months she was winning professional competitions.

  Mary won her first Country & Western Grand Championship in 1989 in Las Vegas, Nevada

  Trained by a former World Champion Ballroom dancer, Mary, together with several colleagues, was instrumental in developing and introducing a style of country dance that blended traditional forms with ballroom technique. This style remains the dominant competitive style.

  Mary's competitive career continued. She and her partner repeatedly placed in the top 5 competitors in the world.

  Mary also enjoyed a 12 year, 340 day per year, teaching and performing touring schedule throughout the US and Canada. In 1993 the Pepsi Cola Company made her a national spokesperson.

  In 1990 Mary became her own film producer when she, and her company, Country & Western Dancing U.S.A., filmed the instructional video "No One Has Two Left Feet". There are now 9 videos in this series. Mary's video library eventually grew to number 23 instructional videos with combined worldwide sales totaling well over 300,000 copies. Her latest DVD, done to celebrate Mary's 25th year as an "ambassador of dance" is #24.

  Personally responsible for instructing and coaching over 10,000 students and instructors, many of whom have won titles of their own,
  Mary also competes with her amatuer students. In 2005 Mary's pro-am student won his own World Championship in Nashville, Tennessee with Mary as his partner.

  Mary also does choreography, She is responsible for creating the line dance for Ricky Van Shelton's music video, Wild Man.

  For over 12 years Mary hosted a week long dance retreat week in Music City; Nashville, Tennessee. For 10 of those years Mary and her students capped off the week by performing live for television at the world famous Wild Horse Saloon. But Dance Camp lives on. Today

  ..... Mary has a husband and two young children so her touring schedule is somewhat less than 340 days per year. But Mary teaches locally in her hometown of Fairmont, MN; tours one weekend per month, continues to host a yearly Dance Camp, hosts her own dance instructional TV show on Charter Cable, and has produced this new DVD, "The Beauty of Dance is only a Step Away"

• Producer: Gemini Studios | bio

  Gemini Studios offers a wide variety of video and graphic design services. Other services include media production education, audio installation and book illustration. Our production design team includes Bruce Abitz, Dave McKnight and Marcus Taplin, camera engineers and Shelly Abitz, production editor and graphic design coordinator.

  With over 15 years experience in audio and video capture, Bruce specializes in sports video capture but has worked on projects ranging from an eight part series on drugs, “Keeping Kids Drug & Alcohol Free” to a full scale documentary about underage drinking and driving, “Every 15 Minutes”.

  Shelly has a degree in graphic design and has illustrated two children’s books, “Jenny & Me” and “Bushy Tail Squirrel’s First Day Out”. At Gemini Studios, she is instrumental in all aspects of video post production and graphic design projects. She specializes in non-profit recruitment/informational video projects.

• Makeup Artist: Mary Ellen Mayer