CM Dance Company

Christine was so nice and patient with us as we learned how to ballroom dance for the first time. I like how she starts couples off with just dancing a box to the rhythm and then gradually builds in complexity during each lesson. She helps you with spacing and even gave tips about what to expect on the wedding day so you’re not taken by surprise. She did such a great job that we danced our routine perfectly at our wedding! It was such a memorable moment and I would recommend her to all my family and friends.

Christine was a lifesaver when we were preparing for our wedding. My husband and I knew that we wanted our first dance to be special. We started planning months in advance because we wanted to be sure we had enough time to feel confident that we would do a really good job. Unfortunately, we initially went to Arthur Murray where they created a generic dance routine that had no connection to our personalities or our music (note – the studio shares one music system and you’d be lucky if you hear your song for more than 1 minute during the lesson)! To make matters worse, they book appointments back to back, so the instructors are forced to watch the clock and you definitely won’t get even one minute of extra attention – we felt like we were on a production line. Having lost months of time on lessons at Arthur Murray I was completely disheartened and didn’t know if we would do a choreographed dance at all. I decided to give it one more try and found Christine through an online search. At this point I was nervous because we only had a few weeks until the wedding, but I can tell you we learned more in one lesson with Christine than we did over all the months of prior practice! Understanding that we were on a time crunch, Christine was flexible with her schedule so we could get as much practice time as possible and she got to know us and the kind of vibe we wanted for our dance so she could choreograph a routine that was perfect for us. She even created an original cut of the music that we were able to give to the DJ and she helped us create a cool entrance that stunned our guests. The dance was the highlight of the evening and people still talk about it. We are lucky to have found Christine and for anyone considering doing something special for your first dance, I would highly recommend you skip the generic studios and go to Christine first – you’ll be happy you did!

My husband and I decided last minute about a month before our wedding that we would like to take dance lessons to choreograph our 1st dance. Christine was able to squeeze in 5 lessons for us in just a few weeks, and we learned so much during our time with her. She taught us things we would never have considered such as how to enter a room, where to place our arms on eachother while dancing, and how to arrange our audience on the dance floor. She taught us a few basic moves and helped us string them together to create our 1st dance. She videotaped us so we could practice at home. We found her lessons extremely enjoyable, and they helped us bond even more as a couple before the wedding. Our 1st dance ended up being spectacular, and friends/family are still commenting on how coordinated and organized our dance was. Christine is a pro at what she does and is also extremely warm and fun to work with. I would highly recommend her to anyone planning a wedding!

Christine is awesome! We learned our first dance with Christine. The whole experience was great. We learned some new movement in every lesson. The first dance Christine made for us really impressed our guests!

Christine is absolutely fantastic. My husband and I went to her to get help with our first dance for our wedding and also a mashup dance we planned as a surprise. We had no prior dance experience. In only 6 classes she had choreographed everything and we were dancing like pros. She's so patient and fun. She doesn't over-complicate the moves so everything looks natural. Our dances were the highlights of our wedding and guests were so impressed! We highly recommend CM Dance Company and Christine!!

Christine is amazing. Without judgement or frustration, she took a couple who had never felt comfortable out on the dance floor before and turned us into comfortable starts of the show for our wedding. We dipped, we timed, we felt like we were floating on air because she not only taught us the steps, but the confidence to have fun and treasure our special moment. Would recommend Christine to anyone.

Taking dance lessons with Christine was the best decision! From the beginning, the whole process was very smooth and organized. She accommodated to our difficult schedules and made sure we looked great during our wedding dance. If I knew dance lessons were so much fun, I would definitely have taken them before. Classes with Christine made our wedding dance magical. She’s very professional. Our first dance was one of the best things of our wedding. Definitely recommend her!

My husband and I utilized Christine’s services to prep for our first dance at our wedding. We wanted something simple, my husband does not enjoy being in front of others and is not a big fan of dancing, he was such a trooper and Christine made him feel so comfortable. Because of distance, we did Skype sessions ! It actually worked out way better than I thought. Christine was able to teach us through the screen. She was incredibly attentive, patient, informative, and encouraging. We felt very confident at our wedding. I highly recommend her!

