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Hector Lara

@hectorl3

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Fred Astaire Professional - Cypress, TX ❤️‍🔥
US National Youth Open Rhythm Champion🏆

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The Fred Astaire Cypress Halloween party is always a blast! Fabulous time with fun friends!

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These are my friends! We like to dance… and yesterday we burned up the dance floor! 🔥🔥🔥 #teammatch #ballroomdance #teamcypress #fadscypress @tilemachosfatsis @hectorl3 #danceislife

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What a special time in the ballroom last night! It was level passing time, and I was able to move up to the final bronze level. Each milestone represents hours and hours of work, I am so grateful to my instructors @tilemachosfatsis @hectorl3 @vadon.barnabas @elisavetmantani who have each played a role along my dance journey. And, my dear husband, @anthonymercado2022 who has supported me along the way. My heart is full of gratitude for each of you! Dancing has ignited a fire in me. It feeds my creative spirit. It has literally transformed my life. I am so grateful to everyone at @fadscypress! Dancing is life, and I am loving every minute of it! 🩷💃🕺🪩

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2026 Lonestar Dance Challenge #dancesport #fchacha #rumba #samba Explore the exciting world of ballroom photography at www.stephenmarino.com

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2026 Lonestar Dance Challenge #waltz #foxtrot #tango #americansmooth Explore the exciting world of ballroom photography at www.stephenmarino.com

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Dallas, you were EPIC. 🤍

First ballroom competition officially in the books, and somehow it was even more fun than I imagined. I danced my ass off, laughed a ridiculous amount, cheered until I lost my voice, came home with some hardware 🥇🥉 and, apparently, learned that my preferred celebration pose is draping myself over everyone around me. 😂

So grateful to everyone who danced with me, coached me, cheered for me, celebrated with me, and made this first one so damn special. I couldn’t have asked for a better crew or a better first competition. ❤️

What a weekend. What a way to start. ✨

📸 : the funnest, the one and only @stephenmarino

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FAWC 2026: Pro Heats- Closed American smooth -
Viennese waltz 1

If you see this in your feed, it’s a sign you need dance in your life!! You too can become a Champion, or even just a good social dancer!!!- Click the link in our bio and start your dance journey today!… To be the best, you have to learn from them!

#fawc2026 #fredastaire #bestinballroom

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FAWC 2026: Pro Heats- Closed American Smooth -
Foxtrot

If you see this in your feed, it’s a sign you need dance in your life!! You too can become a Champion, or even just a good social dancer!!!- Click the link in our bio and start your dance journey today!… To be the best, you have to learn from them!

#fawc2026 #fredastaire #bestinballroom

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FAWC 2026: Pro Heats- Closed American Smooth -
Tango 1

If you see this in your feed, it’s a sign you need dance in your life!! You too can become a Champion, or even just a good social dancer!!!- Click the link in our bio and start your dance journey today!… To be the best, you have to learn from them!

#fawc2026 #fredastaire #bestinballroom

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FAWC 2026: Pro Heats- Closed American smooth -
Waltz

If you see this in your feed, it’s a sign you need dance in your life!! You too can become a Champion, or even just a good social dancer!!!- Click the link in our bio and start your dance journey today!… To be the best, you have to learn from them!

#fawc2026 #fredastaire #bestinballroom

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FAWC 2026: Pro Heats- Closed American Rhythm -
Chacha 1

If you see this in your feed, it’s a sign you need dance in your life!! You too can become a Champion, or even just a good social dancer!!!- Click the link in our bio and start your dance journey today!… To be the best, you have to learn from them!

#fawc2026 #fredastaire #bestinballroom

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Our next festival challenge is to document our dance journey. Mine started more than four years ago. As you can see, I’ve made quite a transformation. I don’t like to focus too much on the physical part because that diminishes who I was back then. But I am grateful for the health, strength, and physical stamina I have gained from dancing. Seriously, there is no better form of exercise. It’s just so much fun.

What I do want to focus on is the experiences I’ve had and the relationships I’ve made. I measure personal growth in overcoming challenges, taking risks and increasing the richness of my life. In that regard, Dance has expanded my life in ways I never imagined.

Over the past four years I’ve learned 15 new dances, competed in more than a dozen regional competitions, two national competitions, danced on stage, and in small ballrooms across the state.

We’ve won trophies and plenty of medals, but at the end of the day that means nothing without the relationships and hard work that got us there.

We got there because we had instructors that believed in us and patiently took us step-by-step through our dance journey.

What made it even better are the relationships we built along the way with both the staff at Fred Astaire, Dance Studio Cypress, and with our fellow students.

We found a fun and supportive community that extends way beyond the ballroom. These professional and amateur dancers have become our second family. For that, I am most grateful. Because those trophies will fade and the medals will tarnish, but those relationships will last forever. Thank you for the bottom of my heart to everyone at @fadscypress 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷
#ballroomdance #festivalchallenge

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