StudioDNA

Worked with John on three separate dances and had the best time. Got lots of compliments at the wedding and it was also so much fun learning and practicing the dances.

John is incredible!! We love his dance classes and he was an absolute lifesaver for our wedding! He is so friendly, charismatic, and super accommodating! He squeezed us in super last minute for our first dance choreography and helped us come up with a simple yet fun dance that our guests loved! I would HIGHLY recommend this studio for wedding couples needing help with a first dance or for anyone just looking to gain more confidence on the dance floor!

We loved working with John, it was our weekly treat to go practice dancing for 4 weeks before our wedding. It gave us the confidence to do a beautiful 1st dance

John choreographed and taught us our first dance for our wedding last minute. He was accommodating, thoughtful, and took the time to make sure we felt comfortable. We had a ton of fun and laughs too. We went from what would have been a boring and awkward sway to a cute and memorable dance that our all our friends and family loved. Could not recommend more for any couple even if you are nervous and this seems out of your comfort zone! John is the best!

StudioDNA and John Dawson were integral to making our wedding day perfect! John is a master at turning nerves into confidence, and his choreography was just what we needed. He made learning to dance fun, and we couldn’t be happier with how our first dance came together. Highly recommend StudioDNA for any wedding couples!

John Dawson is exactly the dance instructor that we needed! My wife and I took private wedding dance lessons with him to prepare for our wedding in July 2024. He made it very comfortable for my wife and I to learn new dance steps in a fun environment. He is very patient, understanding, and flexible. Neither of us had prior dance experience. He made us confident to dance at our wedding and excited to dance together in the future! Thank you John for everything! - Orlando & Chelsea

Working with John to prepare our wedding first dance was one of the best decisions we made in our wedding planning process. We came in with basically negative ability to dance and John totally met us where we were and stuck to his word -- within 4 lessons we had a beautifully put together dance that we were able to take with us to our wedding. He created a bespoke dance for our wedding song that was true to our skill level, personalities, and style-- even matched our venue, what we were wearing, etc. he thinks of everything! Not only did he help us create a dance that guests loved, but our weekly sessions with John were a highlight during a few stressful pre-wedding planning weeks. We had so much fun learning to dance with John, and we can't thank him enough for sharing his gift of dance with us. Highly recommend any other couple going to John to learn some moves ahead of their big day!

John at StudioDNA is absolutely amazing! I could not recommend his services enough. Whether you're a couple looking to add a little extra WOW to the wedding day, or for anyone looking to pick up some new dance moves. My wife and I enjoyed our lessons so much we will be making it a monthly fun date night. Thanks Again John for everything!

We had such an amazing experience with our wedding dance classes! John was incredibly patient and skilled, especially in helping my fiancé feel comfortable on the dance floor. Neither of us had much experience, but they made the entire process fun, stress-free, and absolutely wonderful. By the end, we felt confident and ready for our big day. Highly recommend these classes for any couple looking to make their first dance unforgettable!

We had SO much fun working with John for our wedding dance! He took us from complete beginners who were nervous about performing, to a confident dance pair that couldn't wait to show off our skills to friends and fam. He worked with our choice of song, teaching us basics and more elaborate choreography once we were ready, to masterfully create the PERFECT dance for our unique song. In fact, after our wedding package (4 lessons) was completed, we wanted to come back one more time to put finishing touches and, honestly, just have fun with John! He made every lesson fun and found personalized ways to build us up and help us look our best. We can't wait to come see him for his monthly dance parties, as we've discovered dance as our new favorite date night activity!

We signed up for 2 classes with John for our first dance on our wedding day. He taught us what we needed to do and offered advice on our big day. He was very interactive and made it easy to learn how to move with our song choice. He followed up each lesson with notes on what areas to focus on, which made it super easy to practice at home. Would definitely recommend him and would go to him again for dance lessons!