We had so much fun working with Christine to choreograph our first dance. Our song choice is a popular but a difficult one to choreograph to Waltz/Rumba style. However, Christine was able to put together a beautiful choreography and we are very happy with the dance. Working with Christine is more than just learning a dance routine. With years and years of experience teaching other couples, Christine is also a book of wisdom when it comes to staging the dance for pictures, knowing what to expect during the dance, and overall preparation for the big day. It was wonderful to work with Christine and we would highly recommend her to any couple who are serious about kicking ass for their first dance.

We had a fabulous four sessions with Christine and I would recommend her to absolutely every bride and groom! Neither my husband nor I are skilled dancers, but Christine created a routine for us that was easy, looked great and quite fun. We had a blast with Christine!

Christine was amazing with helping us learn the basics of formal dancing, coming from two very uncoordinated people with zero dancing experience. She helped give us the confidence we needed to make our dream first dance come true :)

Out of all of our wedding decisions, working with Christine turned out to be one of the best. She is a true creative and professional. She molded our dance, mixed the music and patiently broke down all the steps. Christine actively listens to your needs and your concerns, and pays immaculate attention to detail to not only the dance but where the videographers/photographers should be to get the best shot of all the best movements. She is easy to work with, and we always felt that we were in safe hands. We truly appreciated the care and attention that she gave to us. You'll have an utter blast working with her. She is just a wonderful gift for your special day.

My husband and I had the pleasure of working with Christine Maldonado for our wedding dance piece! She is simply the best! She makes every session so comfortable and fun --- She truly made our wedding dance a one to remember! All our guests loved it and we received so many compliments. I highly recommend Christine to all couples. Thank you, Christine for playing such an important role for our big day!! We will never forget it. -Sarah-Lynn and Rhodney

For our wedding this year, we resolved to have a First Dance. We had never danced before and were intimidated, yet excited. We found Christine through excellent reviews on Yelp and The Knot and are so happy that we did. We took ten dance lessons with Christine starting in November to prepare for our wedding in March. Christine put us at ease. She was patient, encouraging, and broke the routine into small manageable steps. Christine helped us pick the slow waltz, “Moon River.” We learned basic steps in the first three lessons and practiced routines at every session. Christine choreographed the dance based on room layout, size of the dance floor, and the location of camera and guests. She helped us find good dance shoes and helped us with a rehearsal with the actual wedding dress. The most important suggestion she gave us was to always look at each other, be connected and engaged, and enjoy! Guests at the wedding were surprised that we could dance. Family and friends who were not able to come for the wedding commented on the photos and how we embraced each other with our eyes. The dance lessons were fun. We plan to take more lessons with her to learn more about social dancing. We give Christine our highest recommendation.

Christine is a professional in every sense of the word. She exceeded our expectations and created a first dance that was everything and more. We wanted a fun mash up dance that had the famous Dirty Dancing song as well as Vanilla Ice, NKOTB, C & C Music Factory and MC Hammer. She used pieces of each song and put the mash up together in a way that made sense and worked. It was amazing! Her choreography was spot on she was super invested in making us look like we knew what we were doing! And let me tell you... we nailed the dance!! I was literally the most fun ever and our guests lost their minds. They absolutely loved it and knew the night was going to be the most fun! I am telling you...you need Christine in your life. :) Ronnie & Robi Facciolla Married @ Casa Real 12/30/17

We had a really great experience working with Christine. From the time we signed up and all throughout our 5 sessions with her, she showed genuine care for us as a couple. She made sure that our dance was about us, that it was meaningful to us and that it told our story. Everything was organized and simplified, from reminders of our classes and confirmations about locations, song selections and payment. She was always conscientious of our time - that we make the most of it and she explained to us what we can expect after each session. She came up with a great choreography for us - always mindful and flexible of what we, as a couple, are capable of doing. The result of our short time together was a well-choreographed, customized first dance which really was our own. Our guests were impressed and were giving us compliments even days after our wedding. In addition to the great choreography, all the tips and tricks that Christine shared with us was so helpful and valuable. As first-time performers and first-time wedding planners, she pointed out and gave advice about things we would have never considered, ie. tips for photographers/videographers/DJ. A true performer, she covered every aspect of our “performance” - from our grand entrance to getting both of us seated. She imparted her knowledge to us not only as a stage performer and dancer, but also as a bride, herself. We really enjoyed working with her and we know that you will, as well. You will be in good and very capable hands!

