Maya Moves

A Fun, Easy Approach to Dancing!

Manhattan & Brooklyn

Service area

5.0

Verified reviews from real couples

MAYA was the absolute best. I was hesitant to book a lesson but I couldn’t be more grateful that we did. One lesson was all we needed for maya to create an easy, simple and fun dance. Thank you so much Maya. You made this process more fun than we could have imagine and we didn’t look silly in front of all of our guests.

Samantha R.

5.0

Had an amazing experience with Maya! She was exactly the dance teacher with needed and we felt comfortable and confident going into our dance. Would highly recommend her to family & friends

Lily D.

5.0

Maya Sank

OWNER

Typically responds within 24h

AWARD WINNER (4X)

Thanks to recommendations from couples on The Knot

**FULLY BOOKED FOR WEDDINGS BEFORE OCTOBER 2026** Maya Moves is designed to be a 1-hour lesson that gives non-dancers exactly what they need for a confident wedding dance. No memorization, no pressure, no weeks of lessons. The result is a dance that feels natural and relaxed, as if it came together organically rather than being carefully taught. The 1 hour lesson starts by reviewing details about your wedding, and going over tips & things you may not think about prior to being in the spotlight. Then, you will learn how to stand comfortably together & 3-4 signature moves (typically a dip, and other moves that fit the vibe of your song). You won't learn traditional moves, like the box step or the waltz, but rather easy moves that beginner dancers can look good doing. The rest of the hour is spent plugging those moves into the lyrics of your song, keeping the length of the dance (1:30-2 mins. max). Instead of learning how to count, you'll learn how to communicate with each other in-between the moves, so that you're not being distracted by too much choreography. Each lesson includes music assistance, a recording of you doing the dance, and notes to help you remember the order of the moves with clear instructions of what to tell your Band or DJ. Maya Moves offers private wedding lessons in NYC and over Zoom. In addition to first dance, she also assists with Parent dances with the same approach of only learning a few moves & keeping the dance under 2 minutes. If you're interested in working together, please reach out to learn more about how we can make this easy & painless for you!

Woman-owned Business

5+ years in business

Just me

Details

Music Genres

Dance

Awards and Affiliations

4-Time 'Best of Weddings'

2026.2025.2024.2023.

Hall of Fame

Earned by winning 'Best of Weddings' four or more times.

Join couples who chose award-winning vendors for their wedding

Meet the team

Maya Epstein

Founder & Owner

After earning her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Elon University, Maya created her own business with a mission to make dance easier for everyone. Maya Moves was created for the couples who don't want to take the first dance too seriously. Maya’s method is created for beginners, and only requires meeting for 1 lesson (1 hour). Her approach is about building confidence and encouraging you to relax and have a great time- it's your wedding day! Since 2021, Maya has reached over 1,500 couples from all over the world. She teaches half of her clients in NYC, and half over Zoom, making her approach adaptable to anyone wanting to put a plan in place for these dances. She also offers assistance with the Father/Daughter & Mother/Son dances, to make those moments more special and less stressful.

5.0

out of 5.0

117 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.

The instructor’s wedding dance lessons are highly praised for turning novices into confident dancers—often in a single 60-minute session. She tailors simple, natural-feeling choreography, edits songs, records sessions, and offers virtual options. Couples loved the patient, upbeat teaching style that made the process fun, stress-free, and produced memorable first dances.

Search reviews

Thomas M

Highlighted review.

1/04/2026

Maya was a fantastic coach. She clearly knows her area inside and out and understands the assignment. We were initially a little apprehensive about only doing one session with Maya...

and having that session be virtual instead of in-person. We sort of assumed that an in-person experience would naturally yield the best results, but decided to trust the assertion that we might be okay with a virtual appointment. That turned out to be totally right - Maya does not treat virtual appointments as less-than. She showed up having obviously thoroughly read (and likely studied) our intro email, used both our names regularly throughout our session, gave us mindful homework and clear goals, and massively put us at ease for our next steps (pun very intended). We referred back to the session (recorded at Maya’s insistence and with her guidance) several times before our wedding during a few practice sessions and it helped us absolutely kill it on the dance floor in front of all our loved ones! It’s also worth mentioning that the session itself and the practice sessions afterward ended up being a legitimately fun part of a sometimes overwhelming wedding-prep season. Only warm feelings and no regrets at all from choosing Maya Moves.

Samantha R

8/05/2026

MAYA was the absolute best. I was hesitant to book a lesson but I couldn’t be more grateful that we did. One lesson was all we needed for maya to create an easy, simple and fun dan...

ce. Thank you so much Maya. You made this process more fun than we could have imagine and we didn’t look silly in front of all of our guests.

Any questions?

Lily D

7/01/2026

Had an amazing experience with Maya! She was exactly the dance teacher with needed and we felt comfortable and confident going into our dance. Would highly recommend her to family ...

