My boyfriend and I bought a Groupon for 10 dance lessons here. If I'm recalling this correctly, we had 4 private lessons, 4 group lessons, and an hour of a party that was like a freestyle, open group lesson. Rachel was our instructor for the private lessons and she was super friendly, very organized and communicated well with us in terms of what she was going to teach and how the whole groupon offer worked. I think if we had continued our lessons, she would have been a great dance teacher to work with. The groupon is alright if you want a super basic knowledge of a lot of different dances, but for more in depth training, you'd have to sign up for real lessons. We covered the introductory steps for a lot of different dance styles during our lessons. The lessons were slowly paced and it felt like we learned how to do the boxstep 10 different ways. Towards the end of the lessons covered by the groupon, the management sat us down a couple of times to try to get us to sign up for more lessons, which is understandable but made my boyfriend and I a bit uncomfortable with how forceful they were in trying to get us to sign up. read more

I had the opportunity to take some lessons at this studio. The staff is super friendly and professional. Me and my husband took some classes for the holidays with Shanice and she is great. She is an amazing dancer and she is super patient. My husband has 2 left feet and she was capable of getting him started and he is getting a quick grasp of the basics now. I'm super happy! read more

I haven't been here in over a year and I live in constant fear of running into my instructor (Sarah) for fear that she'd expect me to use brain cells to remember my lessons. Brain cells I've destroyed via a cocktail of alcohol, stds, and various other substances. Everyone who was here when I was here was pretty cool. I was at a very awkward stage in my life then and some of my best times were spent at this studio. Being sentimental makes me feel gross. Anyway, Sarah's awesome. I'd prob go back if I weren't so fucking poor. Well, not poor. Poor in comparison to how NOT poor I used to be. The end. read more

I also was excited to try out the studio with an $89 groupon for six private 30 minute lessons and 4 other group/practice sessions. But, as others have pointed out, it is actually six hour long sessions with half the time spent trying to sell you hard on a multi-thousand dollar package of lessons. Our instructor simply told us to leave if we were not willing to sit through a thirty minute lecture on the medical and social benefits of dancing. I contacted groupon for guidance and they issued a partial refund which was great as there was no way we were going to go back there anyway after being treated so rude....let alone....receiving a vastly different program than what was advertised. The instructors are perfectly good dancers and we would have learned a lot, but were not in the mood then, nor ever, to have someone "hard sell " us anything....felt like what a time-share weekend must be like for one of those "free weekend" deals. The sessions were painfully slow, covering things that we already knew how to do, as if we were complete beginners. Seems like a place with a poor business model and poor management. Felt bad for the instructors as they are simply executing the orders, not the ones crafting the sales pitch and marketing. read more

Same groupon complain like everyone else. Waste of time. If I am getting 10 lessons why learn basics of ALL the different dances and not pick one kind to learn for 10 lessons. Here is the classic - "lets do this again, this time with music" plays random music that absolutely doesn't go with the steps she outlined. Its a marketing scam to get people into their tiny studio. That said, $89 for 10 basic couple lessons, is OK. Not a total ripoff but they did WAY over sell it. My wife and I enjoy our time together irrespective of whatever. I wouldnt recommend or buy it again though. No thanks! read more

I've been taking lessons there for a while; my teacher is Grant - he is amazing! very talented and fun! don't know much about other teachers; the new studio is pretty big and nice read more

I LOVE this studio. Warm and friendly instructors that make students feel part of a community. We started lessons 3 years ago when my husband had to learn to dance for our daughter's wedding. Another wedding and many lessons later we are still learning and having tons of fun. Our only regret is we didn't start years before!! read more

I just called to see if I could purchase a dance class for my parents who were going to be in Bellevue this upcoming Friday. The Gentleman on the phone had told me that they only have private classes, I had asked if they had anything with other couples since I saw a Groupon for them, and since my parents have never danced before. The Gentleman said "I think their will be other studios to better accommodate you". I was very confused at this point so I asked him what the groupon was for. He said that's for 6 beginner introductory classes , which I told him I was interested in buying. He got an attitude, and he did not make sense at this point, so I will just take my business somewhere else. Very strange that they dont offer group classes, when someone at the company I work for has told me they have them Mon-Friday. Owell! read more

I had a great experience at pacific dance center , the studio was very clean and professional! Sarah treated me like family and made the experience great and I would recommend friends and family to go here . I was a little hesitant from experiences at other places not going so well and I felt my money was wasted but I didn't feel any regret and learned a lot in a short amount of time ... I definitely will be coming back soon ! read more

