Schenectady Native Alissa Quinn Dances for Joy, Wins International Awards

by Abby Lorch of The Daily Gazette, 27 July 2024

Schenectady—At age 61, Alissa Quinn is a Capital Region business leader, seasoned traveler and internationally decorated dancer. But before any of that she was a kid, watching in awe as her parents danced together around the living room.

“My parents were very fond of hosting a party for just about any family celebration, and the highlight of the evening was always when they would roll up the carpets and dance. My parents would typically have a solo and we would all be cheering them on, “Quinn said. “They adored dancing with each other. I have videos of them in the living room, where we lived on Wendell Avenue in Schenectady. Those were my earliest memories.”

When she was a young girl, Quinn would go folk dancing with her parents on Friday nights at the YWCA of Northeastern New York. She described those memories fondly, saying the outings sparked a lifelong “love affair with dance.” Still, Quinn wouldn’t receive traditional dance training until adulthood, after she watched her 75-year-old mother perform a quickstep in a sparkling purple ball gown and fell in love with the art form all over again.

At 40, Quinn decided she wanted to dance like her parents. She learned the basics from her mother’s dance instructor before signing up with Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Latham, where she has danced for 19 years. Quinn has also danced with Dance Fire Studio of Niskayuna for the past eight years.

Quinn said dance allows her to feel close to her parents, who are both now deceased. Dance has also broadened her social and professional circles, bolstering her career as senior vice president of wealth management at a local financial-planning firm.

“Dance is my lifeline and that it provides for incredible high-quality exercise, physical stamina, psychological focus, and emotional and social connection, too,” Quinn said. “I find it incredibly enriching in my personal life and professionally as well. It’s just a wonderful connection to friends and family that has enriched my life in so many ways.”

Quinn’s main goal as a dancer is to honor her parents’ legacy, so she does not often compete. But when Dance Fire Studios invited her to attend the Romanian Grand Gala, an international dance competition in Bucharest, Romania, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity—in part because her parents also gave her their love of European travel.

Quinn said her childhood home was vibrant and culturally diverse. Her father, Frank Calabria, was a professor of psychology at Union College and a ballroom dance instructor. Her mother, Angela Calabria, was born in Ecuador and became a dedicated artist and expert in Argentine tango. Both of Quinn’s parents worked to expose her and her three siblings to the cultures of the world through food, music and education. Quinn traveled to Europe for the first time when she was 8 to visit cousins in Madrid and Valencia, Spain. From that point on, Quinn said, she was “smitten” with the continent.

She had never been to Romania before Florin Vlad, her Dance Fire Studios instructor, suggested the excursion to his home country. Quinn said she and the Dance Fire team covered nearly all of Romania with a private tour bus. They saw castles (including Dracula’s), museums, traditional restaurants, folk dances and historic churches. They also experienced an “exquisite” steam engine ride across the countryside. In Vlad’s hometown they explored salt caves 364 feet underground and participated in Latin Lakeside dances with Vlad’s former studio.

“He created an extraordinary trip of incredible, historically rich experiences across his home country, and he could not have been more proud to share it with all of us,” Quinn said. “Romania isn’t necessarily on a top list of European travel, but because of Florin’s expertise in putting together the gemstones of this entire country we saw a country of beauty and warmth, and incredible natural scenery.”

For the competition portion of the trip, Quinn danced at the open gold level of international standard dance, which comprises five dances: waltz, tango, foxtrot, Viennese waltz and quickstep. The Romanian Grand Gala was held June 29 at the JW Marriott Bucharest Grand Hotel. Winning the competition was not her main priority on the trip, so Quinn didn’t have prepared competition routines except for her showcase dance. Still, Quinn’s passion for dance carried her further than she expected in the contest. She walked away with several first-place awards for her performance.

“After years of lessons I was prepared to follow my instructor with whatever he led in each of the five standard dances. That allowed me to focus on my love and joy of dance, and hope and pray for a good, positive outcome,” Quinn said. “I will say that the planets happened to align in this particular competition. Miraculously, in my age group, I happened to come in number one in all five of my individual dances. I was also number one in my scholarship dances, and I was thrilled to have first places across the board.”

Wherever and whenever she dances, Quinn is sure her parents are with her. Her mother died at 94; Quinn danced with her until three weeks before her passing. Quinn’s daughter also inherited the family’s talents, as she began dancing at age 10 and continued through her college years. She even competed on Harvard University’s ballroom dance team and completed her own term abroad in Rome.

While Quinn is passionate about exploring Europe, she’s also a “lifelong enthusiast of the Capital Region.” After all, many of her passions originated here. She graduated from Mont Pleasant High School, not Schenectady High, whose technical program gave Quinn vital early exposure to STEM as a young woman. She then studied mechanical engineering at Union College, during which her father encouraged her to study abroad. She ended up visiting France, England, and Italy before finally spending a term in Seville, Spain.

Quinn said dance is a major part of her leisure time but she also focuses on health and fitness to keep herself in shape for high-level dance. For example, she walks and practices yoga daily. She also enjoys interior design and flower arranging, having learned about the latter from a fellow dancer who works as a florist.

But dance is still Quinn’s primary personal pursuit and she shows no signs of slowing down soon. Her parents never did. In the fall she will be involved in a showcase with fellow student dancers from throughout the Capital Region, promoting ballroom dance in the community on behalf of USA Dance. This showcase will be held Sept. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Crossgates Mall.

Quinn misses her parents, who danced together for 54 years after meeting at a ballroom class in Brooklyn. She honors their memory the best way she knows how—by dancing, traveling and sharing the activities she loves with the people she loves.

“For me it’s never been about competitive dance. It has always been about honoring their legacy in dancing for joy,” Quinn said. “And I know and feel that my parents have been dancing with me every step of the way.”