Austin, TX

They said dancing wasn't 'professional,' now she runs her own business

Published

2 months ago

October 14, 2024

They said dancing wasn't 'professional,' now she runs her own business

AUSTIN, Texas — Tucked away at the Casa de Luz Village in South Austin are standalone rooms separated from nature’s ambiance. One of them is dark, filled with people chatting while they wait for Monica Landois to start the music.

Landois rents the space to provide the fitness dance class to her students, though it might be more accurate to call them followers or friends.

“I love bringing joy to people and I love bringing joy through movement,” Landois said.

After class, Landois sits down next to a bouquet of sunflowers just outside the dance space reflecting on life. She’s a first-generation Austinite and graduate of Texas State University in San Marcos. There she received her bachelor’s in geography natural resources and environmental studies. She minored in business Spanish.

“I thought I would do something with environmental investigations and maybe I could help the Latin community and bridge gaps with language,” she said.

Out of college, Landois accepted a job with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. She remembers her parents were thrilled when she shared the news.

Landois had a short gap between graduation and starting her new job. That’s when she discovered Zumba classes. Zumba is described as a group exercise class that blends rhythmic Latin music with high-intensity cardio dance moves according to its website.

Instructors noticed her ability to keep up with the class and suggested she audition to be an instructor.

“It’s one of those things that was so random that kind of just fell in my lap,” Landois said.

Her first class had more than 50 people.

“There was so much community. I would meet so many people from different walks of life,” she said.

As her community grew, she would discover even more opportunities, including a contract position with the City of Austin, to teach Zumba classes. Landois says she got paid significantly more for 45 minutes of her time than she did at the TCEQ for the same amount of time. There were several of what Landois calls “aha” moments along the way.

“That’s where the wheels started turning,” Landois recalls.

Eventually Landois got married and welcomed her first child, a baby boy. At this point, she was trying to gather how she could be a present mother, work her government job with an added commute and teach fitness classes. By the time her son was around 4 months old, she decided to quit the TCEQ and focus on her dance classes.

“Even though I like this job, I can’t sustain being a mom and working those hours,” she recalled thinking.

Unfortunately, her then-husband doesn’t understand what she’s trying to do.

“Sometimes your partner or your parents or people closest to you don’t really see your vision because they’re not in your shoes,” Landois said. “They don’t have the knowledge you have within the spaces that you’re in.”

Landois separated from her partner. Culturally, her parents didn’t approve of the divorce. But Landois pressed on, determined to provide for both of her kids. She had since brought a second boy into the world.

“At any point you can say, ‘I’m not going to listen to the noise. Even though I’m in this space, I can still walk my path’,” Landois said.

Landois admits the path wasn’t always easy to travel. Two weeks after going all in on herself, the pandemic swept across the state, closing businesses deemed nonessential. Landois had already shot dance videos for Amazon’s Prime Video service, so she was at least a step ahead, ready to provide virtual classes to anyone who needed movement.

“I learned about resilience, having grit and how it’s so worth it,” Landois said. “As soon as you feel like giving up and decide not to, those are the moments.”

The number of hours she works week to week can change, but recently she’s been able to manage on fewer than 20 hours a week while raising her two boys. She’s proud to share she didn’t miss their first steps or their first words.

Landois just recently trained two more instructors to provide more classes for her community. She’s a motivational speaker, sharing her mom-preneur story with other women. She also gives dance lessons to couples interested in learning new styles of dance. But most importantly, she’s happy.

Source link

Click to comment

Austin, TX

Texas A&M vs USC preview: Scouting report, predictions for Las Vegas Bowl

Published

6 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

Texas A&M vs USC preview: Scouting report, predictions for Las Vegas Bowl

All that’s left in the season for Texas A&M football is the Las Vegas Bowl. With one game left, the Aggies head west to take on the USC Trojans for the first time since 1977.

Texas A&M (8-4, 5-3 SEC) dropped out of the US LBM Coaches Poll at the end of the season, while the Aggies’ next opponent is fighting to finish above .500. USC is 6-6 overall and is 11th in the Big Ten at 4-5.

