MG Anseman

I was born in New Orleans La. in 1949 and was raised in and around Baton Rouge, La. I wasn't the nicest kid growing up, but did well in school. After high school I went to LSU for a few semesters and since I wasn't the good kid that I could have been the legal system suggested that I spend my time elsewhere. The best option was the military.

I chose the Marine Core. I only thought that I was bad growing up. The Marine Core showed me that I wasn't nearly as bad as I thought I was and trained me to be much worse. It changed my life and gave me the direction I had been looking for. That was in January 1969 and I only served a normal tour of duty, but I have lived my life since then based on the principles I learned there.

I got married to my high school sweetheart in August 1969 and we are still married today. I have 4 children (the last two I delivered at home) and we adopted a 14 yr old in 1987. Among the 5 kids we have 9 grand children. Parenting hasn't always been easy as many of you know from the stories I have told in class, but it has been some of the most rewarding work of my life.

After the military I returned to a junior college in Dallas where I got my Associates Degree. I then transferred to University of Texas and was close to my B.A (one semester away)  when the company I was working for transferred me to Reno Nv. to collect for the casinos. I never returned to college.

I have been in Houston since 1977. after being transferred here from Dallas. I have owned my own business  Network Collection Services Inc.  since 1985.

I started dancing as a new years resolution in January 1998. I was dragged kicking and screaming to SSQQ and took the class for Two Left Feet. I wasn't any good so I kept trying and finally found County and Western. It worked as did West Coast Swing. Rick made the mistake of asking me to assist Rachel in early 1999 and later in January of 2000 he asked me to teach my own class. I have had him fooled ever since. I have taught West Coast Swing and in the Western Program at SSQQ. Presently I am teaching in the Western Program.  

I love to dance, hunt and work and in that order.

Karen Clawson

I was born in Houston and have always lived in the Houston area.  I am a school teacher in Humble.  My first visit to SSQQ was for a swing party one Saturday night in '98.  I had come to the studio with a group of friends from church.  I started taking lessons the following month.   I have taken swing and country western classes ever since.  I started assisting in Sharon Shaw's Waltz class sometime in '99.  I now am an assistant in Waltz and ChaCha.  I met my husband, Dennis, at SSQQ in 2000.  We were married in Sept. 2001.

Willie Bushnell

Dancer, instructor and choreographer, Willie "Zydeco King" Bushnell began his reign at the age of three in the historic Ville Platte region of Louisiana, winning Zydeco dance contests in night clubs, trail rides, festivals, and dance contests throughout the Gulf Coast Area. A native Creole and fluent speaker of Acadian French, Willie has spent his professional dance career sharing the gift of Zydeco dance and music with hundreds of other zydeco dancers and dance instructors, thus preserving a vital part of American music and culture.

In demand as a performer and instructor internationally since the 1990's. Bushnell has taught Zydeco dance from coast to coast in the U.S. as well as throughout the Caribbean.

Past winner of the highly recognized Original Southwestern Louisiana Plaisance Zydeco Festival Dance Championship, and two time Winner of Texas Zydeco Dance Championship, Bushnell has also served as choreographer and dance instructor at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and for the Victor Nunez film, Coastlines.

As an instructor he is patient, positive, and highly skilled at tailoring his lessons to the various learning styles of his students. His teaching details a broad range of movements enabling each dancer to create his or her own individual style and have fun while getting exercise.

Students learn basic hip movements, undulations, shimmies, isolations, traveling steps, advanced combinations, techniques, and choreographies. Willie's classes provide a supportive learning environment so that you can explore your creative potential and feel beautiful no matter your age or dance ability. His attentive and nurturing teaching style makes even the most difficult dance skills accessible for students of all levels, and makes having fun an equal priority to developing strong dance technique.

Willie also teaches students that are at professional level that have been, plan on, or are performers. The subjects vary and may include staging, projecting, message, layering, varying mood/s along with crowd control, structure, floor, critical work and more.