& friends

Rowan M

5/10/2026

Working with Maya for our first dance was such a fun part of the wedding planning process! My partner and I were complete novices going into it, and Maya immediately made us feel c...

omfortable, relaxed, and excited. She brought so much energy and positivity to the lesson. Maya helped us build the dance around the lyrics and a few key moves that felt natural to us and matched the vibe we were going for. The end result was polished and prepared without feeling overly choreographed or stressful to perform. We got lots of compliments from guests afterward saying the dance struck that balance and felt like us! Maya was an absolute joy to work with throughout the process, and we would highly recommend her to anyone looking for a wedding dance instructor!

Laura B

2/20/2026

Maya Moves - Wedding Dance Lessons was a fantastic choice for our wedding dance lessons. From the start, Maya’s communication was clear, helpful, and warm, putting us at ease as co...

mplete dance newbies. Maya was incredibly patient, making it easy to learn the steps and helping us feel comfortable on the dance floor. She saved us from the dreaded middle school sway without stressing us out about memorizing complicated steps, the dance felt completely natural and looked like us. Maya also cut our song perfectly and gave it to us right after the lesson so we could practice to it at home. We couldn't have been happier with the quality of her work and the value she provided. Highly recommend Maya Moves for any couple looking to feel confident and have fun with their first dance without being overly choreographed!

Meridian L

2/03/2026

Maya was so professional, great to work with, and very detailed. We had so much fun with our dance and photos turned out so great. We literally did one lesson with Maya and then ...

just practiced on our own and were so happy with the whole thing.

Lexi S

2/01/2026

We were looking to do one quick dance lesson before our wedding to feel more confident and learn a few moves for our first dance and were so grateful to find Maya because she did e...

xactly that! I can't believe in just one lesson she helped us nail down and know exactly what to do for our first dance, and made it so much fun for us to practice leading up to the day! We are not dancers and never thought our dance would be a highlight of our wedding, but because of Maya it became something so fun in the process to learn and practice together!

Rachel G

1/31/2026

Maya is amazing! My husband and I both love to dance (and I grew up dancing), but when it came to our first dance for our wedding, we couldn't figure out exactly what we needed to ...

do. After one lesson with Maya, we felt totally equipped and prepared! She gave us only a few moves to master, leaving room for us to really make the dance our own. It was one of our favorite moments from the wedding, and so many people loved it. Maya is so sweet, energetic, and really knows what she's doing - I highly recommend working with Maya for any of your dance needs!

Elizabeth M

1/12/2026

Maya was a LIFESAVER!! We put off planning our first dance, thinking that we could figure it out ourselves, and realized a couple of weeks out that it was not as easy as it sounds...

! Maya completely took this off of our plate and choregraphed the best dance! It was fun and easy, and we only practiced it twice. Maya was helpful and kind, and helped us not to be awkward on the dance floor! I'm so happy that we found her and I could recommend her to anyone!!

Nicole T

1/11/2026

Maya was fantastic. My husband and I wanted our first dance to feel prepared without being robotic or overly choreographed, and she created the perfect routine. It was easy to lear...

n, boosted our confidence, and most importantly was genuinely fun. Maya consistently reminded us to relax and enjoy the moment, which made all the difference. The dance couldn’t have gone better. We highly recommend Maya to any couple getting married!

Wayne T

12/31/2025

Our experience with Maya Moves - Wedding Dance Lessons was exceptional. From the very first correspondence, Maya was extremely detailed, patient, and descriptive in her approach, t...

ailoring the dance moves and editing our song perfectly to fit our needs and skill level. The dance moves that Maya choreographed for us were well thought out, fitting our wedding theme and vision seamlessly. Thanks to her expertise, we were able to pull off an impressive dance routine that wowed our guests and left them raving. The lesson was not only incredibly valuable, but also a lot of fun to practice afterwards. Maya provided us with confidence, helpful tidbits and pointers along the way. We are so grateful to Maya for making this special part of our wedding day truly unforgettable.

Simran M

12/30/2025

I’ve had the pleasure of attending Mayas dance classes in NYC, so when my husband and I were picking who we wanted to teach us our first dance it was a no brainer! Maya made learni...

ng our first dance so fun and easy. She’s extremely encouraging and organized. We were so happy with how everything turned out - couldn’t recommend working with Maya more! She’s the best!

Jordan B

12/23/2025

We met with Maya Moves for one session to prepare for our first dance. I was initially uncomfortable with the idea of a first dance, but it was very important to my fiancée so I ag...

reed to a lesson with Maya. I can’t speak highly enough to how effective Maya was in making us feel confident and prepared for our first dance! Neither of us had prior dance experience, so we just wanted to build confidence and have some sort of structure and plan. Maya gave us exactly that, planning a dance with a couple of cool moves that were simple enough for us to pull off. Ultimately we had tons of fun and we are very thankful to Maya for her expertise!

