Orange County Wedding Dance Lessons Success Story: Marni and Marc
Seven Degrees in Laguna Beach, CA
This past April, Marni and Marc arrived to Bella Ballroom Dance Studio in Orange County for wedding dance lessons for their first dance. Their upcoming Laguna Beach wedding would arrive in five weeks. They had never done any partner dancing, but had some exciting ideas around creating their first dance. They wanted to surprise their guests, particularly their moms who didn’t have high hopes about their first dance!
Marni and Marc knew that they wanted to dance to Matt White’s “Love and Affection.” They chose the song not only because they enjoyed the tune, but also because they particularly connected to the chorus lyrics, “It will be you and I against the world…” They had the recorded song to practice to, but ultimately would dance to the song played live by the Kalama Brothers. The Kalama Brothers were friends of Marni and Marc and were a talented fit for their wedding. The Orange County natives were also known nationally after winning NBC’s singing competition show, “The Winner Is” in 2013. One of the brothers, American Idol 8 finalist, also sang as a surprise for Marni at Marni and Marc’s engagement. Marni and Marc’s first dance song was very meaningful, so now they needed a first dance to match it!
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Want to learn more about wedding dance lessons in Orange County? Learn more about our Orange County Wedding Dance Lessons!
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On Marni and Marc’s introductory lesson and consultation, this Orange County wedding couple let me know that while they were new to dancing, they wanted to include some dips and exciting moves. I was excited to teach them a wedding dance basic that they could build fun spins and tricks into. I even got to teach them a turn and a dip on their introductory wedding dance lesson! Marni and Marc knew they wanted a planned dance, but also had a busy schedule leading up to the wedding. They decided to do a package of 10 lessons to work towards their perfect first dance.
As Marni and Marc came in for their dance lessons, they expanded their dance movement vocabulary and got more and more comfortable in their dance frame and on the dance floor. On their wedding dance lessons, I had fun teaching them turns, dips, traveling moves, spins and “show stoppers.” We pieced their moves together in connection with the music keeping in mind that there would be guests on three sides of them. Marni and Marc had a great sense of rhythm so they used the beat of the music and lyrical cues to drive their wedding dance moves. On their wedding dance lessons they practiced to remember not only their dance moves, and order of them, but also which way their moves would be facing in relation to their guests. On their eighth dance lesson, Kai brought his guitar and joined the wedding couple on their dance lesson here at Bella Ballroom. This was a treat for me and great for Marni and Marc to practice to live music before their wedding day. They were able to work out details like the tempo of the song and how long they wanted the introduction of the song to be. Kai was able to see them dance in relation to how he was playing. Before Kai left, I took a sound recording of him as he played and sang for Marni and Marc. Moving forward, Marni and Marc were able to use the recording to practice to when Kai wasn’t there.
As Marni and Marc’s wedding approached, we finished choreographing their first dance. While they had all their moves in order, they decided to add five more dance lessons so I could help them really refine their wedding dance. Marni practiced dancing in a wedding practice dress and heels to give her an idea of what it would actually feel like on her big day. Marc worked on his leading technique and transitioning from one move to the next. The wedding dance couple worked on their dance technique and lead and follow connection so their moves flowed seamlessly across the dance floor. By the day of their wedding, they were ready!
On March 24th, 2015 Marni and Marc premiered their first dance for their family and friends at Seven Degrees for their Laguna Beach wedding. The room was dark and there was a spotlight shining solely on the dancing newlyweds. Marni and Marc executed their first dance with success to a beautiful accompaniment of live singing and acoustic guitar. Guests (moms included) were surprised and impressed with the first dance performance of these before self described “two-left feet beginner” dancers!
After the honeymoon, I was so excited that Marni and Marc came by our Costa Mesa wedding dance studio for a visit! I had really enjoyed getting to know and work with them so I was delighted they came by in person to tell me how it all went. They showed me a clip of their wedding dance and I can proudly say they looked awesome nailing their first dance on their wedding day. A huge CONGRATULATIONS to Marni and Marc on their wedding and their first dance!
Article by Orange County wedding dance lessons instructor, Ziva
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Want to learn more about wedding dance lessons in Orange County? Learn more about our Orange County Wedding Dance Lessons!
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