Iacono Ballroom Center - Ballroom Dancing

A Note From the Director, Paula Iacono All staff at the Iacono Ballroom Center are selected for exceptional talent, intelligence, attitude, and personality. Each staff member attends weekly training sessions in American and International Dance Styles. Training includes teaching the beginning dancer or wedding couples with no prior knowledge of dance to the advanced styles of competitive dancing for students who enjoy studying more intensely. We are confident that you will find our studio to be unique in the quality and delivery of instruction to you. We all share a passion for dance and Love what we do!

Phoxay (Poh-Sigh) Bouthsavong
Phoxay Bouthsavong is a full-time Dance Instructor with the Iacono Ballroom Center and member of the affiliated company since 2002. Phoxay is passionate about his chosen career and has always enjoyed growing as a dancer, teacher, and performer.

Phoxay was born in Laos, however, at the age of four, his family escaped the country by boat after it was taken over by the new communist regime and relocated to Buffalo, New York.

Phoxay graduated from Hutch-Tech High School in Buffalo, New York and went on to earn his Associate Degree in Architectural Drawing. After graduating from college, Phoxay worked as a Draftsman, and, although he liked technical work, he also enjoyed theatre and the arts. This led him to try his first hand becoming a ballroom dance teacher. He applied to the Iacono Ballroom Center and was accepted as a trainee. Phoxay had no prior dance experience, yet he found that he had an untapped talent. He soon came to realize that his love of dancing, teaching, and performing was something that he wanted to do as his full-time career.

Phoxay has performed on stage with the Amherst Symphony Orchestra and UB on The Green; and featured with his partner, Lihann Jones, in Buffalo News articles, television promotions for the Iacono Ballroom Center and a reality series for Fox TV, and various community events. He has attended numerous competitions with his students and continues to enjoy growing as a dancer and teacher.

Why I Dance: "Dancing for me started out as a way of making a living. I applied to a dance studio not really thinking that anything would come of it; just thinking that it would be an easy paycheck. As soon as I stepped into this world of ballroom dance I was immediately drawn to it and taken with it. It was the first time I truly felt free and inspired by what I was doing. I felt dance allowed me to express myself in ways other careers of my life never had in the past. There is a certain satisfaction that I feel when I am dancing or performing that exhilarates and makes me want to strive to be a better dancer and performer."

Lihann Jones
Lihann Jones is a full-time dance instructor who has been with the studio since 2005. She enjoys teaching, performing, choreographing, and competing, and she is thrilled to be a part of the Iacono Ballroom Center teaching and performing staff. She especially enjoys sharing her passion for dance with her students.

Lihann has spent most of her life dancing or performing in some fashion. From her parents' nightclub in Montana, to the parade routes and stages of Disneyland, to acting in television shows, to the old ballrooms of Oregon where she danced with "The Joint is Jumpin" swing troupe, Lihann has loved to learn and teach dance.

Lihann holds her Bachelor of Arts degree in English - Creative Writing from California State University of Long Beach. While working in other fields, she always managed to keep up her dancing skills by studying Lindy Hop, Disco, Jazz, Modern, and Ballroom. While living in Oregon, Lihann studied Swing and Lindy Hop with Denise Steele and the famed Frankie Manning.

In 2005 Lihann relocated to Buffalo, New York and auditioned for a teaching and performing position with the Iacono Ballroom Center. The rest is history in the making!

Lihann enjoys competing with her students and performing with her partner, Phoxay Bouthsavong. Together they have appeared in the Buffalo News, on stage with the Amherst Symphony Orchestra, UB on The Green, and various promotions for The Iacono Ballroom Center.

Why I Dance: "I dance because I can't help myself. I dance because I've been moving my body to music for as long as I can remember. All music has a pulse - whether it's a jazzy Lindy or an ethereal Waltz, and that pulse makes me move. Sometimes it's explosive, other times it's a slow melt. There's a sense of freedom when you allow yourself to be moved - by the music, a partner, or both! There's also a sense of control when you realize you can create patterns that match moods in the music. It's a wonderful feeling of connection. A connection to another, to something bigger, to yourself. I've danced in some form my entire life and I know I'll be dancing till the end."