This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Wedding Dance Season

Be Entertaining, and Provide Entertainment at Your Wedding Dance!

It's Wedding season! 

I have spent half of my week already replying to "Wedding Dance Inquiry" emails and phone calls! I could just copy-&-paste a general response because everyone asks the same questions, but I don't. I actually reply to each differently. 

Brides & Grooms, Wedding Parties, and guests attending weddings all want to know: what dances should they learn; how many lessons do they need; how much does it cost; how far in advance should they start; and what dance goes to "their song?" 

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

What dances should you learn? Waltz, Rumba, and Swing- because these dance styles cover the widest variety of music played by most DJs and bands; Yes, even to the most modern music of today.

How many lessons do you need? We can work magic in a 4 week Group Class series if you just want a few basic steps to get you through an evening.  We recommend you start at least a few months in advance so you can learn more, how to hear music, how to decide what dance will fit each song best, and how to be able to lead-and-follow in partnership rather than predict your partner's every move!  Private Lessons personalize your moves, especially for Brides & Grooms who want choreography.  We teach add-ons that are often overlooked, like how to walk onto the dance floor, how to rotate for the audience and photographer, and how to give her a dip at the end.  We recommend 5-10 private lessons for a wow-the-audience production!

Find out what's happening in Woodburywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Cost? Priceless! We charge $50 per person for a 4 week Group Class series- that's $12.50 per week (and have one called "Wedding Dances").  Private Lessons are $75 each and cover 2 people.  Private Groups (bring your whole wedding party) for $120 per lesson and you can split it among as many people as you bring.  We also teach offsite at the wedding reception for $120 per hour! -Guaranteed your guests will love it, and you're less likely to lose guests when you interrupt their evening with your picture taking, or moving tables & chairs at the venue site!  Yes, we can DJ your wedding dance too, for as little as $120 per hour offsite.

A trend that seemed to gain popularity last year, is inviting your wedding guests to write down their song requests on the RSVP card.  This is a huge favor to your DJ to plan your personalized wedding reception dance playlist ahead of time.  Trust me! -Especially if your reception venue doesn't have free Wifi and the DJ isn't able to purchase a song request on the spot from iTunes for $1.29!

From my Dance Instructor's standpoint, the absolute worst song to try to teach someone to dance to is "At Last" by Etta James.  It is slower than slow with a hard-to-hear beat, especially to the non-dancer already under pressure to learn.  Yes, we've done it.  Yes, we've edited the music to try and speed it up, but there are so many other fantastic choices out there.  Let us help you find a happy, upbeat, audience attention-getting song!  Email me a few songs you like, I'll review them and reply with what dances go best to each song.

Helpful tips when learning to dance: Carry in the shoes you plan to wear when you'll be dancing.  In other words, bring in your wedding shoes and start practicing in them.  Do not wear flip-flops and then change into 5 inch platforms at your wedding.  Also, for the guys- don't get used to looking at her feet because she'll most likely have a long dress hiding them on your performance day!

Happy Wedding Season!

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?