I could not say more amazing things about Christine! It was my husband's idea to find someone to take lessons from and I went along with his idea because I could tell he was really excited. It ended up to be one of the highlights of both wedding preparation and wedding day memories. Christine makes you feel so comfortable from the very first session and really listens to what is important to you as a couple. Let's all be honest, wedding planning can become overwhelming and stressful...sessions with Christine break you away from all of that and remind you what you're doing all of it for, love for the other person. My husband and I, a couple of times, said very few words to each other on the drive to practice session and ALWAYS left happy. Our families and guests loved the finish product. Definitely put any hesitations aside if you're thinking of going with Christine, you're in great hands.

Christine is amazing! Before our lessons, I had social dance classes a long time ago and really enjoy the lessons. My husband had never danced before and thought he had 2 left feet. She was very patient and friendly, and eased our nervousness so we wouldn't feel embarrassed about our wrong steps. Christine asked us the theme song and made choreography for our first dance. Then slowly taught us the steps before putting it all together for us. We actually had lots laugh and fun for lessons! We highly recommend her to the other couples!

Christine is one of the most thoughtful and genuine people I've met. Her ability to make my entire vision come to life, made my heart full! - and that's hard, being a dancer myself. She was able to provide a comfortable environment for my non dancer husband and challenged me as a performer. My husband and I had a great time working together as a couple, thanks to Christine. I would recommend her services to any couple looking to create an unforgettable moment on their big day!

Awesome Awesome Awesome! Me and my husband were not good dancers and we knew we had to get lessons for our first dance because we knew there was no way we could just wing it! Christine is so patient and understanding and worked with us and we are so grateful for that! I would definitely recommend Christine for all your dance needs! She is very caring and patient! Everyone loved our unique first dance. Thank you Christine for everything. We will definitely be recommending you to anyone who is looking for lessons. :)

Christine is an amazing dance teacher! I really wanted a memorable first dance, though I was the one who took social dance classes before and really enjoy it, while my husband on the other hand had zero experience and didn't think at all he would be good at it. I convinced my husband to do a trial with me. The first class with Christine totally turned his attitudes around! Christine's easy approach for complete beginners, and her laughters just made learning dance so much fun. It didn't take me much effort to convince my husband to come back and do the series. Despite that we picked a not so popular wedding dance song, Christine came up with creative choreography with it and edited the music for us to be a comfortable length as well. She taught us progressively, and paid attention to details such as our postures, eye contacts. We had so much fun learning the dance and practicing it. As someone who claimed he had no coordination at all and didn't really want to do it first place, my husband learned quickly and really enjoyed it, and was really excited to show it off, I mean dance it off, at our wedding too! And when we finally did the dance at our wedding, all our guests were blown away! We had a wonderful experience learning dancing with Christine, would highly recommend her to the other couples!

5 stars here don’t do justice here. If I can, I would have given her 10 stars!! From the moment I spoke to her on the phone until the very last day of our practice, she was extremely approachable, professhional and very easy to work with. Most of all, she is really passionate about her work. We signed up for our first dance lessons and secretly I signed up for surprise groomsmen dance. She hears your vision and choreograph accordingly. Us men really can’t dance but judging by the crowds at the wedding, she made a pretty good dancer out of me by the end. I couldn’t believe how easy she made it for someone like me and my groomsmen to follow Look on my wife’s face was simply priceless when she saw our dance. Christine really cares about you and your story and does amazing job of choreographing the dance moves for your special day. Hiring Christine for our groomsmen dance and our first dance was the single best investment I made for our wedding. Thank you Christine!

Christine was amazing! My husband was the one who really wanted the dance lessons for our wedding, but he was also dreading them! Our first session totally put him at ease! She gave him the right steps and taught us how to really move as one. By the time we got to our first dance at the wedding he was ready to rock and roll with confidence. We had a great time and used our lessons for our date nights. It was so much fun and Christine not only made us comfortable but she made us into dancers! Thank you Christine!

