My (now) husband and I took private lessons leading up to our wedding for our first dance and we are so happy we went with All2Dance, it was one of the best pre-wedding investments we made in ourselves leading up to the wedding!
We weren't quite sure what dance we wanted to do for our first dance. At our first lesson we said as much, so Victor had us play some songs we were considering and within a few moments of starting each song, he was able to tell us what kind of dance(s) would be best suited to it and even did a little demo of what the dance would look like. We ultimately chose the waltz.
We worked primarily with Ann, but also took some lessons with both Victor and George. No matter which instructor you end up working with they are all incredibly talented instructors who are knowledgeable and passionate about dance. In fact I'd recommend spending at least one lesson with each as they bring their unique views and thoughts on the art of dance and offer different insights and approaches to improve your skills! In addition to lessons together, we each took individual lessons (me with George and my husband with Ann) to work on our specific skills/weaknesses (i.e. leader vs. follower (or in my case, breaking the habit of trying to lead when I should be following haha). I was initially skeptical of individual lessons, but they really improved our skills because by dancing with a pro it allowed us to just focus on our own issues. As a result, we began dancing much better as a couple.
All2Dance is a no-judgement zone! Ann was patient, kind, and understanding and didn't make me feel like I was rhythmically challenged. This was something I was really apprehensive about first going in; I felt like I had two left feet and was convinced that I was going to get laughed out of the studio! The complete opposite is true. Ann, Victor, and George are supportive and reassuring that you've got this!
One of the best things about Ann and Victor is that they don't believe in choreographing your first dance. They're not going to push you to memorize a five or ten move routine that you then repeat for the length of your song (boring!). They believe in truly teaching you to master the art of dance to where the dance moves become second nature and you dance fluidly without repetition. It makes the whole first dance experience so much more enjoyable and you can relax knowing that if you miss a beat your whole dance isn't screwed up--you can recover and no one will be the wiser!
We didn't tell anyone that we were taking lessons because we wanted everyone to be surprised. And boy were they surprised! Our first dance was amazing, so many people came up to us and said how graceful and beautiful we looked and wanted to know if it was choreographed (we were proud to say: "nope that was all us!"). We were even told that his grandmother was so touched by our dance that she cried!
We enjoy dancing so much now that after returning from our honeymoon, we've continued to regularly take private lessons. It's a great date night activity! It makes us feel more in tune with one another and it's something we enjoy doing together.
A few general thoughts that I wish I'd known for all my brides out there! Dance lessons are a great break from the wedding stress, it helps you connect as a couple on a different level and helps you remember why you are getting married in the first place (hint it's not because of the floral arrangements)!!! With that said, get started early! I wish we had started closer to six months out instead of our 2 (ish). While we were lucky that we had schedules that allowed us to make up for lost time and come in for 2 or even 3 lessons per week, I cannot even begin to imagine how much more epic our dance would've been if we'd been dancing longer. Also, when you have so much going on in those last few months you don't want to be fretting about your dancing, you want to already have it in the bag! More generally, make sure you practice outside of lessons, that's where we really got the muscle memory! You're spending a lot of money for lessons, so you want to come in to each lesson ready to learn more and really fine-tune!
I highly recommend All2Dance to anyone who wants to learn to really dance (whether for a first dance, to impress your friends on the dance floor, or just to learn a new skill). Our dance lesson is always something we both look forward to!
Private lessons may be expensive, but it's worth every penny and then some! Especially when preparing for a special occasion, the one-on-one attention with a pro who knows what they're doing, who is invested in your success, and make it so much FUN is a very worthwhile investment! Thank you so much Ann, we couldn't have made it through our first dance without you! read more