Moving Image Dance Academy & "FIRST DANCE VENUE"

was great because we didn't have to share space with other couples during our lesson. Instead, we got very personalized lessons where it was just us and Ken and our First Dance song playing in the room! We didn't want to be in a crowded large group lesson for our first dance classes, so what he offered was very unique. The lessons were a great value because every minute of the lesson was focused just on us and really helped us feel prepared by our wedding day. Ken has decades of experience and was such a helpful teacher, plus he was so affordable compared to other options. We got so many compliments on our wedding day about our dance, and had such a wonderful time during it. We are so grateful to Ken!

inks we can improve and when implementing these techniques we see really great results. Best part is that we were offered the upgrade of the private studio on Rittenhouse Square. Our dance is looking better than I could have imagined.

mfortable learning how to dance to the song we chose. The way ken has taught us has made it possible to dance to other songs as well. We didn’t want to learn just choreographed steps, but how to use what we learned for other songs too. Bottomline, my fiancé and I are extremely happy to learn from Ken.

e where we didn't have to share space. By having 1:1 instruction we were really able to produce a quality dance with Ken that was choreographed perfectly to our song choice - there was no distraction with other couples there. We had fun learning and would recommend Moving Image Dance Academy for your first dance needs!

taking private lessons in a dance studio. Instead, we learned in a huge room with complete control of music so we could focus on learning to our song. If you are looking for great instruction, a talented dancer and a true coach who will guarantee great results, I strongly recommend Ken Kalowy. Ken is the real deal. I'll be going back!

to learn and practice your first dance in a exclusive full sized ballroom with just your fiancé and instructor. Ken brings decades of teaching experience to each lesson and provides an individualized professional approach. We started three months ago and had no dance experience. Now we have a full choreographed first dance. We would highly recommend that you give him a call and ask about the first dance venue and lessons.

first dance venue in Rittenhouse Square for a free upgrade. This really helped us practice in the short amount of time we had, as we didn’t have to share the space with anyone! Ken’s schedule was really easy to work with and we were able to double up on lessons, which really helped us! We would definitely recommend Moving Image Dance Academy to everyone!

rk on our Father/Daughter Dance since we don't have to share the space. It's also a very large space which allowed us to recreate our dance floor from the venue. Ken has been great to work with and has taught us a couple of different dances to make our Father/Daughter Dance very special. His schedule is easy to work with and my Dad and I have really enjoyed spending the forty-five minutes together each lesson. We are excited for my big day in just a few weeks !

obviously a very experienced dancer and was a wonderful teacher.

ch better for my fiance and I to really be able to spread out, learn the moves, and not be cramped with other couples. No other dance studio in Philly offers this! Ken is great at teaching and he knew how to make our more unusual song choice work for a first dance. He has a flexible schedule as well making it easier with my and my fiance's more difficult schedules! Open on Saturdays which many studios are not. Definitely work with Ken and call Moving Image for your wedding first dance.

s private lessons at most dance studios require you to share space with other couples/instructors. Given we were newbies we much preferred this space! Ken was a huge help in advising us on the best dance technique for the song we picked out and helping us get up to speed quickly. Would definitely recommend!

erfect addition to our wedding dance and something our friends and family enjoyed. Can't thank Ken enough for his patience and commitment to us during this time. Would definitely recommend!

ive him a phone call (rather than email) because we were about 2 months from our wedding day. If I could go back, I would probably have started lessons with him sooner (there is so much to learn in dance). I highly suggest calling him on the phone rather than emailing, because he gives you important information that can sometimes get lost in emails. My husband and I scheduled with Ken the very next week and got to work. Our first lesson was very basic - learning to use our legs in certain ways that we never had before. I read some prior reviews about couples getting angry about this, but listen - you need a foundation in order to do anything correctly. You can't expect to walk in and be a pro during the first lesson. We continued to see Ken at least once a week (sometimes 2 to 3 times a week). His pricing is very reasonable for one on one coaching for 45 minutes. The venue in Rittenhouse square is actually a wedding venue, so it really helps when you are learning how to use a dance floor. You also get to play your own first dance song through their audio system. When I spoke with other dance studios, you actually have to share the dance space with other couples learning to dance and you do not get one on one coaching. Nor do you ever get to dance to your own song. I have a really tough work schedule because I work in health care, and Ken was always very flexible. He even came in to work with us on a weekend (on his day off) when we were getting close to the wedding. Ken really cares about dance and it shows. He really helps you create a beautiful first dance, that you feel comfortable doing. We both had a blast during our first dance at the wedding and our guests raved about it! Many people said we should go on "Dancing with the Stars!" That is definitely not in our future, but we are so glad to have found Ken and worked with him. Thank you, Ken!