Christine ROCKS! We didn't decide to do dance lessons until 3 weeks before the wedding and Christine was able to fit in 5 lessons into a very compact schedule. She was able to quickly assess our abilities and choreograph a dance that we felt comfortable doing and would be fun for our guests. She was able to make my husband feel more confident in his abilities and helped me see when I was throwing him off by trying to take the lead. The lessons made us feel more comfortable on the day of and our guests had a blast cheering us on. Christine was able to do wonders! I would definitely recommend Christine to anyone looking for lessons for a wedding. I can only image what she could have done if we didn't wait till just 3 weeks before our wedding.

you will not find anyone better than Christine! My dad found her on yelp to choreograph our father-daughter dance and we could not have been happier with the results. Neither my dad nor I are dancers, as in zero dance ability; she was able to break it down and teach us step by step. She was very patient and very flexible which was greatly appreciated. She helped me coordinate the wedding timeline to be centered around our dance. When "showtime" came, we felt extremely prepared and had the best time. Christine is the absolute best!!! I would recommend Christine in a heartbeat!

So glad we decided to go with Christine for our dance lessons. We started out with only doing one dance lesson and during that lesson, she really crammed it in! I was wow’d by the fact that she wasn’t trying to cut corners and teach super slow so that she could get a dance-package out of you. Honestly, I don’t think she needs it!! Haha. She’s that busy and booked! After the first lesson, my husband was the only who actually wanted more lessons! We ended up booking a 5-class package and do not regret it at all. It was a new experience for us, learning how to dance as a pair and it was a really good one. First of all, I thought our communication was already good between each other but this dance class was something entirely new. Thus, we learned a new way to communicate with each other. Highly recommend couples to take a dance class together even if only for that reason. Secondly, Christine was great. She never pressured us to do anything but would give suggestions and let us think about whether or not we wanted to add another level of complexity to our dance. She respected our decisions and also understood how we were as a couple and that was really great. Highly recommend anyone interested in taking a dance class with her to do it! She’s really awesome and easy to work with. She knows her stuff!!

My fiance really wanted to do a choreographed first dance, but we were 2 weeks out from our wedding. We had to find a place fast!! Christine was very accommodating and very up front about her schedule. Best value would have been to do the 5 classes, but due to the short time frame she suggested 3 classes. When we arrived, it was great that it was a private session. My fiance use to be a dance group so i was very insecure if I could keep up him with yet alone wouldnt want to embarrass myself in front of other people. We didnt have a song coming in, but we knew what genre and type of music we wanted. After a few of Christine's suggestions, we came up with a great song. Christine looks so graceful when she dances!!. We looked like mechanical robots! We were determined to figure it out. She has the greatest amount of patience and knows her stuff. Coming up to the 3rd class, we were still a bit rocky and she suggested we focus on fewer steps. We would not have it and begged her to fit us in for the additional 2 classes. Due to the strict timeline, she graciously allowed for the 3rd and 4th class to be an hour and half long. By our last class we felt more comfortable with the moves and were ready to wow our audience. Christine also helped us with the grand entrance and told us do and donts! She choreographed movements that were picture and video worthy. Came to show time and there were a few hiccups but Christine's helpful cues and reminders made them seamless. Nobody knew except me and my fiance! When it came to the finale (we had a lift), we had people hootin and hollaring!! Our friend told us he loved our dance and looked like we spent a lot of time and effort into it. I am so happy that my fiance wanted to do the dance. It was a great experience getting to know him better and we both learned patience with each other. I am even more so happy that he chose CM Dance Company. Christine not only reads your body and movements to make sure you look great while dancing, but she will adjust the movements to your skill set. Trust in her experience. You will not go wrong.

Christine was so amazing! She taught my husband and I the most beautiful dance for our wedding. She is patient and knows how to work with people at all levels. My husband had never danced before, and I only knew a bit. We were an inexperienced couple and she made us look like pros! I highly recommend her.

