Yet another update with minor tweaks (not to the Yelp people: please return the ability to edit the…read morereviews!) A little-known but fun - and free - and outdoors! - swing dancing venue. Happens (approximately) every other Monday on the roof (floor 9) of the San Diego Public Library in the downtown San Diego. To the best of my knowledge, there is no phone and no website for the event; sometimes checking the Facebook page of the Swing Dancing San Diego , https://www.facebook.com/SwingDancingSanDiego/ helps. You can also try to find the dates on the library web site (https://sandiego.librarymarket.com/). Last chance is the sdswingcats.com/calendar site. Note that the schedule becomes highly irregular during the holiday season, Padres games are incompatible with the dance due to the parking situation. The free beginner lesson starts at 6:00PM with dancing 6:30-7:45PM (unlike many dance venues, this one starts on time, so allow yourself 10 minutes for parking and the elevator ride). The crowd is about 30-50 dancers, with a quite large percentage of beginners, and a few intermediates. The lesson is intended for true beginners and assumes no previous dance experience. Typically the event happens to the DJ music, but occasionally a real band is playing. Few tips: a) The event occurs on the roof, i.e. outdoors, so the view is great - but the temperature matches the one outside, sun goes down as we dance, and a fair amount of wind is possible - therefore dress wisely. In a case of a rain, the dance is not cancelled, but moved instead inside a hall on the same 9th floor. The hall has a carpeted floor and an OK ventilation. b) The library roof is paved with relatively smooth concrete tiles, so this dance floor might be unsuitable for your good dancing shoes, although limited pivots can be executed by a skilled dancer. There are grooves between the tiles, so the stiletto heels will not work well either. Your dancing shoes will work on the carpet of the hall, thus you might want to bring them with you in case the foul weather forces the event indoors. c) Plenty of free parking is available in the garage under the library (entrance off the 11th Avenue). A lower level of the parking (accessible through a narrow tunnel on the right side of the parking entrance) is typically almost empty. Do not forget to validate your parking ticket on the first floor of the library using a device on the left side of the information desk, this self-service contraption resembles a barcode scanner at the store checkout. Validation is for two hours, the dance is shorter, still the extra time for parking and elevator might push you over the limit. Typically the tickets are not checked upon exit, as the library is closed already when the event finishes, so a little overstay if also free. On few occasions, however, I had to pay $1.25 for extra minutes.

I want to start off by saying this place is so amazing! The…read moreowner was so very kind, even if I was having troubles with the timing/things she would still be very nice and helpful to the situation. The aesthetic of the studio's are so very clean and neat especially the mirrors and floor, even with the decoration or with how the studio looks it's a 10/10. Prices are so good and affordable too! I genuinely definitely recommend going here, you won't regret it at all!

Finally was able to take a dance class at La Vie and while the class and instructor were great I…read morefound the space too small for the amount of people and A/C not working. I liked the dark lightning as provide a dancing atmosphere in my opinion (my friend who tried same class did not like that though). Very welcoming and accommodating to all levels. I found parking very easily. I consider to take more classes in the future.

Really fun place to take dance classes…read more Bought a package of a bunch of classes at this studio and tried several of the classes and it was a lot of fun. I especially like the chair tease class and the burlesque choreography classes! The instructors are all very good dancers and because they also perform, they also instruct on connecting with your audience and the angle of your movements so all the moves will look good. Parking is really a nightmare in the lot, very few spots and the spots are very narrow, I got a couple of dings in this lot.

My husband actually introduced me to GTS via Instagram (he's a big fan). I always wanted to try…read moreburlesque but had many excuses why I couldn't (too far, no time, too big, can't dance). I finally said eff that, I'm going. Now I'm obsessed. I've taken four classes with Coco and I'm hooked. Yes it's far, yes I'm busy, yes I'm a big girl and I'm still not a born dancer. But when I'm shaking those hips and and gliding across the room, I come alive. If you are considering trying out GTS, stop. Just do. No more excuses. I'll see you there, I'll be the one doing a hair flip.

This is a review for west coast swing and studio. First off the studio is spacious and charming and…read moreif you go to any of the dances, people are welcoming and kind. Also solid dancing...even as an intermediate dancer, I find myself wanting to dance with everyone because the skill level here is just that good. Plus Larisa Tingle, Anastasia, and Michael are all friendly and kind people who actually care and do their best to make any moment at starlight enjoyable! From hiring some of the best instructors and djs to just having snacks and good vibes in general, Starlight is one of the best dance studios in SD and I honestly can't recommend them enough. 10/10 definitely recommend coming out here to learn and dance west coast swing.

I'm surprised that I haven't already written a review on Starlight yet as I'm here at least twice a…read moreweek for Salsa with Majesty in Motion (they rock!) I guess there isn't a whole lot to say except that the floor (both spaces) is very nice and large enough to support over 100 people, the air-conditioning very strong, the lighting bright and the parking ample. Not sure what else I can say, but I'm definitely a fan!

I come here regularly for the open practice floor space to practice bachata with a team. It's great…read moreto have a dance space that is reliably open to the community for practice. There are single-drop in rates, and packages for floor space. There are smaller rooms that can be booked as well, equipped with mirrors, ballet bars, audio equipment, adapter cables, and tripods for recording. The sign-in process is simple, just write your name/time in on a paper form and send a Venmo/Zelle electronic payment. No other registration/account/forms required for floor practice space. The owner, Yolanda is always so friendly and welcoming!

