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Hi, my name is Mona Puente, and I'm so glad
you're visiting my brand new website!
Not-so-dance-related stuff:
I grew up in far east Texas, in Texarkana (one
block from the Arkansas state line) and moved to the Dallas/Fort
Worth area to complete my liberal arts degree at the University of
Texas at
Arlington. I have one sister (Dana) who now lives in
Alexandria, Louisiana. I met my hubby (Vince) at
UT
Arlington and am currently living happily ever after with
him in the great Lone Star State, in the great city of Fort Worth!
Vince has a document systems company called
Southwest Office Systems (SOS). (By the way, when he and his
brother built their very cool office building, they put a dance
floor in it!) Vince and I are active in our church (Pantego Bible
Church) and in community and political events.
Our son (Vincent) has a photography business in
Arlington, Texas, called Puente Photography
www.puentephotography.com; our daughter
(Lindsay) is teaching at the University of California in
Irvine while she is writing her dissertation.
The furry members of my family are 2
wonderful kitties named Beamer and Lexi. These sweet little
balls of furr were an awesome surprise gift from my special friends
Nikki, Sally, Tom, and Theresa. The 5 of us had gone on a road
trip to a Kansas City dance event together and evidentally I must
have mentioned a dozen or twenty or fifty or so times that I was
ready to be a kitty parent again. Our precious kitty Taboo
lived to be 21 years old and I needed to wait a while before I gave
up my heart to another little furr ball. Our son Vincent has a black
lab named Dixie, and Lindsay has two kitties, Joia and Canguro.
We all love movies (I especially love old
black-and-white movies...my favorite is The Miracle of Morgan's
Creek!); the kids and I love games (and Vince will sometimes play
them to make everybody happy!).
Let's see...what are some interesting facts about
me...I didn't go to kindergarten except for taking my sister's place
at kindergarten the day she had her tonsils removed...I won a
hula-hoop contest in the second grade...I took knitting classes in
third grade...I was active in Brownies and Girl Scouts and Girls'
Auxiliary...lots of pizza and slumber parties in junior
high...during high school--lots of cruising from the A & W Root Beer
Drive-Thru' Restaurant on the Texarkana, TX, side to the A & W Root
Beer Drive-Thru' Restaurant on the Texarkana, AK, side...maybe an
interesting fact about me is that I have two fourteen-inch titanium
rods and nine hooks in my back, a result of very successful surgery
for scoliosis in 1996. Also, my home has a 1,500 sq. ft. dance
studio on the second floor, with a slide that goes from the studio
to the first floor!
Stuff I attempt in my spare time (other than
dancing): I'm writing my autobiography (something I've always
wanted to do...I don't expect anyone else to read it!), work out a
little, play the piano a little, and work on getting my photos in
albums.
I began teaching line dance in 1997...just
teaching one lady (Sharon) who had loved country/western music and
dancing with her husband, and had recently lost him to cancer. We
would meet together after she got off work, at my husband's office.
I saw how much this new activity meant to her and how it had the
potential to bring so much joy to others. I sought ways to learn
how to be the best line dance teacher I could be, and National
Teachers Association for Country Western Dance (NTA) was the
answer. I'm now accredited through NTA's first 5 levels of testing,
and I take refresher courses every chance I get.
I've choreographed several line and
patterned partner dances. My absolute BIGgest
choreography thrill was the selection of my "Someone's Waltz" as
the Patterned Partner Waltz Competition Dance for the Dutch
Championships, a United Country Western Dance Council
Championship Event!
I enjoy the challenges and
responsibilities of being Line Dance DJ and Line
Dance Coordinator for several events on the ACDA
circuit, and regularly teaching Line Dance Classes
through the Continuing Ed program of the University of Texas
at
Arlington. If you attend one of my classes, you'll
probably hear me say, "Remember...the difference between a
mistake and a variation is in the FACE, not the FEET!"
On Friday nights, I host a social dance
that's open to the public...it's called the All
Request Dance. The majority of people come to line
dance, but all styles of dance are very welcome, and we
practice Dance Floor Etiquette to make sure everyone's
happy.
The
Texas BootScooter Dance Team...
One of my very fav "dance
duties" is directing and choreographing for the
country/western dance team, the
Texas BootScooters, since 1998. We dance
regularly for community, corporate, political, and social
events. The
Texas BootScooters were chosen foreground dancers for
both Asleep at the Wheel and Jerry Jeff Walker; we performed
on the field at half-time for a Texas Christian University
football game for over 42,000 fans; and we've been featured
dancers on several television shows! The team enjoys
competing and has brought home many awards on the
competitive circuit (yea!). The
Texas BootScooters are made up of a very special
group of people. They are my dear friends and we go through
everything together. There are currently six of us on the
team. We lost our dear team member/friend, Carol (Cowgirl)
Gray, in September 2007, due to heart failure.
I hope you'll be sure and contact me
whenever you have a chance to come to the (great)
Dallas/Fort Worth area! We wholeheartedly invite
YOU to come dance with our GREAT dance
group whenever you're out this way!
Enough about me...now you'll just
have to wait for the autobiography (haha).
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