John was amazing and made everything comfortable and fun. Don't hesitate! We decided < 2 weeks before our wedding that we wanted some assistance with our first dance to make sure our body positioning was right and we weren't just standing in one spot the whole song. John was able to fit us in and after 2 lessons we improved so much with a very casual and loosely choreographed routine and a few spins. It was perfect for us and he totally got the vibe. There was a couple finishing up a lesson before us and they had nailed down a more serious routine (not our thing), but was so beautiful, graceful, and impressive. Just a testament that John can really do anything!

We had an amazing experience with John over the few months leading up to our wedding! His ability to connect with us, not judge, and support our efforts throughout the process really helped make us feel comfortable while trying something new. We highly recommend seeing how John can help you too!

My wife and I used John Dawson and StudioDNA to help us learn our first dance. It was so fun and an amazing part of our wedding experience that we will always look back on. John was so amazing and made learning how to dance, something we initially were not great at, extremely joyful. On our wedding day everyone was impressed! We are so thankful for John and StudioDNA!

John is absolutely wonderful to work with. He made us feel welcome and comfortable as we worked through our first dance plan... and as a result our friends and family were just impressed with how we pulled off our first dance during the big day.

My fiancée, now wife, and I had the absolute pleasure of taking dance lessons with John, and we cannot recommend him enough! John's expertise, patience, and enthusiasm made our experience truly unforgettable. John put us at ease with his warm and friendly demeanor. He tailored his teaching style to our needs, ensuring we felt comfortable and confident for our big day.

Our experience with StudioDNA was absolutely perfect. My partner and I decided to take dance lessons for our wedding, and it was one of the best decisions we made. John's expertise, patience, and enthusiasm made each lesson enjoyable and productive. He customized our dance lessons to match our abilities and wedding dance vision, ensuring we felt confident and prepared for our special day. If you are looking for a dance studio that goes above and beyond to ensure you are prepared for your wedding dance, look no further than StudioDNA. Thank you John for helping us create unforgettable memories!!!

Such an amazing experience! John has the knowledge and patience for dancers of all levels. So happy my husband and I decided to go to StudioDNA for our first dance. Our guests were blown away!

John is AMAZING! My (now) wife and I were searching for a dance instructor to help us with learning our first dance at our wedding. We started off at a large dance studio that we found to be very "salesy" and not personal at all. When we met with John, we immediately knew we wanted to work him. He is kind, funny, friendly, helpful, a great listener, and of course a fantastic dance instructor. His studio is very warm, welcoming, and personal. His little puppers were an added bonus! John has the perfect balance of teaching you what you want to learn without pushing you any further than you want to go - but he will if you want to, trust me. I cannot recommend John enough for anyone looking to learn any type of dance, not just weddings! We will be returning to John's classes just for fun because my wife and I loved being there, learning to dance, and spending time with John.

If you are looking for dance lessons in and around the Baltimore area, look NO FURTHER than John at StudioDNA. What a difference one person can make in your life. My partner and I had just moved to the area, and with only four weeks until the wedding, we signed up for 4 dance classes. WOW! It made all the difference not only for our skills (which were extremely minimal), but also in our connection with one another. To know John is to know genuine friendship, compassion, unfiltered laughter, and vulnerability. I'm grateful to have met him, and cannot stress the investment in yourself and your wedding from working with him! I highly recommend!

We did not know what to expect when we signed up for dance lessons, as neither myself or my husband are dancers. But then we met John, and he made it something we really looked forward to each time. We loved working with John. He made our lessons so fun, made us feel so comfortable and also made us look great for our first dance at our wedding! I could not recommend John more.

Cannot recommend John and StudioDNA enough. My husband and I looked forward to our wedding dance lessons with John so so much. Each lesson was fun, low stress, and John really emphasizes the dance feeling and looking natural. He plays to your strengths and has an excellent understanding of everyone's ability and level of dance. We can't wait to keep dancing even now that the wedding is over!!

