Salsa Extravaganza! Be there!

2008 DC Salsa Congress Event Schedule
Crystal City Hilton

Friday, August 15th

5:30PM- 6:30PM Performers Tech Rehearsal
7:30PM- Will-Call Pickup Opens. Preregistered Passes can be picked up at this time.
8PM- Doors open for VIP, Full Pass and Weekend Night Pass Holders.
8:30PM- Doors open for single night pass holders.
9PM-10:30PM - Performances
11PM- 3AM- Social Dancing with International DJs

Saturday, August 16th

9AM-Noon- Registration is open
10AM-1PM- Workshops
1PM-2PM- Lunch time Artist Discussion
2PM-5PM- Workshops
5:30PM- 6:30PM - Performers Tech Rehearsal
7:30PM- Will-Call Pickup Opens. Preregistered Passes can be picked up at this time.
8PM- Doors open for VIP, Full Pass and Weekend Night Pass Holders.
8:30PM- Doors open for single night pass holders.
9PM- 10:30PM - Performances
11PM- 3AM- Social Dancing with International DJs

Sunday, August 17th

9AM-Noon- Registration is open
10AM-1PM- Workshops
1MP-2PM- Lunch
2PM-5PM- Workshops
5:30PM- 6:30PM Performers Tech Rehearsal
7:30PM- Will-Call Pickup Opens. Preregistered Passes can be picked up at this time.
8PM- Doors open for VIP, Full Pass and Weekend Night Pass Holders.
8:30PM- Doors open for single night pass holders.
9PM- Performances
11PM- 3AM- Social Dancing with International DJs

The Infamous "Free" Trial Lesson

Beware of "FREE" trial lessons! You get what you pay for! Free lessons are not given out of the kindness of a studio's heart, most "free lessons" at dance studios are simply a lure to get you through the door. Much of the lesson is spent convincing you of the benefits of dance as a lifetime hobby and reviewing lengthy and expensive packages for after your wedding. The "free" lesson’s emphasis is not actually on learning to dance or testing out the teacher's style but rather on selling you more lessons. It costs a dance studio tens of thousands of dollars to run their business. Therefore, studios do not give away QUALITY private lessons for free. Therefore, they must recoup their loss on the "FREE" lesson by hiking up the price on any lessons you purchase in the future.

A "FREE" lessons generally consists of 20 minutes of dance instruction (which may not even focus entirely on your actual dancing goals) and the rest of the "lesson" is a sales pitch. Your time is valuable, studios should respect your time by answering all your questions over the phone, by email or on their website. The first sign that a studio is in the higher price bracket is if they refuse to quote you their rates over the phone and/or don't post them on their website. Other studios know each other's prices, so you have to ask yourself...who are they hiding them from? We have heard tearful brides tell us that they can't convince their grooms to take any lessons at all after their awful experience with a "free" trial type of experience elsewhere. If you have to spend your valuable time finding out that a studio is too expensive or doesn't meet your needs or expectations, isn't that already too high a price to pay for a "FREE" lesson?

With us, you can expect answers to all your questions before even walking through our door. The lesson is intensive and focused on your specific needs from the onset. We will even GUARANTEE you an entire wedding dance in ONE :55 minute lesson if you tell us in advance that is all you intend to take. Isn't that better than a "FREE" lesson designed to convince you that you need MORE lessons? Ask the studio if they are willing to make that same guarantee on a "FREE" lesson. Hint: It's impossible to provide the same quality in the industry standard of :40 - :45 minute lessons.



 

Shall We Dance?

Movie Review: Shall We Dance?

Watching dance movies can be educational and inspirational at the same time. This movie is certainly not a new release but if you haven't seen it, then it's still new to you right?! This version is a spin-off from the original Japanese version.

Richard Gere stars as John Clark, a man with a wonderful job, charming wife (Susan Sarandon) and loving family who still feels that something is missing in his life. Every evening on his commute home, John sees a beautiful woman (Jennifer Lopez) staring with a lost expression through the window of a dance studio. Haunted by her gaze, John impulsively jumps off the train one night and signs up for dance lessons hoping to meet her.

While John proves just as clumsy as his equally clueless classmates on the dance-floor, he nonetheless falls in love with dancing. Struggling to keep his new obsession from family and co-workers, John feverishly trains for Chicago’s biggest dance competition. His friendship with Paulina blossoms, as his enthusiasm rekindles her lost passion for dance. With his wife becoming suspicious and his secret about to be revealed, John will have to do some fancy footwork to keep his dream going and realize what it is he really yearns for.

If you live in the DC metro area and want to learn how to ballroom dance click here to visit our website.