Christine is absolutely AMAZING!! My husband and I waited to book dance lessons until the week before our wedding - of course :) Christine was able to get us in for three lessons just days before the wedding and it was so worth it. She is wonderful and made us feel comfortable and most importantly, we had fun! We weren't looking for anything super choreographed and she nailed it in terms of getting us looking like we knew what we were doing and were able to enjoy ourselves as well. We had so much fun we are looking into taking more lessons to learn different styles of dance! Our first dance was flawless and we are so happy we found CM Dance Company! If you are looking for someone who is super accommodating, easy to learn from and will give you the picture perfect pose worthy first dance, look no further :)

It's wondering working with Christine. She wants nothing but success for her clients! Christine will work with the couple to make the dance fun and doable.

Christine was awesome. We were only able to get 2 lessons in before the wedding, but she helped us prepare enough that we were confident we could pull off our dance and look like we actually knew what we were doing. Neither of us had any dancing background before we met Christine and when we found out that my bride had a bad case of 2 left feet, Christine quickly shifted the routine we had started to ensure we would be able to have a polished dance at the end of our lessons. I highly recommend Christine to anyone looking to gain confidence for their big day, even if you only have the time to take 1 or 2 lessons.

Christine is an amazing teacher. It was our first time taking dance lessons together, and she was very patient and supportive regardless of our constant mistakes. She choreographed our dance to our level and provided us a small video of one of our lessons to review at home. We had a theme for our wedding which she creatively took into consideration. If you're having a themed wedding or are planning to wear a specific costume, I recommend you letting her know ahead of time so she can plan accordingly. She even taught us how to do some small modifications to our dance just in case we make a mistake on our big day. And, at the day of our wedding, we did have a small mishap at the beginning of the dance. However, through her guidance, we made the modifications and know one even knew it had happen!

Christine has been a joy to work with to learn our first dance! She is filled with positive energy and knowledge when choreographing the perfect moves for the song we have picked. We are thankful to have found Christine and are looking forward to our dance on our special day!

Let me start this review with this. I'm a professional dancer (danced with a dance company for 8 years). So, when it came time to put together my first dance for my wedding I wasn't worried. In fact, this was one of MY FAVORITE parts of planning the wedding. However, my husband was terrified. He hasn't danced a day in his life and pretty much has zero coordination and rhythm. Enter the amazing Christine and CM Dance company! I found Christine through reviews on Yelp and people had nothing but positive things to say. So, we had an initial meeting with her to talk through our wedding and first dance ideas. We immediately bonded with Christine! After about 10 minutes of explaining our wedding, the vintage theme and the close-knit meaningful experience we wanted to create for our guests and our dance, she instantly got it and we were able to dive right into the choreography of lesson 1. We bought the 5-pack of wedding lessons and man was it worth it! Christine put together wonderful choreography that showed off my style as a professional dancer but was easy and simple enough for my husband to learn as well. Christine's style is awesome as she completely customizes each dance lesson based on the couple. I was shocked at how easily she pivoted her teaching style between me with my professional dance experience and my husband with ZERO dance experience. She was such a good teacher, that my husband ended up actually WANTING to dance. Now he keeps searching for excuses for us to be in situations where he can whip out his newfound dance moves. I NEVER thought I would see the day he would tell me to get on the dance floor. Thanks for that extra bonus Christine! At the end of it all, she put together a beautiful 2-song dance for us that literally captured and expressed the essence of us coming together as husband and wife. That's the best part about Christine, she doesn't put together a choreographed polished dance that feels stiff, rigid and not you. She builds off your energy, personality, and skills. We had a small wedding where we wanted it to be intimate, meaningful and genuine and she created a dance that reflected just that. We literally BLEW OUR GUEST'S MINDS at the wedding. People were so shocked at my husband and his new found dance moves and the dance truly was a physical expression that told the story of us. I couldn't have been happier! In fact, we ADORED Christine so much that we snuck my parents in for a quick lesson with her before the big day. They were dance rockstars and their moves were so good that when they starting dancing with everyone else, people naturally created a giant circle around them and stared in awe! I would highly highly recommend Christine to anyone who wants to look great on the dance floor, have fun and truly tell the story of your love through dance!

