New Astaire studio on its feet in Delray

Facility is dream come true for pair of ballroom pros.

Have dreams of dancing with the stars? A new dance studio in Delray Beach can help you with that.

The Fred Astaire Delray Beach Studios opened its doors to the public Thursday. Located on Federal Highway in the 247 Plaza, the Fred Astaire Studios is owned by two ballroom-dance professionals, Clifton Sepulveda and Mar Martinez.

“Words are not enough f o r wha t j u s t h a pp e n e d tonight, we’re so blessed and so happy and this has always been our dream is to have our own studio and we’re so happy that it finally came true,” Martinez said.

Sepulveda and Martinez have performed, competed and instructed throughout the U.S. and internationally. They met at Fred Astaire West Palm Beach and teamed up to compete, including placing fourth in the 2014 United States Dance Championships. In 2015, the pair competed in the Blackpool Dance Festival in England.

“I think it’s a tremendous asset to our downtown, I don’t believe we’ve had a dance studio in quite some time so the level of talent and expertise that they bring to the downtown Delray Beach are is absolutely phenomenal, said Alexandra Farnsworth of the Delray Chamber of Commerce. “They’ve already come on board to participate in several of our downtown eve nt s . They danced at Delray Beach Fashion Week and we only anticipate that their community partnership will strengthen over time, and we’re so lucky to have them downtown.”

At the studio, private and group lessons in fox trot, waltz, tango, cha-cha, salsa and merengue are offered.

Chamber President Karen Granger said she had no e x p e r i e n c e i n b a l l r o o m dance until she met Sepulveda and Martinez. She had the opportunity to be their student and now wants to continue with dancing.

“I didn’t know anything about dancing so when an opportunity came up I took it and it was a wonderful experience,” she said. “I learned a lot about dancing, life and myself just in four weeks.”