My friend and I decided to take up dancing here because of a Groupon deal. We liked our experience with Asani here and were convinced that we could learn a good deal from him. So we have started taking Tango, Chacha, Rumba, Salsa, Foxtrot and East coast swing classes here. Asani makes the classes interesting and explains intuitively how it should look. He is also very flexible regarding the material he teaches and is ready to switch to a different dance at any time. We haven't had a chance to take classes from any of the other instructors yet. Looking forward to it. I also like the parties they have every Friday. read more

If you are really serious about dancing,then yes that's the place you were looking for.I joined here one and half months ago,at that time I was newbie in dance arena,but the time I've spent here has been best so far.I have been taking private lessons from Arielle.I think she's best in her business.She knows how to teach steps,moves,posture,frame everything.She does her home work very well.Other trainers like Sarah,Corey,Grant,Johny,OCL..everyone is really awesome and ready to help you every time.Recommended place for CHA CHA, Salsa,Waltz, Tango, Rumba.. read more

My boyfriend and I purchased the $79 Groupon for six dance lessons for a couple at this studio. The lessons consisted of 5 private 30 minute lessons, and one semi-private lesson. Now that I see the new Groupon is for $89 for 10 classes, it doesn't seem like we got a very good deal, but I digress. Having read the Yelp reviews beforehand, I had fairly low expectations. It's important to keep in mind that the reason that that company would sell you 6 lessons for 2 people (12 lessons effectively) for $79 is entirely because they want to sell you additional lessons afterwards, so there is definitely a sales pitch aspect to the lessons. Expect this going in! But having said that, we did not in any way feel like we were being scammed out of our time and forced to spend the entire lesson talking about dance instead of actually dancing. Our instructor, Anthony, let us know that any time he spent explaining the way their lessons would work in the future was not charged against our 30 minute instruction time. This did result in some of the lessons lasting over 30 minutes, because maybe 15 was spent on more of the "sales" aspect of the lessons, so we would be at the studio for 45 minutes - not an issue for us, but something to keep in mind! We loved our lessons with Anthony. He tailored them based on how quickly (or slowly) we were picking up dances, and let us focus on the types of dances we enjoyed doing together more than others. We spent 90% of our lessons laughing and having an absolute blast. Anthony is fabulous. Now let me tell you about the one part we highly disliked- the manager, I believe her name is Sarah? Sarah comes in and tries to pressure sell you on dance packages that cost a hilarious amount of money - $1,800 to be exact. As a 24-year-old, do I look like I'm about to give you two grand for dance lessons? She offers three different payment plans, and then instead of asking if you are even interested in lessons, she says, "Which of these payment plans do you prefer?" as if that sales tactic works on anyone. But that wasn't our main problem. The biggest problem is that Sarah has an incredibly rude demeanor, and treated our instructor Anthony like crap, speaking down to him the entire time we were together. Given that Anthony was our instructor, and the only person in the studio that we had formed a bond with, it irked us to hear the tone in which she spoke to him. It is as if Sarah has no confidence in her instructors, and believes them all to be complete buffoons, but Anthony's charisma and charm far exceeded Sarah's. Although we came into the lessons fairly sure we did not want to purchase additional ones, I think we would have been able to be persuaded if they were offered to us directly from Anthony and not the rude manager, and if the purchase options were more realistic. Starting off a brand new customer by trying to get them to pay $1,800 is a horrible sales method. Perhaps a better idea would be to sell us a starter pack of around 10 dance lessons for a more reasonable price. Then, if we found that we continued to enjoy our regular lessons, after THAT would be the time to try and hit us up for $1,800 (we would still have refused, but it would be a better sell). We ended up not finishing all of our lessons. Life got in the way, and we weren't particularly looking forward to the high-pressure sales tactics we knew we would face at our last lesson. I guess the fact that we were willing to walk away without finishing goes to show something as well... tl;dr- Worth the Groupon purchase, but not the additional expensive lessons. read more

We started coming here from a groupon and decided to continue we love it so much! Bob is amazing and really makes dancing fun. The only thing that could be improved is the tuition structure. It would be nice if the payment options were typed up and more formal than handwriting on pieces of scrap paper. Bob really worked with us to get a price that fit our budget. Realistically the five stars are for Bob!!! read more

