This is an update on my February 24, 2025 review. Everything I wrote last year still holds: Go Dance is the best ballroom dance school and studio in Knoxville and east Tennessee. All of the instructors are fantastic, and our experience with Shayne Collins has been unbeatable. Shayne is knowledgeable, patient, and professional. You can't go wrong with Shayne and Go Dance! read more

High price, pressure sale, very green instructors, is the hallmark of this studio, a poor combination for any dancer seeking to evaluate the studio prior to making the decision to join the studio . Since I had paid the first package "conditio sine qua non" to start the trial, I gave the benefit of doubt to my instructor, who disclosed to me --during lessons --that he was prepared for Smooth dances, not for my choice: the International Style. The instructor was very polite and showed a pleasant attitude during every one of my lessons, but needed to view and study the videos on his cellular phone, prior to teaching me each figures. This repeated with every figure. I was given no choice prior to the start the first lesson as to which instructor would be imparting my lessons. Indeed, my request to sit and observe a lesson, was met with an absolute refusal. I had to make the financial commitment prior to discovering who my instructor would be if I wanted to take lessons there. I was assured that my instructor was prepared for the International ballroom style. Since this was the only studio in Knoxville - at the time (other studios had closed due to COVID) stating to be prepared to offer lessons in the International Style Ballroom Dances, I decided to give it a trial, for my previous instructors were (and still are) in the Atlanta, GA area, and the traffic there is comparable to that of the 405 in Los Angeles... As it turned out, the Go Dance Studio of Knoxville, TN, favors the American Smooth style, not the International Style, the style I had requested when I first entered the Go Dance Studio. I can - in all honesty- state that I was sold a service the studio was not prepared to offer. I do not consider this a professional way to do business. The studio did not offer another instructor as I requested, because the studio did not have any instructor versed in the International Style of Ballroom Dances. Please, note that I have trained with some of the best professional dancers from 2013 to 2019, I have competed with grade A dancers, and I have been coached by world finalists, who themselves competed (at the time I was receiving instruction from them) against the world champions in International Style Standard and Latin dances, and placed second and third in every dance against the World Champions, in Orlando Florida (and other USA cities). I mention particularly only this city, because I was fortunate enough to actually attend those events. I am in no position to evaluate the Go Dance instructors's expertise in the American Smooth dances, although I have competed at the Bronze and the Silver levels in NDCA sanctioned events in American Smooth dances, but, I would have expected that a reputable studio would have informed me - at the onset - that the studio was not prepared to offer classes in the International Standard and Latin Dances, and perhaps encouraged me to train in the American Smooth and Rhythm dances. read more

If you want to learn ballroom dance in a fun environment then Go Dance is for you. The instructors are fabulous and the lessons and dance party's provide a great space to practice and hard wire the skills. Do yourself a favor and sign up! You won't regret it! read more

We started dancing 6 months ago and love it! Jeffrey is our instructor and he is knowledgeable, professional and fun. If you want a fun marriage boost this is your next best step! read more

Never danced before so I came in for a few lessons before a destination wedding in Mexico. Ended up staying 8 months, so far. since then, I have danced in the Christmas show, competed in tournaments and enjoyed every lesson. Lessons and instructors at GoDance are top notch. Group lessons are fun and a terrific opportunity to meet new folks while reinforcing the lessons taught by your instructor. The Friday night dance parties allow you to practice social dancing and often have fun themes of either a food type (taco night or breakfast for dinner) or specific attire (costume parties). It is a pleasure to dress up and hit the town with super nice people who are there to dance and enjoy themselves. After a few months, I was invited to compete in a dance competition. Amazing to travel with the team from GoDance. They are all nice people who are passionate about dance. Every tournament I have attended, someone from GoDance has brought home a trophy! That demonstrates (at least to me) that the studio provides excellent instruction in a fun and safe environment. In New Orleans in May 2024, the studio took home awards for Top Student, Top Solo performance (Dancing with the Stars type choreography), Top Teacher and Top Studio! It is a regional competition with dancers from across the USA attending. Impressive win and well deserved. The team made an impression. That said, the students are a mix of new and continuing students. Some are serious dancers and love to compete. Some use the studio for lessons to keep sharp. Some enjoy a date night with dancing. Some come in for beginner lessons on social dancing, like me, before a wedding or cruise ship vacation. Hard to go wrong with exercise, good music and friendly people. P.S. Dancing burns calories... I have even lost some weight! read more

