We Treat Your First Dance Like Its Our First Dance
Dare 2 Dance Team
OWNER
Typically responds within 24h
AWARD WINNER (8X)
Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot
Your First Dance should be romantic, exciting, fun, and so much more!
As you walk onto the dance floor for the first time as husband and wife, you want to do it with confidence, grace, and a smile.
In the era of cell phones and social media, you want to be proud of your First Dance and not see it on YouTube for all the wrong reasons.
We are committed to making your First Dance enjoyable and unforgettable.
We will guide you through every step and lesson of creating a First Dance that is perfect for you, whether simple, advanced, or elaborate.
And we will do it without any stress for you.
Knowing how important your First Dance is, we exclusively offer private lessons to wedding couples on Saturday and Sunday. Obviously, we offer lessons from Monday through Friday as well.
The testimonials show that you can feel comfortable and confident with us to prepare you for the most important dance of your life.
Learn From The Best In The Business!
Details
Music Genres
Country
Dance
Disco
Flamenco
Latin
Pop
R&B
Rock
World Music
Awards and Affiliations
Any questions?
Meet the team
Dare 2 Dance Team
Owner
Dare2Dance has been voted BEST Dance Studio in Cincinnati for 14 years in a row (2013 - 2026)! Our wedding specialist instructors are the best in the business. They continuously work on their dancing to become better teachers. We strive to make your learning experience fun and stress-free. Our goal is to make your First Dance memorable for everyone. We would be honored if you chose us to prepare you for your big day.
Reviews
5.0
out of 5.0139 reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
Review Summary
This AI-generated summary is a snapshot of this vendor's ratings and feedback.
Couples praised the instructor’s patience, humor, and knack for teaching complete beginners. Lessons were fun, flexible, and confidence-building, producing polished first dances that impressed guests and became wedding highlights. Many called it a bonding, stress-relieving experience and highly recommend Dare2Dance.Review photos
Showing slide number 1 out of 6
Sierra B
Highlighted review.
5.0
12/03/2025
Marco was absolutely incredible to work with! He helped my dad and me choreograph our father–daughter dance, which was no small task since dancing is way outside of my dad’s comfor...
t zone. Marco made him feel capable, confident, and completely at ease—he has a real gift for making things feel fun instead of intimidating. He’s hilarious and truly great at what he does. We were even torn between two different songs, and instead of making us choose, he suggested using both. He created the smoothest, most seamless transition between them and turned it into a moment we’re both so proud of. Our dance ended up being such a special part of the wedding, and we truly couldn’t have done it without Marco. Highly, highly recommend!
Christopher W
5.0
10/06/2025
We could not speak higher of Marco and our experience at Dare 2 Dance. We were up against the wall from a timing perspective (3wks out from our wedding day) and Marco was incredibl...
y patient and accomodating. Marco is such a fun and approachable instructor. We are novice dancers (at best) but never felt overwhelmed and the dance Marco choreographed for us was exactly what we were hoping for. We truly looked forward to every lesson and after 5 lessons we were sad to say goodbye because we had so much fun. Thank you Marco for being such a wonderful person and teacher! (Heather & Chris)
Any questions?
Caitlyn T
5.0
10/05/2025
We had the absolute best experience with Marco at Dare 2 Dance! Neither my husband nor I had ever danced before, but Marco made us feel completely comfortable from the very first l...
esson. He created a routine that was easy to learn, perfectly matched our first dance song, and truly felt like us.
Marco was kind, funny, and so thoughtful — every lesson was fun and something we looked forward to. I honestly never thought I’d get my husband to dance, but he really enjoyed it! Having a special first dance that felt natural and meaningful was so worth it, and we have Marco to thank for that.
He’s such a nice guy and an incredible instructor. Marco, you gave us such amazing memories and advice. We cannot thank you enough! We’re even thinking about taking more lessons just for fun in the future!
Ashley M
5.0
8/12/2025
Dear Marco. Our friends Janet and Peter were more than right when they told us about you. You are an exceptional teacher. Your ability to draw out the best in people won us over an...
d made us more confident. Your inspiration and imagination in dance moves, drawing upon different genres and styles, reflect your dedication to dance. You went above and beyond for us, and we believe you would do that for each and every other couple for their first dance. Thank you – always!
Margaret J
5.0
8/12/2025
Marco. Firstly, thank you for your lovely note and tips before our wedding. Richard and I wanted to say a very BIG thank you for teaching us our first dance. You made us feel very ...
comfortable and were so patient. The dance went really well and we had a lot of fun doing it. Rich even got spontaneous and threw in an extra twirl :-). The day and night were absolutely perfect, and we spent the whole time laughing and smiling. THANK YOU!! We so appreciate you being part of our special day.