BUY TICKETS TO TEXAS A&M VS USC

Will A&M take care of business in the final game of 2024? Can they send off Year 1 under head coach Mike Elko on a good note? How will the Aggies fare down three key defenders up front? Can Elko and the Aggies secure a nine-win season for the first time since 2020?

Here’s a full scouting report for the Texas A&M Aggies vs the USC Trojans:

Texas A&M vs USC in Las Vegal Bowl

When: 9:30 p.m. Friday.

Where: Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

TV: ESPN.

Radio: 1370 AM in Austin; 1150 AM, 93.7 FM in College Station.

Line: Texas A&M is favored by 3½.

Weather: Allegiant Stadium is a dome, rendering the weather ~~to be~~ a nonfactor.

Texas A&M vs USC history

All-time: USC leads 3-0.

Last meeting: 47-28 USC win (1977).

Most memorable meeting: It hasn’t been an extensive history between the two programs, and it hasn’t been a joyous one for the Aggies either. The latest matchup came in the 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl, played annually in Houston.

The final meeting between the Aggies and Trojans was also the last time A&M played in the bowl game. A&M lost to USC, 47-28, aided by a then-bowl record four-touchdown pass performance from USC’s Rob Hertel. Trojans’ running back Dwight Ford broke a school record with 94 rushing yards.

Know the foe: USC

Last game: 49-35 loss to Notre Dame.

Players to watch: Thanks to increased player movement, it’s oftentimes hard to get a beat on who will and won’t play in non-playoff bowl games. However, looking at the Trojans’ offense, their passing attack was led by sophomore wide receivers Makai Lemon and Zachariah Branch. The duo have combined for 93 receptions, 1168 yards and four touchdowns. Branch is in the transfer portal and is not expected to suit up against the Aggies.

The Trojans started the year with Miller Moss at quarterback, but thanks to USC making a switch, sophomore Jayden Maiava is the starting quarterback now. He has made the last three starts for the Trojans, while Moss has entered the transfer portal, reportedly joining Louisville ahead of the 2025 season.

As a starter, Maiava has totaled 840 passing yards, seven touchdown passes and three interceptions.

Central Texas connections: The USC Trojans football team is a national brand, and with that comes an extensive reach on the recruiting trail. As a result, the Trojans’ roster has its fair share of Texas natives. In total, 11 players call the Lone Star State home, including junior tight end Lake McRee who is from Austin and played at Lake Travis.

When Texas A&M has the ball

It will be interesting to see how the Aggies handle the Las Vegas Bowl, with 19 players reportedly in the transfer portal and at least Nic Scourton already forgoing the bowl game for NFL aspirations.

What Aggies fans can expect to see is Marcel Reed getting plenty of work with him being viewed as the unquestioned starting quarterback heading into the new season for the first time.

Also, preseason-projected starting running back Rueben Owens made his first appearance against the Longhorns in Week 14 following a knee injury that made him unavailable for most of the year. It will be interesting to see if they once again give him game action to close out the year.

Look for the Aggies to work in young players such as freshman wide receiver Ashton Bethal-Roman who finished the year with four receptions, 44 yards and one touchdown in limited action as they head into next season.

When USC has the ball

The Trojans’ passing game is well-documented. They enter the game with the 10th-best passing attack in the nation, averaging 291.7 yards a game. Maiava will be looking for Makai Lemon for much of the evening, while Austin native Lake McRee is also a viable option.

Even with all the attention being paid to their passing game, senior running back Woody Marks tallied 1,133 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns this year, and will be a problem the Aggies will need to contend with as well.

Texas A&M vs USC key matchup

Aggies’ defensive backs vs Trojans’ receivers

A&M’s secondary will have its hands full with this Trojans passing attack, and it will be up to Will Lee III, Dezz Ricks and BJ Mayes to limit the big-play ability of USC’s passing attack.

