Private lessons
Wedding first dance lessons in San Francisco
- Four private lessons
- One song
- From $800
- Beginners expected
The goal is not a performance. It is ninety seconds where the two of you are looking at each other rather than at your feet, and where neither of you is counting. That is a smaller target than most couples imagine, and it is reachable in four lessons.
How the four lessons work
- 01
Your song, and what your bodies actually do
We listen to the song, find the count, and see how you move. Nothing is choreographed yet. Most of this lesson is spent working out what will look natural on you rather than imposing a shape.
- 02
The opening and the frame
The first fifteen seconds carry most of the nerves, so they get built first and drilled hardest. By the end of this lesson you have a beginning that works without thinking about it.
- 03
The middle, and one moment worth photographing
The body of the dance gets filled in, plus a single deliberate moment — a dip, a turn, whatever suits you — placed where the song asks for it. One is plenty. Three is a routine, and it shows.
- 04
Run it, in the shoes and the dress
The last lesson is run in what you are actually wearing. A train, a heel height or a fitted skirt changes the dance, and finding that out on the day is the single most common avoidable problem.
Worth knowing
Three things that decide how this goes
Pick the song early
Everything is built on it. Couples who arrive with a song get four full lessons of dancing; couples still deciding spend most of the first one listening.
Practise badly, but often
Ten minutes in a kitchen twice a week beats an hour the night before, by a wide margin. Nothing about this rewards cramming.
Tell us about the floor
Grass, a marquee floor and polished wood are three different dances. If you know the surface, we build for it.
Frequently asked questions
- Neither of us can dance at all. Is four lessons really enough?
- Yes, because the choreography is built around what you can do rather than what we would like you to do. Most couples arrive having never danced together and leave with one song they can perform without counting out loud.
- Does it have to be a bachata song?
- No. Bachata is what we teach, but the movement adapts to most songs in 4/4 at a moderate tempo, which covers the majority of first dance choices. Send us the song and we will tell you honestly whether it works.
- What if our song is slow, or in an awkward time signature?
- Slow is usually easier, not harder. A song in 3/4 or 6/8 needs a different approach, and we will say so before you book rather than after. Occasionally the right answer is to change the song, and we will tell you that too.
- When should we start?
- Six to eight weeks before the wedding is comfortable. Starting earlier is fine, but leaving a gap between the last lesson and the day tends to cost more than the extra practice gains.
- Can the wedding party join in?
- Yes, and it is a common request. A group session for the wedding party or for guests is quoted separately from the first dance lessons, so ask when you enquire.
- What does it cost?
- Four private lessons start at $800. The final price depends on where the lessons happen and whether you want a group session for the wedding party as well.
Send us the date and the song
That is genuinely all we need to tell you whether four lessons is the right number, whether the song works, and what it will cost. If you have not chosen a song yet, say so and we will help you narrow it down.
Enquire by emailor write to hello@bachatalab.org
Lessons at Smuin Center for Dance, 1830 17th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, or at a venue that suits you.