Orange County Wedding Dance Interview with Christina and Matt

Christina and Matt first came to our wedding dance studio a few weeks before they would fly out from Orange County to their destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico. They had discovered the reviews of our award winning studio on Yelp as they sought out help for their first dance. They described themselves as beginners in dancing and wanted help creating their first dance to “Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra. Christina and Matt wanted to plan some fun moves and memorable wedding dance moments to the bigger accented parts of their classic song. Matt was also seeking additional help to learn how, as he called it, “to dance like a normal person” to general party music at their wedding reception. I was excited to get started on their wedding dance quest!

Christina and Matt first visited us for their introductory lesson and consultation on April 6^th. While their wedding wouldn’t be until April 28^th, they were flying out to Mexico on the 23^rd. When they bought their wedding dance package, we made sure to schedule their lessons so that we could finish their wedding dance and have them ready to go before their flight date.

As Christina and Matt came in for their lessons, I started teaching them how to dance a box pattern that would allow them to move around their dance floor. Their Frank Sinatra music choice matched perfectly with Foxtrot style of dancing. Once they were comfortable dancing the box pattern, I taught Christina and Matt a variety of fun wedding dance moves. Matt learned how to lead Christina through turns, dips, spins, and dance moves that traveled. Their dance floor would be 20 feet by 20 feet so I wanted to give them wedding dance moves that helped them utilize the big space.

Once Christina and Matt had learned a good vocabulary of wedding dance moves, I helped them put the moves together in an order they liked and that fit perfectly to their song. They started their dance side-by-side and facing their guests. Once the music started Matt would lead Christina around into frame so that their guests could get a side profile view of both of them. After dancing a few boxes, Christina and Matt would wait until their first lyrical cue, “In other words…” to perform their first wedding dance move: a beautiful walk-around underarm turn. This would be the kick-off move for a series of fun moves to follow. I taught Matt and Christina how perform all of their wedding dance moves so that their guests could get the best view. Their guests would all be sitting on one side of the dance floor. Matt and Christina would dance through their song, saving their most exciting wedding dance moves for a grand finale at the end of their song. As the blaring trumpets blared behind Frank Sinatra’s dreamy voice, Matt would lead Christina through a few quick spins and pull her for a dip! Christina and Matt were ready to go! I was even able to work with Matt a bit on his party dance moves so that he would be set to dance it out at their reception.

Christina and Matt tied the knot on April 28th and celebrated their matrimony at the Zama Beach Club on the Isla de las Mujeres in Cancun, Mexico. After their wedding, Christina emailed me a video clip of their first dance and I couldn’t be prouder! Christina shared, “You helped make our first dance something wonderful we’ll always remember!” I’m honored that I got to play a small part of their big day and I wish them the best of luck in their future together. Congratulations Christina and Matt!

Article by Dance Instructor Ziva