I cannot speak highly enough about John and our experience with him. We were in search of an LGBTQIA+ friendly vendor, and John played a pivotal role in creating an incredibly intimate dance for our wedding, bringing our vision to life. Despite our lack of dancing experience, with John's expertise, we managed to craft something truly beautiful by the end. Moreover, John's friendly demeanor made our lessons enjoyable and filled with laughter, which further put us at ease. If you are in need of a dance instructor, look no further!

Absolutely phenomenal! He put us immediately at ease and kept us laughing through each practice! We got a beautiful dance that was complimented by everyone at our wedding!

John was a great teacher. My son and his new wife had a beautiful first dance at their wedding reception and I had a great dance with my son!

John is extremely knowledgeable and fun to work with. We had no previous dance training and left feeling confident that our first dance would be a big hit at our wedding

I highly recommend John Dawson as a dance instructor, a coach, and a friend. He is such a talented dancer and he is gifted in teaching his skill to others. Whatever level you are at, he will take you higher. John has a casual, yet professional, approach that appeals to everyone. He has a great personality that shows in the way he decorates his spacious studio, how he treats his pets and people, and how people love him, including me.

John is one of the nicest people I've ever met, so cheerful, honest, and accommodating. I lead a folk dance group that rents his studio, and my husband and I take ballroom classes from him. He is a wonderful teacher, so talented and patient, and so much fun to be around. And he knows so much! I've seen him work with young couples to prepare them for their weddings, and with experienced dancers; he can do it all and always with a kind, encouraging heart and a lot of humor — and I must say with great success. It's so much fun to be around him. Also, the studio is so well maintained and it has the best floor I've ever danced on — and I’ve danced on a lot of floors! Whoever works with John in any capacity is very lucky to have found him!

John was an absolute joy to work with! We were recommended him in preparation for our first dance and it was the best decision we made! Not only did John make us feel comfortable and at home but he gave us the tools to make us feel confident on the dance floor! We would have danced in circles if it weren't for John-we could not recommend him more!

We picked a John to help us with our wedding dance based on his incredible ratings, and I have to say they were all accurate! John is amazing as a dance instructor as well as a person. We had a lot of fun and mastered our wedding dance in just a few lessons. 10/10

John is the BEST! We cannot recommend him enough! We had so much fun taking lessons leading up to our wedding! He was so flexible and able to accommodate our work schedules, making it a stress free process. All of our guests were so impressed with our first dance and it was my favorite part of our wedding day!! John made us feel at ease and made sure that the choreography reflected our personalities. We would without hesitation, take classes with John again and recommend him to all our friends!

Within a single two hour session, John helped my daughter and I select a song and choreographed our father-daughter dance, cut the song to the appropriate length and gave us all the confidence we needed to succeed on the wedding day. We couldn't have done it without John.

John was an amazing instructor and became a friend during our sessions together. My now husband and I are not dancers in any way, but John made us feel comfortable and welcomed. He is an absolute delight who can match his couples speed and needs easily. We found John with less than 3 weeks until our wedding and he worked with us to schedule our sessions quickly. We didn't need a full routine, just some steps and ideas so it looked like we knew what we were doing for our first dance at our wedding. John was able to give us that and more. We had a lovely first dance with some fun moves and everyone cheered us on. John is so friendly and we would stay well beyond our sessions just to chat. I am very grateful that we found John and I highly recommend him for all couples looking for their first dances!

John is an incredible dance instructor, and my husband and I thoroughly enjoyed our lessons. Each class was personable and filled with warm, positive energy. As we prepared for our big day, John taught us how to lead, follow, and be present in the moment. Each time we walked into his studio, our outside stressors were removed, and through his patience and clear instructions, we learned some beautiful dance moves and found joy in each session. We enjoyed our lessons so much that we both scheduled classes with our parents to prepare for our dances with them, and they loved John and his instruction style as well. I cannot recommend John and StudioDNA enough!!

