Staff
Grant Hoskins: An evening out with friends who loved dancing was all it took for Grant to become addicted. He spent more time on dancing than on any other activity. Grant taught and competed in college and continued social dancing out of school. Because he loved dancing so much, Grant joined Elegance in Ballroom with the hope of guiding others to fall in love with dance as well.
Elizabeth Pohto: Elizabeth Pohto started swing dancing in junior high. Within a couple years, she was performing, competing, and had started the Parkman Swing Kid’s club. Although she attended Franciscan University and Kent State, Elizabeth originally had a hard time filling out college applications because she wanted to spend all of her time studying dance and preparing for performances. Encouraged by a professional instructor to join a studio, Elizabeth came to Elegance, where she joined the Chagrin Ballroom Teacher Academy. It wasn’t long until she was hired and then promoted to manager. Her first teaching job was training the winning Mad Hot Ballroom team in Cleveland, OH. Elizabeth’s dedication and love of dance has never dwindled, and she takes every opportunity to improve her own skills and pass them on to her students.
Paul Whorten: Paul Whorten wouldn't be caught on the dance floor until one Thursday when he was practically dragged to a weekly swing dance at Cedar’s Lounge. For months, he only went just to be social, dancing once every couple weeks. It wasn't until he decided to take a few group swing lessons at Youngstown State University that he really got out on the dance floor. From that point on, Paul fell in love with dancing and found every possible opportunity to do so. Through his dedication and love for dancing, he has come a long way since that first Thursday at Cedar’s Lounge, instructing first at a Fred Astaire Dance Studio and now at Elegance in Ballroom.
Diane Lambert: Diane graduated from John Carroll University with a bachelors degree in physical education and obtained her masters degree in exercise science from Cleveland State University. Diane has been teaching fitness classes for over 25 years. She is a certified personal trainer from the American College of Sports Medicine and a Certified Zumba Instructor.
Shari Smith-Shemitz: Shari has had the love for dance since she was 8 years old. With training in Tap, Jazz, and Ballet, she found herself focusing on Classical Ballet, which she studied at The School of Fine Arts in Willoughby, Ohio. She later attended the University of Akron’s Bachelor of Performing Arts Program. Finding that ballerinas have a short career, she found a new dance passion- BALLROOM!! She joined the wonderful world of Ballroom in 1992 as a certified dance instructor for Fred Astaire Dance Studios. Since then, she has focused on quality instruction with a lot of fun thrown in!
Bob Gates:
