Fred Astaire Franchised Dance Studios

Best decision. We worked with Donald, who was always enthusiastic and friendly and always made us feel accomplished. We had a song in mind, and Donald edited it down for our particular dance and did a great job in choreographing it in a personal and fun way.

I loved the ambience and the staff at this dance studio. I got a Groupon for a beginner course, and my first pleasant surprise was that it was good for both my fiance and myself. The first few times, we felt a little out of place, but I loved the staff, most of whom made us feel like we were among friends and eased the tension. The owners are friendly, and actively involved in the lessons and day-to-day operations of their studio, which I admire. They reached out to us individually to explain the methods they use, as we were new and a little unsure, and I appreciated that. Even the other students introduced themselves and brought us into their social circle, I felt. The only part that killed us was the price. I loved learning to dance, and my fiance even enjoyed it. I wish we could have continued, but it seems like such an expensive activity. They do offer payment plans, but my fiance and I were agreed that we didn't want to start our new life in debt. I could have afforded more lessons, but we also agreed that it was more of a priority to save the money at that time. They did pressure us a bit to continue, which always makes me uncomfortable, and after we said we were quitting, our teacher no longer acknowledged us with a smile or a hug... she pretty much ignored us. I did love that for each week you have a private lesson, you get to attend all group classes, but I have a feeling we wouldn't have kept up with them, since we'd be running almost every night.

We bought a groupon for Fred Astaire for 2 lessons and then purchased a wedding package. At first, they paid us a lot of attention and it seemed like we would learn a lot. However, a few classes in, we noticed a big difference. The instructor needed to reschedule a few times, we found out that only half of the song would be choreographed, and we never received the DVD as part of our package. In addition, we felt a lot of pressure to purchase additional lessons. We used the three basic steps we learned from our Groupon class for our first dance at the wedding. In my opinion, that is all we needed. I regret purchasing additional lessons.