Betty W
5.0
6/16/2025
Marco. You are such a gem; thank you so very much for all of your help. For us, it has also been a real pleasure getting to know you. We appreciated your flexibility with our work ...
commitments and also all of the weekend appointments. We were both so excited and couldn't wait to perform our dance. And on the day, the dance was just beautiful! We will never forget your patience and dedication.
Lisa S
5.0
6/15/2025
Dear Marco. The wedding was amazing, everything was perfect. The dance was amazing. Everyone was congratulating us, and we surprised so many people with our skills. You are amazing...
. And thank you again for everything; your patience, time, and your calm - it was a blessing for us to work with you. Something we will never forget.
Michelle L
5.0
6/13/2025
Marco, Marco, Marco!!! Having our first dance lessons with you was one of the most enjoyable aspects of preparing for our wedding. We really surprised ourselves with pulling the da...
nce off. (Even though you had told us before.) Many thanks for all of your help! We will always remember the fun we had preparing for our dance, and you were a big part of it.
Nancy B
5.0
6/11/2025
We just wanted to say (a very, very delayed!) thank you for teaching us how to dance for our wedding last November. It all went incredibly well, and all of our guests were very imp...
ressed! We really enjoyed learning and performing our dance, and we appreciate your patience as we learned how to spot! Thank you again for making our first dance the best dance.
Brad
5.0
3/27/2025
I can't believe it has taken me this long to write this review. We found Marco and Dare2Dance in the last 2 months leading up to our wedding knowing we both had limited dance exper...
ience and were nervous for our first dance. Marco was awesome in listening to what we wanted and tailoring a beautiful first dance for us that wasn't too complicated but gave us more than swaying. An added bonus working with him was such a fun time to relax and be together leading up to our wedding. I highly recommend that everyone check out this place. You can't go wrong!
Kenneth
5.0
3/22/2025
My husband and I can’t say enough wonderful things about Dare2Dance and our instructor, Marco. We signed up so we could feel comfortable dancing together during our first dance. We...
went in blindly not knowing what to expect, and it was the best decision we made. Not only did our lessons feel like a time away from the craziness of wedding planning, but it was always a delight to be in Marco’s presence. We both clicked with him and we were amazed at how well we were able to learn the foxtrot and swing with his help. Our first dance was upbeat, modern, yet old school (Michael Bublé’s cover of “Some Kind of Wonderful), and Marco helped put together a dance routine that had us excited to perform in front of our guests. We had the MOST fun putting on the performance at our wedding and our guests are STILL talking about how much they loved it. Looking through my wedding photos, my husband and I have the biggest smiles in our first dance photos and it’s all thanks to Marco for being an amazing instructor. In fact, my husband never considered himself a dancer and this awakened a side of him that makes him want to learn more styles of dancing. It had the same effect on me, and we plan on going back to Dare2Dance to perfect our Swing and then some!
Anonymous
5.0
3/17/2025
Huge thanks to Dare2Dance!!! Our first dance went unbelievably well. We had tons of compliments and everyone was just so impressed. We are so proud of ourselves for 2 reasons. The ...
first one is our dance and the second one is to learn from the best!!! Greg and I highly recommend Dare2Dance.
Edd
5.0
3/17/2025
Dare2Dance was the perfect way for my husband and I to prepare for our first dance without taking time out of our busy schedules. Our guests at the wedding were so surprised and im...
pressed when my husband and I did our first dance, and I loved how the entire experience of learning the dance gave us some quality together time leading up to the big day. I wholeheartedly recommend Dare2Dance to other couples!
Olivia
5.0
3/15/2025
We are so grateful for Dare2Dance! Our guests unanimously told us that their favorite part of our wedding day was our first dance--we kept it a secret from them. We are also very t...
hankful to Marco for giving us awesome instructions and an easy way to prepare us for our first dance! Even though we had one minor misstep (which nobody saw), we are so happy with how the dance went and will remember it forever!
Jennifer B
5.0
3/07/2025
My now husband gifted me a set of dance lessons for my birthday, leading up to our wedding. We enjoyed them so much, and now that the wedding is behind us, we're taking salsa lesso...
ns together! Marco was an amazing instructor, and came up with a beautiful dance for us to learn. We were pretty nervous leading up to the dance, but luckily we knew it so well, everything went perfectly. Highly recommend!!
Nicole G
5.0
2/26/2025
We want to say thank you so much for creating such a beautiful routine. It allowed us to make our wedding a very beautiful and memorable day. Whenever we practiced, it always fille...
d us with joy to learn even when we made mistakes! You made us feel safe, comfortable, and confident. The first dance ended up being what we looked forward to the most and was the highlight of our wedding.
