The brother and sister dance competitively with the United Country Western Dance Council (UCWDC), a type of ballroom dancing with a “western twist.” Tommy started four years ago, and Lilyanne followed a year later.

While they don’t dance as a pair or compete against each other, they do spend time together frequently while practicing, and they attend some competitions together.

“We’re closer, but I don’t think it comes directly from the fact that we dance,” said Tommy.

“I don’t really think that there are any negative things that happen because we dance together. It just means that we become closer as a family,” added Lilyanne.

Besides getting to spend time together as a family, the Lewis siblings also benefit from watching each other.

“There’s definitely still a lot to learn from watching anyone else, even if they’re at their first lesson. You can always learn from watching someone,” said Tommy.

Through their competitions, the pair has learned about different cultures and have matured as individuals.

“Dancing has made me come out of my skin. I used to not talk a lot, but meeting all these people, and everyone’s so nice and so social, you just definitely grow as a person,” said Lilyanne.

Lilyanne and Tommy’s visions for the future differ. Lilyanne plans to keep dancing as a hobby. Tommy wants to continue dancing for the rest of his life, and hopes to see this type of dancing become an Olympic sport.

“I hope to continue with it my entire life, but I think I’m a little more serious about it, in that I would like to stay in the competitions forever, as long as I can,” said Tommy. “It will always be something I do.”