Wedding Dance in Newport Beach with Stephanie and Steve

Last winter, we were delighted to meet Stephanie and Steve. The newlyweds-to-be stepped into our award winning wedding dance studio in Orange County and we were excited to help them! The Costa Mesa wedding couple was looking to put together a plan for their upcoming first dance in Newport Beach at Pelican Hill. Their Newport Beach wedding would arrive in two months and they knew they wanted to be elegant and smooth on the dance floor. They were also interested in learning salsa and tango dancing for fun beyond their wedding dance.

When we got started, the couple let me know that they had some dance experience. Stephanie used to be a ballerina, and Steve had dabbled in some swing dancing, but the couple hadn’t done ballroom dancing per say, and not together. They said that they had messed around on the dance floor at parties and weddings, but ultimately wanted to learn how to be able to dance better together. Their prior dance experience gave us something to build on, and we started with a few wedding dance moves with extra special focus on their lead and follow technique. They picked up the first dance moves quickly and were excited to get started on a wedding dance package.

As Stephanie and Steven came in for their scheduled lessons, we were able to expand their wedding dance movement vocabulary. They were fast learners and enthusiastic about learning more first dance moves. I taught the couple a bunch of “wow factor” dance moves that included spins and dips and rotations. We advanced to traveling moves. They would have a large wedding dance floor for their Newport Beach wedding at Pelican Hill. We wanted to make sure that they utilized the space of the big white dance floor that would feature their names in large gold calligraphy.

Once Stephanie and Steven had about ten dance moves under their belts, we began to choreograph their dance. It was important to them to have a planned dance so that they could link their wedding dance moves with their first dance song. They also felt for them this was the best way to be connected, on the same page, and be able to really execute an awesome first dance. Stephanie and Steven had chosen the song “Thinking Out Loud”, one of the most popular wedding songs globally of 2015 and one of the top first dance songs in Orange County. The song’s thoughtful lyrics, beautiful melody, and steady beat made it a very danceable and a fantastic romantic choice for a first dance.

The couple’s first dance started with them taking a few steps forward into the center of their dance floor and then Stephanie walking gracefully around into frame with Steve. They glided through traditional waltz and then broke into modern moves including spinouts, sweetheart cuddles, hammerlocks, and more. They traveled across the dance floor with promenades, turns, and other patterns that gave the couple a lot of flowing movement. As they got their wedding dance choreography down, we were able to work on the finer details of their movement and presentation. Stephanie had great posture from her ballet experience so we expanded on this by making sure that the couple had a great dance frame. This would not only help them dance better together, but also create opportunity for fantastic first dance photos! Stephanie’s ‘port de bra’ also aided to beautiful back bends as Steve dipped her.

After performing a plethora of impressive wedding dance moves, Stephanie and Steve would end their first dance with a gorgeous around-the-world dip and a big lift! Immediately afterwards, they would invite their guests to join them on the wedding dance floor and finish out the rest of their perfect first dance song.

When Stephanie and Steve got their first dance choreography down, we were able to cover a bit of salsa dancing for fun social dancing outside of their first dance practice. They enjoyed the different style of salsa dancing and were happy that the dance technique they worked on in their first dance crossed over and ultimately helped them in another dance style!

On March 28^th Stephanie and Steve nailed their first dance and were able to share what they had worked so hard on with their friends and family. They glided across their wedding dance floor with ease and grace and have the photos and video to prove it! Stephanie and Steve’s first dance journey was officially a success! I’m so proud of them and wish them the biggest congratulations on their Newport Beach wedding dance and their future as a married couple! Congrats!

Article by their dance instructor, Ziva