Symbolic Dance & Fitness

San Francisco, CA

About This Vendor

Wedding Dance Services

Getting married soon? FABULOUS!!!! Let us help you make your first dance something memorable for both you and your guests. Whether your goal is to do a bit more than the High School prom sway, or you want something flashier, our goal is for you to look and feel confident on your special day.! We are available for in-person lessons at various locations throughout San Francisco. We work with all levels, all genders, and almost all types of music! Our prices are competitive, starting at $100 for one lesson, with discounts on multi-lesson packages. Pricing and packages can be found here https://symbolicdance.com/wedding-services/ Read what some of our students have said... My fiance and I took 5 virtual lessons with Ava for our upcoming wedding. We were skeptical at first as we originally planned to do these classes in person, but if anything 2020 has taught us, it’s how to be flexible! We were so happy we decided to do the virtual classes because it worked out perfect! Ava was responsive, timely and an excellent teacher. She was able to choreograph our first dance to two songs and teach us leading and following, two lifts, dips, and turns, with ease. We cannot wait to show off our moves to our friends and family! If you have any doubts about taking virtual lesson, go for it, you won’t be disappointed! Lisa P. & Travis S. And here is another compliment we got from one of our couples "Thank you again for all your help and creativity in making our first dance a spectacular one that went above our expectations!" K.L. We recommend starting lessons 3-4 months in advance, although it’s never too early, or too late, to get started. We have even helped couples that had time for only one lesson, booked less than a week before their big day. We look forward to answering any questions you have for us!

Details

Business Attributes

Hispanic or Latinx-owned Business, Woman-owned Business

Music Genres

Bluegrass, Caribbean, Classical, Country, Dance, Disco, EDM, Folk, Jazz, Klezmer, Latin, Mariachi, Pop, R&B, Rock, World Music

Awards and Affiliations

Pricing for Symbolic Dance & Fitness

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Symbolic Dance & Fitness Reviews

5 out of 5.0

18 reviews

5 Star

100%

4 Star

3 Star

2 Star

1 Star

Reviewed On 9/19/2022 by Angie K

We worked with Ava on our wedding dance and had a wonderful experience. Ava taught us many partner sequences and lifts to use in our dance. I came from a ballet background while my husband had very little dance experience. Ava taught us with pa...

tience and in a way that matched both our levels of understanding. I also came with my own ideas for choreography and Ava helped us build on them and make them look good. By the end of 5 sessions we felt performance-ready! We received so many compliments from our friends and family on our wedding dance. We can't thank you enough, Ava!

Response from the Vendor on 09/21/2022

Angie , it was my pleasure to work with you and Jonathan. I loved our collaboration with the choreography, and the pictures you sent me are so beautiful. Looking forward to seeing the video! Thanks for trusting me to work with the two of you. ...

Ava

Reviewed On 2/03/2023 by Jessica A

Planning for a first dance is nerve-wracking, especially when neither person in the couple knows what they're doing. That was the exact situation my husband and I found ourselves in before we met Ava. However, she swiftly righted our ship and w...

e had a first dance to remember! We completed five sessions with her and each were magnificent. She brought creativity, fun, and an attention to detail into every session that not only left us feeling more capable, but reassured that we'd be able to make this work. Our gratitude can't fully be expressed the care she exuded for formulating our special moment with us, and we know she'll continue to have that same impact on more couples.

Reviewed On 11/10/2022 by Andrea H

Ava and Rodolfo are incredible Salsa instructors! We worked with them over the course of a few months to improve our salsa skills and choreograph a custom routine for our wedding. We came to them with basic salsa experience (no dance background...

