Roxana & Danny Newport Beach Wedding Dance Lessons

Roxana and Danny first stepped into our wedding dance studio on January 27^th, 2015. I was excited to greet them for their wedding dance introductory lesson and consultation. They had learned about our award winning wedding dance studio in Orange County from Yelp, and were excited to start planning for their first dance for their Newport Beach wedding.

During our first visit, the wedding couple let me know that they wanted to dance to Michael Buble’s “Everything”. Their first dance song was a great choice! It was upbeat nature and had swells within it’s melody allowing for some promising wedding dance photo moments. The song was classic in nature, but new and fresh in feeling. The melodic piano was a great accompaniment to Michael Buble’s lyrics which were sweet in nature and captured the notion of finding someone in the craziness of life who is everything to you.

Roxana had danced a long time ago and while Danny had never danced, he played basketball so was familiar with being body-motion aware. The newlyweds-to-be had never danced together before so they wanted help feeling comfortable out on the dance floor and being synced in their dance movements.

On Roxana and Danny’s introductory wedding dance lesson, we covered all the details in what they were looking for to create their perfect first dance. I was able to teach them a base move that would be a great fit for their song and also great for them to know for the rest of their lives as a married couple! We added on a beautiful walk-around princess turn and even a dip on their first day! At the end of their introductory wedding dance lesson and consultation, the couple decided on the perfect first dance package that would get them exactly what they wanted to accomplish and in the time they had left before their big day.

On their first official dance lesson the wedding couple were able to add onto the moves that they already learned. I taught Roxana and Danny a romantic dance cuddle, an exciting spin out, and a totally new type of dip! We worked towards rotating their basic step to give it more movement, but Danny wasn’t a fan of the technique so I was happy to give him an alternate route to make sure they moved around a lot and got to face all of their guests throughout the dance. I taught them turns and tricks that would give them the same quality of movement. Their dance floor would be 21 by 24 feet with their guests split on two opposite sides of their Newport Beach wedding dance floor. The side perpendicular to their guests would have their sweetheart table and the other side would host the DJ. We wanted to make sure that both sides of guests got to see special moments of their first dance and that their dips and moves weren’t pointed to their empty sweetheart table or the wedding DJ stand. (Although I’m sure the DJ would have enjoyed that!)

Once Roxana and Danny had a few wedding dance moves under their belt, we started to put their first dance together. They decided that having a plan for their dance would be the best for them. They would feel more confident having their dance completely mapped out instead of doing a looser lead-follow route. Their first dance would start with an entrance of Danny leading Roxana all the way around in a circle until he could spin her under his arm into their dance frame. They would arrive in each others arms just in time to start dancing with the start of Michael Buble’s lyrics. Their dance would continue and as the music picked up their wedding dance moves got more and more exciting. Danny led Roxana through some impressive turns and spins and dips. As we planned more and more of their first dance, I taught them more moves as they needed them or as the music asked for it. Roxana and Danny got really good at their timing and connection to the song. They used the beat as well as lyrical cues to stay on track and hit every wedding dance move just as they wanted it.

As Roxana and Danny’s wedding dance lessons continued we were able to finish their first dance choreography. By their last lesson, Roxana and Danny looked great. I was particularly impressed that by their last lesson they were smiling through their entire dance. Danny shared that Roxana suggested they practice smiling and it paid off! They looked fantastic as they danced smoothly through all the transitions in their dance and nailed all of their wedding dance moves!

After the wedding and after the honeymoon, Roxana was kind enough to take the time to let us know that their wedding was amazing and that everyone loved their dance! She sent us a wedding video montage that included some clips of their first dance. I was not surprised to see how great they looked on the dance floor and to see all of their guests and bridal party smiling and cheering for them in the background! Furthermore Roxana shared that taking wedding dance lessons reignited her love for dancing and she was planning to do more and take dance lessons for fun beyond their wedding.

Roxana and Danny did a stellar job and I wish them both a huge congratulation on finding each other, their wedding in Newport Beach, and nailing their first dance!

Article by Orange County top dance teacher, Ziva

Roxana and Danny’s 5 star Knot Best of Weddings Review:

My husband and I went into Bella Ballroom not being sure what to expect! We knew we needed some help but that we wanted a natural flow to our dance! Ziva gave us exactly that! She was so patient and so talented! We truly enjoyed and looked forward to our dance classes! We had so much fun practicing at home and can say honesty that this was the most fun part of our wedding planning process! Our wedding day was made even more special by our dance which thanks to Ziva’s choreography and direction went off without a hitch!! Thank you Ziva and Bella Ballroom!