Melanie Bridge Moves to the Arthur Murray All Star Finals
Name: Melanie Bridge
Studio: Orange
All Star History: Made the Quarterfinals
Year You Started in the Business: 2016
What is the AM All Star Competition?The Arthur Murray All Stars is a skills competition for every level of professional within each location around the world. The goal is to grow, develop, and reveal the professionals that demonstrate the best customer service, communication, problem solving, critical thinking, and teamwork skills. The competition begins in each studio and winners advance to small region, or District, competitions. From there the District winners advance to the large region, or Area, competition. Finally, the Area winners advance to the World Championships in Las Vegas where each Area team tests and one team is pronounced the winner.
More importantly, the real winners are the students of the Arthur Murray Dance Studios as these tests, and accompanying training, help to deliver better communication, teamwork, problem solving, and confidence from every member of the staff.
AML: First off, congratulations on moving into the finals in Last Vegas. How did you react when the announcement was made?
MB: Thank you! I was overjoyed when I heard. When I realized that I would get to compete in the All Star finals with three other women from my studio I started crying, and jumping up and down with excitement. It was a very fun moment.
AML: How did you feel going into the Semi-Finals?
MB: This process has helped me to build confidence in myself and made me a better teacher because of it. I learned fabulous skills on how to connect and communicate better with my students. It also showed me how important teamwork is. When you work together, anything is possible!
AML: What kind of last minute things did you do to prepare?
MB: I spend a lot of time picking out my outfit the night before because I wanted to feel my best when I walked into the room. When I arrived to the testing I had a few sips of coffee, said hello to the other finalists, and tried to relax and focus by taking a few deep breaths.
AML: How has this process made you a better professional?
MB: This process had helped me to build confidence in myself and made me a better teacher because of it. I learned fabulous skills on how to connect and communicate better with my students. It also showed me how important teamwork is. When you work together anything is possible.
AML: What's you All Star backstory? If you can give a little synopsis of the highs and lows of this competition over the years.
MB: Last year was the first time I competed in the All Star training. I was new to the company at the time and didn't have the confidence that I needed to perform at the level I wanted. This year was so different because we truly worked together as a team to build each other up. It was through our training and the encouragement of my team that I began to build confidence. When the semi finals came around, I felt excited and well prepared.
AML: What will it mean to you if the team wins it all this year?
MB: I think it would just be the cherry on top of a wonderful couple of months. I truly believe the real prize is all of the knowledge and experience that you gain through this process.
AML: Who are some people that helped you get to this point?
MB: My counselor, Christina Campbell, was crucial to my all star success. Her wisdom from competing in the All Star finals prior years gave me great insight on how to excel in this competition. She was very patient with my training and was always happy to answer any questions I had.
My franchisee, Tommy Belmontez, for allowing us the time to train for the All Star testing. He really believed that we could succeed and encouraged us along the way.
AML: Last question: what does this mean to you? What makes it special?
MB: Being a finalist in the all star testing means a great deal to me. It has also been a good example of progress for me to see how much I've grown in the last year. What makes it extra special though is that I get to compete in the finals with three other women from my studio. It's been a great team building experience.
Never miss another Arthur Murray Live article! Become a subscriber today.