fabulous and we had an amazing experience! It was better than I ever expected. I am very intimated when it comes to dancing. Ken had so much patience and made it fun. He is so qualified and good at what he does. I learned a lot and I actually felt comfortable dancing. The space where the lessons were held at “First Dance Venue” in Rittenhouse Square was big and perfect for learning dance steps. This is a plus because we will be dancing in a large room for the wedding. Trust Ken and trust the process. He knows what to do. I was so surprised what I was able to do when it all came together. It was a lot of fun and great exercise too! You won’t be disappointed.

tely understood our needs and he was very patient with us through out the classes. He is an expert teacher who can teach how to dance to anyone. He pays attention to details and does his best at explaining how we can fix the mistakes in our moves. Everyone at our wedding loved our performance and they were surprised to see how much effort we have put into our first dance. We would definitely recommend Ken to anyone who is serious about his/her first dance.

share music and space. Plenty of room to practice. Prices are also very reasonable for 1 on 1 lessons in a large space. Would recommend for any couple preparing for a first dance.

latable Tube dancing skills into a polished foxtrot. He was direct, honest, and was a pleasure to work with. He clearly has been teaching inexperienced couples (and probably experienced couples!) for a long time - which was evident by his ability to constructively show us how we were breaking down form. We had so much fun working with Ken and highly recommend him to anyone looking for dance lessons of any kind! ps: after getting to know Ken, I highly recommend you give him a call to schedule or discuss an appointment. It will be easier to communicate your goals of the dance lessons that way.

d learned on the first lesson. And while we felt more comfortable with the steps by the end of the second lesson, we didn’t learn anything new. The time was spent doing the same steps and him going off on 10 minute explanations of what to do differently (which took away from our time of actually learning the dance). We wanted to take dance lessons so we weren’t swaying back and forth during our first dance. Our goal wasn’t to be seasoned pros at ballroom dance and we don’t care so much about having the perfect technique, we just wanted to have a fun time learning a dance we would enjoy together on our big day. I think Ken’s priorities for the dance were just different than what we were looking for. He’s a perfectionist and while that isn’t a bad thing, I think he’s an instructor better suited for couples wanting to perfect a certain dance instead of learning for the first time. After the second lesson we realized it wasn’t worth our time/money to keep coming. When we explained to Ken that we needed some time and space to discuss whether we would be coming back, he would not listen and wouldn’t take no as an answer. The conversation ended when I had to walk out of the room because he simply wasn’t listening to what I had to say.

h instruction from a true ballroom dance professional in a very large space so we could develop our waltz. Ken gave us beautiful choreography and covered every detail of our dance with our own wedding reception space in mind. Everyone is still raving about our first dance. Thanks Ken!!

ays had an enormous room and never had to share the space with others like people do when they take private lessons in a dance studio. Ken didn't make us buy a package or charge us extra for the space, in fact we paid a lot less than what we would have paid elsewhere. We were both intimidated by the idea of learning to dance, but Ken really put us at ease immediately. He has a great sense of humor and an easy going personality that made us feel comfortable. He's also an amazing teacher, patiently communicating his vision to two complete novices in a clear and concise manner. His teaching style made learning a lot of fun. He covered every detail of our dance, from the intro onto the floor to the grand finale that had our family and friends screaming and cheering. We've gotten tons of compliments from everyone and owe it all to Ken. I highly recommend lessons with Ken at his First Dance Teaching Venue!

