Tuesdays give dance instructor Jessica Mays a rare break from the endless loops of Ed Sheeran, Frank Sinatra and John Legend hits. She dedicates the other six days of the week to teaching 20- to 70-year-olds how to waltz to the song they choose for the most important performance of their lives \u2014 their first wedding dance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The 44-year-old founder of Windy City Wedding Dance trains and competes around the world, one gown and graceful step at a time. Her company, named one of Yelp’s 100 best U.S. businesses in 2024, is Chicago’s go-to destination for wedding dance, Latin and ballroom lessons. Pedestrians may recognize her face postered on a window of the Fine Arts Building on Michigan Avenue, a historic arts hub since 1898 and the home of her business since its launch in 2014.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mays recently expanded her work with Chicago Ballroom Studios, shifting her focus on social and competitive salsa, bachata and group classes that provide more opportunities for ballroom throughout the city. With an over 10-year business rooted in the city, The Knot put her dance lessons in its Hall of Fame.\u00a0From first-dance preparation to group classes and a recent expansion, upgrades include 12 chandeliers, fresh furniture and new paint.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In 2008, when she moved to the city from her hometown in Fort Worth, Texas, a stroll on Michigan Avenue marked a serendipitous discovery. Stumbling upon a dance studio, Mays signed up for a small package of dance lessons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n She stepped out of her comfort zone by introducing the elegant world of ballroom into her repertoire, a direction she never intended to take before her move to the city. \u201cIt wasn’t drinking or sitting at a bar. It was simply a good activity,\u201d Mays said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n When she played collegiate soccer at University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Marshall University, Mays often \u201cknocked people over\u201d and got rough on the field, she said. She brings that same \u201ccompetitive\u201d energy to the dance floor as a local and international competitor, winning first place at La Notte Delle Stella in Capri, Italy, and the Open Latin Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c(Ballroom) pushed me,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a different side of myself that (I) hadn’t been in touch with.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With her athletic drive, Mays said, \u201cThe first thing I did was sign up for a competition.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After a few years of committing to the sport and its expenses, she said ballroom \u201cgot very expensive, very fast.\u201d The intricately beaded and sequined gowns cost from $4,000 to $10,000. Mays took a six-month break and returned to her full-time corporate job at Smart Resources, a placement firm in 2010.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Over Christmas break that year, her brother encouraged her to return to dancing. Mays Google-ed Chicago dance studios and found Tommye Giacchino\u2019s Ballroom University\u2014a 16-week-long intensive training program through Chicago Dance. Within a week, she began classes. She trained under the Blackpool World Champion (a globally renowned dance competition), judge and renowned coach, and through Giacchino, Mays\u2019 ballroom business began.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Giacchino, a recently retired Windy City Wedding Dance instructor, has more than 60 years of experience. When selecting the right employee, compatibility in work ethics was crucial for the expert. \u201cWhen you’re working that closely with someone and you have them that many hours a week, you get to know someone quite well,\u201d said Giacchino, who offered Mays the opportunity to manage her studio, Chicago Dance.<\/span><\/p>\n After five semesters studying new dance styles and two years managing a top studio, Mays formed a stronger bond with Giacchino. Along with tackling Chicago Dance\u2019s marketing and management responsibilities, Mays also started a full-time job at U.S. Smokeless Tobacco. In 2013, Giacchino noticed a spot had opened in the building. \u201cJessica. This is your moment. This is the space,\u201d she said over the phone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mays leapt at the chance. She returned to the Fine Arts Building, took a hand-operated elevator ride up the floors and asked the operator to take her to the leasing office. Coincidentally, the leasing manager was sharing the ride with her, overhearing her interest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From there, Mays viewed her space and saw a future of potential. \u201cI just need a wood floor. Is there a wood floor under this carpet?\u201d she asked the manager. This marked the birth of Windy City Wedding Dance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While the average length of a wedding dance is two minutes and 30 seconds, the average couple takes about 10 lessons preparing each twist, step and count of a choreographed routine. Foxtrot, rumba, nightclub two-step and salsa are some of the most popular dance styles. Mays stresses anyone can hit the dance floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n From her updated website\u2019s reviews, one couple mentions how \u201cJessica turned our \u2018two left feet\u2019 into a spectacular wedding dance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t think I could ever really manage dancing,\u201d immigration attorney Donald B. Kempster said. Before Mays, Kempster barely set foot on the dance floor. His serendipitous start to the practice began as preparation for his kids\u2019 special day. With his practice only a block away from Mays\u2019 studio, and two children with weddings in the same year, he invested in the practice about seven years ago.