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Wedding Dance Coaching in the Big Apple

by Reba Linker, Director, Empire Dance

Hundreds of couples come to our busy NY studio for their wedding dance lessons. As the “First Dance” becomes ever more popular, couples ask, “Why just rock back and forth!?” The first dance is a chance to shine, to make a statement, or just simply look and feel great when all eyes are focused on the dance floor for the first dance!

The first dance can be profoundly meaningful and touching, or sensationally fun, or riotously funny, depending on the couples’ personality. After the formality of the wedding ceremony, the wedding dance is the couple’s first “public appearances” as husband and wife. As they dance, their family and friends get to see the couple as they interact with each other – be it with romance, or humor, or high spirits -- as they move as one on the dance floor.

We advise the couples to let the first dance reflect their personality and style. We want the couple to look natural and comfortable, whether they are going for a simple box-step, or a full-out recreation of a Bollywood movie routine (yes, we’ve done those, too!).

While many couples worry about their first lesson, they really do not need to! We make learning fun and easy. We believe that if couples have a blast learning how to dance, they will keep dance in their lives for a long time to come – the wedding dance truly becomes “a dance to last a lifetime.” (Obviously, we are still total romantics about the wedding business! No matter how many couples we’ve coached, we still get misty-eyed when we start to see a dance come together and the magic starts to happen on the dance floor.)

In fact, the lessons are great stress-busters. Couples often say that their dance lessons were the most romantic, relaxing moments in the midst of hectic wedding preparations. Dance, like many other sports, focuses on the present moment: you can’t dance and worry at the same time! Couples relax, momentarily forget the gazillion wedding details that need attending to, and have a blast learning how to turn their four feet into one sensational dance routine!

New York City is the ultimate melting pot, and the city’s amazing diversity shows up on the dance floor in couples’ choices of self-expression. For one memorable dance, we taught a Latin rumba to a Cuban/Korean couple; he honored his heritage by changing into an embroidered Habanera shirt for their first dance, while she donned traditional Korean garb. Another couple chose salsa as the meeting ground between her Italian background and his Indian heritage. What made this so special was that they first met, as singles, at one of our salsa parties, literally glimpsing each other across a crowded dance floor, and falling in love at first sight! To complete the picture, we were invited to attend their wedding to give a fun salsa lesson to their guests at their Central Park Boathouse wedding.

Another couple chose tango as the best expression of their personalities. Neither the bride nor the groom was Argentine, but both were captivated by that romantic, passionate dance. They really entered into the spirit of the tango; we helped the couple find a live tango orchestra for the reception, taught a tango lesson to the guests at the wedding, and the bride wore “tango red!” Another couple’s foxtrot broke out into a rocking swing; their thank you note described how the bride’s very conservative family had never seen her having so much fun cutting loose on the dance floor. In every case, we were so thrilled to make each couple’s dream come true, and be such a special part of their big day.

Sharing in a couples’ wedding preparation is a special privilege, and we make sure to support our couples as they get ready for their dream day. We go the extra mile! We’ve opened early to coach the bridal party on the morning of the wedding, traveled out of state for a last minute rehearsal in the party space, lent a practice dress to give the bride the feel of moving with lots of fabric, brought in an audience to help the pair overcome performance jitters – anything and everything to make sure they are ready on their big day.

The warmth of the moments we share makes everything worthwhile. We wipe away a tear when the father of a bride sneaks in lessons to surprise his daughter. We share that magic moment when the wedding couple lets go and allows the dance to take over as they gaze into each other’s eyes. You feel what this means to them: the First Dance invites their family and friends to witness and share in this precious expression of their love.

We know how excited couples feel preparing for their big day, and we are thrilled to be part of this romantic profession. We love helping to make our students’ wedding dreams come true, and we encourage every couple to give it a try. You don’t need to just rock back and forth on the dance floor! All the skills are learnable, and the results are awesome. Choose instructors who make it fun and make you feel good about the experience. Express yourselves, wow your guests, and maybe start a new activity that will turn your wedding dance into “a dance to last a lifetime!”