Three weeks ago I attended a Sunday group lesson and party afterwards at The Ballroom Dance Company in
Tigard Oregon. It was a lot of fun until an angry male named "Paris Guffey" decided to get reckless and aggressive
towards me and my dance partner, cutting into us at sharp angles, coming out of nowhere. I had to literally pull my partner out of the way to keep her from being ran over by Paris Guffey not once but several times. I tried to be a good sport about it and not say anything thinking that Paris Guffey must be new here of something.
Then two weeks later I came back to attend another Sunday group lesson and party. Once again there was
Paris Guffey crashing over my partner and I, and once again I'm pulling her out of his way to keep from being ran over by Paris Guffey, only this time I come to find out that Paris Guffey isn't new here he's the instructor! Again I tried to "look the other way" and not say anything, but Monday morning after I had had time to think about the reckless aggressive behaviour of Paris Guffey I decided it would a good idea for the sake of everyone to call the Ballroom Dance Company and let the manager know how Paris Guffey was behaving towards guests and amateur dancers. That turned out to be
big mistake, here's what happened:
On Monday I called The Ballroom Dance Company and asked to speak to the manager, Nicole Sitts answered the
phone and tells me that there is no manager present and then asks me to to leave a message for Sunnie Page. When I told Nicole Sitts what had happened, the first words out of her mouth were "one of you two won't be allowed back at The Ballroom Dance Company again!" I remember thinking why would Nicole Sitts make this decision if she's not the manager? Then Nicole Sitts told me that there's no way that something can be done about this issue with Paris Guffey before the next group lesson and party on the following Sunday, so I told Nicole Sitts in that case that I would tell Paris Guffey myself to curb his reckless aggressive dance style. I also told Nicole Sitts that I did not feel comfortable doing that nor did I feel like it was my job to correct Paris Guffey's behaviour.
I waited for three days and hearnothing from The Ballroom Dance Company managers or owners. On Thursday I called to see if my complaint had been addressed, Lisa answered the phone and told me that so far nothing had been done, I
then told Lisa that if something didn't get done about Paris Guffey by Sunday that I would complain on Yelp.com as well as other online venues.
Then on Friday I received a blistering email loaded with legal threats, legal code and state jurisdiction information along with information that when skilled dancers are on the floor at The Ballroom Dance Company that social dancers should
not be there too! This goes against everything I have been told and instructed on for 16 years at various ballroom dance studios, the rules and dance etiquette are clear that instructors, pros, and competition dancers are to show courtesy and yield to amateurs, elderly and children who may be sharing the dance floor. Nicole Sitts goes on to inform me that
Paris Guffey is a "highly skilled dancer". That really made me feel sick actually, because Paris Guffey has two huge problems with his dancing:
1. Too much pro-am and instruction from a female have made his dancing very "feminine" in other words Paris Guffey now dances like a girl, and I'm not saying this mean spirited either, it's true.
2. Paris Guffey's floor craft which is a term he has never heard of before equates to a dancing circus animal, or zero. This bozo has no floor craft. Despite the fact that the owner of The Ballroom Dance Company, Sunnie Page is actually a total class act herself and that the facility itself is the biggest and best in the state of Oregon, I give The Ballroom Dance Company a 1 star rating and if I could give them a 0 star rating I would do that instead. The management team and rules regarding instructor conduct need overhauling at this studio, period.
I appreciate The Ballroom Dance Company's respect for this complaint and I wish Nicole "Ditz" and Paris "Run-Away-Truck" Guffey the best in finding new students to run over on the dance floor, insult and threaten with legal jargons ORS 133.225 / ORS 161.255.
PS: Nothing short a written letter of apology plus a full refund for the last two episodes I endured at The Ballroom Dance Company will change my thinking for this rude display and flagrant disregard for others. Regardless, I would never go to this studio again if you paid me to.
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