) and they were able to help us put together the wedding dance of our dreams! Rodolfo was instrumental in creating our surprise wedding dance. We picked out a song and he built us a custom routine around it. He even edited the music so we could do a 2.5 min song (vs the full one) which is exactly what we wanted. Rodolfo was fantastic at building choreography that matched the music perfectly and aligned with our skill set. Rodolfo was always so encouraging, positive, and patient with us. We loved how he would adjust things throughout our lessons too - if he thought something could be improved he would work that in. It was very clear he is passionate about his work and wants the best for the people he works with. Ava was also a blast to work with. She helped to substantially improve our salsa basics and gave us a great library of moves that we then used in our final dance. Ava is very good at identifying how to tweak things to improve the overall flow/look of the moves. Ava is also incredibly kind - at one point she was kind enough to lend me some outfits/jewelry for our special wedding dance. Ava is your go-to if you want someone who is an absolute salsa maven. We really loved working with Ava and Rodolfo. They are so passionate about salsa which makes it so much more fun! We learned so much over this past year and are looking forward to going to more group classes with them.

Response from the Vendor on 01/11/2023

Andrea, Camron, It was such a pleasure for Rodolfo and I to work with the two of you! You were always so focused in the lessons, and we are always happy when couples put in practice time between lessons. We are both very proud of what you acc...

omplished. Hoping to see you two again, maybe in our weekly group classes. Best wishes to you both, Ava (& Rodolfo)

Any questions?

Reviewed On 11/02/2022 by Siobhan G

We worked with Apple on our first dance for our wedding and had an awesome time with her. She is so knowledgable and so easy to work with. My husband and I didn't want anything too complicated or flashy for our dance, we really just wanted to ...

nail the basics and have one or two big moves (a lift and a dip). Ava totally understood our vision and after 3 sessions, Ava helped put together a great first dance and my husband & I felt super confident going into wedding day! We received so many compliments from our friends and family on our first dance and that is a huge testament to Ava! Cannot thank her enough for all of her help!

Response from the Vendor on 01/11/2023

Siobhan & Alec, Thank you - I'm happy that we were able to put something together that worked for the two of you, and that your friends & family were impressed! Thanks for trusting in me. Wishing you both the best, Ava

Reviewed On 10/29/2022 by Mathilde P

We reached out to Ava few weeks before our wedding to learn how to dance on our first dance. We did not want something too complicated, we just wanted to feel confortable dancing together and also learn some cool dancing tricks ! I like that A...

va listened to us first to understand our expectations and after 3 classes we were ready! She was a really good teacher and also we had a lot of fun learning how to dance with her! I will recommend her without any hesitation !

Response from the Vendor on 10/30/2022

Mathilde, Pierre, Thank you so much for trusting me to work with you on your dance. And I loved your choice of music! I’m very pleased that you were happy with it, and I appreciate the recommendation. Wishing you both the best always, Ava

Reviewed On 10/26/2022 by Ryan M

My wife an I went to Ava for lessons to prepare for our first dance and she is incredible! We had 3 lessons starting with the basics and then teaching us some additional moves. Ava was very patient, listened to what we wanted and taught us a gr...

eat first dance routine to the song we chose. Ava was very helpful and at the end of each class would take a video on my phone so we could go home and practice between lessons. The first dance ended up being a huge hit and we are so happy we went to Ava. Highly recommend!

Response from the Vendor on 10/30/2022

Ryan, Neile, Thank you! I’m so glad you were happy with your dance, and that it went well. I appreciate you taking the time to write a review, and I wish you both the best for many many years to come. Ava

Reviewed On 9/19/2022 by Sarah Y

Highly recommend for all levels! My husband and I had no dance experience and wanted to use our wedding as an opportunity to learn the basics. We took 3 classes with Ava who choreographed our first dance as well as taught us skills we will take...

with us for life. She is a great teacher and our first dance was a huge success! We felt confident, had the time of our lives, and our guests were cheering along with every spin and dip.

Response from the Vendor on 09/21/2022

Sarah, I'm so happy that the two of you had fun, learned partner/social dance skills to use in the future, and that your guests were also impressed! Yay!!!! Thank you for the review, and for working with me on your first dance. Best wishes to y...

ou both, Ava

Reviewed On 9/12/2022 by Michael W

Ava was the perfect wedding dance instructor for my wife and me. We didn't have any formal dance training, and she helped us learn and have fun over five lessons before our big day. Cannot recommend her enough.