My boyfriend and I started going to the Pacific Dance Center initially because of an awesome Groupon deal we came across. I love to dance and learn new dancing, and my boyfriend agreed to come initially because of that. We began working with Asani at the studio and thoroughly enjoy his teaching style and quirky sense of humor. The studio is very comfortable and unassuming, which is great for those new to the studio. Overall we have had an excellent experience and are excited to continue dancing! read more

I got a deal on Groupon for 10 total lessons at a really good price. Having never danced before but wanting to learn, I was more nervous than excited. A couple hours before leaving for my first lesson, I decided to check Yelp so I could get an idea of what to expect. The impression I got was that for the first, and each subsequent lesson, I would have to endure a high-pressure sales pitch. I thought about saying screw it and not going to my lesson, but decided to check them out despite the reviews. Talk about a disappointment. After the first lesson, which was an hour, I didn't get pitched at at all. What, am I not good enough for your high-pressure schemes, Pacific Dance Center?! It turns out that the old manager has left and been replaced by a woman named Kristina, or something like that (I'm not really sure of her name, I can't understand a word she says) Don't let Kristina's awesome attitude and passion for dance fool you. I'm sure she's a wolf-in-sheep's clothing, waiting for the right time to spring her trap and steal all my money. I got that feeling when she invited me to their free Valentine's day ball. That's why whenever I go in for my lesson, which is a really awesome time of the week now, I leave my wallet, phone, jewelry, watch, and car at home, just so they don't use any Jedi mind tricks to take them from me. You've been warned. If you want to experience that high-pressure sales environment that we all know and love, then don't come here. But, if you want to learn to dance in a great environment with nice teachers, then this is the place. read more

This place felt pretty scammy, and at times, downright unprofessional. We were late for a private lesson /once/ and the instructor got upset at us. It's not like we asked to teach us past the hour - it was our loss already. Why get upset? In any case, after our groupon deal was used up, they sat us down in a room, trying to sell us a huge package. Unfortunately, my husband and I fell for their "charm," and spent $2k+. Most of it went to waste, as we didn't bother to redeem the lessons, after being treated poorly. And yes, they also wanted to just keep teaching us the same things, and supposedly our instructor couldn't teach us certain moves, which required us to upgrade our lessons again. Really? We have to pay to learn more advanced moves? If you actually want to learn ballroom dance, go elsewhere. If you don't mind just messing around, learning a few basic moves, being haggled over upgrading your package/lesson, then sure, this place works. Oh, and our instructor wasn't actually a trained dancer, he wanted to get into MMA. read more

Purchased the same Groupon as other fellow Yelpers and completed about 75% of starter dance lesson package then the hard closing began at 2500 bucks to continue dance lessons! My wife and I were brought into a tight office off the dance floor and pressured into continuing at a large amount of money. When we politely declined, our dance instructor had to have a more experienced dance instructor come in and hard close us on dance lessons! Unbelievable! These hard close sales tactics don't work past the 70's! Dear Pacific Dance Center, wouldn't it be very easy just to schedule the next weeks lesson like a professional office does to keep you coming back? I apologize for assigning a one star review to PDC and expressing my disgust, but it is well deserved. read more

Like many others I bought a Groupon deal to take 10 lessons with Pacific Dance Center. I've never ballroom danced before and came with no expectations other than to just check it out and see if I like it. An instructor greeted me at the door and immediately went into a very brief introduction about the studio and what the lessons encompass. He was friendly and professional and made the experience very comfortable. The Lessons - 10 lessons through Groupon is essentially an accelerated crash course in ballroom dance. Every instructor's teaching style is different and I'm lucky to find an instructor that suits my learning style. He makes the lessons fun and I find it really easy to pick up the footwork. The team at Pacific Dance Center is layback and seems like a group of cool people. The Sales Pitch - Of course, there were sales pitches and customizing programme discussions (they are running a business after all and Groupon is a way to drum up new business). I think it's only fair to give them the time to have the conversation with you as they are giving you lessons on a very cheap deal. They can be relentless so be prepared and say no if you are not interested in taking their programmes further. My instructor did not get involved in the financial discussion at all and I really appreciate that. The financial consultant went through the programmes and costs; I asked a lot of questions about their pricing, approaches, lessons, installment plan, etc. and she answered each question patiently and diligently. The Price - As previously mentioned, the dance lessons \ programmes are expensive. In fact, PDCs price is perhaps 30% more expensive than their competitors in the area. However, for the cost of the lesson they make it up in quality of lessons. They focus on a combination of private lessons, semi-private lessons, and practice dance as a group. This combination gives you the opportunity to get individual tutoring and drilling down to specific techniques with your instructor, and with group lessons you have the opportunity to practice by application by dancing with different partners other than just your instructor. Their programmatic approach each has a purpose and offers different experiences. The cost is certainly expensive and not for the budget conscious individuals, but I appreciate its value and experience. read more

