I love this venue because of the natural lighting, cool zebra decor all over, large mirror and smooth dance floor. It has the cozy feeling of a home with comfy seats and even a kitchen with the appropriate setup and space for a dance studio. I have taken classes here and gone to dance events here and every time has been a very cozy yet elegant experience. Finding the entrance to the parking area can be slightly tricky but overall this quaint space is wonderful. read more

After a less than excellent experience with another dance studio, we found Olivia Gale and The Zebra Room. The studio is at Olivia's house and there are two studio rooms. She is highly trained, extremely knowledgeable about all types of dance. Her method for teaching ballroom to couples is hands on, hour long classes and in a private studio - no one else is allowed on the floor. She teaches all methods of ballroom dance including salsa, foxtrot, rumba, and the waltz. From leading the female to dancing with the male and teaching him how to lead, she is super talented and easy to learn from. Her prices are reasonable ($50/class for a couple) and she has time slots available each week in the evenings. Olivia is passionate about dancing and even became emotional when she read a few of her poems to us. It is wonderful to have a professional dance instructor who is focused on our technique instead of our wallets. You can check out our first experience here: http://thebionicbrittany.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/evil-dead-dance-studio/ read more

The Zebra Room - Back studio - Dance Studios Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Let me just say, I am someone who will go out of my way to write someone a stellar review when I have a good experience, and I was hoping this would be one of those good reviews, but unfortunately, Olivia has left a TERRIBLE taste in my mouth. Let me start by saying when we arrived at her "private dance studio," she REEKED like alcohol and we are 99.9% sure she was drunk as she kept asking us the same questions over and over and her breath had a strong scent of alcohol on it. The dancing was decent though. So we paid on the spot for 4 sessions upfront, which we felt very pressured into doing. My fiance has a career that is extremely demanding, and highly unpredictable, so it's very hard for us to find time to do things and plan. Not to mention we decided to proceed with our postponed wedding 2 months prior to the date, so we had A LOT of planning to do in just two months and were getting bombarded with last-minute things he had to do for his job. It has been a very stressful and extremely busy wedding planning process. I called Olivia to say we were 3 weeks out from our wedding and my fiance was called to head out of town for the next couple of weeks and will return right before the wedding, so we'd be unable to attend future lessons and would like to recieve the unused funds back. She had the nerve to say "Oh you think you're busy? Well so is everyone else!" And then had the nerve to say "Well it sounds like he's very successful so I'm not refunding you" insinuating that we could afford to lose the money for the dance lessons we paid for upfront but would be unable to attend. Then she said she could not talk about this right now and hung up on me! I was literally so shocked and absolutely appalled at the horrible customer service and unprofessionalism, especially after seeing so many of her good reviews. I felt so mistreated as a client and will 1000% NOT be recommending this business as no one who is paying for a service deserves to be treated this way, especially in this stressful climate we are in in this world. Especially a freaking BRIDE. Like where's at least a sliver of compassion? Take this for what it's worth, but just know what you're getting yourself into. She might be good at dance but she is INCREDIBLY unprofessional and did not leave us on a good note at all. read more

This is a dance studio. It looks like a house. Once you are inside it is a gorgeous dance studio. The floor is a good wooden dance floor, not to slippery. There are mirrors on one wall for teaching and practicing. There is a built in sound system and lights in the facility. There is also a kitchen area with a fridge . I have been coming to events here for years. I don't sit on the couches because of the amount of absorbed sweat is in them. Be careful of illegally parking around the zebra room. It is a residential neighborhood, you can't park in other houses driveways or block the driveway. Just park in the commercial area and walk. It is a short walk. Or uber. There is really no space for coats and bags, just lock what you don't need in your car. I just bring money and wear my dance shoes in. There is always a variety of events to dance at and performances in o enjoy. You can party to hard because the police will come for noise pollution. So just enjoy dancing with the music at a good level. If you go dancing the people are friendly, but not mind readers if you want to dance just ask. It is fun! read more

Wow, this gem is tucked away but it shines bright!! My husband and I hired Ms. Olivia to teach us and choreograph our wedding first dance. She quickly identified our natural strengths (rhythm!) as she worked with us over six weeks teaching us a sexy Rumba to the Prince song, Te Amo Corázon. It was AMAZING! Our guests were in awe of us during our first dance. Ms. Olivia is THE BEST! She is a true professional with a genuine passion for dancing. I loved her natural theatrics and what she added to our dance. It was so fun working with her weekly and we miss those times. My husband and I plan to take other lessons from her in the future. The Zebra Room is second to none so don't even think about going to any of those other dance studios who offer less. Ms. Olivia gives you way more for your time and money--not just a new dance but a new friendship! Thank you, Ms. Olivia! We love you. I will always think of you when I watch Flash Dance! ;) read more

I suck at dancing. I'm just going to throw that out there now. Some time about a year before our wedding, my fiancee said, "Hey, we should take dance lessons for our dance at the wedding!" Not wanting to come off as the bad guy, I said, "Sure, I'll take dance classes with you." She was so happy. Cool. She'll never remember, it's a whole year away! Naive, stupid Jeff. Well imagine my surprise when I actually really enjoyed our lessons! So much so that I'd be totally interested in going back to learn some other dance style. In only 4 one-hour sessions, Olivia had my wife and I dancing, twirling, dipping and spinning up a storm for the first dance at our wedding. It was a big hit, everyone loved our dance and it was mentioned often thereafter. Olivia is an excellent teacher with a firm yet friendly demeanor. The one-on-one lessons really help to maximize learning because it allows her to focus on the things that are giving you trouble. It works like a charm. Honestly, I never thought I would enjoy taking the classes, let alone be capable of what we were able to do at our wedding! It was a great experience. I need to track down one of the videos and link to it. We may not be professionals, but it looks pretty great for only four classes! Update: Here it is. http://youtu.be/hLrij_ST55E read more

Olivia is just the best. I've seen her teach dance to children, people with two left feet, newlyweds for their first dance, people recovering from cancer ... She is a truly gifted instructor and I believe it's not just talent, but a true desire to connect. Recently, our daughter and soon-to-be son-in-law went to see her about the first dance at their wedding, at my recommendation. They went from "really never danced before" to "we've got this" at the first visit.Their first dance was beautiful, not a dry eye in the room. Thank you, Olivia, for everything. read more

We decided to take dance lessons for our wedding, since we both have 2 left feet. Several of our friends suggested Olivia at the Zebra Room. My fiancé was not exactly thrilled at the idea of taking dance classes, but he knew it was best not to disagree. We didn't even plan to do a special dance; I really just thought it would take me 8 weeks to learn how to waltz in a box! Olivia was incredible! She has a lot of patience and has the ability to reach everyone at different abilities and make them feel comfortable. By class two my fiancé and I were loving going to class, and Olivia had us working on our very own routine! Olivia has a great knack for dancing, teaching, and has a great sense of humor! We performed our wedding dance to a crowd that was hooting and in shock that we were spinning and dipping all over the dance floor! The first thing I did when we were through was text Olivia to let her know how happy we were with our dance, and that it went off without a hitch! I would and will suggest Olivia to everyone, I keep trying to think of an excuse for why we can go back and learn a new dance! read more