PHOENIX -- Laurie Kauffman knows a thing or two about social dancing.
She's been teaching it since she was 16.
One of her most famous protégées is her daughter, Lacey Schwimmer, a professional dancer on ABC's hit show "Dancing With The Stars."
"It's neat to see that America gets to see her and all of the hard work she's put into her dancing," said Kauffman.
Kaufmann is now helping to secure the future of social dancing, through her new studio
Planet Dance, in north Phoenix.
"We're going to lose a generation of dancers if we don't start showing them cha-cha, swing and all of the dances that our parents and grandparents did," she said.
One young dancer, embracing social dancing at Kauffman's studio, is 16-year-old Alexandra Grunwald.
"You can express yourself in so many ways while you're dancing," said Grunwald. "It's a lot of fun."
Even former football players are getting in on the action -- hitting the dance floor instead of the field.
"Football is only two more years," said 16-year-old Reese Hinton. "I'm trying to think long term, along the lines of something I can do in the future, and, not once high school ends."
Training for competitive dance is grueling, with students putting in many hours, several days a week.
And, Kaufmann is right there with them -- in their passion for dance.
"When they win, I win," she said. "When they suffer, I suffer."
But, she says the most important thing is to have fun.
"If you can't laugh, even while you're competing, then there's something wrong," said Kaufmann. "You've got to have a good time with it too."
Meantime, this proud mom is having a great time traveling to Los Angeles every week, to watch her daughter compete with partner Mark Decascos on "Dancing With The Stars."
"She's going to win this season!" she predicts. "Go Mark and Lacey!"
To learn how to vote for Lacey and Mark click
here.