Had a groupon for private lessons and enjoyed learning style and better body posture plus a few new moves from John. Then, John quit and they switched me to Grant. Also a good guy, fun to work with. However, I quit Arthur Murray because they are very expensive and work very hard to commit you to spend your entire paycheck learning to dance at a higher level than most of us amateurs want or need. I found the same to be true here, except their current location in Bellevue is pretty small, sometimes crowded dance floor, and they are also very, very expensive. I am sticking to just paying for group classes elsewhere (try Harmony Ballroom) and keep looking for a consistent instructor who doesn't charge a total fortune for private lessons. If I was wealthy and had 4+ hours a week to devote to it, I'd consider this place. read more

This place is amazing. I got a groupon here for 5 lessons. I used them for learning our first dance for our wedding. Sarah was very helpful and showed us different styles of dances. We gave her feedback on the direction we wanted to go towards, and she was able to work towards that. We gave her our song and she listened to it herself and helped us choreographed our entire first dance. read more

Joey is an absolutely terrific teacher! He gives clear explanations, and he is amazing as an observer and listener to figure out what is needed so that he can give astute tips to improve. The only reason I am not giving the organization five stars is that I had come here via a Groupon and the terms of the offer sounded different between the website and what I was told--clearly that could be cleaned up to avert any confusing expectations. read more

My fiancée and I have been going for a few months now, and we love it. We started with the groupon deal figuring we would just learn a little bit for the wedding, but we had so much fun we kept going with it. Great people, great atmosphere. read more

What truly sets Pacific Dance Center apart it's the staff. The studio is always glowing with positive energy and an inviting environment which sets the perfect tone for learning to dance. Whether you've never set foot before on a dance floor, or you've already gone to a few competitions, the instructors will adjust to your skill level and learning style. read more

Disappointing and disgusting sales pitch. Just be aware. The Groupon for total 10 lessons was $49. I was rushed through the first week to meet their studio manager for the program at $60 per hourly lesson for 30 hours. Only 10 hours was actually private. The other 20 hours would be shared with others. It was OK if they were honest about it. However, their attitude completely changed when I said that I would give it a second thought as other studios did not charge that much. After that, the rest was history, as they wouldn't be that attentive. I decided to never come back. Don't ever displease your customers by giving them an attitude. And $60/hour? I can afford it, but I would rather pay someone else. read more

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!! Me and my fiancé got a groupon for this dance studio for 6 lessons. The entire first lesson was a sales pitch, which I understand. But when we had a misunderstanding about what the groupon was for, the manager began immediately yelling at me and calling me names. This was EXTREMELY uncalled for and inappropriate, especially considering that.I was never even remotely rude. Luckily groupon gave me a refund and we did not have to return. read more

A lot of reviews here talk about how at the end of your group-on they sit you down and give you a sale's pitch, and their spot on. I'm in sales, and I wouldn't call this a hard close. They present your options and talk up their product a lot, but that is what any sales person does. If you buy the group-on be prepared to get a sale's pitch from their manager, but its worth it to sit through it. As for our instructor, Anthony, he was great. The 5 star review here is 100% due to him. He was patient with me at the beginning when my confidence was low. He was super friendly and really made learning a pleasure. Both my Fiance and I where super happy with him. While we definitely got a sales pitch, I found myself going from not really being interested in dancing, to truly considering spending a couple thousand dollars to learn to dance from Anthony. If I didn't have a wedding and honeymoon in the works, I probably would have. read more