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Very professional team of teachers and everyone is super friendly. They do some of the most creative showcases ever, and it's just a great vibe. read more

I needed to down-grade the rating by one star, based on the price to continue dancing. It's not affordable at all. My entire experience of the trial package was amazing; It included a one-on-one lesson, group lesson followed by a Friday night themed ballroom dance party. All of it was a lot of fun and I definitely wanted to continue, maybe even more than just a hobby. But it's extremely expensive. There is a way to make it a little more affordable if you refer people but still not do-able for me. There's no pay-as-you-go or month-to-month option - to their credit as they want you to come often so as to learn and retain as much as possible. So be prepared to go all-in on the investment or be prepared for the ole "take-away." :( read more

Go Dance Ballroom Studio - Friday night social - Dance Studios Near Me - Knoxville, Tennessee

Very scripted lesson and instructor kept pressuring us to book the next package. Not for what we were looking for.

Amazing instructors, lesions tailored to what kind of dances you're wanting to learn. Plus group lessons multiple times a week, and Friday night themed parties every week! read more

We did the intro lesson offer. We already had some ballroom dance experience and while we learned some tips, it wasn't really tailored to someone with experience as there's a script they follow and they can't deviate from the script. I thought I was paying for a personal private lesson, but it is like pressing Play on a YouTube video. They have small talk scripts to fluff the lesson time instead of just teaching you to dance (What's your last date, what drink do you like, where would you go on vacation, and then they describe a date, what would you wear, etc.). We started 10 minutes late and ended over 10 minutes early, so our lesson was less than an hour. The last 10 minutes were spent on trying to sell us packages of several hundred dollars for 3-5 classes or a social ease package of over $2,000 for 10. There aren't multiple rooms, only one single dance floor, so there are several private sessions and a group class all happening on one dance floor with all the instructors trying to yell over each other, and only one set of music that can be played. The instructor gives you a comment card and says the boss looks at it and then stares at you as you fill it out, so you feel sorry for them, which is very difficult for me personally to give any honest feedback. If you're learning for fun and have more money, maybe this would be fine. If you're not that wealthy and $135 for a lesson which is less than an hour and not personalized with a lot of noise and space competition sounds like a lot, or you want a specific dance, skip this place. read more

Great location, friendly people, overall excellent instructors. Only one seems a bit...insensitive. Price is fair, atmosphere is welcoming. read more

The instructor we had was personable but I don't really feel he listened to my concerns. When I told him my husband was leading with the incorrect hand he chastised me to learn to follow. The entire experience was disheartening. It took me years to get my husband to agree to lessons. The website said any shoes would be fine. The first lesson in we were pressured to buy dance shoes. My Groupon was for four thirty minute lessons. We were told they only did hour lessons. Those hour lessons were always less than fifty minutes. When we renewed it was highly suggested we do the three lesson package as they only suggest the five lesson package to "much older" folks. Then, after two more, lessons we only received a thirty minute lesson because our instructor was locked out making him late. After a thirty minute review, He wanted to discuss our next contract and promised more time on the floor after that. There was a contract that was time limited to three months and we were not able to get all the lessons in during that time. He could not assure me it would not be time limited so we said we would need to think about it. That ended our lesson as the instructor left to put the paper away and never came back. I really feel that this could have been a better experience. We wanted to learn a specific dance and it seemed as if that dance was purposely avoided. The price could have been reasonable if we received the full hour. In addition we would have continued except the last contract we were offered was limited to three months. Unfortunately, this studio lacked flexibility and since we were driving 45 minutes for lessons that is a hard no from us. read more

The staff here is amazing! I am already an awesome dancer but the location is super and the ballroom is fabulous!