Jim Coulter

Born in Yokohama, Japan on a US Marine Corp base and raised all over the USA by his Japanese Mother and American Father, Jim has lived in the Houston area for more than 20 years. Looking for a place to meet people and socialize Jim began taking classes at SSQQ back in 1997. Within a years time he became an Assistant Instructor and 2 years later was promoted to Instructor. Since 1998 Jim has taught Merengue, Beginning Salsa and Intermediate Salsa. It was at SSQQ in 2001 that Jim met his beautiful wife Ulrike. She is from Dresden, Germany and had been taking dancing lessons at SSQQ. In 2003 they welcomed their first child, a beautiful daughter named Alina and in 2006 they added a handsome boy named Talon. Jim continues to teach both Beginning and Intermediate Salsa classes because it gives him a deep satisfaction when sharing his experience and knowledge with others.

After more than 20 years experience traveling all over the world directing shooting and editing travel shows Jim decided to start his own video production company- Moving image Productions. His company offers professional high definition and standard definition video at very affordable prices. He produces television ads, corporate video, sales and training films, travel shows, infomercials, documentaries, music videos and feature films.

For more information:  www.movingimageinc.com

Ronnie Alexander

Ronnie Alexander is the assistant Zydeco instructor at SSQQ. During the day, he is a manager in the Advisory Services practice of Grant Thornton LLP Accountants and Business Consultants..

Born in Dallas, Texas, he graduated from Dallas Lincoln High School in 1977. After graduation, he came to Houston to attend Texas Southern University and be a member of the world famous TSU "Ocean of Soul" Marching Band where he played the drums. He graduated from TSU in 1982 with a BBA in Accounting. He obtained a MBA in General Business for Amberton University in 2004.  He is a CPA and Certified Trust Auditor.

In addition to teaching at the studio, Ronnie is a member of Gulf Coast Sound Drum & Bugle Corps drumline.  Gulf Coast Sound is Houston's only all-age drum and bugles corps that travels throughout the country during the summer to complete in marching competitions.

 Ronnie is married and has two daughters.

Mona Nashed

Patty Harrison

I was born in Libertyville, Illinois.   When I was 5 years old my family moved to Houston because my Dad had been offered a job at a brand new government agency called NASA.  
 
I went to Mount Carmel grade school and High School, then got my BSN at the University of Texas.  I currently work as a Cancer Registry Coordinator at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital.  I am a single mom with two teenagers.

I started taking lessons at SSQQ in December 1999 when a friend from my Mount Carmel days remembered that back in the day I used to go country western dancing - remember Gilley's and Cowboy? - and asked me to join him in his country western class so he would have a practice partner.   I loved the classes and the friends I made!  In May 2000 my new friends  signed me up for West Coast Swing.  I didn't have a clue what it was but that's what the friends had decided we were all going to take.  I loved it and have stayed with West Coast ever since, assisting Rick for a number of years and then assisting Jack, which is where I am now on Sundays and Mondays.     
 
I also met Joe at SSQQ in May 2000, and he has been an important part of my life ever since.

Joe Lachner

Hi There, just a few words about myself. I am really not used to this kind of thing since I am way to old to have any experience with My Space or Face Book or what ever those sites are called. I was born in a small steel town in southern Illinois called Granite City, anyone from the St. Louis area has probably heard of it. My family moved to Houston when I was 4 years old and we have been here ever since.

I have had a number of interesting jobs in the past including Deputy Constable, Adult Probation Officer, and IRS Agent. I also joined the United States Marine Corp in 1972 and volunteered for a tour in Viet Nam. The Marine Corp has been the guiding principle for my life since joining. Honor, Loyalty, Integrity, Discipline, like the commercial says The Few, The Proud...  (I get $10 for each new recruit that mentions this source)

I went to college on the GI bill and graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a BBA in Accounting. I am currently an International Examiner for the Internal Revenue Service. And just for the record I only examine the 100 largest companies operating in the US. (I hear that SSQQ may be breaking into that category any year now, so I my have to give up one of my jobs if a conflict of interest arises).

I started at SSQQ in 1995 taking two step and western swing, and quickly moved into what was then called 'Whip'.  I learned from Rick, Susie and MG and still like some of the old 'Whip' styling and moves. Remember the parquet floors with masking tape lines to mark the 'slot'? ('Slot Police' live, ask George Sargent) West Coast Swing has dominated the dance scene in swing and Whip has become a sub dance of West Coast. West Coast is very very cool and I really like teaching the new students. I met Patty at SSQQ and we have been together for many years and she is a great teaching partner.

Adele Raber

Marty Raber