Our Founder - Allen G. Darnel

One does not become a Beginners Only dance specialist by chance, it takes over 50 years of experience.

Author & Instructor Allen Darnel's Biography

Allen Darnel began his dancing career in 1956 at the Tucson, Arizona Arthur Murray Studio. After completing both dance and management training, he relocated to California where he worked for the Veloz and Yolanda, Fred Astaire and Arthur Murray dance studios and the Golden Door Beauty Resort. While with these four world famed organizations, he taught many famous people before opening his own studio in Bakersfield, California.

In 1970, Darnel moved to Houston, Texas (his present home) where he became owner of Dance City USA, the largest dance studio in the world at the time. During his career he has written three books about Ballroom dancing, sponsored the first United States Ballroom Champions (USBC), formed the Ballroom Dance Arts Foundation (whose main objective is to fund dance teams) and presides over the Luis Arnold Dance Awards Society (which annually recognizes outstanding figures in the Ballroom community).

Mr. Darnel presently owns and operates his Beginners Only Social Ballroom Latin Dance Studio in Houston, Texas as well as a Publicity Consulting Firm. In addition, he was the Promotional Director for the Annual Feather Awards (the Academy Awards of the Ballroom Dance world) held each June at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

He has danced with the Stars, but still delights in emerging butterflies.

by Ruth Sims

The first sentence of the "Ballroom World" dance book, authored by Allen Darnel, is "I acknowledge all of the tireless, dedicated dance teachers of the world, past and present." A selfless statement from a man who doesn't use the pronoun "I" anywhere else in his book.

Many times over the years I've heard Allen's name mentioned in conversation, usually regarding words of encouragement given to a relatively new student. A few weeks ago he phoned me by mistake; he needed to talk with David Barr. We had a long, very interesting conversation-interesting enough for me to want to buy his book, meet him, and tell his story.

I arrived at his studio and Allen was on the phone, so I explored his reception area, which is a mini-museum of Ballroom dance. There are walls of pictures of famous people like Kay Starr, Donald O'Connor, Cyd Charisse, and Tony Martin. Some are autographed and dated, others are photos taken with Allen and some are collectors' items like the one of Fred Astaire teaching a couple in a dance class in 1947. I recognized some recent stars, and was surprised to see some of my friends' images on the wall.

When we finally started talking, Allen skipped the first twenty-nine years of this life. He was an air traffic controller on an eight week vacation in Tucson, Arizona when he noticed an ad in the paper for a free training course at an Arthur Murray studio. Allen schemed to get a free six-week's dance course while on vacation, then go back to his job. It backfired on him; he got hooked on dance and never looked back to his career as an air traffic controller.

Being a product of Kansas, Allen couldn't bring himself to tell his conservative parents that he was a dance teacher until two years later when he received national recognition as Dance Director of the Golden Door Resort in Escondido, CA.

When asked to tell me about the four most exciting events of his career, his experience at the Golden Door was first. He taught dance classes to movie stars, socialites and celebrities. Some of his favorites were Delores Hope, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Bob Cummings and his wife, and Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World. On Tuesday, as many as 25 stars showed up in their "pinkie tights" but for Saturday night dances they were dressed to the hilt! Allen really enjoyed the bright personalities and they all treated him with respect.

In 1971, he proudly carried the Texas flag to the first U.S. Ballroom Championships at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, joining representatives from 32 other states. He also had the honor of addressing the Blackpool, England Competition, (the Mecca of International Ballroom) on behalf of Dance City USA. Another highlight was serving as a Dance Host on the S.S. Rotterdam Cruise Ship. Around the world in 90 days! "We stopped in 25 countries. I wore a tuxedo every night and ordered wine for seven ladies at my dinner table. It was truly a finishing school for me. Once, Terry Leone told me, 'A teacher doesn't just teach dance steps--he's got to have some class'."

There are too many career highlights for Allen to stop at four--he included a memorable time as a guest at the home of Rita Hayworth, one of Stardom's most beautiful women. Another wonderful experience was owning Dance City USA here in Houston, which was managed by Tony Carinas and had a staff of around 100 teachers and 1000 students.

These memories are great for Allen but his first love is teaching beginners to dance. "It is like watching as a caterpillar comes out of its cocoon, emerging as a lilting butterfly."

When asked why he acknowledged dance teachers in his book, Allen answered, "the dance teacher is a vital part of a community and our society doesn't give them the respect and credit they deserve. They are vehicles for self-expression but are sometimes so big-hearted they can't hold on to a dime. They shouldn't have to live from paycheck to paycheck.

Allen's dreams for the future? He wants to organize some sort of Association for Dance Instructors in order to provide more stability and security in their lives. He also wants to create a Ballroom Dance Museum with a large ballroom setting.
Allen was National Promotional Director for the annual Feather Awards held in Beverly Hills and he owns a Publicity and Business Consulting firm for dance professionals. He also teaches beginners how to dance and I'm going to a few lessons real soon!