This review is for Anthony of Animo Dance. I was fortunate to take a beginner's salsa class here on…read morethe recommendation of our friend Evelyn. Shout out to CJ and Antonio for joining too. The instruction was clear, friendly, and encouraging. Plentiful parking. Great community and clean, well-lit facilities as well!

I never even got to see Kerri because she cancelled our first lesson THREE TIMES…read more The first time was supposed to be a Monday night. That very night, she said she sprained her ankle. Ouch! No worries, we said we were flexible and could reschedule. She gave us another date and time. Booked it. That very night of the 2nd appointment, she cancelled again. Double booked, she said. Okay, fine, we gave her the benefit of the doubt, even if she didn't even bother apologizing. We said we can reschedule again. She gave us another Monday night. Booked it. That very night of the THIRD appointment, she cancelled again! No explanation this time. It was a very cold "I know I will lose you as a client but I need to cancel again". No apology again. We were done with her after that. Apparently we had given her 3 too many chances. I understand if emergencies happen such as an ankle sprain, but 3 times in a row? Come on. And normally I wouldn't even bother with a Yelp review, but she always cancelled right on the day of the appointment, she made mistakes that could have been avoided (double booking), and worst of all, she never even apologized!! How unprofessional can you get?? And now we're a little over a month away from our wedding with no dance teacher. Thanks for nothing.

Kerri was a great dance instructor to choreograph and patiently teach my husband to be confident in…read moredancing. If you are looking for dance lessons for your own personalized first dance, please look no further - Kerri comes to you and can teach even the most reluctant men to dance! Once we chose a quite complicated song, Hey Ho by the Lumineers, and tried on our own one night with a youtube video - then we realized we needed help. Kerri came in to help us learn our steps at our house and in the local park when we needed more room. It was so invaluable that she came to us, especially with our crazy work schedules and everything else going on with wedding planning during the last few weeks. On the big day, my dress bustle broke so I missed a few steps tripping over my train, but our dance was literally the highlight of our wedding. I can't stress enough that my husband did not want to dance at all and now he is confident in his moves and turned out to be a fabulous dance partner because of Kerri. Thank you Kerri!

I've been to different places for dance classes trying to figure which one works best for me and…read moreAnimo's Mambo/salsa & bachata classes are by far is the funnest classes I've taken. They know how to keep the energy light and fun yet professional. This makes its less stressful for us newbies who are not yet confident with this form of dancing. The instructors are very personable, they greet everyone and make you feel welcomed!

We truly could not recommend Katie more! Taking dance lessons with her became one of our favorite…read moreparts of wedding planning. My now-husband and I looked forward to our lessons every week and would turn them into little date nights. It was such a fun way to spend time together leading up to the wedding, and Katie made every lesson something we genuinely looked forward to. She is also just the absolute sweetest and made us feel so comfortable throughout the entire process. She choreographed the most beautiful first dance for us, and it ended up being one of the highlights of our wedding. We had SO many guests come up to us that night to tell us how amazing the dance was, how great we looked, and ask who taught us. Considering we both started out with two left feet, that was probably the highest compliment we could have received! We were very happy to send everyone Katie's way. Beyond creating an incredible first dance, Katie made the whole experience so much fun and gave us such a special memory from this season of our lives. We loved spending time with her so much that we'll likely be back for more dance lessons just for fun. Katie is truly the best, and we could not recommend her enough!

Choosing The First Dance Place was EASILY one of the best decisions we made for our wedding! When…read morewe came to Katie, we had a very ambitious song and a couple home practice sessions under our belt, all of which amounted to a do-si-do and a loose hope that *maybe* our dance would turn out okay. (Spoiler: without Katie, this never would have been possible!) Katie excitedly took all of our ideas and broke down seemingly complicated dance patterns into an easily digestible format that we could practice and repeat! We learned dips, spins, and found ourselves laughing and having so much fun with each and every class. The sessions quickly turned into date nights and we both agreed that our classes and home practice sessions were the most fun and rewarding part of the wedding planning process! Fast forward to the big day, and we NAILED IT! We had practiced in our venue during rehearsal and thanks to Katie's planning and cue tips during our classes, we were easily able to repeat all the right moves and orient ourselves in the venue. We had only told a select few friends and family that we had been taking dance classes, so when the moment for our first dance arrived - everyone erupted in cheers and IT WAS A BLAST. Katie anticipated that all our guests would clap along to the beat and when they did - I remember just laughing and smiling all through our dance. We ended our first dance on a high (obviously), but also found ourselves so easily dancing and falling into patterns with each other on the dance floor that we hadn't found previously. It only took those 8 sessions with Katie and we found a confidence and ease on the dance floor that will always stick with us and grow. This is a memory that we will hold forever. Katie is the kindest and most easy going human being and will make you feel that you're capable of anything (and any dance)! We'll continue to dance to our song for many years to come and we will always think fondly of Katie and TFDP every time we do. If you're even remotely on the fence about booking these dance classes, THIS IS YOUR SIGN TO DO IT! Take an introductory class and go from there, I guarantee it will be an easy yes and a memory that you'll have forever.