Your Instructor, Marlene Cordes
Marlene is the owner of Dance Easy. She has been teaching for over 20 years and has received recognition for her outstanding ability in working with beginners.
With Marlene, you can learn any of the ballroom dances or just "survival dancing" for a crash course before a wedding.
There are no contracts or sales pitches. Just good teaching with lots of patience.
Students have often remarked as how comfortable Marlene made them feel during their instruction. Many women have concerns for their reluctant male partners who in many cases want nothing to do with dance lessons. Marlene invariably leaves both partners with a feeling of fun and progress.
In recent years, Marlene has expanded her teaching to include her love for animals. She has developed an Equne Assisted Learning (EAL) program at her 54 acre farm near Blue Mounds. This is "Dancing with Horses" if you will. While students need have no experience with horses, their mostly on the ground connection with horses as partners in learning allows them to gain personal insights, grow, heal and prosper. She works with individuals, couples, families, small businesses and larger corporations. Business applications include improved communication, team building, leadership development and increased sales and productivity.
The non-profit compliment that is in the works is the I am Magic Foundation. For youth and groups of people who may not be able to afford EAL services, the Magic Foundation is "Horses helping people discover their . . . magic."
EAL is becoming better known as an effective way to assist people overcome depression and suicide, self esteem issues, victimization and troubling and abusive behavior. Youth groups such as 4-H, FFA, Brownies, Girl Scouts and Boys Scouts can benefit from what horses can teach them about communication, leadership, relationships and self empowerment.
If you see an occasional dog at the studio, that's because Marlene is also a foster home for Madison Mutts, an all breed dog rescue based in Madison, WI (www.madisonmutts.org). Some of her adopted dogs come back for pet sitting. Marlene started fostering in 2009 and fostered over 2 dozen dogs that year including a Chocolate Lab named Disney who had 12 puppies. As a fundraiser for the I am Magic Foundation and Madison Mutts, Black Forest Farm LLC will host a MOMs Fest (Magic of Moms) on Saturday, May 8, 2010. It will be a reunion of Disney, her 12 puppies and their families as well as a major event for other animal rescues and business who offer products and services promoting the human/animal connection.