Society Hill Dance Academy

int, so we could very much express ourselves with the type of music we love along with the smooth moves to accompany it. Our shout out goes to our instructor Meghan Gerry! For too many reasons to count Meghan set us up for nothing but success. If anyone ever felt like their first dance was “different” or not of the normal slow dance genre, I can say with confidence that there is a dance for it and I am sure Meghan has you covered. We presented her with the challenge of an EDM song and she instantly responded with the elegant dance that would be my wife and I’s first dance. She choreographed our dance from the moment we would walk to the dance floor to the stunning finish that had our family and friends in awe at our wedding. Again, highly recommended from us and would suggest this to anyone and everyone. -Sam & Riana Rizzo

oked put together but not too choreographed. She was so patient and low key and a perfect instructor for us. I loved working with Cat so much that I tapped her to help choreograph a cute father/daughter dance and a short mother/daughter dance (did a little swing routine to a special song for my mom and me). If you are thinking about lessons for your wedding, do it...totally worth it. And request Cat!

t only beautiful but also felt distinctly *us*

our jazz first dance with more moves than the sway! We would absolutely recommend taking lessons here to any bride and groom looking to impress their guests on their wedding day.

mosphere there is very welcoming.

t to work with and made us feel instantly comfortable. She choreographed a fun, lively dance for us to “December, 1963 (Oh What A Night!)” which our wedding guests loved. We think it really helped guests understand the dance floor was the place to be all night. With all the hectic planning and organizing in the months before our wedding, we really looked forward to each of our dance lessons and enjoyed having time together where we we could get our mind off of all of our wedding duties. Thank you Meghan and SHDA! You're the best!

cial day. With so many things to think about on the wedding day, not having to stress about the first dance was a relief. We couldn't have done it without Cat who made the experience fun and something we looked forward to every week. Can't wait to learn another step (maybe hip-hop?) at SHDA soon!

edding raved about our first dance saying it was exciting and different from anything they had ever seen. I would definitely recommend taking dance lessons before the big day at Society Hill Dance Academy!

no easy task there!) and wasn't too difficult for two people with no dance skills whatsoever. He was funny, kind, and patient. Our first dance was wonderful! We really looked like we knew what we were doing. Plus, taking the lessons was really fun and was actually a nice break from all of the craziness of the wedding planning. We can't recommend SHDA and Ro enough!

aught us to dance. She didn't just teach us a routine to get us through, she taught us how to dance in a style (the rumba) that best fit our style and song. She was an amazing and compassionate teacher that helped us stay calm and collected throughout all the lessons. She also taught us some other styles of dance (salsa and hustle) so we could dance to every song at our wedding. We had so much fun going to lessons together once a week and turned it into a date night. At our wedding, we rocked our first dance and got so many compliments on how beautiful our dance was. I can't wait to go to other dancing events so we can show off our new moves! I couldn't recommend Meg more!

perience fun. The reason my wife and I looked so good during our "song" was solely because of Meghan! Go out and pick Meghan at the Society Hill Dance Academy!

dance. We got so many compliments on how classic and polished our routine was, and I would HIGHLY recommend lessons with Megan to any couple who is considering taking dance lessons.

ends. We were lucky enough to be able to work with Catherine. She was such a pleasure to have as our instructor. My fiancé's schedule as a resident physician is a nightmare and Cat was always able to accommodate sneaking in a lesson around our availability. Cat was also able to balancing teaching us two different dances (our first dance, and a traditional danish waltz) across our odd lesson schedule. In the end, the results were AMAZING. We absolutely nailed both of the dances we performed. Our guests were hooting and hollering by some of the moves we learned from Cat. Everyone was so impressed with how "regal" our first dance was, and we owe it all to Catherine. We are eagerly anticipating watching what our videographer was able to capture, and stopping in to share it with Cat. Who knows, maybe in the future we'll go back and take some group lessons when my wife's schedule eases up a bit!

rom. We learned basic dance steps that we can use for our whole lives. The only reason I'm giving 4 instead of 5 stars is because I thought the it was very expensive.

ss. It made a great difference in our comfort level with the dance and we had so much fun! They guests at the wedding were impressed!