Cara G

12/23/2025

We had an amazing experience working with Maya! In just a 1 hour session, she was able to make us so comfortable, and feel confident that we would be able to have a great first dan...

ce. She made the learning process so fun, and not overwhelming at all. I would recommend her to anyone getting married!

Marisa B

12/18/2025

Maya was really so amazing! Thanks to her, our first dance was so much fun and effortlessly coordinated and romantic. It was such a great experience overall and we only needed one ...

dance lesson and a few practice sessions in the living room to bring the moment to life! She recorded us doing the dance so we were able to use that as easy reference to practice and perfect our routine!! 10/10 recommend going to Maya so your first dance can be a moment to remember (and to impress!)

Karinya G

12/18/2025

Maya was wonderful to work with - she made us feel so comfortable. She came to our rehearsal with a full set of moves planned and sent us a cut of the song to practice to after. Ca...

n't recommend her highly enough!

Natalie M

12/17/2025

Maya makes first dances unbelievably easy! I'm not a dancer whatsoever and was pretty nervous to dance in front of people, but we did one hour with her at a studio in midtown and w...

e left feeling ready to go by the end! She has a really upbeat, fun personality and breaks down the dances in a what that anyone can understand. We really didn't want the dance to feel too choreographed and she taught us something that felt natural but gave us more to do than just stand and sway. We ended up changing our first dance song a few weeks before the wedding and we were able to use the exact same dance she taught with the new song. 100000% recommend to make first dances easy!

Zoe H

12/16/2025

I couldn’t speak more highly about our experience with Maya. Her energy, creativity and attitude made this process so enjoyable. I am so grateful to her for making our first dance ...

as special as it was!

Abby A

12/15/2025

High energy, fun easy class. Recommend taking and watching her videos back at home. Only 1 class needed and we did a good job at the wedding with some at home practice.

Remi G

12/15/2025

Maya is the absolute best! We loved every minute of working with her and she makes things seamless from setting up the first appointment, scheduling your dance lesson, learning the...

dance moves, etc! She has incredible energy and is so professional. She made our first dance such a highlight of our wedding!

Casey D

12/15/2025

I recommend Maya Moves to any bride and groom looking for some easy to learn first dance moves! Maya was great to work with and taught us some great first dance moves and tips, wit...

hout it being over-choreographed. I highly recommend!

Sammy S

12/15/2025

We had the most incredible experience with Maya! My husband and I both really wanted to have fun with our first dance, but have no dance ability and she taught us some key moves th...

at made us feel confident and actually enjoy the first dance in just one hour. We are so grateful and loved how it came out! Maya is incredible and we would highly recommend anyone considering it to book with her.

Nick K

9/11/2025

My wife and I cannot recommend Maya enough for dance lessons. While you may think that her promise of only needing one 60-minute lesson may sound too good to be true, she absolutel...

y delivers! Maya put together a routine for us that was easy to practice at home and made us feel confident that we could perform it without looking too clumsy on our big day.

Chisom I

9/10/2025

I am beyond grateful I found Maya for our wedding. Her approach to creating a dance routine was exactly tailored to what we were looking for. Simple moves, that created some visual...

dynamic to make our first dance memorable and fun. We especially appreciated that she offers virtual sessions because we aren't based in NYC. Even over video, she was clear, encouraging, and was able to give effective strategies to learn the moves for the big day. Maya is such a delight to work with! She is extremely talented, patient and easy to talk to. She took all the pressure off this moment and we felt confident and excited going into our first dance. It was a minimal time commitment, but the results were amazing. I highly recommend hiring her, don't hesitate, just do it! You will be so glad you did!

Jacqueline

6/04/2025

My husband and I had an incredible experience with Maya for our wedding first dance! We wanted something natural, short & sweet, and non-traditional -- and Maya delivered this all ...

perfectly. Given our lack of dance experience, we were so impressed that Maya was able to teach us with just 1 lesson. Her teaching style leaves you feeling confident, encouraged, and comfortable. On top of it all, Maya is friendly, warm, and passionate about what she does. She is an absolute pro!

Jillian S

5/20/2025

Maya was incredible to work with! Totally took the stress off by focusing on 4-5 simple moves. She’s super easy going and emphasized having fun with it and not sweating any “mess u...

ps”. We were totally at ease day of and had so much fun with our first dance because it wasn’t overly choreographed and felt like us!

Sydney F

5/05/2025

Maya did an absolutely incredible job in preparing us for our first dance! In just one lesson she was able to help us nail down elegant and fun choreography in a very digestible ma...

tter. Maya was such a pleasure to work with and we had the best time with her. If you're looking for the perfect first dance, book your lesson ASAP! We can't thank her enough!

