By Kai Oliver-Kurtin

Twice a year, Mary Murphy’s Champion Ballroom Academy in Hillcrest holds dance performances to showcase the talent of its students and instructors. To celebrate the studio’s 25th anniversary, Murphy hosted what she called one of the best shows she’s ever had at Champion Ballroom on May 16.

At this sold-out event, dancers of all ages from children to senior citizens performed in every genre of ballroom dance. Students took center stage during the first act, some partnered with their instructors, before the professional dancers stole the floor.

Owner Mary Murphy, a former competitive ballroom dancer, is best known for her role as a judge and choreographer on the Fox TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.” Murphy emceed the event, telling the crowd: “Year after year I’ve had to listen to people say, ‘Oh, she’s closing down; the studio is going under,’ and now here we are 25 years later.”

“After 25 years, the level of the growth in the business and the quality of dancing has just been tremendous,” Murphy said.

Murphy, a Carlsbad resident, holds annual Halloween and anniversary bashes at the studio. She also runs two national dance competitions, the Holiday Dance Classic in Las Vegas and the Hollywood DanceSport championships in Los Angeles.

“So outside of everything else I do in the studio, these two events are really all I have time for,” Murphy said. “I try to do two, and do them well.”

The Champion Ballroom is in Hillcrest (3580 Fifth Ave., second floor), where Murphy found it filled with office spaces in 1990. After examining the building plans, she had the offices ripped down and a state-of-the-art maple dance floor put in their place. She bought the building in 2008 but didn’t own the land until later.

“I felt like if we build it, [the studio] they will come,” Murphy said. “I built the biggest standing floor in Southern California with no poles in it, and I researched and I built the best dance floor.”

“Professional dancers, when they come here, they’re actually spoiled,” she said.

The Season 10 male winner of “So You Think You Can Dance,” Du-Shaunt “Fik-Shun” Stegall, was a special guest performer during the 24th and 25th anniversary showcases at Champion Ballroom.

“The energy and the people here are so welcoming,” Stegall said. “Since the show, it’s cool to be here and still interact with Mary —she’s an awesome person and really brings the entertainment.”

Even with Murphy’s demanding schedule, she spends a lot of time at the studio and still offers private lessons for select clients. The instructors she has hired at the studio are professional dancers with impressive competitive dance titles.

Private and group lessons are available in international-style ballroom and Latin; American-style ballroom (smooth and rhythm); salsa and Latin styles (Argentine tango, Bachata and Merengue); social dances (West Coast Swing, hustle/disco); theatrical dance (exhibition dancing/cabaret); ballet; and wedding dances.

New clients can take advantage of a $49 introductory package that includes two private lessons and one group class. For more information, visit championballroom.com.

—Kai Oliver-Kurtin is a local freelance writer who enjoys covering events, restaurant news, culture and entertainment. Contact her at [email protected].