Response from the Vendor on 09/13/2022

Michael, Sarah, I appreciate you both. It makes me happy to hear that you had fun on your lessons! Best wishes always, Ava

Reviewed On 7/01/2022 by Sirisha K

Ava was an amazing dance instructor for our first dance! She is able to work with different dance levels and is very patient and efficient with her dance lessons. She was very helpful in helping us choose a song, made us videos after each lesso...

n so we could remember and practice the steps later on our own, and helped us develop the dance steps to follow for a seamless sequence. At our wedding, we got several compliments on how well put together our first dance was (with no previous formal couples' dance experience prior!) I highly recommend Ava to anyone looking to craft a special first dance! Thanks Ava!

Response from the Vendor on 07/08/2022

Sirisha, Aby, Thank YOU for trusting in me to help you with your dance, and it makes me really happy to hear that your guests were impressed! Best wishes to you both, Ava

Reviewed On 2/03/2022 by Abby G

Ava choreographed and helped us learn our first dance for our wedding. We took three private lessons with her and not only had the best time, but also left feeling so much more confident in our dancing from where we started. Ava helped us final...

ize our song, picked repeatable dance moves we could nail throughout, as well as created a beginning, middle, and ending sequence to add some flare. She is a great, patient, and fun instructor. She ensured we felt confident in what we learned after each lesson and even created video instructions for us to use to practice on our own between lessons. We highly recommend Ava to anyone and hope to take lessons with her again soon!!

Response from the Vendor on 02/15/2022

Thanks so much Abby! I'm happy you were pleased with everything, and I look forward to working with the two of you again. Dancing is a wonderful hobby for couples to share. Best, Ava

Reviewed On 1/13/2022 by Jasmine M

My husband and I got married this past October, and we're so happy we chose Ava to be our dance instructor for our first dance. She's not only a great instructor, but also did an amazing job choreographing the dance based on our vision and song...

. Ava was patient, professional, and most importantly made each lesson a fun experience. I highly recommend booking lessons with her!

Response from the Vendor on 01/18/2022

Thank you so much Jasmine! It makes my day to hear that your dance went well and that you both were happy with it. Best always, Ava

Reviewed On 1/04/2022 by John C

Ava was an awesome instructor for our first wedding dance. My wife avoids being the center of attention and is not a regular dancer (while I’m the rambunctious and overly confident whirlwind of limbs), and Ava worked with us to create a routine...

that fit us perfectly. Great structure and pace while not being overly prescriptive so that we had some room for error. Over 5 sessions we really refined and added in the nuances that made the dance come to life. Ava is clearly a well versed coach - a great balance of patience with focused instruction to get you performing your best. Would highly recommend!

Response from the Vendor on 01/18/2022

John, thank you - it was a pleasure to work with the two of you and I am very happy that you were pleased with what you learned from me. Wishing you both the very best! Ava

Reviewed On 1/03/2022 by Samantha M

We took our wedding dance lessons here with Ava and were able to feel confident and prepared for our first dance! Definitely couldn't have done it without her help!

Response from the Vendor on 01/18/2022

I'm happy to hear that Samantha - thank you so much trusting in me. Wishing you both the best, Ava

Reviewed On 9/14/2021 by Steven S

We hired Ava to help us with the first dance at our very small COVID wedding in October 2020. She was fantastic to work with. She helped us design a waltz to a song of our choosing, and taught us steps that looked beautiful but were simple en...

ough to learn in a few lessons. The fact that she did this all over zoom is even more impressive. She helped make our wedding really special (we were asked to perform the dance twice :) ) and we would highly recommend her.

Response from the Vendor on 09/14/2021

Thank you so much for trusting me to help you with your first dance, even though we could not meet in person. I appreciate the two of you and am so happy that your dance was a hit! Wishing you the best, Ava

Reviewed On 4/08/2021 by Rob V

We worked with Ava in preparation of our micro-wedding last year and absolutely LOVED it. We took a few lessons via Zoom right in our kitchen. It was super easy and we had a blast. We simply propped a computer up high and angled the screen down...

so she could see us and our feet. We even recorded the last session, so we could practice the moves a couple more times in those final days. Of course we expected to have lessons in person, in a studio, but nothing went as expected last year (wedding included) and we wouldn't have wanted it any other way! Ava was great, thank you so much. I even nailed the dip! ...well, kinda - but I didn't drop her :)

Response from the Vendor on 09/14/2021

Rob, apologies for the late response - but I am so glad to hear that you were happy with the lessons, and that all went well. You two were a pleasure to work with, and perhaps you will be able to take some in-person dance lessons in the future....

