When Krista Greenwell left the U.S. Air Force in 2016, she lost the community she had come to rely on.
After more than four years of active duty at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, Greenwell found herself navigating a difficult transition to civilian life while dealing with personal challenges and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“It was a little bit isolating,” Greenwell said. “I went from being surrounded by people that have your back, no matter if you’ve known them five minutes or five years, to not having any kind of daily community.”
She eventually found that sense of belonging somewhere else: a ballroom dance studio.
Nearly a decade later, Greenwell is a co-owner of Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Newport, at 1829 Monmouth St., where she hopes to provide the same support and community that helped her through one of the most difficult periods of her life.
Arthur Murray Dance Studio specializes in teaching beginner dancers how to survive on the dance floor. They teach any dance you can dance with a partner: Waltz, Swing, Cha Cha, Salsa, Tango, Two-Step, etc.
Ken Nugent, another Air Force veteran and longtime student of Greenwell’s, has also found friendship, confidence and community through ballroom dancing.
For both, dancing has become about much more than learning the steps.
Greenwell was commissioned into the Air Force in May 2012 after completing ROTC at Cedarville University in Ohio. She spent her military career at Wright-Patterson, where she held several leadership positions, including serving as a commander within the National Air and Space Intelligence Center.
Although she enjoyed her military career, the responsibilities came with stress.
Looking for an outlet, Greenwell attended an open house at an Arthur Murray studio in Dayton with some friends. She had always wanted to learn ballroom dancing but never had the opportunity growing up in a rural community.
After taking an introductory lesson, she eventually returned to sign up for regular classes. Part of the appeal was the opportunity to express a different side of herself.
“I’m in fatigues and in a uniform, and you know how many times a day I get called sir by accident?” Greenwell said. “I wanted to feel feminine and graceful.”
Dancing gave her a chance to do that while also connecting with people outside the military. When Greenwell left active duty in October 2016, those connections became even more important.
She said the PTSD she experienced stemmed from personal circumstances involving her then-husband, who was also serving in the military, rather than directly from her military duties. As her personal life deteriorated, she struggled with depression, isolation and memory difficulties. Dance lessons became one of the few things she could consistently look forward to.
“I remember the only reason I would get up and go out (was) because I had a lesson on the schedule and I would get a reminder for it,” Greenwell said. “I’m like, I have a lesson. I can’t let my teacher down.”
In early 2017, Greenwell told her instructor she could no longer afford to participate in an upcoming dance showcase. She was facing financial uncertainty and the possibility of losing her housing. Instead of letting her withdraw, the studio’s owner offered to cover the cost, while several instructors volunteered to dance with her.
The gesture gave Greenwell something positive to anticipate during an otherwise difficult period.
“It helped me not thrive but survive in a much healthier way because of it,” she said.
Around the same time, another instructor told Greenwell about a job opening at an Arthur Murray studio in West Chester, Ohio. She applied, began training within weeks and started teaching full time in May 2017.
“That changed my life,” Greenwell said. “I never would have expected to be in this career field almost a decade later.”
Over the following years, she advanced from instructor to new student director, earning recognition for her work with students. Eventually, the owners of the West Chester studio invited her to become a business partner. Together, they opened the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in Newport in June.
For Greenwell, becoming an owner meant having the opportunity to give others the same support she had received.
Nugent’s path to ballroom dancing began under different circumstances, but his experience shares similarities with Greenwell’s.
An Air Force veteran who served just shy of six years, Nugent was living in New York when his marriage ended and he lost his job. He had previously worked in health care and marketing but eventually found himself earning $7 an hour cutting fish at a grocery store while trying to get his life back on track.
“I needed something because I was just working and squatting, trying to get my life together, and didn’t feel like much of a human being,” Nugent said.
A “Groupon” for a discounted ballroom dance lesson caught his attention.
Nugent had some experience with movement and performance. During his military service, he was a competitive figure skater and had taken ballet classes to improve his balance and technique. Those skills helped him progress in ballroom dancing, and what began as a hobby eventually became an important part of his life.
After moving to the Cincinnati area in 2012, Nugent explored several dance studios before finding Arthur Murray in West Chester, where he met Greenwell shortly after she became an instructor.
At first, financial constraints limited him to attending about once a month. But the studio’s instructors continued to welcome him and work within his circumstances.
Greenwell said Nugent’s experience helped shape her approach to running a studio.
“When you meet someone where they’re at and you help, you invest in them the same you invest in someone who comes in every single day, and that’s the kind of environment we want to create,” she said.
Eventually, Nugent began attending more frequently and participating in dance competitions.
He continues to take lessons at the West Chester location but regularly travels to Newport for special events and activities.
He said the studio is a place where people can build relationships beyond the dance floor.
The studios host game nights, holiday gatherings and other social events. During the COVID-19 pandemic, instructors organized virtual dance lessons and parties to keep students connected.
Nugent described the atmosphere as welcoming to dancers of all experience levels.
“I call the studios, not just the West Chester studio, but here as well, the ‘Planet Fitness’ of ballroom,” Nugent said. “No judgment.”
For Nugent, the friendships and routine have become just as important as the dancing itself.
“It’s my Zen place,” he said.
Although Greenwell and Nugent entered ballroom dancing at different stages of their lives, both see connections between their military backgrounds and the structure of dance.
Greenwell said the military provides clear expectations, opportunities for advancement and measurable accomplishments. Arthur Murray’s curriculum offers students a similar sense of progression as they learn new dances and develop their skills.
But technical ability isn’t the most important part of what the studio offers.
Greenwell has seen students gain confidence, form friendships and find support during difficult periods in their lives. Those experiences have reinforced her belief that a dance studio can serve as a community rather than simply a place to take lessons.
As Veterans Day approaches, Greenwell hopes other veterans who are looking for a sense of community will consider trying something new, whether that’s ballroom dancing or another activity.
“Take a chance and get out of your comfort zone,” Greenwell said. “Whether it’s dance or something else, stepping out of your comfort zone is the best way for growth and new opportunities.”