Shannon L
5.0
11/04/2024
Marco is amazingly helpful and professional. He will do everything in his power to make sure you have an amazing first dance. He is extremely flexible and cares about your experien...
ce.
Emma K
5.0
10/15/2024
Finding first dance choreographies on wedding dance lessons was a huge stroke of good luck. “Can’t help falling in love by Elvis” held special significance for us and the choreogra...
phy was exciting! We didn’t want to do a boring traditional dance. Marco’s instructions were excellent. Our confidence grew as we completed each small section and it was not only great fun, but a unique bonding experience. When the wedding night came (and the spotlight hit us) it was magical… for us and our guests. Want to make your wedding dance something you’ll always treasure? Dare2Dance was the answer for us. Marco, thank you again for taking the time to make our dance unforgettable!!!
Samantha T
5.0
10/15/2024
Thank you so much for the amazing lessons, we had so much fun together bonding over learning the dance, and it was an absolute highlight of our wedding day. All of our guests were ...
so shocked that we had this epically choreographed dance, and it was such a special moment for us. Thank you so much for helping us preparing our first dance.
Amanda M
5.0
9/18/2024
Just wanted to write to say what an amazing first dance we had thanks to you!! We both have zero dance experience, but you made it very easy to learn and the final result impressed...
both us and all of our guests! Plus, it was so much fun! I am SO HAPPY we found you! Our first dance was hands-down the highlight of the whole day for us!
Amanda M
5.0
9/18/2024
Just wanted to write to say what an amazing first dance we had thanks to you!! We both have zero dance experience, but you made it very easy to learn and the final result impressed...
both us and all of our guests! Plus, it was so much fun! I am SO HAPPY we found you! Our first dance was hands-down the highlight of the whole day for us!
Amanda M
5.0
9/18/2024
Just wanted to write to say what an amazing first dance we had thanks to you!! We both have zero dance experience, but you made it very easy to learn and the final result impressed...
both us and all of our guests! Plus, it was so much fun! I am SO HAPPY we found you! Our first dance was hands-down the highlight of the whole day for us!
Cynthia N
5.0
9/13/2024
Thank you! The best decision we made for our Wedding was to choose you to teach us our first dance. It was the highlight of our Wedding. Our guests are still talking about it. Your...
patience and knowledge helped us to get prepared and not stress at all about our first dance. Thank you again!
Deborah C
5.0
8/13/2024
Thank you so much for all your patience, support, and helping us in making our first dance very memorable and unique. We will miss coming to see you but will send a copy of the vid...
eo to remember our fun times together.
Virginia T
5.0
8/06/2024
Marco and Tia were the perfect teachers for a couple of amateurs like us! They made the lessons easy to follow and fun – so much so that we will carry on with dance lessons even af...
ter the Wedding. A huge thank you for making our wedding dances "two" to remember.
Karen K
5.0
8/06/2024
We had 2 songs in mind and weren't sure which to pick. Marco helped us, so we could use both songs in our dance, it was fantastic. We couldn't wait to show our guests. They all lov...
ed it. Marco and Tia were brilliant. We could be flexible with lessons and the lessons always ran on time. They were there from beginning to end with lots of helpful hints and advice to make our first dance go perfectly.
Sarah L
5.0
8/02/2024
To Marco. We had a wonderful day and wanted to say a special thank you for teaching us our first dance. It went even better than we had hoped for. Richard’s and my family will love...
you forever. Thank you!
Jessica P
5.0
7/23/2024
Thank you for all of your help and support. Our first dance went better than we ever could have imagined. Thanks to you, we were not nervous before our dance. Everyone was very imp...
ressed and is still talking about it. Thank you again, Marco. You are the best.
Elizabeth M
5.0
7/22/2024
Thank you for choreographing our first dance. We never thought we could achieve what we did. We enjoyed working with you and how you kept us calm and instilled confidence in us. Th...
ank you for all the tips too. It worked wonderfully on our wedding day.
Susan C
5.0
7/16/2024
Thank you both very much for teaching us our first dance. It went well, actually better than well. It was awesome!!! Everyone loved it and so did we! Dancing for the first time as ...
husband and wife was a great experience. Learning with you was an absolute pleasure. Here are some pictures and the video. I told you my dress was big! Thanks again.
Dorie M
5.0
6/09/2024
Marco was a wonderful instructor! He made us feel comfortable and confident in our first dance as a couple!
