Born in Tarzana, CA, Megan Aveni spent a majority of her childhood in the various suburbs of Los Angeles. For a few years, she lived in Maryland, but really missed the warm weather and blue skies of California, so she was thankful to move back. A (quirky) intellectual who loves to challenge her brain,  Megan is considering going back to school for a Ph.D in Political Theory and hopes for a future filled with travel and dance.

Megan feels lucky to have grown up in LA because of the impact living in such an artistic city had on her dance life. Since dance is so prevalent all over LA, she was able to accelerate her learning quickly and integrate herself into the community in a way that wouldn’t necessarily be possible in many other places in the world. She recalls “When I first got hooked on Lindy Hop, I could find a place that offered a Lindy lesson and social dance every night of the week. For the first two years of dancing, I was out 4 or 5 times a week, all for very cheap.”
Megan began dancing at the age of 20 at her best friend’s college swing club. She has been dancing for 6 years now, and teaching dance sporadically for about 3 years.
Megan loves dancing to New Orleans Jazz and swing with a bluesy, soul feel. Her favorite style of dance is Lindy Hop, and so far hasn’t come across any dance she doesn’t like. When asked if there’s a dance she might like to try that she hasn’t yet, she replied, “I always thought Flamenco would be a really cool dance to know…very dramatic!”
One of her long term goals is to be an incredible follow. Megan added, “I don’t care what dance I’m doing or even if I know the steps. But if a song comes on and someone else knows how to dance to it, I would love to be able to follow it and share in that moment without any previous experience in that dance.”

 

While Megan doesn’t have a favorite dancer specifically, she does find herself drawn to dancers who seem to really enjoy themselves. The joy on their faces inspires her. This inspiration and passion for dance is what ultimately lead Megan to work at ATOMIC.

She started dancing at Atomic 5 years ago, carpooling with a group of friends from her local swing dance club. They enjoyed the warm atmosphere (along with regular cake) on every visit so much that she had a realization that the only thing better than attending ATOMIC for social dancing would be to work at ATOMIC and spend even more time on the premises. She wasn’t very happy with her job at the time, (which was) working at an after school program with kids. So resolved that it couldn’t get any better than to work at a place where she could dance the moment her shift was over, all while getting watching the love of dance blossom in others.
Megan recalls being asked to work an ATOMIC event for Dapper Day at Disneyland, and how there was no turning back after that. She recalls those special first moments working at ATOMIC, along with her boyfriend also getting a job at the ballroom as being one of the most special and happier moments of her life. Megan went on to gush about her love of (working amongst) the family atmosphere at ATOMIC and how she feels such support from coworkers, bosses and patrons that allow her to always be herself.
Megan says that she’s not sure what she would have done if she hadn’t starting working at ATOMIC. With it becoming such a huge part of her life and bringing her such joy and feeling of fulfillment, she and other staff members are excited to share their elation with veteran and new perspective patrons. With the new year now upon us and New Year’s Resolutions at the top of many lists, there’s no better time than the present to give dance a try at the friendliest ballroom in town, and experience just how much it can add to one’s life, just as it has for Megan and countless others!
FUN FACTS:
Megan was homeschooled all the way up through middle school.
A guilty pleasure?
Megan loves to sleep. She’s taken entire weekends just to sleep and do nothing else. And though she’s generally not a cranky person, you will never see her more grumpy than when her sleep is interrupted.What are your other hobbies/interests? 
“I love to read and to travel. Thankfully, these two things often go hand-in-hand; Tea parties, whether I’m throwing them or attending them, will also always be a particular passion of mine.”

What superpower do you wish you could have? “Teleportation. I could get so much more done any given day, and I really could travel the world; though to be fair, all that extra time would probably just go to getting more sleep.”