Choosing An Instructor

What is the difference between a wedding dance specialist and a general ballroom dance teacher? Your goals. One of the problems with selecting a standard dance studio or instructor is that they view wedding couples as "lost leads." This is because the wedding couple has a short term goal - - the wedding, which does not usually lead them to take very many lessons. Keep these facts in mind when you call or go into a studio:

Experience of the instructor: Since wedding couples generally purchase small packages (less than 20) many studios have their most inexperienced instructors teach the wedding couples. Our instructors have been specially trained for the unique needs of wedding couples and are all competition or performance level dancers. Dance lessons are as important as any other service you might hire for your wedding. You have every right to ask how long your instructor has been teaching. Would you want to hire a chauffeur who just moved to the area, got his license last week and has never driven the limo before?

The Teacher: The personality, demeanor, image, teaching style are all important factors to consider when selecting a dance teacher. Just because they are good dancers does not guarantee that they will be good teachers. The teacher must genuinely enjoy working with beginners and ideally have compassion and understanding of the unique pressures that wedding planning involves.

Click here to see our staff bios.

Is a Dance "Crash Course" Worth it?

People often ask us:

Is it worthwhile to take a “crash course" of just a couple lessons if we've procrastinated?

Absolutely!

We are the only dance company that GUARANTEES a wedding dance in one lesson! Just be sure to let us know you only plan to take one in advance and limit the attendance to one couple and one dance style.

We do our best to accommodate last minute requests and believe that even ONE lesson is better than resorting to the “high school prom sway.” We will focus exclusively on your wedding dance, give you a lovely entrance, help you move as a team around the room and a lovely finale and exit off the floor. These are the three components that your guests will remember most.

All components of the dance are uniquely customized to your song and your personal style. We also provide an optional complimentary crinoline dress rehearsal and in-class videotaping for you to evaluate the final product.

Testimonial: "Our appointment with Jim went great...we just met with him once to get some ideas to incorporate into our song. He gave us many good tips and it was amazing how much he was able to fit into an hour!" Thanks, Debbie Vanetti and Mike Platz, July 2005

See more testimonials:  The Wedding Dance Specialists success stories.

How Many Dance Lessons Do We Need?

The most common question we hear about wedding dance lessons is invariably:

How many dance lessons do we need to look good at our wedding?

While we GUARANTEE that in one lesson you'll have a complete wedding first dance and look much better than if you never took a lesson, the average couple takes about 4-7 lessons (that's our most popular selling package).

Here's some advice to decide how many lessons you'll need.

Determine what your dancing goals are first. This will affect when you start and how many lessons you choose. Don't worry too much about time constraints when considering quantity because we can offer double sessions. Once you have determined your goals, we can better advise you as to how many lessons we recommend for your individual needs.

Consider the following:

• Do you want to learn enough just to "survive" the wedding dance?
  

• Do you want to have an interesting variety of moves for the wedding dance?
  

• Are you participating in additional Honors Dances?
  

• Do you plan on fast dancing during the general reception?
  

• Do you want to learn to dance in general at future social events?
  

• Do you want to enjoy a dinner/dancing date night with your fiance(e) during the wedding planning process?
  

• Do you want to share dancing as a hobby even after the wedding?
  

7 Tips to Ease the Discomfort from Your Wedding Dance Shoes

Formal wedding shoes are notoriously uncomfortable. The ideal solution is to purchase formal wedding ballroom dance shoes from a ballroom dance catalog or online. In addition to being generally more comfortable and softer than street shoes, these shoes have suede on the bottom to provide traction and slickness simultaneously. Elegant nude colored and dyeable white satin are available for women and sometimes offer adjustable width options. Black patent leather are more comfortable than typical tuxedo rental shoes for men. The arches of all ballroom shoes are supported with a steel shank and the soles are pliable and bendable to minimize sore feet and maximize your balance during dancing.

Here are a few tricks to ease your discomfort:

1) For slippery leather soles, scuff the bottoms on cement.

2) Use Dr. Scholl's "moles skin" pads wherever blisters may develop (Achilles’ heel, bunion, knuckles)

3) Use “moles skin pads” to make a loose shoe fit more snugly. (example: Low on heel for loose heels)

4) If you select shoes that do not hold your ankle in place with a strap like Mules, sling backs, or pumps you can use a nude or white colored elastic band or rubber strap to slip over your shoe and arch to hold the shoe securely on your foot. You can make these straps or order them from ballroom dance shoe catalogs or online.

5) To manage sore feet, bring a second pair of shoes with a different size heel, either higher or lower. Wedding sneakers or slippers are a comfortable alternative and a new trend.

6) If there is room in your shoes for padded inserts, wear them. Avoid the liquid gels as they may leak ink and damage your shoes and dress.

7) If your feet hurt at the end of the night, rinse them alternately with cool water then warm water, while massaging them. You can also rub a mentholated or peppermint foot cream on them to increase blood circulation.

We hope these tips help.  While we can't guarantee that your feet won't hurt, we can guarantee that if you take dance lessons with us, at least you won't be stepping on each other's toes!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR WEDDING DANCE PACKAGES