Barbara W
5.0
5/28/2024
Thank you for helping us create our first dance. We enjoyed learning it, and once we get our video, we will send you a copy. We never expected that you would be able to make our fi...
rst dance so easy to learn without stress and with smiles on our faces. You made our (wedding) day!
Linda J
5.0
5/15/2024
We had a great time in our wedding dance lessons and felt much more at ease dancing in front of everyone at our Wedding, and we looked a lot better in our wedding video than we eve...
r, ever expected and hoped for! We will recommend you to our friends and family. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Melissa M
5.0
5/14/2024
We were afraid the song we picked would be hard for us with four left feet. But all it took was four lessons from you; our wedding dance was fantastic. You helped calm our nerves b...
y teaching us the basics like leading and following (who knew that two leads are one too many!).
We looked confident and elegant on the Big Day, and our guests cheered!
Thank you,
Marco!
Jennifer E
5.0
12/06/2023
Jess and I had an extraordinary wedding! Our dance was most beautiful and magical. Thanks for all your teaching and coaching - it made a difference in how we are together! ...
Patricia T
5.0
12/01/2023
Who knew that two novices, nervous dancers, would acquire enough skill and confidence to pull off a swing dance as our first dance? Our family and friends cheered in the middle of ...
it when we made the fancy move you taught us! We can't thank you enough for helping us learn to dance, trust each other, build confidence, and then let go and have fun. We've never danced so much or had as much fun as on our wedding day. It was just what we were hoping for! We will be recommending Dare2Dance to everyone we know.
Katherine M
5.0
11/28/2023
My partner and I went to Dare2Dance to learn swing dancing steps for our Wedding and took eight private lessons. I consider myself someone with "two left feet," but after these les...
sons, I felt like a pro! I cannot believe how much I learned and how confident I now feel on the dance floor. We were amazing at our Wedding, and now we go out swing dancing together! We cannot say enough great things about Marco; he is a wonderful dancer and patient instructor. We would highly recommend Dare2Dance, and we can't wait to go back!
Mary W
5.0
11/26/2023
When Jason and I were dancing at our Wedding, I'm not joking when I tell you that many people were coming up to us afterward asking how we learned to dance like this, including the...
DJ. When a DJ from the Tri-State area, who I assume sees lots of weddings and other events, asks us this, this has to be attributed to your fantastic teachings!!! We had a blast in your class and are looking forward to more lessons in the future. Thank You - FOREVER!
Julie A
5.0
11/26/2023
Our First Dance was possibly the best part of our Wedding, and I am 100 percent sure this is because of how you approached teaching us. Thank You!!! ...
Stephanie M
5.0
10/23/2023
Marco was great to work with! He really listened to my husband and my desires for our first dance. His attention to detail with regarding to timing everything well was perfect. He ...
was super easy to work with and schedule our lessons. We were able to record the different steps we learned, which made practicing at home easy.
Pauline T
5.0
7/27/2023
Marco was a lifesaver for our wedding dance! I knew from the beginning I wanted a choreographed dance (because I’m that extra), but with the craziness of life and a fiancé travelin...
g and working a lot during wedding planning, we almost had to give up this dream as we just couldn’t have the time for lessons. But Marco saved us! We literally contacted him less than a month before our wedding, had our first consultation the same day, and booked him right away for his 4 classes package! The consultation allowed us to show our song choice and our (extremely limited) skills while he taught us a basic step, so that he could plan the dance accordingly.
Each class was 45 minutes long, where he would teach us 1-2 new steps: he explains and shows a step to you, lets you use your phone to record him showing both sides so that you can rewatch it easily at home, and teaches it to you. His “choreography style” (at least for us) was to give us a library of 5-6 steps that you will do at your own pace with basic steps in between: Because it is not a performance, you are not meant to do a certain move at a certain time. This was a bit hard for me to let go of this idea as a very “everything planned to the details” type of person, but this was for the best to not add this pressure on us. As I wanted to use as much of the song as possible, and match the “flirty” vibe (Michael Bubblé - Feeling Good, 4 minutes long!) without boring our guests with repetitive movements, he worked with us on:
1) how to do an entrance from outside the room with the music on (instead of starting in the middle of the dance floor) ;
2) having a moment between two steps where we could “play with the room”. This part wasn’t really choreographed by Mark, it was a moment for us to show off our personalities, and we easily filled it
3) having a simple but elegant dip at the end (which I requested, in the absence of a lift for which he advised against, and my fiancé being very against a lift as this could very much turn into a “bride & groom on the floor LOL video”), to add some flare and to be the cue to the DJ to fade out the song.
The 4 lessons package fit our timeline perfectly, and was exactly enough to get all the steps we needed. You definitely need to practice at home (thanks to the videos of Marco you recorded) to improve the fluidity of the whole dance, but who wouldn’t enjoy this anyway?