Taking lessons with John was the BEST decision we made when planning our wedding. He helped choreograph our first dance perfectly and made the process so SO fun. John was so friendly, patient, and for two non-dancers made every lesson fun and easy to learn. We are so thankful to have such wonderful memories tied to planning our wedding thanks to our experience with John. He truly is the best!

Dance lessons with John were so fun! We took 4 lessons for our first dance, which was "Come and Get Your Love". We were very nervous because neither of us has rhythm and we picked an upbeat song. John was amazing in choreographing, keeping us laughing, comfortable, and taught us such amazing techniques! We had so much fun and he took all the stress out of a first dance. Our guests absolutely loved it, and we loved it to!

My husband and I came to John to help us choreograph our first dance for our wedding. To say we were nervous and inexperienced was an understatement! We have no dance background whatsoever, but we agreed we did not want to just stand and sway for several minutes. John immediately put our fears at ease. He asked a lot of logistical questions about our venue and dance floor, as well as questions so he could get to know us, our style, and what we were looking for. He even discreetly asked me about my wedding dress to see if some dance moves would be possible! He has clearly been doing this for a very long time and is a true professional in combining personalities, skillsets, song choice, and vibe, that will work with your venue. We went to 3 sessions which I think was the perfect amount for us, giving us enough time to practice on our own in between and tweak in rehearsal with John. We did wait until just a few weeks before our wedding to do this which made me nervous, I'd recommend contacting him about 3 months out to book sessions. John made us feel relaxed, excited, and confident before our wedding - which are probably the three things you want the most when you are planning to have 100+ people staring at you! I would definitely recommend him for anyone planning a first dance - even something simple - as he can give you ideas you never would've thought of. We had a great time rehearsing and learning with John, it was one of our favorite activities leading up to the wedding. We are immensely grateful. Don't hesitate - call him now to reserve your rehearsal times, you'll be glad you did!

Taking dance lessons with John was the best part of wedding planning! He really takes the time to get to know you as a couple and comes up with a dance that makes you both feel comfortable. We had a blast every time we went in for a lesson!

Great instructor. Made us comfortable on the dance floor and did well to communicate in a way that we both responded to well.

An amazing instructor that helped me feel comfortable in my own skin! Highly recommended!

John was an amazing dance instructor! From helping us decide on our first dance song, to teaching us all of the dance moves he was fun and very personable! We got lots of cheers during our first dance and John made that all possible! If you are looking for a fun way to spice up your first dance then look no further than John at StudioDNA!

We loved our experience working with John from StudioDNA. Our first dance turned out amazing with his help and the pictures and memories will last a lifetime. Neither my husband and I were dancers before stepping into the studio, but John helped us feel comfortable moving to the rhyme with each rehearsal. Highly recommend!! We are going to come back to group lessons in the future.

We booked John for dance lessons for our wedding. He was so helpful. The lessons were so much fun. Would recommend him to anyone. He also has the cutest dogs. Thanks for making our wedding so special!

Taking dance lessons with John at StudioDNA was one of the best decisions we made throughout wedding planning. We wanted to learn a simple but elegant dance and wanted to look as natural as possible, and that is exactly what John helped us do. Not to mention he makes each lesson so fun and it was something my husband and I looked forward to each week. When it came to our dance on our wedding day, we felt so confident and it went so well! All of our family and friends were so impressed and so were we. We can’t thank John enough for teaching us our first dance, which ended up being one of our favorite memories from our big day!!

Amazing experience! John makes you feel so comfortable and you leave every class feeling confident about what you've learned! My guests wouldn't stop complimenting me on our dance. My husband and I have found something we can do together and can't wait to continue!

