First Dance Interview with Nedda and Mo in Orange County
Nedda and Mo performed their first dance at the beautiful Lyons Air Museum in Santa Ana, CA.
On October 26th, 2016 I had the pleasure of meeting Nedda and Mo for their introductory lesson and first dance consultation. The Orange County wedding couple had been excited to start planning their mash-up mix for their first dance! Nedda and I had met a month or so prior when she walked by our award winning Costa Mesa wedding dance studio. I was able to give her some information on what to expect so that her and Mo would be ready to start planning their first dance when they came in together.
During Nedda and Mo’s first dance consultation, I learned important details about their wedding dance floor space and exactly what they were looking for help with in the first dance department. Nedda and Mo described themselves as being beginning to intermediate level dancers interested in learning wedding dancing, salsa dance, ballroom dance, and Samba. They would have a huge dance floor and wanted to incorporate different songs into their first dance. Nedda and Mo loved dancing and were super ambitious and excited to have their first dance evolve from being more traditional and romantic into being fun and party-filled. They also knew their wedding was approaching fast and they had to split their time in between Orange County and Las Vegas for business. By the end of their wedding dance consultation we had figured out the perfect dance package that would allow them to accomplish all of their first dance goals while considering their busy schedules.
Nedda and Mo’s first dance song would be a medley of three songs, one blending fluidly into the next. Nedda and Mo’s first song was a traditional Persian song. They started the dance across the dance floor from each other and would walk towards and around each other looking at each other with “tiger eyes” until Mo did an exciting knee slide in towards Nedda offering her his hand. Nedda walked around Mo before he stood up and gave her a spin into frame. I taught Nedda and Mo how to waltz. Waltz was the perfect fit for the timing of the Persian music and gave Nedda and Mo the sweeping, romantic movement they were looking for in the first part of their first dance. Nedda would be wearing a beautiful trumpet skirt shaped wedding dress so I made sure to teach Nedda and Mo to dance in a way that would work with the movement of her dress. Nedda and Mo’s guests would be surrounding them in more of a “U” shape so we made sure to plan their dips, spins, and other first dance moves so that their guests would see them. Mo led Nedda through two dips, a cuddle and several spins before their first song would trail into the next song.
Nedda and Mo’s second song featured a slower version of “Cinema” that would give the couple a moment to sway together and walk around each other with embraced arms. The second song would be fairly short, but would give Nedda and Mo a chance to reconnect and slow things way down to make for a big and impactful surprising third song!
Nedda and Mo’s third and final song would be “Vivir La Vida” by Marc Anthony. The upbeat Latin song would be a fun International finale to Nedda and Mo’s trifecta first dance. This third song would include not only one dance style, but two! Nedda and Mo would start with the very popular Dominican Republican dance style known as Bachata. Both Nedda and Mo would do Bachata turns through the first verse of the dance and use their Bachata to dance both side-to-side and front-to-back. Mo also wrapped Nedda up in a cuddle and she would sneak out from under his arms into a turn. Once the chorus of their final first dance song kicked in, Nedda and Mo would surprise their guests with much faster salsa dancing! Nedda and Mo would dance Salsa until finally inviting all of their guests to join them on the dance floor.
Nedda and Mo did a great job piecing the parts their first dance together. Their dance encompassed the tradition of a first dance, included the Persian music of their heritage, showcased the music of their generation, and ended with the elements of a big fun party! A huge congratulations to Nedda and Mo on their wedding and their success dancing their fantastic first dance!
Article by Ziva