Best wishes, Ava

Reviewed On 5/08/2019 by Pia Fabiola B

To start off, I knew I wanted to have a special first dance at our reception, but I also knew this would make my future husband very nervous since he had no dance experience and performing for the first time in front of all our guests was daunt...

ing. I knew of Ava Apple from all her years in the Bay Area dance scene and I hoped she would be willing to choreograph for us. Turns out she specializes in "first dance" choreography much to my pleasant surprise! Not only was she able to teach my husband to dance, but she taught him how to confidently take the lead as my partner. It was amazing for me to see his dance skills and confidence in choreography blooming, which really made him feel good by the way!! She choreographed at our level, and within our short two-month time frame for rehearsing. Watching the various videos that our guests took of our dance, I can see how everyone is practically mesmerized; no one is eating or talking, they are watching and loving our dance. People were cheering and clapping during all our spins and poses, and our "hammer lock" and finale were a huge hit with the crowd. It was exactly the special moment I had hoped it would be. My husband's dad even commented on it in his speech, that he had no idea his son could dance like that! Thank you Ava for all your patience, you ensured we would get our unforgettable dance!

Response from the Vendor on 05/08/2019

Pia and Dan, Thank you for allowing us to create your first dance for you. We especially love that we made the parents happy as well! Thanks for sharing the video with us - you both danced beautifully. Wishing you the best always. Ava

Reviewed On 4/22/2019 by Francis R

"Ava is a transformational dance instructor and one of the best around. After researching dance lessons in San Francisco, my wife and I arrived at her studio with a few ideas and limited dance moves. Her process was straight forward and fun. Sh...

e identified our strengths on the dance floor, incorporated some traditional moves and helped to highlight our own individual personalities weaving them beautifully into our "first-dance" song. This was a top highlight from our wedding and set the tone for a incredible evening for all on the dance floor. We highly recommend Ava!"

Response from the Vendor on 04/22/2019

Thank you, thank you, thank you! You two were so much fun to work with!!! And I loved seeing the video of your dance, from your wedding day. Thank you for sharing it with me. Best wishes and continued happiness for the two of you. Ava

Reviewed On 4/21/2019 by Débora S

My husband and I had been taking salsa lessons at Symbolic Dance & Fitness for years prior to our wedding. When we decided to tie the knot, we had no doubt that we'd work with Ava & Rodolfo to help us create a memorable dance routine for our b...

ig day. We LOVE their dance style, clear communication and creativity when it comes to choreography. In our case, they even helped us to come up with some cool lift and tricks –– patiently walking us through technique, styling and posture. At the end of each class, the instructors recorded portions of the routine learned on that specific day so that my partner and I could continue practicing at home. Ava & Rodolfo both are very punctual instructors, which we appreciated, and were very flexible with our busy schedules. I also like the studio location, which is just a couple minutes walk from the 16th and Mission BART station in San Francisco. I loved working with these instructors and highly recommend their lessons for beginners through advanced dancers who, like me and my husband, desire to shine on their big day!

Response from the Vendor on 04/22/2019

Thank you so much Debora! We are so thankful to you two for allowing us to help create your first dance. Wishing you both continued happiness and success in everything!!!! Ava & Rodolfo

Contact Info for Symbolic Dance & Fitness

San Francisco, CA

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Meet the Team

Ava Apple & Rodolfo Guzman

Owner

With over 50 years of combined teaching and performing experience , Ava & Rodolfo have the training and the know-how to help you achieve your Wedding dance goals! We offer private coaching by appointment, at several locations in San Francisco. Contact us at symbolicdanceandfitness@gmail.com with any questions and we will get back to you promptly! Our pricing and packages can be found here https://symbolicdance.com/wedding-services/

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