If our rating was solely for Lainey, our dance instructor, she would get 4 1/2 stars. Unfortunately, everything else about this place is a 1 star. Like so many Yelpers before us, we bought a Groupon $89 for 10 lessons: 2 social practice dances, 6 private lessons, 2 semi private lessons. The studio itself is in rough shape. Parts of the floor are patched with duct tape. Our first lesson was on a Friday night which coincided with their weekly social dance. It was crowded, but fun. The website is clear as to what students can expect; no focus is put on a particular style of dance. It is a crash course to the basic steps of several styles. We were introduced to the waltz that first session. We've never taken dance lessons before. It was great exercise, and fun. Our second session began with the instructor asking us to fill out a form. After we were done, she asked us some questions, one being what we would like to get out of dance. We told her were were just looking for fun activities to do together. She gave us a tour of the facility (really unnecessary given how tiny the place is), and talked at length about creating a custom dance program for us free of charge. Like a previous reviewer stated, it felt "scammy". The third session went fine, it was 30 minutes of dancing to salsa, tango, and fox trot. The fourth lesson is when the experience really soured. At the end of the half hour session, Lainey told us the next 30 minutes would be spent talking about what we'd like to get out of dance. My husband and I looked at each other in confusion. It had been a few weeks since the second lesson, but I remembered her asking us this already. Also, there is nothing in the description of the Groupon, that states we would be subject to 30 minutes of .....dance discussion after our 30 minute dance lesson. She led us into a little room with a round table and a few chairs. We weren't given a choice in this. She asked us again what we hoped to get out of dance; why did we come to Pacific Dance Center? I pointed out she already asked us this and we already answered. At first she said she hadn't asked us this before. My memory isn't what it used to be, but I'm not senile just yet. I was insistent that she indeed already asked us these questions. She backpedaled a bit, saying that it has been some time since she asked us these questions. After having a few lessons, perhaps our goals have changed. Lainey is such a nice person, completely professional, and an attentive instructor. For this reason, I found it difficult to be my normally blunt, no nonsense self. I repeated our answers from the first time she asked us these questions. It's like our words didn't register. She told us about the different levels of social dancers, gold star taking 5-7 years, blah, blah, blah. When people ignore what I say, I typically return the favor. We told her in so many words we were not committing to any packages, and that we were on a budget. Next thing we know, she is bringing in a financial consultant who repeated the exact same statements Lainey made. She also pitched pricing which is very pricy. I tuned out most of what they were saying, but I do remember being quoted $200 per lesson. The situation grew increasingly awkward and uncomfortable. How many different ways are there to say, "we are not committing to any packages"? The financial consultant told us she would watch us dance during our fifth lesson, then create a custom dance program for us to review. You have got to be f*cking kidding me. I cancelled our subsequent lessons due to illness. After talking with my husband tonight, we decided not to bother rescheduling at all. If I could answer their questions differently, I would have told them, "We already got exactly what we hoped from the lessons. We are trying out new activities to keep our marriage fun, exciting and strong. Mission accomplished." I have no doubt that poor instructor has to double as a pushy salesperson in order to teach at this facility. It really is a shame Pacific Dance Center engages in such sleazy tactics. We would have been interested in occasional, no-commitment dance lessons, but after this experience, we won't be back. read more

The teachers are good at their job... but sadly their job is to fleece you for as much money as possible. I'd say steer clear, since their 'student enrollment agreement' is a scam to get you locked in to paying thousands per year. I just dont want you all getting stuck like i did. read more

Watch out! These guys will try to tell you that you can cancel at anytime and then try to stick you with a huge bill. Bunch of crooks. I'll Get Jessy on these guys for sure. Stay away! read more

I have been a part of Pacific Dance Center for about seven months. I wanted to get out of the office and to learn to waltz! I have the most fabulous instructor, Joey! I have learned so much over these past few months and most importantly to come to enjoy the community of dance. The other students and instructors make the overall experience so welcoming and fun. I compared the cost of what it takes for lessons with that of a private instructor at my favorite gym. To be honest it was almost comparable. And the reality is, I would much rather get my exercise and sweat all over Joey than I ever would want to at the gym! They are a business after all, so I knew to expect the sales pitch at the end of the Groupon and the continued discussions as I advance through my courses. I would really encourage anyone remotely interested to come out to the Pacific Dance Center Thursdays at 9 PM for their champagne social. There's no cost of this social and you can get a quick sense of the studio, the instructors, and just the comradery that you'll find amongst the students and the instructors. It's life-changing for me! Perhaps it can be for you too. read more

great place,highly underrated i was worried at first because of the bad reviews (check the filterd reviewstoo) but i went anyway and iam really glad i did. it was really helpful learning the basics of all the dances and getting to choose what ones i wanted to focus on. great place for social dancing and making friends read more