As Hilton Head Ballroom Dance Studio celebrates its twentieth anniversary this month, its owners honor their longtime partnership, their shared passion for teaching, and the family they have created with their dancers.
Armando Aseneta and Sandro Virag at the Hilton Head Ballroom Dance Studio at Seaquins in Bluffton
From the beginning, in a tiny studio on Cardinal Road, to now, housed in a spectacular 17,000-square-foot ballroom designed for dancing, co-owners Sandro Virag and Armando Aseneta have poured their hearts into providing a space for creativity, community and camaraderie.
The business partners met in Durham, N.C. in 2001 when then-20-year-old Virag and his dance partner, Vicky, arrived from Hungary—with $200 and two suitcases. Virag was a national dance champion from a young age, and dance was all he knew.
Aseneta, who grew up in the Philippines and in Kansas, had been teaching dance at a national franchise studio in Durham for seven years when the new instructors arrived.
A year later, Vicky had moved on, and Aseneta and Virag began to talk about opening their own studio within the franchise. They were considering an area on the coast, maybe in South Carolina.
A franchise owner in the Charleston area showed them around Mount Pleasant, then mentioned Hilton Head Island, and even drove them to take a look and “see what’s there.” Virag and Aseneta came back to the island a few weeks later, booked into what was then the Holiday Inn Oceanfront, and had a miserable weekend.
“It was a horrible night,” Aseneta said. “It was raining, and it was dark; I think it was in November, so it was cold. I said I didn’t like this place—there’s nothing here.”
“We saw the beach and that was exciting, but there was nothing else,” Virag said. “We didn’t even know where Walmart was; we saw the sign, but we couldn’t find it behind the trees.”
Despite their disappointing introduction to the island, they followed up the next day with real estate agents.
They found a 2,000-square-foot space on Cardinal Road and decided to take it. Their new landlord was kind and didn’t charge rent for the first three months, while Aseneta and Virag worked on the empty shell of a space.
“Armando and I actually did everything by ourselves—the floor, the framing, the sheetrock,” Virag said.
At the same time, the two were still teaching in Durham, a six-hour drive away.
“On the weekends we are here, fixing the studio,” Aseneta said. “Then, Sunday nights, we’d drive back there so we can work Monday through Thursday.”
The two kept up the frantic pace for months until finally, the interior work was finished, permits and licenses were in place, and it was time to open. It was Aug. 1, 2003.
While many supportive clients from Durham drove to Hilton Head to celebrate the grand opening, island residents showed up as well. One particular lady made a memorable impression.
“Our first client was Gladys Fleisch. We were excited to have our first customer,” Virag said. “We offered three half-hour lessons for $15. So, this lady walks in, and she was a big fan of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. And she was dressed to the top. We had her first half-hour lesson, and she’s in love, we’re in love with her, and she goes home—and she forgets to pay! We forgot to charge her!”
Gladys called later to apologize and soon came back to pay. “We still have that first dollar,” Aseneta said.
Since those first days, the studio has grown slowly but steadily and built a family of ballroom dancers, some of whom signed up that first year. One of those early clients is Peggy Gratta, who also moved to Hilton Head that year from Durham, where she had been a student of Aseneta starting in 1999. A couple of years later, when her daughter was moving away from home, Gratta began to feel a bit of wanderlust.
“I wanted to move, and I had three things on my list so I could live my regular life: an airport, a dance studio, and a beach,” Gratta said. When she couldn’t find a good beach in North Carolina, she turned her attention southward.
“I went to Myrtle Beach, then Folly Beach, and finally Hilton Head,” she said. “After a few days, I felt a strong connection—like ‘These are my people!’ And I knew Sandro and Armando were here, so it worked out perfectly!”
Marie Hartis is another longtime dancer who was among the first to check out the new studio. When it first opened, she was a bit skeptical.
“Here were these two young guys with spiky hair, wanting us to sign up for a series of classes,” Hartis said, “and my first thought was, ‘they might not be here that long!’”
The early clients enjoyed not only their lessons but also the camaraderie they found at the studio and spread the word. Gradually, more and more people came to dance.
Gradually, Virag and Aseneta began adding levels of difficulty to their clients’ lessons. “We started pushing them, and they put more time and effort into their lessons,” Aseneta said. Some trained for competitions and many have continued to compete—and win.
Soon, the students and their instructors began holding what would become an annual showcase, to share their passion and talent for dance with friends and family.
In addition to growing numbers of paid clientele, Aseneta and Virag became involved with various nonprofits, adapting their dance lessons to suit the abilities of the participants, and never charging a fee.
“We fell in love with Programs for Exceptional People,” Virag said. “They came to one little dance class, and that’s still going after 18 years.”
The two also worked with Pockets Full of Sunshine and members of the Boys & Girls Club. They have worked with people with Parkinson’s Disease and people in wheelchairs.
Currently, Aseneta is working with residents at Preston Health Center and teaching at TidePointe Retirement Community. He also has been teaching in Sun City for 19 years, starting soon after the studio opened.