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Now, he competes as one of\u00a0 Mays\u2019 partners, dancing in shows up to four times a year. When Kempster began splitting his time between Chicago and Spain, he invited Mays to visit his place abroad. Even while on vacation, Mays \u201cwas able to find a competition in the town,\u201d he said. The dance duo’s organic commitment to the practice placed them in the 2024 Barcelona Crown Cup, taking home bronze.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI thought I was gonna lose my lunch, I was so nervous,\u201d Kempster said about his first competition with Mays. He said she eases the initial worry of confidently navigating the dance floor because she is \u201cso patient.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo matter how bad you think you are, it\u2019s something you can do,\u201d Kempster said. He found ballroom checked every box of fitness, including \u201caerobic, balance, memory, improved rhythm and it gives you social opportunities.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ballroom is also a skill you \u201ccan use for the rest of your life,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve met a bunch of people, and when you see yourself improving, you get a certain satisfaction from that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For Mays, \u201cit\u2019s the magic of the location.\u201d With a Chicago studio, which is often a busier than a studio in the suburbs, the urban setting has been \u201csuper rewarding.\u201d The city\u2019s wide client access is helpful in getting \u201cmore people in one spot,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cReferrals are the most valuable leads,\u201d Mays said. With more than a decade of one-on-one client services, and established partnerships with stylists, event planners and assistants, Mays\u2019 referring clientele supercharges the studio\u2019s growth. \u201cI think this is the secret sauce.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Mays is also a certified spray tan technician and owner of Spray Tans Chicago. When the pandemic halted the dance company, she needed ways to \u201cmaximize space and extra streams of revenue.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cA spray tan business seemed like the answer,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mays traveled to California for a week to get her certification at Sjolie, which provides multiple comprehensive courses on becoming a \u201csunless expert,\u201d according to its website. Now, she spray tans herself and offers the option as an \u201cadd-on service\u201d to the current client base.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In January, Mays and Stanislav Havrylchenko, performed at the 2025 Blissful Wishes Ball in January, Wish Upon a Wedding’s most anticipated event in the industry held at Morgan MFG. Wish Upon a Wedding\u2019s mission focuses on granting weddings to couples facing terminal illness or life-altering health circumstances. Mays\u2019 active participation strengthens her brand throughout the wedding arena.<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to finding a partner, Mays only settles for the best. Along with Kempster, Havrylchenko has been Mays\u2019 partner since 2022, and they debuted their first performance as a duo in 2023. Havrylchenko, who grew up in Ukraine, is an internationally trained professional who expertly balances a demanding dance career while raising a baby with his wife.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Havrylchenko dedicates time to the dance floor, fueled by Mays’ supportive training environment. He not only matches Mays’ rhythm but also devotes hours to training for events like the Chicago Austrian Ball, the Underground Private Party, the Black Nurses Chapter Ball and the South Shore Cultural Center’s showcase, with 10 more queued in his to-do. As a highly sought-after partner, he receives invitations to dance all over the world, including Italy, Poland and New York.<\/span><\/p>\n Along with the Blissful Wishes Ball, Windy City Wedding Dance supported the Chicago Junior League chapter at a benefit in March. Mays, who recently performed at the New York Dance Festival, is training for the West Loop Wedding Walk, a \u201cwedding crawl\u201d similar to a bar crawl but with buses that take couples to Chicago\u2019s many wedding venues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Mays also offers personalized father-daughter, mother-son, couples and group classes, and add-ons like bachelor party planning and last-minute dress tailoring<\/span><\/p>\n For any last-minute lessons, spray tans or social hobbies, Mays is the first to say, \u201cI will\u201d before a couple says, \u201cI do.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paulina Czupryna is a magazine graduate student concentrating in data at Medill.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n By Paulina Czupryna\u00a0 Medill Reports Tuesdays give dance instructor Jessica Mays a rare break from the endless loops of Ed Sheeran, Frank Sinatra and John Legend hits. She dedicates the other six days of the week to teaching 20- to 70-year-olds how to waltz to the song they choose for the most important performance of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1008,"featured_media":105252,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,5251,5542,5493],"tags":[5496,688,5497,891,5498],"class_list":["post-105250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-chicago","category-msj25","category-spring-2025","tag-ballroom","tag-business","tag-competition","tag-dance","tag-hobby"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Mays](\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/wp-media-folder-medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/04\/MR-Mays-1-300x209.jpeg\")
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