Marc also encourages you “to fail” during your practices: messing up the steps AND KEEP GOING, because there’s a high chance something is not going to go according to plan during your actual dance, but the show has to keep rolling, right? This was valuable advice.
I 300% recommend scheduling a time to rehearse your dance THE DAY OF THE WEDDING, because man, dancing with my unbustled gown was a whole other thing ! (I didn’t have any dress with a train to wear at the lessons) Our first practice after our room reveal was absolutely terrible (we barely practiced the week leading to the wedding though); but we did it a couple more times and felt more confident.
And let me tell you: our actual first dance was OUR BEST ONE, and we had so much fun!!! We felt confident in our steps, we had good communication to what was next, and the crowd cheered us the whole time! We had a lot of staff telling us it was one of the best first dances they have seen in their career! To anyone considering him: trust the 100 reviews, he is worth it =)
https://clipchamp.com/watch/QmHYouLFwIx
Lauren R
5.0
5/03/2023
Learning your first dance seems like an impossible task when you already have so much to think about. This was the exact opposite of our experience. We learned a choreographed danc...
e and learned how to move together. Ultimately, on the wedding dance floor, we weren't dancing; we were just spending time together, alone in the middle of the party, taking a break and enjoying each other's company as newlyweds.
Carol H
5.0
5/03/2023
Doing the private lessons before our wedding Marco didn't just teach us how to dance, he also provided a much-needed respite from the chaos of planning and preparing. We would be s...
uper stressed out and grumpy when we arrived and then his calming and happy spirit and the joy of moving would inevitably seep into us and we'd always leave smiling and relaxed. Many people think the dance is a nerve-wracking bit of the wedding event, especially if you "can't dance. IT IS NOT!
Stephanie W
5.0
4/30/2023
A family member gave us 4 private dance lessons as a wedding present a few months before our big day. We were nervous about our first dance, and we also were initially nervous abou...
t these dance lessons! Would we be the worst students Marco had ever had? Would he be able to teach us in 4 lessons to look good on the dance floor? After the first five minutes with Marco, we knew our worries were completely unfounded; he is truly remarkable. Unbelievably to us at the time, dance lessons with Marco became the part of wedding planning we most looked forward to, and the lessons are one of the parts of the process we remember with the greatest fondness. Needless to say, we highly recommend Dare2Dance!
Dorothy W
5.0
4/30/2023
We can't say enough good things about Marco! My fiancé and I came in not knowing a thing about dancing and Marco was able to teach us at our pace. Marco wants every student he has ...
to do their best and feel comfortable doing it. Not only is he a great dance instructor but you can tell he loves what he does
Christine N
5.0
4/28/2023
Marco at Dare2Dance made our wedding dance one to remember. We got a lot of compliments from guests, and he taught us more than we thought we could learn in only four lessons. We w...
ould recommend taking at least four classes to get the whole experience. 100% worth it.
Anna R
5.0
4/27/2023
We chose Dare2Dance to help us design the perfect First Dance for our Wedding. We instantly connected with Marco, who made us feel comfortable and knew exactly how to match our dan...
ce and music selections with our style. He made the process, which we thought would be daunting, simple, and seamless. Our dance was one of the highlights of our Wedding, and we still have people talking about it! We recommend Dare2Dance and Marco to anyone looking to learn a dance for their Wedding.
Frances R
5.0
4/27/2023
Marco is an AMAZING choreographer, and he made it easy for us to learn our first dance. All of our guests thought we were practicing for MONTHS." He knew how to adjust the choreogr...
aphy based on your dance skills. He is very patient and listens to your needs. If a couple is looking for a different, more FUN way to learn their first dance, this is it!
Marilyn H
5.0
4/27/2023
It was great working with Marco! He did exactly what we wanted our First Dance to be. I'm glad we found him because we were looking for a wedding choreographer that does not teach ...
just steps (unlike every other studio out there), as we wanted something more current, hip, and fun! The 8 hours of rehearsal were well spent, and we learned the dance easily because he made us feel at ease from the very start. Marco assured us that our dance would be amazing, and it was! We are so happy we did it because it made our wedding day even more special. Thanks!
Hannah W
5.0
4/27/2023
My fiancé and I had so much fun! Marco made the impossible possible and taught us all the moves we needed to put on a great show for our Wedding. It also allowed us to giggle and h...
ave some fun times together during the lessons and in the run-up until our Wedding. Marco is a great dancer, teacher, and person, and we would recommend him to everyone. Thank you so much!
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Dare 2 Dance
Dare 2 Dance Team
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