Betty
Cunningham
Dance
Teaching Philosophy:
Exercise should be an “experience” that meets your physical, mental and spiritual needs. My goal is to teach a class where the participants forget their worries for an hour and lose themselves in the music and movements. I like to build community among women and provide an atmosphere in my classes where women can enjoy a workout together as a team. My hope is that they leave class with the desire to “keep dancing” and carry that enthusiasm into the rest of their day. I believe it makes God smile when we reach out and iGnite the joy in those around us, and I am blessed to be able to receive and give joy through the world of fitness.
Something People May Not Know About Me:
I am a CPA and manage several successful businesses as a part-time CFO.
I think I can,
I think I can
Family Life:
I grew up in Richland, Washington in a family of 8 girls and two boys and there was never a dull moment in my childhood. I learned how to share in a hurry! I would not trade the experience of growing up in a large family for anything. You see yourself from the eyes of others at an early age when you are surrounded by siblings. I am honored and blessed to be the mother of three children, Michael, Richard and Cara. They are the love of our lives.
Background in Health & Fitness:
My first encounter with the competitive dance world came in the form of baton twirling where I drug my poor mother all over the state to various twirling contests. After twirling came competitive gymnastics and cheerleading in high school. I selected a college of “higher education” based on “what college half time performance got the most TV air time” and left Washington to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a Kilgore College Rangerette. I finished college at the University of Tulsa on a cheerleading scholarship and of course married a college football player/coach, Kyle, and we have been married for 28 years. While Kyle coached football and left me “Home Alone” all too often, I began
competing in aerobics. I was selected as a Reebok/Crystal Light Regional Champion and had the opportunity to tour Europe as a representative for Crystal Light. Then, when the University of Texas was looking for a trainer and coach for the Texas Cheerleaders, I knew it was the perfect fit for me. During my tenure at Texas from 1988-1997, I was the co-founder and coach of “Texas Pom” and had the opportunity to implement many of the spirit traditions still in place at UT today. I am currently certified as an ACEPersonal Trainer and a Zumba Certified Instructor, and to stay fit I love to run on the trail, run ½ marathons, take dance classes, yoga and an occasional boot camp.
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Favorite Quote:
“One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, or how much money I had in the bank, but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in a child’s life.” (Author unknown)
I’m Most Inspired By:
Music and people. My song of the week right now: “Treasure” by Bruno Mars. I believe that life is not so much about what you do or what you accomplish, but instead it is about who you are with on the journey. Everyone has light within them. Some people’s lights shine brightly whereas there are those that you must search deep inside for the light. Our job is to iGnite the light in each other.
The Best Advice I’ve Been Given:
“Look up.” Between carpools and the crazy pace of having 10 children, my mother would pull things out of the air to make us think, especially when we were arguing over things like who had to ride in the “very back” of the station wagon. One of the things she said that has stayed with me is: “Now just think about this, what if God had decided not to share. There would be nothing. No people, no cars, no bikes, no schools, and not even the sun or the moon and the stars. Nothing.”
