When Karlis Treijs migrated from Latvia to the United States in 2016, he had dreams of making it big.
And while he ended up in Silicon Valley, those aspirations weren’t about the tech world.
Treijs instead was seeking success in the field of dance, something he’s pursued since he was seven years old.
He’s now a professional ballroom dancer who’s been living in Los Gatos for several years,
Treijs hopes to open his own dance studio here one day.
But, most recently, his focus has been on the USA Dance competition happening Nov. 15 in Redwood City.
As vice president of the organization’s Northern California chapter, Treijs is looking forward to welcoming dancers from all over California and surrounding states.
Treijs’s mother introduced him to dance, but by the time he was 12 he’d opted to play soccer with the other boys.
But he found himself drawn back to dance.
“When I was 14 I became better at it, and my competitive side kicked in,” he said. “I want to practice more seriously and get better. I wanted to win and I wanted to do great.”
By the time he reached his high school graduation in Latvia, he was very math and physics oriented.
But decided to consider dance as a profession, attending university in neighboring Russia.
After just three years of study to be a ballroom dancing coach, Treijs decided to drop out and move to Los Angeles to pursue dance as a full-time career.
“I didn’t see how college was going to help in my career or in my life,” he said. “Some students went to America to work, so I decided to leave Volgograd, Russia, and go to America.”
All that Treijs knew of the US at the time came from watching movies.
Upon arrival, he realized San Francisco and Los Angeles were two cities where the reality matched his expectations.
Dance was always a way for Treijs to express himself. And he was motivated to make something of himself.
He arrived first in Los Angeles County, where he taught dance for three years in Covina.
Treijs had a student who wanted him to teach her, which led him to move to the Bay Area.
He was drawn to the “European feel” that he says he found.
Los Gatos reminds Treijs of his home country of Latvia, due to the surrounding lush mountains.
Now, Treijs works at Starlite Ballroom in San Jose and commutes out of Los Gatos.
Silicon Valley is consumed with tech culture, yet Treijs has been able to sustain himself through the arts.
“You need to work pretty hard, and of course it’s not easy,” he said. “I’m thinking of opening a studio where I would be more in charge of the teaching process. A lot of people value dancing for different reasons, like exercise, to be happy or to have a creative outlet. In a sense, it’s invaluable. A lot of people have material things, but they don’t feel that good. Dancing is a form of therapy for a lot of people.”
A need for a meditative outlet. This inspires Treijs to teach to his students the beauty of movement, through his small business. He believes in it so strongly he’s dedicated his entire life to it.
He’s been considering how to establish a studio. He knows there are different ways to go about it.
He could run a closed studio, like Fred Astaire, where the employees are working for one teacher.
Or, there is the “social dancing” focus, where people can mingle.
He could gear things towards preparing people for weddings.
USA Dance organization
USA Dance is one of the major dance organizations in the country. As its vice president for Northern California, Treijs is hoping to spur the revival that’s been fueled in part by the popularity of shows like “Dancing with the Stars,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and “Dance Monsters.”
On Nov. 15, the International Olympic Committee-recognized organization will hold an event in Redwood City at Grand Bay Hotel. They expect more than 1,000 attendees will come—from places across Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Nevada—to compete in hopes of moving on to nationals. The Northern California chapter has a board that works together to put on this event. Its chair judge will come from New Jersey. It’s officially called “California DanceSport Grand Prix Regional Championship,” and the slogan is “Where Dancers Shine & Dreams Take Flight.”
Fees are under $100 and dancers from the area are welcome to sign up online before the event.
For more information contact: us********@***il.com
