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Top 10 First Dance Songs – Summer 2019

Posted on August 1, 2019August 6, 2019 by bgdn.voicu

Summer is in full swing and if you haven’t made up your mind yet about your first dance song, here are a few suggestions to help you.

No.1: Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight

This one is a slow song, that we personally like. It’s slow, it’s easy to dance to and you can follow the lyrics to give you the rhythm. Definitely one to be considered if you want a romantic first dance.

No. 2: Ray la Montagne – You are the best thing

This song is so rhythmical and so easy to dance to. The trumpet gives it a nice fresh sound and also the lyrics are very relatable. It’s not a cliche song but its romantic nevertheless.

No. 3: Dean Martin – That’s Amore

Classical Italian song for a summer wedding. You can have fun on this one playing with the different rhythms. Even though it’s suited to a Viennese Waltz dance style, you can have more steps combined for this song. Have fun listening!

No. 4: Calum Scott & Leona Lewis – You are the reason

One of the most romantic songs we’ve ever heard here at First Dance London. It’s very slow and very easy to learn to dance to, that’s why many couples like this song. You could consider having it as your first dance song if you don’t have very much experience with dancing and pull some nice elegant moves.

No. 5: Ed Sheran – Thinking out loud

Ed Sheran knows how to put that special love feeling into words and songs. One of his best and well known songs goes into this summer’s top because it genuinely good. We had many couples asking for choreography on this song because of the dancing moves in the clip. Is this your song also?

No. 6: Jason Mraz – Lucky

This song has got the rhythm, feel and fun to its side. A great song to start a party. Starts slowly, goes higher and you can mark the highlights with lifts and dips and in between just the two of you, dancing to a great song.

No. 7: Frank Sinatra & Count Basie – Fly me to the Moon

This song comes from 1954, the era of great hats and foxtrot rhythms. If you have a retro themed party this song and its trumpets are for you. Have fun and dance a slow foxtrot on this song like they used to.

No. 8: Jack Johnson – Better Together

Another slow foxtrot style. Very popular this summer amongst our clients. It’s rhythmical but has a deep message and that makes it one of our favourite songs as well. Enjoy dancing!

No. 9: The Wood Brothers – Luckiest Man

“People say i’m the luckiest man”. We love the lyrics of this song and the way it’s played, very simple with just the guitar and the voice. Makes a very good choice for a simple chic wedding amongst friends and loved people.

No. 10: Sixpence None the richer – Kiss Me

The song title says it all. You know it’s a good first dance song the moment you hear the chorus. Style wise its fitted for a swing, more alert dance but that doesn’t mean the figures and steps will be difficult. You can have lots of fun with simple jive steps and twist and twirl on this song all night long.

We hope you enjoyed our first dance songs selection and hope to see you in one of our locations for a great time learning your first dance. Until then, keep on loving each other and keep on dancing!

Feel free to share this article with your friends that are getting married. Leave us a comment if you have other first dance song suggestions. We’re here to make your first dance an unforgettable memory!

couple-wedding-day-photographer-photo-party-restaurant-dance-move-man-woman

First Dance Tips

Posted on July 25, 2019August 1, 2019 by bgdn.voicu

Make your first dance an unforgettable experience

The First Dance London team has worked with numerous couples and throughout the years we have learned a lot about how to best prepare your wedding. In this article we would like to share with you some tips that we hope will guide you into making your wedding dance an unforgettable experience.

Planning

Have your song picked at your first lesson or bring your top 2 or 3 songs for the teacher to help you choose the best one for your dance. Make the most of the time in the studio as it is very valuable and you want to spend it wisely. If you haven’t decided yet on a favourite song, have a look on this list of songs.
Try to keep your wedding dance around 3 minutes.This way your guests will be engaged and entertained the entire time. Keep it sweet, entertaining and impressive!

Rehearsals

Important for the ladies! Practice with the wedding shoes if possible. Dancing in heels is totally different from dancing in flats. Also let your teacher know if your wedding dress will restrict your movement in any way. If you have any decorations on the upper part that might restrict your hands from rising, or if your train is very long. Best is always to have a photo of your dress with you to show your dance teacher.
Take videos! This is a great dance practice tool and often used by our clients. Having a video with the steps learned will help you remind every detail and will make your practice much much easier.
Dancing is about enjoying each other’s company. Be supportive to each other and remember that you are in this together. This is your time to connect and enjoy.

