Paul Hughes provided excellent instruction for our first wedding dance with a fun but beautifully choreographed routine. We were beginners at dancing and he made it easy and informative at the same time. I would recommend Paul to anyone who is preparing for their big day, trying to find a date night activity, or just staying active.
Camden R.
5.0
Paul Hughes is simply amazing! He gave lessons to me and each of my daughters before their weddings to prepare for the father-daughter dances. As someone with two left feet, I can tell you that Paul was able to teach me! Each of the dances were amazing. I couldn't be happier with how thing turned out. I would highly recommend Paul to anyone who wants to learn the basics or advanced techniques. He is simply amazing.
Paul G.
5.0
About this vendor
Paul Hughes
OWNER
AWARD WINNER (2X)
Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot
Ballroom Basics is a wedding dance studio based in Needham, MA. Experienced dance instructors are on hand to choreograph a ballroom dance that will wow your friends and family. They delight in teaching couples of all levels and aim to instill confidence and add joy to your wedding journey.
Founder of Ballroom Basics Paul Hughes is passionate about all things dance. From Line dancing to Latin steps and swing routines, he creates elegant and natural choreography for ballroom beginners and salsa pros alike. Together with a talented team, he delights in collaborating with to-be-weds, LGBTQ+ couples, parents-of-the-couple, and more.
Your personal dance instructor has one simple mission: to make you look wonderful on the dance floor for your first dance. You can schedule private lessons at the Ballroom Basics studio or opt for on-location classes at your home. Paul’s team has devised suggested song lists and offers wedding advice via their website. Whatever song you choose, your tutor will design an original routine that will leave you dancing on air from start to finish.
The Knot independently assesses vendors for this award—it’s never self-reported. We base it on firsthand experiences from real couples and guests, and they must have a 4.5-star average across 7+ reviews in the qualifying year.
Join couples who chose award-winning vendors for their wedding
Meet the team
Paul Hughes
Owner
Paul Hughes started dancing when he was a pre-teen. He competed in American Smooth and Rhythm and International Standard and Latin American dances and won many awards. He is a Ballroom Chair and certified member of the Dance Teachers Club of Boston (DTCB), American Society of Teachers of Dance (ASTD) and National Dance Council of America (NDCA).
Ballroom Basics provides classes and private instruction in Ballroom, Latin, Swing and Line Dance style of dances for Kids, Teens, Adults, Seniors and Wedding Couples.
Reviews
5.0
out of 5.0
27 reviews
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Review Summary
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The instructor is patient, personable, and makes lessons fun and approachable, quickly teaching beginners elegant, tailored routines. They help choose songs, craft choreography (including lifts and adaptations for height differences), and offer flexible options like in‑home or short‑notice lessons. Couples left confident, impressed their guests, and highly recommend these wedding dance lessons.
Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 4
Camden R
Highlighted review.
5.0
7/20/2026
Paul Hughes provided excellent instruction for our first wedding dance with a fun but beautifully choreographed routine. We were beginners at dancing and he made it easy and inform...
ative at the same time. I would recommend Paul to anyone who is preparing for their big day, trying to find a date night activity, or just staying active.
Paul G
5.0
5/27/2026
Paul Hughes is simply amazing! He gave lessons to me and each of my daughters before their weddings to prepare for the father-daughter dances. As someone with two left feet, I ca...
n tell you that Paul was able to teach me! Each of the dances were amazing. I couldn't be happier with how thing turned out. I would highly recommend Paul to anyone who wants to learn the basics or advanced techniques. He is simply amazing.
Any questions?
Jess D
5.0
1/06/2026
Paul was one of the highlights of our wedding planning process. We truly looked forward to seeing him each week to practice our wedding dance. He helped us choose a song, create a ...
routine, nail the lifts, and practice again and again. I am a horrible dancer and he actually made me look GOOD. We can’t say enough amazing things about Paul. He is patient, kind, and just a wonderful person. You’re missing out if you don’t use him. We have video footage of the big dance to prove it :). It was a hit and our friends and family were so impressed by our moves, all thanks to Paul!
Hannah M
5.0
1/05/2026
Ballroom Basics was truly our favorite part of the entire wedding planning process. From the very first session, Paul made everything fun, relaxed, and completely approachable. Aft...
er just two sessions, we had a unique, choreographed dance that felt so us—and we loved every single second of the process.