While teams have had success running on the Aggies recently, the Trojans’ strength lies in the passing game, and A&M should be prepared for an aerial attack during the season finale.

Texas A&M vs USC predictions

Tony Catalina: It’s hard to get a beat on how these non-playoff games will go with all the changes and uncertainty. However, Mike Elko has a chance to get his ninth win of the season, and there is still enough talent in the program and coming back that I think A&M is able to find a way. Texas A&M 27, USC 20.

Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Get access to all of our best content with this tremendous offer

Source link

Austin, TX

Texas Longhorns HC Steve Sarkisian Prasies Clemson Tigers QB Cade Klubnik

Published

14 hours ago

December 25, 2024

Press Room

Texas Longhorns HC Steve Sarkisian Prasies Clemson Tigers QB Cade Klubnik

The Clemson Tigers weren’t able to pull of the massive upset against the Texas Longhorns in the first-round of the College Football Playoff, resulting in their season coming to an end.

It was a really solid 2024 campaign for the Tigers. They were able to win 10 games, the ACC Title, and made the newly expanded CFP.

However, going on the road against the Longhorns proved to be no easy task. While it was a 14-point loss, the argument could be made that Clemson exceeded some expectations, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

Texas has one of the best defenses in the country, and certainly one of the best secondaries. Throwing the ball on the Longhorns has been something that few players have had success at this season. However, Cade Klubnik and the passing offense of the Tigers had one of their best games of the season in the big moment.

In the loss, Klubnik totaled 336 passing yards, three passing touchdowns, and one interception. Considering Texas was allowing less than 200 yards per game through the air, this was an impressive showing.

After the game, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian spoke very highly of Klubnik and what he was able to do against the Texas defense.

“I’m proud of Cade,” Sarkisian said via Clemson Insider. “I’ve known him for a long time, been recruiting him I feel like forever when he was in high school, and the fact that his career didn’t start off maybe the way he would have liked at Clemson, and there was a lot of expectations for him there, but to come out and have the season that he had this year for them, to get them to the playoffs, to be ACC champs, that’s a credit to him. He’s a very good football player.”

After a mediocre sophomore season, the Tigers quarterback took a massive leap in 2024. Overall, Klubnik finished with 3,639 passing yards, 36 passing touchdowns, and just six interceptions. While a lot of the attention goes to him throwing the ball, he was also able to rush for nearly 500 yards with seven scores.

The junior quarterback quickly became one of the best players at the position in the country, and was a massive part of why Clemson achieved as much as they did this season.

Now, the hope will be for the Tigers that Klubnik returns for his senior season. If he does, they will be entering 2025 with one of the best passing offenses in the country.

Source link

Austin, TX

Fort Worth surpasses Austin to be Texas’ 4th-largest city

Published

1 day ago

December 24, 2024

Press Room

Fort Worth surpasses Austin to be Texas’ 4th-largest city

FORT WORTH, Texas — Move over, capital city. Cowtown is making Texas history.

According to census data from 2023 and released in November, Fort Worth has surpassed Austin in population and now ranks as Texas’ fourth-largest city.

According to the Texas Demographic Center’s 2023 Population Estimates report, Austin now ranks as the No. 5 Texas metro.

As of Jan. 1, 2024, Fort Worth had a population of 989,878. Austin is creeping up on a million people as well. It’s population at the same time was estimated at 986,928.

Not only is Fort Worth larger than Austin, it appears to be growing at a faster rate. Cowtown’s population increased 7.75% from 2020 to 2024. During the same period, the Live Music Capital of the World only grew 2.6%.

Not surprisingly, Houston was ranked Texas’ most populous city with about 2,318,657 people as of Jan. 1, 2024. San Antonio came in at No. 2 with roughly 1,496, 876 residents, and Dallas landed at No. 3 with 1,308,404.

Austin has been a popular relocation destination in recent years but may have lost some of its clout. As recently as 2023, it was ranked the 10-most populous city in the U.S.

It has since been knocked out of the top 10.

Source link