— from an interview from a recent issue of Dance Notes.
 

That must be exciting to look at Lindsey and see the future of dance.

Dan: It's extremely exciting. I look at this kid who is such a great dancer already and has so much ability and potential. She's not even tapped her resources yet. I'm very proud. It's really funny to come off the floor and have your kid say, "Your lines could have been better here… your emotion was a little bit weak." Or at times she'll say we look great. She's totally honest.

What has been your biggest thrill together?

Nicole: Making the final the first time at U.S.B.C. in 1996 after only seven months of dancing together. We were fourth. We beat a couple for the first time that had been beating us all year.

Dan: We were really thrilled.

You went through a time when new partnerships were forming and they jumped above you in the rankings. How do you deal with that?

Dan: With an array of emotions.

Nicole: My most exciting moment was at U.S.B.C. but my worst moment was also there two years later. A couple beat us in every dance, and two weeks earlier we had placed above them in every dance. I was numb on the stage when the results were announced. It was the worst moment in my dance career. Everything was moving in slow motion when they called our name. It was horrible.

Dan: My worst was this past year, 1999. It was probably the moment when I was the most pissed off!

Nicole: It was something that made us stronger. You have to go through those bad moments to overcome and really find yourself. I asked myself, "Why am I competing? Why am I dancing?" That was a turning point in my life. It made me grow as a person and helped me to believe in myself. It has been a two-year process but in the last eight months I feel wonderful.

Dan: I think I can speak for both Nicole and myself when I say that experiences like that make you search out new things. A lot of thoughts, feelings, and emotions go through you. You have to make some determinations about what's going on in your life, and ask yourself why. Even though those were awful moments for us both in 1998 and 1999, they were turning points in our dancing. We started to look at things in different ways. We knew we needed to make some changes but we had to decide what the changes would be. For myself most of the changes were in my attitude. It made me go to a whole different plane spiritually. We had some help from a good friend who was absolutely incredible with the psychological part of competing.

Nicole: This particular coach and friend helped us to understand who we are as dancers and how to improve ourselves.