I also took a class with my dad as a Father’s Day gift and such a special way for us to bond. Those memories are something I’ll treasure forever.
We can’t recommend Paul Hughes highly enough- whether for a wedding, a special occasion, or just to create meaningful memories while having a great time.
Samantha P
5.0
12/28/2025
Absolute incredible instructor!!! Went in with zero skills, my fiancé went in with even fewer. Now we are confident and genuinely excited for our first dance! The instructor makes ...
it easy and fun. I could not recommend these classes more!! They have kept my fiancé and I connected during the stress of wedding planning. Do not hesitate! Take the class!
Catherine Y
5.0
10/22/2025
We thoroughly enjoyed our dance learning experience with Paul! I’m honestly amazed at how far we’ve come from zero dance experience to knowing a whole dance routine. He’s patient, ...
fun to work with, and very easy to schedule lessons with. My fiance and I highly recommend him for wedding first dance (or any dance) needs!
Anna K
5.0
8/04/2025
Paul was an excellent instructor. We came in having never danced professionally just some random dance moves. Paul taught us the fundamentals of dance and gave us the perfect routi...
ne, based on our wedding dance song choice. We made our fair share of mistakes but Paul corrected them while keeping things lively and fun. On our big day, we were ready to dazzle and amaze. And that's exactly what we did! We wouldn't have been able to do it without him.
Sydney K
5.0
5/19/2025
Paul is incredibly personable while also being a true expert at his work. We took a total of 3 lessons with him within the few weeks prior to our wedding. The steps he taught us we...
re very approachable and he curated lessons based on what we individually needed as a couple. We are so excited to show off our new moves at the wedding and beyond! Thank you so much, Paul!
Lyndsay G
5.0
12/23/2024
Paul was great! we attended several sessions with Paul leading up until our wedding. We had a dance in our mind that we wanted to complete based off of a video we found online. Pau...
l helped us pull elements from the video that we liked but then also helped us make it ours. We have a really big height difference (5'2'' vss 6'3'') so Paul also helped us navigate that so that some of the dance moves did not look so awkward. We received so many compliments on our dance routine and we truly would not have been able to make it as perfect without Paul's help! Definitely recommend if you're looking to take some dance lessons for your wedding!
Colleen F
5.0
10/10/2024
Paul is an excellent dance instructor!! He made my fiancée and I feel at ease throughout all our lessons even though neither of us had any previous dance experience. The day of our...
wedding we felt confident performing our first dance and were able to have fun with it, which never would have been possible without Paul. Could not recommend working with Paul more!!
Michael B
5.0
9/25/2024
Paul was the second dance instructor we tried and it is too bad we did not find him sooner as he was exactly what we needed. My wife and I got married on 8/23/24 and we only needed...
6 lessons with Paul to go from absolute beginners to WOWING our wedding guests. We felt comfortable and confident dancing and that was all thanks to Paul. He was able to teach us in our home so we could practice in the same environment that we learned from him. Paul was amazing and I would recommend him to anyone who wants to learn to dance.
Kevin M
5.0
6/11/2024
Paul is an excellent instructor! Very patient and observant. Helps teach simple yet elegant dances for beginners, and provides constructive feedback on correcting common mistakes a...
nd pitfalls. Very helpful in choreographing a dance routine on short notice!
Lauren H
5.0
5/17/2024
Paul is the best teacher and was able to put together an incredible dance one week before our wedding. We highly recommend him. He is patient, kind, and very experienced.
Patrick D
5.0
3/19/2024
Paul was fantastic, did a great job getting my fiancée up to speed with some basic, but elegant moves.
Kara H
5.0
3/19/2024
Paul was very helpful in teaching me and my fiance who are total beginners some basic steps to build a dance routine. It made us comfortable and explained everything well!
Korin K
5.0
11/25/2023
We really enjoyed our dance lessons for our upcoming wedding! Although, me and my partner had no experience before, Paul made it easy and fun! We started with basic steps and each ...
lesson we added more. Highly recommend! ❤️
Nicholas O
5.0
9/07/2023
Are you kidding me? Paul is a LEGEND. Pure LEGEND. He is hysterical and has the best idiosyncrasies. After the first lesson we were already locking in a routine, we kept on going b...
ack because we were inspired to be professionals. He makes everything fun and has a kind and sweet demeanor. Choose him for any dance at all, you won’t be disappointed.
