Seven years ago no one knew what would result from the innocent question posed by eight-year-old Alexander when he asked his grandmother, “Can I do that?” Alex was observing a PBS television program featuring ballroom dancing by a group of 12 and 13 year olds when he formed that significant question.

His grandmother, Shirley, researched the area for local schools that taught ballroom dancing. She finally located Fusion Dance Academy in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, whose owner, Tina Freitag, had a passion for teaching ballroom dancing to kids.

Alexander, now a sophomore at Waunakee High School, has progressed steadily through the years, winning numerous blue ribbons, trophies and medals at the annual Wisconsin DanceSport Championships, held at the historic Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.

On Sunday, April 29, Alexander fought through the residual effects of a concussion suffered a few weeks earlier (that has severely limited his physical activities) to compete in the highest amateur class of ballroom dancing: Open Gold. Alex and his partner, Tina, performed the Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot and Viennese Waltz. This was followed immediately a “Smooth Multi-Dance Event Pro/Am Open Smooth DanceSport Series”, which combined all four of those dances into one long dance. This gave the judges the opportunity to view the dance skills of all the competitors over a prolonged period.

When the dust settled on this year’s marathon dance competition, Alexander and Tina emerged as the first place winners in the four separate dance categories as well earning the Gold Medal in the Multi Dance Pro/Am event. Alexander’s comment when asked about his interest in ballroom dancing was, “I’m happy when I’m dancing!”

He enjoys history, camping, shooting, bicycling and attending the UCG teen camps. Alex has also served as an assistant counselor at Ironwood and Seven Mountains pre-teen camps. He is looking forward to attending Pinecrest and Camp Northwest this summer.