The instructors also work with Main Stage Community Theatre, providing space for their auditions, rehearsals and board meetings, as well as teaching at their summer camps.
“Armando is really big on giving back,” Virag said, so they began donating dance lessons for various nonprofits to auction at their fundraisers.
“We never know what’s going to come out of it, and we don’t expect anything. But many times, big things came out of it, and that’s why we are here in this ballroom,” Virag said.
Paul and Sondra Ammeen, who purchased one of the donated lesson packages at auction, became very involved with dancing and loved it. Virag and Aseneta eventually trained them to compete as an amateur couple.
A few years later, the Ammeens decided to build a new rental venue in Bluffton and wanted to partner with Virag and Aseneta as their tenants. “They decided they were just going to build this nice building and, together, we’re going to open up a bigger dance studio,” Virag said.
In 2010, as the new building was coming along, and Aseneta and Virag were teaching and preparing some high-profile locals for the community’s first Dancing With the Local Stars fundraiser to benefit the nonprofit Strive to Excel. It was held Oct. 10. (Aseneta remembers it as 10.10.10.)
Through rehearsals, the instructors met such local leaders as Lisa Sulka, mayor of Bluffton; Molly Hornbeak, director of the Boys & Girls Club of Bluffton; Robin Swift, who was then with Coastal Discovery Museum; and Cinda Seamon, fire and life safety educator for Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue. Seamon now helps the studio with marketing and public relations.
“Cinda has been our best friend and client since 10.10.10. because that brought her through the door,” Virag said. “I don’t know if she ever would have danced here or done anything with us except for that.”
Also in 2010, the lease was up on the Cardinal Road studio. At the same time, the business partners decided not to renew their franchise contract.
“We realized people were coming here to dance with us; it was always Sandro and Armando, Armando and Sandro,” Virag said. They became independent and changed the name of the business to Hilton Head Ballroom Dance Studio.
The new building was under construction, but behind schedule. “We didn’t have a place to teach,” Aseneta said. “But guess who gave us a place? Molly from Boys & Girls Club, whom we met through Dancing with the Stars. She said, ‘You guys come here and teach in the gym.’ So we did.”
Finally, on Dec. 14, 2010, a grand opening was held as the studio re-opened, inside the new Seaquins Ballroom. The elegant studio, with a spectacular crystal chandelier in the main ballroom, offers plenty of space for individual and group lessons, as well as large group social dances and an occasional mini-showcase or revue. Numerous longtime clients remain involved with lessons and competitions, and most have become good friends with the owners.
Toni Wald started taking lessons in 2005. “For me, it was a bucket list item. I took private lessons, attended open dance night and group classes, which led to competition, showcases and trophy ball participation,” she said. “I feel lucky and privileged to have these two young men in my life. They are special, caring, giving, encouragers, charismatic and, above all, genuine. I am grateful for their friendship for the past 18 years.”
Rebecca Goodrich is another current dancer who started out in the Cardinal Road studio. She had just moved to the island from Kentucky and wanted to continue taking ballroom lessons, so she signed up after seeing a sign advertising the studio.
“It has been inspiring and also an opportunity to express myself and my love for dance,” Goodrich said. “I have been able to expand my knowledge of ballroom dancing; I am learning Broadway and show-type dancing and experiencing lots of fun and laughter. I have the camaraderie of people who love dance. I always find my ‘happy place’ at my dance lessons.”
Hartis said she still feels better every time she goes in, which is pretty much every week when she’s in town. “When you go in there, and you’re talking to them, you are their sole focus. They make you feel so special,” she said. “And they make you feel like you’re the best dancer—better than Ginger Rogers! So, you get hooked because it feels so good—like you could dance on air. And I’m still there, because even now, 20 years later, I still feel that way.”
When the two friends pitched their studio idea back in 2003, they didn’t have a long-range plan. They simply thought perhaps someday they could make a living on this path they had chosen—to follow their passions for teaching dance. Little did they know how beautifully that vision would evolve.
“It has worked out for so many years because we are so different. Armando and I are like fire and water—complete opposites,” Virag said. “I’m social and I’m loud, and he is calm. I so need him to always pull me back in place and calm me down when I’m panicking.”
“Dancing changes lives here,” Virag said. “I never get more excited than to see how people bond and make friendships and lifetime friendships. Some of these ladies never would have known each other if not for the dance studio.”
The Twentieth Anniversary Gala and Trophy Ball will be held Oct. 13 from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets, if any remain available, are $20 each and can be purchased at hiltonheadballroom.com. In addition to student and showcase dances, attendees are invited to participate in social dances with the Equinox Band. Attire for the event is formal.
Seaquins Ballroom is located at 1300 Fording Island Road in Bluffton. For more information, visit hiltonheadballroom.com, call (843) 837-6161, email HiltonHeadBallroom@gmail.com, or find them on Facebook.