We had a wonderful experience at CM Dance Company-- Christine is the best! We did the 5 pack of lessons for our first dance, and are so glad we did. Christine helped us to plan a dance that not only fits our song, but also is perfectly tailored for our dance and comfort level. We feel so much more confident and excited about our first dance now at our wedding (which is coming up in a few days!) Christine even helped us to plan a short surprise dance, where she edited the song and helped us have a plan for our wedding party to join in! We are thrilled with our lessons and highly recommend for others!!

We were referred to CM dance company by our friends for dance lessons for our first dance at our wedding. We signed up for the 5- lesson package which was enough time to learn our dance. Christine also choreographed a second fun dance for us at our request. Looking back, I wish we would've contacted her sooner so that we could really perfect our dances and maybe have even made it more difficult. My husband and I aren't dancers, but Christine was very patient and worked with our skill level. The first dance means a lot and it was great that we were able to actually dance instead of just sway back and forth. We highly recommend Christine for your dancing needs! It's a great bonding activity between you and your fiancé as well!

Christine was a wonderful instructor! We had a vision that was very ambitious for the timeframe we had, and she helped us narrow it down to something that was do-able. She listens to ideas and tries to incorporate them in the routine. She understands that the couple are not dancers and will help you perform something fit for your skill level so that you will look good, perform well, and most of all, have fun! We had fun during our lessons, and more importantly, had fun performing for our guests. Our guests were very impressed and enjoyed the routine.

My husband and I hired Christine to help us with our first dance. I can't speak for my husband, but I have twp left feet and generally dislike dancing (because of the 2 left feet). We gave Christine our song and she was able to cut it down to the perfect length and choreographed it so that it was something we could do comfortably that didn't look like the middle school shuffle. She takes things like room layout and where the audience is going to be into account in putting together the routine to ensure our photographer can get great shots (and she did!) Christine was about to go on maternity leave when we hired her so we had very limited time. Despite that, she was extremely flexible with our work schedule. When I had to leave the country unexpectedly, she made time for us in order to make sure we got our lessons in. We also had a couple of lessons with our parents. While my husband's mom was easy to work with, my dad was another story. He was coming from Taiwan 2 weeks before the wedding, so we could only get 1 lesson in with him. Things got very stressful as my dad wouldn't listen to Christine's instructions and kept doing his own thing, which made it extremely difficult since I'm not a natural dancer. I eventually had a total emotional meltdown and stepped out of the room. Christine anticipated all of this from experience, worked her magic, and somehow got my dad to listen, and we walked out of that lesson smiling. I can't say enough how great Christine is, how incredibly dedicated and thoughtful she is to her students, and how fortunate we were to have been able to work with her.

We are so happy we found Christine to teach us how to dance and choreograph our wedding dance. She was always smiling, she was very patient and she knows what she is doing. She choreographs the dance, teaches the dance and then helps to perfect the dance, to the best of the dancers abilities. Now that we know our special wedding dance, we want to continue taking lessons with Christine so we don’t lose everything we have learned. Our dance was a total surprise to our family and guests. Everyone was very surprised and LOVED our dance. We weren’t even nervous. It was so much fun! Thanks Christine!

Christine makes sure you feel comfortable when you are dancing! We are so glad we had taken our first dance lessons with her. We had so many compliments from our guests, and my husband and I enjoyed dancing ourselves as well. Thank you Christine!!

Fiance and I just started lessons with Christine. So far so good! We are having fun and feel comfortable with Christine; she is also very patient with us and also honest about what will work and what won't with our short time frame. Glad we chose Christine, as I was worried dance lessons would be awkward or not fun, but so far we are having a good time! Even the fiance agrees! :)

Christine's dance expertise helped our family organize and surprise the Bride and Groom on their wedding day with a flash mob dance. She was very responsive to emails, helped with our song selections, and choreographed a fun dance that our group of 5-65 year old had an amazing time performing. She is truly talented and awesome to work with!!!

My husband and I hired Christine to choreograph a dance for our wedding's first dance. Christine was so awesome to work with. She really knows how to read the room well and created a wonderful choreographed dance for my husband and I based on our abilities. We really enjoyed working with her and had a ton of fun learning. She breaks down the dance moves that is easy to understand, and works with us individually when we have some trouble. In addition, we had a few lessons for my parents and they had a fun learning a few basic steps for our wedding as well. All in all, it was such a wonderful experience working with Christine. She is very sweet and extremely patient!