Exceptional! My fiance and I wanted a fun dance to do for our first dance at our wedding. The only problem is I am not a dancer. I usually shy away from dancing because I feel I do not have any rhythm. We thought it would be best to find an instructor. John was great. Super nice. He made me fill comfortable and was extremely patient with the process. He made it fun. We chose our own song (Cuff It by Beyonce) and he choreographed the best dance that matched our skill level. We purchased the wedding package and ended up adding one more lesson on to it. Not that we really needed it. It was just a good time. John made sure we were ready. The studio was clean and John was very professional.

John was amazing and so much fun to work with! My husband did NOT want to do dance lessons, but he ended up really enjoying it and thinking our time with John was well worth it! We were taking the lessons somewhat last minute and John had a flexible schedule and was able to get us a dance that we loved and were comfortable with. It turned out great at the wedding! John was very professional, easy to communicate with and a great value! I highly recommend working with John!

John was amazing to work with and was one of the highlights of wedding planning! We came to John through a referral and he lived up to the hype and more, he is very calm and patient as well as very clear in his dance instructions. We had an idea of what we wanted to do for our first dance for our wedding but no idea how to get there and he came up with great choreography that we felt comfortable with and wowed our guests. It honestly was even one of the most fun aspects of our wedding and would recommend John to anyone!

We loved getting dance lessons from John for our wedding! Not only was it fun to come up with a dance for the wedding but it was also a nice date night we looked forward to every other week. John was great as an instructor. I warned him that I am extremely uncoordinated ahead of time but he made me feel comfortable and never once made me feel stupid or incapable! Everyone absolutely loved the dance at our wedding. We can’t wait to see the video!!

We had a wonderful time learning how to dance with John! We wanted a routine for our first dance and John worked with us over four lessons to be ready in time for our wedding. I was a little nervous because I don’t consider myself to be a very good dancer, but he makes you feel comfortable right off the bat and spends a good deal of time getting to know you. Each lesson flew by because we were having so much fun. I would highly recommend working with John for your wedding dance needs!

John was an excellent instructor! We had so much fun with him and we were very grateful to learn how to dance together in preparation for our wedding. Cannot recommend him enough!

John is a lifesaver! We found John via Google when looking for a dance instructor to help us prepare for our first dance for our wedding. He was super responsive with communication and offered a wedding package for a great value. We were so thrilled after our first dance lesson with him because he was able to take someone without rhythm and someone who can't remember choreography, and choreographed an elegant first dance to actually make us look like dancers! He is truly awesome to work with and every lesson was so much fun ! Would highly recommend him to anyone looking for lessons no matter how much or little experience you have with dancing. We even plan to return for some of the dance parties he hosts. It's been two months since our wedding and we still enjoy reenacting our first dance in our kitchen. Thank you so much John!

John is an absolute legend. About three weeks out from our wedding, I hit the panic button upon a terrifying epiphany that, no, I would probably not be able to fake my way through my wedding dance with my now-wife. I found John online due to the fact that, no matter the industry, very few businesses have basically ALL FIVE STAR reviews on every website upon which they are listed. Well, John and StudioDNA deserve every single one of them. As cliche as it sounds, I would give him six if I could. After my bride finished telling me "I've been saying we needed lessons for months!" we originally scheduled just one lesson with John. Frankly, "Let's go take dance lessons" has never been a phrase that his inspired great joy in me, but man, was I wrong. Not only did we actually NEED more than one lesson (though John NEVER pressured us), we couldn't wait to see John more. He is not only an amazing teacher, but an absolute delight to be around. Frankly, not every part of the wedding-preparation process is delightful, but our lessons with John were a most-welcome oasis amidst a desert of stress and tight deadlines. (And honestly, I never thought I would say that about dance classes. Did I mention we might even continue to go back?) One of the top reviews for StudioDNA says something to the effect of "Who needs a marriage therapist when you have John?" Not only is that reviewer 100% correct, but because of John's help, guidance, and kindness, we were able to not only dance well on our big day, but also have fun. If you are even considering it, just stop messing around and get in touch with him now. You will not regret it.