l, covering every aspect of the dance, start to finish. He's patient, funny and kind, making the lessons a blast. Best of all, he's a well seasoned pro who really, really knows his stuff. He doesn't charge an arm and a leg for lessons, instead he taught my husband and I how to synchronize our limbs to great effect, learning the swing for our first dance. He took two uncoordinated beginners and worked his special brand of magic. Come wedding day, we felt confidently prepared. We pulled it off and were rewarded with a sea of hoots and howls! Ken and the First Dance Venue make an awesome combination!

dance floor, allowed my husband and I to learn in the same conditions we'd be dancing in at our wedding. It's intimidating to dance in a huge room with no one else on the floor, and best to get used to it prior to the wedding day to get past the jitters. This venue gave us that advantage, especially learning the waltz which requires a lot of space to do it right. We also had the advantage of learning from Ken with his decades of teaching experience. His teaching techniques are easy to understand and produce amazing results. He brought every move together in a cohesive manner which helped us progress rapidly. When we first started, we got a little scared thinking we may not have allowed enough time to learn, but Ken really came through for us. He gave all the credit to the space this venue allows, saying he never would have been to teach us this quickly in any dance studio. Our family and friends were totally impressed with our first dance! Do yourself a favor, avoid dance studios and get lessons from Ken at this venue!!

teaching, but also preparing couples for their wedding. No dance studio provides couples with such a huge space all to themselves! We're very familiar with how dance studios operate. Before moving to Philadelphia, we took lessons at a number of ballroom dance studios. Everyone takes private lessons to learn dance technique not taught in group class. Studios teach how to dance in a crowd, not perform for one, everyone shares the floor and music. We've seen couples have difficulty learning their first dance. We wanted our first dance to be a medley of dances. We wanted it to be fabulous but knew it might be impossible to find the right teacher, and the right space. My husband learned that Moving Image Dance Academy had a very large, separate First Dance Venue specializing in what we wanted. We went for a lesson with Ken and were sold. He charges considerably less than what we previously paid for less experienced teachers in a much smaller space. With his experience and this venue, he's certainly worth more. Ken is a true artist at teaching movement. We had weak spots in dances we'd previously learned. He immediately diagnosed everything. Instead of just giving us pointers like other teachers did, he tied it all together in a way that we'd never understood before. Suddenly everything clicked and our dancing instantly improved. Within a few lessons we felt transformed. Ken helped us choose music and the dances that would look best with my wedding dress, samba, rumba, cha cha, salsa, and swing. He gave us stunning choreography for each one and linked it all together so that it flowed seamlessly. Learning in such a large space with no restrictions allowed everything to be done in accordance with our wedding reception venue space. It really prepared us for performing our dances. With Ken's expert instruction, we really brought down the house at our wedding reception! Thanks Ken! We'll be back to continue lessons soon. If you want lessons for your first dance, forget about dance studios, this is the only place to go!

t to have such a large space all to ourselves in which to learn. Our first dance was the highlight of our wedding day!

turned out. Highly recommended!

cing on a huge dance floor with no one else on the floor, just like first dance is done at weddings. You can't get this by taking private lessons at a dance studio. The only other person on the floor was our teacher, Ken. My wife and I brought in a foxtrot song and he patiently taught us to dance to it. The foxtrot is a dance that requires a lot of space. The dance floor at our wedding reception venue was enormous. Luckily, the floor at the first dance venue was just as large. We paid nothing to use the space, and the lessons cost less than what others charge. We never considered how important floor size and room size is when we thought about learning to dance. It would have been difficult for my wife and I to learn the foxtrot on a smaller floor. Fortunately, Ken has the skills to teach dance to couples, and the necessary space to produce great results. It helped make our first dance a real success at our wedding.

day confidently. Ken offers private first dance lessons in a REAL studio with more than enough room to practice, and to top it off, you won't be sharing the dance floor with 12 other couples all while trying to learn! I highly recommend Moving Image Dance Academy's first dance venue for the best instructor around!

my wife and I.