Christine had us looking like Grace Kelly and Fred Astaire after one lesson... and made the experience so fun. She is able to break down complicated steps into easy parts, and can help even dancers who are concerned they have two left feet! I highly recommend Christine.

My husband and I had a wonderful experience learning our wedding dance from Christine. She was enthusiastic, creative and especially patient with us. She choreographed a dance that we felt comfortable with and best of all she was open to any changes or concerns we had with any of the moves. She was incredibly helpful and very good at giving direction and did not force us or rush us into anything. I especially appreciated the time she took before and after each lesson to “check in” with us. It let us know that she cared about our well-being and it helped us clear our minds from all the wedding chaos. In the entire process of wedding planning, we looked forward to each of our dance lessons because Christine always made it enjoyable and constantly reminded us to stop, look at each other and remember the real reason we have chosen to get married. Overall, I think our first dance was a success and we truly enjoyed sharing that moment with our friends and family. In addition to choreographing and teaching us our first dance, Christine also choreographed a dance for the father/daughter and son/mother dance at the reception. It was a great experience for both our parents and for us. It helped to ease a lot of nerves and gave us the opportunity to showcase the relationship we shared with our parents. Everyone at the reception was touched by the dances and our parents were very proud. Thank you, Christine, for guiding us through the process and for giving us the opportunity to shine.

Working with Christine was a perfect experience, and now that everything is over (10/10/15 wedding!) I can say that she was my favorite wedding-related vendor. We really felt like Christine cared: she made really helpful suggestions not just for our dance itself, but for how we could enter and exit, how to set up friends and family for ideal photos, and made recommendations for our entry and exit songs. She laughed with us through all of our many mistakes, was encouraging, and shaped a dance that felt like "us" and not someone else. In the end we had a beautiful, celebratory first dance that (bonus!) looked great in pictures. Along the way, we had a fantastic time learning with Christine and enjoyed slowing down and spending time with each other on lesson nights. Thanks again!

My wife and I are not dancers. We are actually not good at dancing at all and Christine made us look awesome. She created a dance that we could accomplish, was patient with us when we struggled and helped us create a wedding memory that will last a lifetime. Our wedding dance wowed our guests a gave a great sense of togetherness that enhanced our wedding day. It was a great way to start our lives together. The dance, the instruction was excellent and a lot fun. We would definitely recommend it to any couple getting married.

I am so happy we found Christine and CM Dance Company! My husband and I only had time to meet with her twice before the big day. She helped to guid us into a first dance song that was appropriate for our event and skill level. I felt so much more comfortable having learned the dance moves she taught us. Plus, now we have a reserve of dance moves that we pull from at other parties. People tell us they wish they could dance like we do!

Christine was excellent. Everyone loved our first dance and is still talking about it!

The comment our moms made was, "It's like Dancing with the Stars!" We came to Christine with two songs we had in mind for our first dance (At Last by Etta James and Shut Up and Dance by Walk the Moon). Our initial thoughts were that we could splice them together to make a combined slow then faster dance, but she convinced us two separate dances would be better. In just nine lessons, she choreographed two dances, our first dance (slow rumba) and our "second" dance (quick/fun cha-cha) based on our two songs choices, and they were a hit! Christine had a vision for both dances throughout our time together and designed them based on our ability. She challenged us, helped us successfully execute several lifts, and made sure we were always comfortable with her direction. She recorded us dancing with her cues so that we could go home and practice like she was there with us. We always looked forward to her lessons and felt ready to go by wedding day. Christine also had an eye for what the wedding day would look like, photo opportunities, wow moments, entrance, and exit flow. We would recommend her to anyone regardless of song, dance choice, experience, or ability.

Christine is amazing! Her open and caring personality really helps to put your whole wedding into prospective. She has such a clear and direct way of teaching that she even makes beginners feel like pros by the end of the lessons. You WILL NOT be disappointed.