erence). Cat was so great. She worked with us individually and made our dance easy enough for us to do well, while still having some style and flare. She is a fantastic dancer and we are NOT, but she was not intimidating in any way. She laughed with us and made us feel much better about our progress and even our starting place. Our sessions were really fun, because Cat had a great energy. Our dancing improved so much!

d us off with a bachata/rumba framework and ended up choreographing an entire routine for us. It’s amazing how in 6 weeks you can go from nothing to a first dance you can be proud of and excited about. Taking dancing lessons was definitely a commitment of time and effort, but out of all the things we did planning for our wedding (flowers, photography etc) I would say this was the most meaningful. Wedding planning can be stressful, but our lessons at SHDA were something to look forward to. The instructors at Society Hill were great and they did so much for us. I am sure that anybody who makes the commitment will not regret it.

rienced, lets the lessons be so fun. We all love it. In the end, we had a very wonderful and romantic first dance in our wedding! Taking the private lessons in society hill dance academy is one of our best choices we made. If I will still live in Philly, I definitely will take classes with Nodari again to learn more.

hat went perfectly, with multiple styles of dance. We had a great time learning and our guests continue to tell us how awesome it was to this day! Definitely a worth while expenditure, plus now we have some fancy dance moves to show off at future events :)

e ended up doing would fit the song since it's a little nontraditional. Our instructor was Meghan and she is wonderful! So kind and patient and was able to really take us from not knowing anything to learning a few dances by the end of it all. What we really loved was that Society Hill doesn't just teach you a routine to the one song, they teach you how to dance. So not only were we able to dance to our first dance but we now know how to move and dance along with a lot of other songs! We learned both the rumba and swing and switching between the 2 worked great with our song! And of course we learned a great dip for the ending!

e and a great teacher, and Society Hill Dance Academy is just a really great dance studio in general - they have a lot of fun events and classes for members

as our song and right from our very first lesson Meghan had amazing swing dance choreography planned out. With each lesson she helped us refine the dance to make it unique and special. My husband and I are not dancers by any means but not only did Meghan have us dancing a full swing dance in about 4 weeks (we were under a time crunch) but we even added a back flip for our grand finale! I also love that she had us showcase our dance to dancers at the studio so that we could work out our nerves before our wedding. Meghan and everyone we met at Society Hill Dance Studio was wonderful. If you're considering taking dance lessons, look no further than Society Hill. They are 100% worth it.

couldn't stop raving about our dance and our skills!

positive spirit each time we met. By our wedding, we felt completely comfortable and confident with the steps of the dance. Our wedding guests were very impressed.

video and the dance is one of our favorite parts from the reception!

d with SHDA and fortunately we found a teacher (Meghan G.) that went beyond expectations. We trusted her so much that we even switched our song mid-way through the lesson package! My wife and I are busy, but scheduling in advance was always a breeze. SHDA gives you an opportunity to get as involved as you'd like with their group lessons and social evenings that are part of the package we purchased. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't change anything about the package (15 lessons) we purchased and would highly recommend Meghan to work with couples trying to develop a wedding dance. This will not be the last lesson that my wife and I take from Meghan, so thanks for opening up our eyes to a life-long skill and enjoyable activity.

positive encouragement and enthusiasm helped us to build a solid foundation in many types of dance (Waltz, Rumba, and Hustle to name a few). Meghan has a unique way of teaching by explaining and demonstrating the moves in several different ways until the student gets it right. SHDA also offers group classes and dance parties every Friday night where we were able to practice our moves in a group setting while simultaneously meeting new people. We have been married for 8 months now and we have continued taking private dance lessons with Meghan and couldn't be happier with how much we've improved. To this day we still have guests tell us how much they enjoyed our wedding dance. All thanks to Meghan and the staff at SHDA!