We had a very large space guaranteed for each lesson. The rate was lower than dance studio rates and we didn't even have to buy a package. We didn't just learn steps, Ken is a veteran dance professional who really knows how to turn couples into dancers. He impressed us with his teaching style, enabling us to impress everyone on our wedding day. If you want a great first dance, Ken is the one for you!

process a lot easier. We really enjoyed ourselves and plan to continue lessons with Ken.

e, so this location was perfect for us. We started lessons a bit later than we should have, so hTinaaving such a large space just for us to learn in was really helpful, and the lessons were a lot of fun.

here. Ken also seems to have a paid relationship with The Knot that makes me wonder if that is the reason for the generally positive reviews here (just speculating). FWIW—my good friend and his fiancé also went to Ken and reported a similarly negative experience that makes me think it was a trend rather than us being an outlier. And this is my only negative review of all the wedding vendors that we hired, so I promise I am not just a Negative Nancy. Neither of us are great classically trained dancers, so our expectations were realistic. We just wanted to have a fun time and learn a few basic moves for our big day. Pros: • He does seem to care deeply about your wedding dance, and wants you to have a great first dance • He gives you focused attention throughout the 45-minute lessons • I’m definitely not the best judge of this, but he does seem to know his stuff when it comes to the technical aspects of ballroom dancing. • The location he uses (Ethical Society on Rittenhouse Square) is nice, and was very convenient for us • He really stresses the fundamentals of dance, which I suppose would be helpful if the goal was to lay the foundation for years of dance instruction. Wasn’t our goal, but if it is yours than he might be worthwhile. Cons: • I found him to be an extremely poor teacher. We would do a very simple step (literally walking forward together), and he would stop us to point out that our elbows weren’t high enough, and then spend 5-10 minutes explaining to us the importance of that fact. It was like “dude, I get it!”. He does a particularly poor job of “reading the room” in terms of helping you get better. I happen to be more of a learn by doing kind of person (I get better by just getting a lot of reps in), but he’s really more of a teach by explaining kind of person, who would go on these long diatribes about fundamentals that really eat into the lesson time. • I don’t think he was deliberately wasting our time, but he does cost a lot, which was compounded by the fact that he is a very slow teacher who charges by the minute. It really sucked out a lot of the fun that we were hoping to have out of the whole process. We took 6 lessons with him, and still had only learned ~4 steps, so ended up just giving up and doing our own thing on our wedding day. We are admittedly not world-class dancers, but that seems ridiculous. • He is really not great if you are, like us, just looking to have a fun time, not take yourselves too seriously, and learn a few basic moves to not embarrass yourselves on a first dance. • The previous points probably contributed to this, but I found him to be a bit rude, self-concerned and living in his own world.

husband did not have any, and Ken was able to teach in a style that worked well for both of us. Ken rents a large dance space that each couple gets to take advantage of without sharing with other couples, which gave us the opportunity to practice in a large space similar to the dance floor at our wedding venue. Overall, we had a lot of fun taking these lessons, and we were happy with how our first dance turned out. We would definitely recommend Ken to other couples seeking first dance lessons.

ay too much on small details. He told me at our first lesson that we could not use the wedding song that my fiancé and I wanted because it did not have a good beat. We are taking lessons at another studio now, using the song we want, and making a lot of progress with our dance each lesson. For experienced dancers, Ken may be a good fit but for entry level he may not be the best.

it couldn't have gone better! Thanks Ken!

ur dance and we got a standing ovation at our wedding!

d with a very clueless couple. Ken is very passionate about dance which made our lessons extremely enjoyable. He was patient with us, especially me who was clueless about dancing, and made in otherwise uncomfortable experience very fun. He made sure that we focused on a simple but beautiful routine to ensure we looked as polished as possible given our deadline. Ken talk with passion which not only made our experience great, but inspired us to continue getting lessons after our wedding. I highly recommend moving image for your first dance, or if your simply looking to be inspired by a true professional.

that our routine fit the layout of the room and how we would enter. I highly recommend him!

with Ken that were 45 minutes long apiece, so we certainly felt that we made fast and efficient progress. Ken rented a large private room in downtown Philadelphia for the lessons and that gave us lots of space and the chance to dance to music of our own choosing (played from my phone over an audio system). As suggested in previous comments, Ken takes dance seriously, has high standards, and is honest and direct in pointing out areas for improvement, but we never had trouble accepting his feedback and felt that all of it was very much to our benefit. Thanks to his guidance, which went far deeper just teaching us the basic steps of our dance, we had a thorough sense of how we should move and feel while dancing. We had a lot of fun learning the dance and practicing it together. Thanks Ken for making this aspect of our wedding an enjoyable success!