Elizabeth M

4/25/2025

My husband and I knew we needed a lesson to feel comfortable in front of our guests, but really didn't want to feel too stiff or formal. Maya could not have been a more perfect per...

son to help us prep. We felt great with our moves, had so much fun during the lesson and practicing, and felt totally natural when the time came. Maya was the ultimate hype girl and so encouraging. We absolutely loved working with her!

Nina T

12/30/2024

Maya was amazing! We were very apprehensive about our first dance and she made the entire experience so easy. We were able to nail our dance (and the dip!) after just one in person...

lesson. Her approach of making the first dance look and feel as natural as possible was exactly what we were looking for.

Alice R

12/29/2024

Maya is amazing!! We had such a wonderful date night, laughing the entire time as we built our first dance with her. We wanted to do something in between a full choreographed routi...

ne and awkward swaying, and Maya was the perfect answer! She came to our lesson prepared with a "structure" for our chosen song, taught us around 4 "moves" and then put them to the music for us. By the end of the hour we had it down, and she filmed it for us to rehearse to, as well as emailed us reminder notes. But most importantly, we had FUN. Thank you, Maya, for helping us with such a memorable part of our special day!!

Ley S

12/29/2024

Maya was so fun to work with!! We left our lesson feeling like pro’s and we got so many compliments on our dance saying we looked like naturals. The process was easy and she never ...

made us feel awkward. We sent her our song ahead of time and she cut it to best fit an appropriate time frame with fun dance queues. We walked away with nee moves, a video of us doing it all together for practice, and so much confidence!! So thankful for this service and Maya. I promise you don’t need more than one lesson with her (even though you will definitely want to find an excuse to take another).

Amanda F

12/23/2024

We had such a great experience with Maya! The purpose of our lesson was just to make sure we were both comfortable with each other for our first dance. Instead, she taught us a few...

easy but impressive moves, and we ended up loving our short but impressive first dance! We didn’t believe her at first when she said one lesson would be enough, but it really was more than enough! The dance on our big day was great. Would definitely recommend working with Maya!

Carly A

12/19/2024

Maya was so easy to communicate with prior to our lesson. We chose Maya because we didnt want cheesy dance lessons and it was perfect for us. The way she teaches a dance is also g...

reat for couples with busy work schedules!

Megan R

12/18/2024

We had one lesson with Maya about 1 month before our wedding and learned a few simple and easy dance moves to use during our first dance! I am definitely not a great dancer and May...

a helped us feel comfortable, ready, and even excited for our first dance! She even make a cut of our first dance song to make it the perfect length and include our favorite parts. We used her cut for our dance. We couldn't have done it without her! She's awesome, fun, talented, and professional. Highly highly recommend working with Maya!

Andie K

12/18/2024

We received a lesson with Maya as a wedding gift and it was our favorite gift! Maya was prepared, a great teacher, fun, and made us feel comfortable. It was a refreshing break from...

the stresses of wedding planning. The cherry on top was the email she sent afterwards with a recap of what we learned and instructions for the band. Thank you, Maya, for making us feel confident on our wedding day!

Laura E

12/18/2024

Maya Moves is an absolute gem! As complete non-dancers, we were nervous about our wedding dance, but Maya made the entire process so easy and enjoyable. Her patience, positivity, ...

and knack for breaking down choreography into manageable steps turned something daunting into one of our favorite parts of wedding planning. She created a routine that felt uniquely ours—impressive yet perfectly tailored to our skill level—and her encouragement built our confidence with every session. Maya’s warm and supportive approach made each lesson a special time for us to connect as a couple, and on our big day, we felt so proud to perform a dance that reflected our love story. We can’t recommend Maya enough for anyone looking to shine on their special day!

Ariel W

12/18/2024

We had an incredible experience with Maya! From the initial phone call we knew she would make us feel so comfortable on the dance floor! Maya was amazing at really understanding wh...

at we wanted and creating a dance that helped us look and feel our best on our big day! Our lesson with Maya was so much fun and she gave us so many helpful tips and tricks to feel confident. My husband is not a dancer but she made him feel so at ease and taught him moves that made him look like he had been dancing for years! We were so happy with how our first dance turned out and all of our friends and family cheered when we did the final dip! I would highly recommend Maya for anyone who is not only looking to have an incredible first dance but a wonderful experience learning it!

Alana R

11/21/2024

Working with Maya was incredible. We knew when planning our wedding that we wanted to take dance lessons, but we didn't know how fun it would be. Maya not only made it SO fun, but ...

also SO easy. Who knew we would be able to dance together! She taught us our first dance, our father/daughter dance, and mother/son dance. We had the best time and highly recommend anyone getting married. She gave us the confidence and guidance we needed, and we truly looked like we knew what we were doing, and we also had a great time learning the dance!!!