My wife and I have been going to a ton of weddings as we've hit the age where everyone's getting married. We're also in the wedding industry (shoutout photobombsj.com) and I would say that 99% of the first dances we saw were boring. It was a time to look for a few seconds, then pour some shots. I thought maybe we should get some lessons, and a friend of mine recommended Christine. We talked over the phone, and she seemed totally cool, so we booked 5 lessons with her. IT WAS SOOOOO WORTH IT!. She was patient, knew what she was talking about, choreographed our whole dance to the song we wanted, and pretty much set up all the details so that we would get the best looking pictures and videos. There's a short part of our dance in our highlight video (https://vimeo.com/139421034). EVERYONE has been telling us how amazing it was! CM Dance Company definitely added magic to our day!

Christine is the way to go with your first dance. She is a creative mind, but also perceptive, which makes for a great experience. She will take your song beforehand and come prepared with some choreo and ideas, but her process is fluid, and she has a knack for adapting for the dancers' abilities (or lack thereof) and personalities. We were very happy with our dance, and all the cheering, whistling and hollering that it helped produced. (Oh, what a couple small lifts and spins can do!) The song was not over-choreographed, yet still fancied up enough for the wedding. I also scheduled a last minute lesson for my dad and I with Christine a few days before the wedding, which helped immensely. No time for choreography, but definitely time for some emotional moments right there in the dance studio (hello watery eyes). It helped make the actual moment less awkward and much more enjoyable. Call Christine now if you are considering dance lessons!

Our wedding first dance was so beautiful and we have Christine Maldonado to thank! Our story: We started planning our wedding almost immediately after getting engaged. We were engaged on May 17, 2014 and the wedding was scheduled for April 25, 2015. On March 11, 2015, we reached out to Christine asking if we had enough time to take dance lessons for our first dance. We explained we weren’t the best dancers, so we understood if she thought that we were reaching out to her too late in the game. Christine welcomed us with open arms and said with enough practice, our first dance will be beautiful. We signed up for five dance lessons. Christine scheduled the dance lessons to allow for enough time to practice in between each lesson. Even before our first dance lesson, Christine requested for our song so she can start choreographing our routine. The first dance lesson came and we hit the ground running! Take note, every couple’s capabilities are different, but Christine embraces that and works with everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. She listens for our concerns and watches attentively in order to perfect what we have. This made it really easy to work with her, but it was also her personality that added to the fun of the choreography. She was definitely our instructor, but we thought she was so cool that we felt like she was even one of our close homies. What really helped us was being able to record each dance lesson with our personal camcorder. We would watch our dance lesson from the comfort of our living room and practiced along while listening to Christine’s instructions in the background. We downloaded the song on our phones and would play the song on repeat in order to memorize the song and listen for the counts. While listening to the song on our phones, we would practice dancing in our heads. We would actually practice one to two days in preparation of our next dance lesson. Honestly, the practice we put in outside of class is what really helped us during the 1-hour we had with Christine so PRACTICE! One of the pros with working with Christine was that the dance lessons were PRIVATE dance lessons. She had our undivided attention and was focused on us the entire time. She watched us attentively and choreographed on the fly as she watched us succeed and fumble through the dance moves in order to choreograph the perfect dance routine for us. It goes without saying that Christine has an awesome personality. It was because she was so pleasant to work with that we made every effort to practice hard in order to make her proud. You can sense the amount of pride she has in her craft and we are so thankful that we found her on Yelp. For the longest time, we thought simply swaying back and forth would suffice for our first dance - boy were we wrong! We are now true supporters of choreographed wedding first dances and without a doubt Christine is THE PERSON to take lessons from. Christine’s schedule is flexible and lessons are conveniently scheduled as late as 8pm to accommodate the busy working bees. Thank you Christine for the wonderful experience! More blessings to you and your wonderful dance company. Cheers!

Christine taught my husband and I our wedding dance about a month or two before the wedding. We gave her our song ahead of time and she worked out the counts and some basic steps! I have a dance background but my hubs has two left feet! Needless to say, she was very patient with both of us, and my husband new the dance better than I did by the end of it! We loved having a dance choreographed...it didn't look too overdone or flashy but it was definitely better than just swaying around :) We loved our experience with Christine and would recommend her to anyone!