ed to Ro, who promptly moved us into a private room. We discussed what we had in mind for our dance, so he listened to our song, and informed us that we would be doing a dance known as "the hustle," which is a common style of partner dance. After a good first class in which Ro began to show us the movements involved in the hustle, we signed up for a series of 8 lessons, with the final lesson being 4 days from our big day. Partner dance requires learning a new skill, and in order to get comfortable with it, that necessitated practice. Our lessons were spent rehearsing our moves, and Ro would add something new each lesson to keep moving us forward. We were always given homework, which was to practice our moves at home. Believe me, if you are reading this review for purposes of choreographing your first wedding dance, you will need to practice. If you have never partner danced, you will be a fish out of water and will require constant practice in order to legitimately feel all of the moves and know you can execute without having to think too much about them, when it comes time to perform. Ro hammered us about practicing, and like any good teacher he could tell if we had put in the appropriate amount of time between lessons. Practicing your dance is not as easy as it sounds, because you will probably need to be disciplined enough to schedule time to do it. After our ceremony, Jessica and I were able to practice in the bridal suite one last time, especially some of the tricky moves that we hoped to incorporate into our dance, and the opening/closing sequences that Ro created for us. We rehearsed our dance within 30 minutes of actually performing it. I can say with certainty that those final rehearsals made all the difference for our confidence in our ability to perform with a large audience and many distractions. At any rate, we went out and pretty much killed it. Everyone was very impressed, and it was apparent to all that an amount of work went into the finished product. Aside from having a great knowledge of dance, Ro was simply a good teacher. I know that effective teachers don't teach their subject, they teach people. Ro had this approach to dance, as he built a relationship with us, and held us accountable to work on and perfect what he taught us. He was invested in our success, and truly wanted us to perform well. I personally had the sense that if we did not do a good job with our dance, we would not just be letting each other down, but Ro as well. I was very impressed by his instruction, professionalism, and how well our dance came out as a result. We were even given the opportunity to do a dry run of our completed dance before a small crowd in the studio in order to mentally prepare to have eyes on us. Looking back, I feel that the experience was good for us as a couple. We had to work on this dance together starting from absolutely zero until we had a finished product that we were ready to put on display in front of 200 people. Learning dance can also do a lot of good in forcing would-be dancers out of their comfort zones, and to develop a self-deprecating sense of humor. We did not just learn a dance- we grew as a couple as well, and managed to have a lot of fun doing it, too.

d or at least like we knew what we were doing! Highly recommend.

uraged us to come to group dance nights so we could learn other dances (and impress our friends!). Before the wedding, she had us dance at a showcase in front of several strangers -- it definitely helps calm our nerves for the big day! Our dance was perfect and we'll be forever grateful for Shana's help and patience! :)

first dance amazing, but she taught us some basic dance moves for different dances and we were able to tear up the dance floor at our wedding and our mini moon! We are so happy with this studio and encourage anyone who is getting married to start taking dance lessons here immediately to get the best dance on for you wedding. Thank you!!!

lesson with Jordan we were sold. She broke it down for us and took it at our own pace. She also did not bat an eye to our competitive nature. We booked eight private lessons. This was more than we needed. By the sixth lesson we were beating a dead horse. Thats when Jordan started to teach us how to hustle. So much fun! We used it on our wedding day in an unrehearsed manner and actually have some amazing pictures from hustling all over the dance floor. Worth every penny.

actually pretty good! It was so much fun as a couple attending these lessons and trying something new together. All our friends and family were very impressed on our wedding day when we danced the foxtrot to Bobby Darrin's "Beyond the Sea." Without Nodari's expert coaching, that would never have happened! Along with the lessons, open practice time is offered at the studio, along with options to come to group lessons for various dance styles all included in the 15 session package.

always patient with us. We are so happy and will be continuing lessons with Colleen!

e price! Colleen made us comfortable with our first dance and our guests loved it. It was so fun having a date night once a week during all the craziness of wedding planning and learning something new. She also prepared a first dance for my dad and I and my husband and his mom. She was able to come up with something simple that we could learn in one lesson, but looked liked we had been taking lessons for weeks. Absolutely recommend lessons for any bride and groom!

ssons he continually added new moves, spins, lifts, etc. By the time we were finished I was not even nervous walking out in front of 150 people and dancing. He taught us what to do if we make mistakes and made us comfortable in front of crowds. Nodari was the best. Thank you for all your help. The dance went perfectly.

g and very laid back. I think people sometimes feel afraid that a place like this will be stuffy and serious (honestly that is what I was fearing) and I cannot emphasize enough that it was the complete opposite! We learned a dance for our first dance and surprised all our guests with our great moves. We had such a great time we plan to continue dance lessons with them even after our wedding. And a special thanks to our wonderful instructor Jordan...thanks for making us look so good on the dance floor!!!