Go Dance has been amazing! I have lost over 10 pounds, I have found new self confidence, and I just feel better all around. After much encouraging from my husband we ended up at Go Dance. I had no desire to dance but went along for him. Almost a year later and I LOVE dancing! Our instructor is phenomenal! Actually I haven't met an instructor here that wasn't! My husband and I had a bad experience at another local dance studio which is why I wasn't to keen to take lessons again. They are different than most studios. Everyone is a full time professional. Meaning this is what they do all day. Unlike other studios that have instructors that come in as a second job. Go Dance instructors help each other out. Your main instructor might pull in an instructor that is really good at hand movements or one that is good at explaining rhythm hip exercises. They all work together to make you a better dancer. To those talking about the sales pitches, it's stated on your contract that is going to happen. It's how they stay in business. Yes, it can become expensive based on what you are wanting to achieve but you get what you pay for. read more

So for all of the reviews I have seen, it has been a mix of good and bad. Now I will tell you as a former instructor, supervisor, top teacher even highly rated by most competitions done in the US. (My name is Drew McElyea if you want to see some embarrassingly bad videos of my dancing when I first started to dance, they might still be up) I worked for the studio for roughly 10 years straight. I have seen the ups and downs of the industry, but while I don't always agree with him, Sam Gordon taught me how to dance, count music, and is one of the only reasons I was even willing to step on the dance floor. We didn't always agree and within 10 years there were diffidently fights (I can be difficult at times / so can he). His way will teach you to dance, and will make you successful, is it cheap no but success never is. No matter what my life brings, I am better because of the things this man taught me. read more

This place is a scam! I attended a "guest night," which was advertised as being free. It was "free," but they take $15 from you towards a follow-up private lesson. The guest night took an entire hour to teach two dance moves, after which they guilt/force you into scheduling your private lesson so that the person of whom you are a guest gets a free credit toward their account. AKA, this is a pyramid scheme. read more

Horrible! Horrible! Horrible! My wife went to some convention in the spring of 2010 and signed up for a drawing to receive 3 free dance lessons. Well about a week went by and we got a phone call saying we were selected for the free dance lessons! She was excited but I remained skeptical of the whole idea. But being the good husband I am I agreed to go with her. As soon as we stepped in the door to the place they overwhelmed us with sales pitch after sales pitch. Ladies and Gentlemen, the sales pitch NEVER ever stopped. During our first lesson our "dance instructor" was saying how we wouldn't be able to dance right without buying dance shoes from them. I told them I didn't have the extra money to drop on something like dance shoes. You would think that would be the end of it. No, it was not. She kept on and on and on like a freaking terminator. I eventually just told her NO with a stern voice. She got angry with us but slapped on a cheesy smile and gave us a crappy lesson. During the 3 free lessons the "dance instructor" will spend more time talking to you about buying lessons from them then they do teaching you to dance. They called my wife every day we had the "lessons" to make sure we were coming. If my wife didn't pick up then they would call me. If I didn't pick up then they would call my wife again. It went back and forth until one of us picked up. During our 3rd dance lesson I noticed a few other couples sitting down at the tables with other "dance instructors". We danced by them at one point and I over heard their dance instructor congratulating them on winning the free dance lessons! At this point I was furious, I knew I had fallen into a scam. At the end of our final lesson the "instructor" turned her already hard sales pitch into overdrive. She wanted us to sit down with her and complete this survey for her. Being polite I agreed and started taking the survey. That stupid survey was another freaking sales pitch! She stopped us after every question to elaborate on our answers and how buying more "dance lessons" would be the cure to all of life's problems. When I told her I just couldn't afford it she got angry and pushed harder. She devised a "lesson plan" for us and showed us exactly what classes to buy and when to take them. When I asked again how much it would be she said "about as much as a set of golf clubs." So I asked yet again, how much is that? She finally answered me with $2400!! I tried hard to remain calm and I explained to her that it just couldn't happen because I didn't have the money. It didn't phase her she wouldn't take no for an answer and kept on and on and made us feel horrible about ourselves because we couldn't afford it. She said she would help us out by scheduling a meeting with her manager the next day at 4:00 p.m. She said that it was mandatory that we be there and continued to try and guilt us into coming. The last straw was when she said " You really need to show up because my manager is skipping his lunch to see you guys." I grabbed my wife and we left the studio. But sure enough the calls started the next day. Thankfully we found this little program on our phone called "Mr. Number" which can blocks calls from any number you want. But Mr. Number was blocking their calls for weeks after. I was actually concerned that she was going to show up at our doorstep. Please Please don't go to this place. They don't care about you they only want your money. I only wrote on here about 30% of the frustrating and infuriating events that we had to endure. I hate myself for not finding the time to post this months ago. I would rate negative stars if I could. Take my warning. read more