is that he is a classically-trained ballroom dance instructor. Hence, he has a very knowledgeable of the mechanics of each dance and has years of experience training people of various skill levels and learning styles. His prices are very reasonable compared to other studios in the area. I would highly recommend Ken if you are searching for a dance instructor for your wedding or are interested in pursuing ballroom dance instruction.

ly had fun learning. Best of all, he gave us movement skills that made our dancing come alive. He covered every detail to help prepare us for our wedding day. Everyone was super impressed with our performance, and we couldn't have been more impressed with what a super talented professional Ken is. If you're getting married, he's your guy!!

kes sure you learn to do things the right way and not cut corners. Highly recommended, my wife and I will be going back after our wedding just for fun and to stay current! Thank you!

so made the practices very fun. I would recommend moving image dance academy to anyone looking for dance lessons.

t.. We highly recommend him if you are serious about working at it and building on something you can use at your wedding and into the future.

experience for us.

ed us to continually build on our knowledge. If you want to learn how to dance and have fun doing it, Ken is the teacher for you!

t with a dance routine, but also with an entire repertoire of dance styles and moves!

and never done fox trot. He taught us basic steps (as we had 4 weeks to our reception) and taught us how to use them in the space available. He is particular about posture and foot alignment. Me and my husband still laugh about how he could never get his feet aligned with my feet. Ken will give suggestion on dancing shoes as well as keep in consideration the wedding dress while making decision about the steps etc.. everybody love our first dance and we enjoyed doing it.

was a father-of-the bride and he taught my daughter and I a difficult waltz. But he started us slowly and moved us into a final dance that we were very comfortable doing. I recommend him wholeheartedly.

He was very patient with me when I was trying to learn the moves. He understood that I am not a natural born dance lol yet he wanted me to perfect the moves. I remember that this was a little bit frustrating and I thought I will never learn the moves but the way he taught me made more persistent. Our dance was a big hit and everyone was very impressed with our dance, specially they knew I never really danced before. Thanks to Ken. Me and wife plan to go back again and learn a new dance since we had a very enjoyable experience.

so important. He went over a lot of pragmatic details that we hadn't even considered, like aspects of the venue and space, how our clothing would impact the dance, where the crowd and photographer would be situated, how we would process in, what the finale would look like, everything! Neither my wife nor I had any formal dance training, and Ken patiently communicated on our level. He was an encouraging and supportive teacher. He had rigorous standards for our posture and movements, and trained us to meet those standards to the best of our ability. By focusing on particular elements of the dance in training, we had a very easy time on the wedding day. Ken also arranged meetings around our work schedule on quite short notice. We only started taking lessons shortly before the wedding day, and he made sure we got the most out of every session. I would recommend Ken and Moving Image to anyone looking to have a marvelous first dance experience, and I have! Thanks for making that part of our special day so wonderful.

I highly recommend Moving Image Dance Academy.

rail lesson at another studio and it did not compare to what we learned in our first lesson with Ken. We could not be more happy with how our dance turned out. We are still getting compliments from friends on how well we did and are re-using some moves at recent weddings. We could not recommend Ken enough to couples who want to learn a few moves or an entire dance for the big day!

how to really dance swing. There was so much we didn't know before and with our new skills we were able to wow everyone at our wedding. Ken is a super instructor!

iption of each to each of us so that we were able to grasp the dance moves in a way that made sense for us both. Do prepare to make this a regular commitment,and start earlier than you think you will need to. If we could have, I would have started right after our engagement. The dance is not something you want to be stressed out over. Even though we left less time, Ken was able to work with us to teach us as much as possible in a more limited amount of time. Another plus is that he was able to work around my husband's travel for work. I would highly recommend Ken to anyone in the Philadelphia area.

and planning things out for us. He was professional and patient and it was an awesome experience.

could be in such a short time. It's no wonder Moving Image Dance Academy has won so many awards.

ience but caught on in no time. It's amazing what the right dance studio can do.