Shawn Gardner Dancing

reeted me andy sister (who was visiting from India and has never been to Latin dance before) very nicely and even sang a Bollywood song...lol. It took us by surprise but also made us feel very welcome and relaxed. I love the fact that there are separate rooms for all different dance styles. It was very much worth driving from Salem for a great music and dancing experience. I will go back again.

ation. It was my first time at this particular studio, and my first time dancing after about 6 months off, but I had the required experience (i.e., 6 months of dancing weekly prior) and so I attended their level 2 class. Another student in the class was particularly aggressive/unpleasant in his way of attempting to "teach" me the moves, and that left me feeling insecure and forgetting how to dance altogether. What was most upsetting about this was having the owner come up to me shortly after and telling me I should consider attending their beginner class next time. I don't mind being a bad dancer, or needing to return to a lower level class, but the whole experience felt very shaming and judgmental. I have since found more accepting/fun places in the Portland area where I can dance to have fun and learn, and I sincerely hope others' experiences at Shawn Gardner are better than mine! But I will not be returning. And I am also hopeful that the owner reads this and chooses to consider the possibility that there is some validity to this negative experience so she can reach more students. My advice to anyone who is considering dancing here is to take the level 1 class no matter how much experience you have so you can be trained with Shawn’s expectations from the get-go.