Johnny Gonzales grew up in Troy, Texas playing sports and participating in Boy Scouts. After college he spent several years as a sales professional. That is what lead him to Hartford, Connecticut where he sold a printer to an Arthur Murray Dance Center in Glastonbury, CT and they offered him a part time job as an instructor. After agreeing to join their team, Johnny found the passion in his life that he never knew he was missing. 6 weeks later, he went “all-in” by quitting his sales job to go full time at the studio. Over the last 13 years Johnny has put the same dedication into his dance education and teaching that he did in his sports and scouting as a kid.

In 2012 Johnny moved home to Temple where he met MaryJacq. They started dancing together and returned to Connecticut to get her the same start in the dance business that he had gotten. Eventually they teamed up as a management team that jump started a studio to reach it’s potential.

Now they are home in Temple to bring the joy of ballroom and all partner dancing to Central Texas.

Though she is native to Temple, Texas,  MJ got her start with Arthur Murray Dance Centers in Connecticut where she instructed and competed with her students and professional partner, Johnny, and later managed the studio in Niantic, CT. Throughout her ballroom dancing career, she has had many opportunities to work with students, coaches, and coworkers from all different backgrounds and from all over the country and has truly loved making the connections and learning from all those unique individuals.

Her dancing career didn’t start in the ballroom; she started dancing at the age of three, primarily studying classical Ballet as a child and through college. Throughout high school and college she studied many different dance forms ranging from Jazz to Folk to Modern dancing, etc., with instructors from all over the world. She has also performed in numerous ballets, shows, and musicals in theatres and performing arts venues throughout Temple and Killeen. Upon entering into a competitive partnership with Johnny, she stepped foot on the ballroom floor and a few short months later, began her career with Arthur Murray.

Being a part of Arthur Murray has given her the opportunity to not only learn more dance styles than she could imagine, travel, meet and learn from people from all over the world, be a part of a thriving and deeply rooted company, but to truly make a career out of the thing she loves to do most- DANCE! She is very excited to be able to bring her experience and knowledge to this new studio and most of all share the joy of ballroom dancing with Temple and the rest of Central Texas.