ingly beautiful Society Hill studio for my first lesson (which incidentally, is always free!) The anxiety lasted for all of about two seconds, until my private instructor Colleen's friendly, engaging personality and bright smile put me completely at ease. After listening to our song and learning some basic steps I knew I was hooked. I signed up for a lesson package on the spot, and dived right in to the included nightly classes and weekly dance party. The entire staff and student body couldn't have been more supportive of me as a newcomer, and in no time at all I felt like part of the family. After about a month of training in various dance styles and working on the routine that Colleen choreographed specifically to fit my abilities, I spilled the beans to my fiancee and we started taking lessons together. She also fell in love with the SHDA community and our lessons became something we eagerly looked forward to. The week before our wedding we were given the opportunity to perform our number for the entire school. Even though we were a little nervous, we knew that we were fully prepared and completely comfortable with all the steps. The overwhelming support from both teachers and fellow students helped make our First Dance the most memorable moment of the most important day of our lives, and for that we cannot thank Colleen and the Society Hill Dance Academy enough. Almost 4 months later we are still taking lessons, still improving, and still sharing in what I know will be a life-long love of dance that would not have been possible without Colleen and the entire SHDA staff.

elp us create a fun first dance that we could enjoy and were excited to share with our guests! Everyone at the studio is so welcoming and supportive - we had a great experience!

stening to our song for 30 seconds, she had a plan for a dance that would wow our guests. Having never taken a dance lesson in my life, I was SO nervous to start but after week one I found that not only did I feel like I was learning how to dance but also started to really look forward going to our lesson. This was partly due to Colleen being not only an excellent teacher but also a person who is unbelievably sweet and fun. SHDA is worth the price. Not only is there excellent service rendered but we were able to wow our guests with a fun first dance rather than bore them to tears with a middle school shuffle. We would highly recommend SHDA to other couples and we may even be interested in taking some dance lessons just for fun in the future.

eek for lessons the end result was so worth it.

nce and she could not have done a better job instructing two inexperienced dancers. We really wanted our first dance to be memorable, feel comfortable and wow our guests and with Colleen's help it was perfect! My husband and I had very busy schedules and Colleen was extremely accommodating. She came in early prior to the studio opening to work with our time constraints and she able to teach us and choreograph the dance in less than 5 weeks. As I am writing this review, I am thinking about how much fun my husband and I had over the weeks! It was truly one of my favorite parts of the wedding planning.

ou can not get a large crowd in this space (no more then 140) and you need to rent everything as there is no kitchen. But we loved having our wedding here and our guest loved partying here!

y instructor is quick to help out and give you constructive feedback. After the initial few lessons, my husband and I signed up for the beginner lesson series and will be signing up for the next series soon. Everyone is so nice and friendly - you immediately become part of their family!

our first dance in an insanely short amount of time – just two weeks. On top of that, while I have a dance background, my husband is definitely a beginner. Anthony worked with us and in five lessons we had a fantastic first dance that wowed our guests. Anthony is a highly professional, talented instructor and he made the whole experience fun. We will definitely be going back for more lessons!

ation was. We could not have been happier.

ps that turned into lifting and turns, etc. Everyone commented on how fun our dance was. Nodari and everyone at SHDA was great to work with and because of them our first dance was perfect. We were very nervous about taking dance lessons, but by the end of our lessons, we wanted to take more to learn more dance moves!

me in and teach our lessons! We learned the waltz for our first dance and Salsa for the bachelorette party! So fun!

ugh!

that he didnt go over the time. We also felt like they were more focused on selling us another package than teaching us how to dance. Overall, I wouldn't necessarily recommend this place for a couple that is trying to learn their wedding dance on a tight timeline.

hings and breaks them down in a way everyone get understand. I think Tim recognizes the more self-concious of the couple and works on their esteem and confidence. I received many compliments on our wedding day about how polished we looked. It was worth it!

instructors their were great and we loved seeing LuLu, their horse sized gentle as a lamb dog hanging about the studio.

wedding! The classes have been so much fun, that we enrolled in more even though our wedding is over!