A few months ago, I was doing what most of us do before bed: the classic nighttime social media scroll. You know the one. Five minutes turns into forty-five, you’re somehow watching a raccoon wash grape, and suddenly it’s way past your bedtime.
During one of those scrolling sessions, I came across a business I had followed for years but never really imagined I’d use myself: Embody Dance Collective.
Owned by the brilliant Emma Dubinski, Embody Dance Collective is built around teaching dance to people of all ages and skill levels. Emma is wicked talented, wicked cool, and wicked accomplished. After an extensive education at George Brown College and an impressive professional dance career, she’s returned home to Thunder Bay to share her passion with our community.
The best part? You’d never know how accomplished she is by talking to her. She’s humble, bubbly, welcoming, and has this incredible ability to make you feel like you belong the second you walk through the door.
So when I saw that she was offering couples dance lessons, I did something completely out of character.
I sent the link to my love and casually asked, “What do you think?” Apparently, what he thought was, “Let’s do it.” And just like that, we were signed up.
Now, if you’re anything like me, slow dancing has always felt a little awkward. You sway back and forth while holding someone’s hand or hip, trying to figure out where to look, counting down the minutes until the song ends. Romantic? Maybe. Comfortable? Not exactly.
What Emma teaches is completely different. She takes something that feels intimidating and turns it into something approachable. The routine was fun, easy to follow, just enough outside our comfort zone to feel exciting, and honestly felt like something you could eventually pull out at a wedding, anniversary party, or special event without looking like you were making it up as you went along.
Did we mess it up? Absolutely. Did we laugh? Constantly. Did we occasionally forget which foot was supposed to move? Without question. But that’s what made it fun.
We decided if we were going to do this, we were going all in. We met up with friends who had also bravely signed up for the class, headed to Norteños for dinner, enjoyed a little liquid courage, dressed up, and made an entire evening out of it.
By the time we arrived at the studio, our collective dance experience could basically be summarized as “we know the Shuffle exists. That was about it. Yet somehow, none of that mattered.
Emma was informative, encouraging, patient, and genuinely excited that we had simply shown up and given it a try. There was no pressure to be perfect. No expectation that we’d suddenly transform into ballroom champions.
Just an invitation to learn, move, laugh, and have fun. And isn’t that what dance is supposed to be? Expression. Joy. Connection. Fun.
You can’t watch someone dancing and smiling without feeling a little happier yourself. So why not be the person dancing?
The funniest part is that the class didn’t end when we left. Those dance moves have somehow found their way into our kitchen dance parties. A spin here. A twirl there. The occasional “Wait, remember what Emma taught us?” while making dinner.
It’s become one of those experiences that started as a class and turned into a memory. Was it outside my comfort zone? Absolutely. But that’s kind of the point, the best things usually are.
It’s easy to stick to what we know. The same restaurants, the same routines, the same hobbies. But every now and then, stepping into something unfamiliar reminds you that there’s still so much fun waiting on the other side of being uncomfortable.
So here’s your cue. Go follow Embody Dance Collective. Sign up for a class. Attend a performance. Bring your partner. Bring your friends. Bring yourself. Step into the discomfort. You never know—you might just find your new comfort zone waiting there on the dance floor. And if someone with two left feet can do it, trust me, you’ve got this.