Caitlyn H
5.0
10/19/2022
Paul was absolutely wonderful to work with! He was incredibly patient and work with our skill level to make sure we looked great! He was also very flexible with days and times when...
conflicts came up. Couldn't recommend enough!
Dan H
5.0
10/18/2022
My daughter and I worked with Paul for five weeks preparing for her special day father/daughter dance. Paul accommodated our unique location problem (she lives in Maine, I live i...
n Sutton, so we needed a place in the middle -Lowell area). Paul arranged a wonderful space at a dance studio in Chelmsford at a very inexpensive rate.
Paul started us off with just the basic steps for three weeks and slowly pieced everything together into a smooth routine that was simple, yet elegant. He had patience, made a lot of jokes, explained movements, postures, appearance and how we should move together as a dance couple.
He is a gentleman and extremely knowledgeable about every facet of ballroom dancing (and many other forms).
I would STRONGLY recommend Paul to any dance couple starting out (and probably advanced too). You will not be disappointed!
Dan
Maegan G
5.0
9/07/2022
Paul was extremely helpful when teaching us the ballroom basics for our first dance! He was fun and provided a great history of various dance styles. He made sure we felt calm and ...
comfortable as we prepared for our first dance! Would highly recommend.
Shelby W
5.0
7/28/2022
Paul was awesome and really added to our wedding guest had a great time learning something new and his instructions were great and entertaining!
Daniel R
5.0
7/26/2022
Paul was great! Before meeting Paul, we did not know how to dance. We were actually a bit afraid about what our first dance would be like and whether we would step on each other's ...
feet. In just a few lessons, we learned the foxtrot basics & had a very nice first dance ready. We highly recommend Paul!
Mirele M
5.0
6/26/2022
Paul was an excellent teacher! He helped us get our routine down for a special dance just in time for our wedding. He was very attentive and committed to our progress, sending vide...
os and tutorials to help us along. He was patient and very invested in our routine. Would highly recommend!
Melissa J
5.0
6/13/2022
We really enjoyed having the opportunity to take Ballroom Basics dance lessons for our wedding first dance. Paul has been extremely accommodating, welcoming and encouraging to lear...
n with; his passion for and understanding of dancing is evident with each lesson (I believe we will have taken five or six lessons in total). We started off not knowing anything about ballroom dancing and he was able to break things down for us in ways that were understandable and fun! He helped us to choreograph a dance that worked with our chosen song/ music and that also matched our skill level; we enjoyed it so much that we plan to continue dancing and practicing because we feel so much happier (and healthier) after each lesson. Again, we would highly recommend Ballroom Basics for your dance instruction needs, it’s great to learn with someone who enjoys what they do and who also teaches in a way that inspires their students. Enjoy, and thank you Ballroom Basics/ Paul!
Elena S
5.0
8/27/2021
Paul is the BEST!! So friendly, understanding, talented, and patient. He helped us every step of the way with our wedding dance… he even made a chart for us to help with the order ...
of the steps. We can’t recommend him enough!
Alexandra C
5.0
8/23/2021
Paul created a custom dance routine to our song that captured exactly what we wanted! He gave very clear instructions and is very flexible with scheduling. We ended up going to him...
for father/daughter dance classes too.
Stephanie L
5.0
8/02/2021
Paul has been a lifesaver for me and my fiance in learning some foxtrot for our upcoming wedding day! When preparing for our big day only a few weeks away, we realized that we need...
ed some serious help to look great on the dance floor for our first dance. I submitted a request for dance lessons late into one evening in desperation for some emergency help (and my hopes weren't very high being so last minute), and Paul responded immediately! He is thorough in teaching basic steps, and has adjusted the complexity and built on prior lessons to make us gradually learn and improve our dance skills with each lesson. He is patient with us and has a wonderful way of explaining steps and movements to make our learning the choreography so easy. We would highly recommend Paul for dance lessons, particularly for those who are looking to add some special moves for their first wedding dance!