The Performance

Remember that no one else knows your wedding dance routine , so even if you make a mistake it’s ok. Have fun and smile.
This is your moment together with your partner, relax and enjoy.

Preparing your wedding dance it’s not only about performing your first dance on your wedding day, it’s also about enjoying the dance lessons and the whole process. It’s a great chance to spend time together with your future husband or wife, dancing on one of your favourite songs.

One of our clients performing their La La Land Inspired Wedding Dance Choreography.

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Wedding First Dance FAQs

Posted on May 4, 2019May 4, 2019 by bgdn.voicu

When is the right time to start preparing our first dance?

Depending on your ability, if you have dance experience or not, and just if you feel confident, we would recommend to strat at least one month before the wedding. In the article Wedding First Dance Lessons – What to expect & how many is enough?, we address the planning of the lessons so you can figure out how much time you have and we recommend the first few lessons to be closer together and the last ones to be left for closer to the wedding.

We have a few songs in mind. How should we decide?

Firstly, our teachers recommend you to chose the song you both like. That is the most important aspect. If it’s a choice between a rhythmical and a slower song and you like both, we could suggest to start on the slower one, get the mood going and then surprise everyone with some cool moves on the second one. A good combination is Waltz and Salsa for example. We have couples that opt to dance for a minute or so on the waltz or blues song, and then break the rhythm with salsa. It can be Merengue, Bachata, Jive/Swing, important is to like the songs. We’ll take care of the choreography.

Where do you teach?

In this aspect we are quite flexible. We have two teaching locations in Mayfair – London, one studio in Kennington – Oval Station and another one in Dulwich near North Dulwich train station. All our studios are located within walking distance from tube or train stations so they are easy to access. They have top of the line sound equipment and you can opt for total privacy in your dance lesson. Also we have the option to teach you in the privacy of your home. All you need to do is tell us in the contact form and we can arrange that for you. One of our dance instructors will come to you and help you with your first dance choreography.

What packages of lessons do you offer?

We have Package options depending on the studio you chose to have your lessons in. Please see the complete price list and studio locations here. We also offer a free 30 Minutes introduction lesson for Dulwich and Kennington studios. For other studios the Trial lesson option is priced at £15 for 30 minutes.

What should we expect from the 30 Minutes Trial Lesson?

The trial lesson is for you to duscuss with the dance teacher about the following: wedding location, space on the dance floor, details about the dress, shoes, if you have any special requirements and so on. If you are not sure yet on the song choice our teachers will advise you on the best option. They will make a personalised plan around your schedule and book the lessons. You can read more about the trial lesson in our blog 30 Minutes Trial Lesson – WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

What is the duration of a dance lesson?

The normal dance session lasts 60 minutes. But there are times when we have couples with less time until the wedding and we would suggest to have longer sessions. In this case we would recommend you to have 1.5 h sessions, or depending on the circumstances, even 2h sessions. Longer than that we believe it’s not productive anymore.

What is the booking procedure?

We usually take the bookings through our contact form. We thought it to be simple and efficient with relevant options to chose from and a space for your requests. Also we are available via phone from Monday to Friday – 8 AM to 10 PM. Please feel free to contact us however is more convenient for you.

Do you teach group dances - bride & bridesmaids /groom & groomsmen?

Yes we do. Please contact us and let us know about your group and we would be happy to help you.

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Wedding Dance Lessons – what to expect & how many is enough?

Posted on May 1, 2019August 10, 2019 by bgdn.voicu

We often have enquiries form couples that want their wedding dance choreographed but don’t really know what to expect from their lessons. How many lessons should you have to feel confident and relaxed on the big day?

Well, it depends...

If you opt for a simple choreography, 2 - 2 and a half minutes, we would recommend to opt for the Gold Package. Here's why?

It usually takes a few lessons to build up the choreography, meaning steps, positioning on the dance floor, directions and timing on the music. Depending on each couples ability we reckon between 3 and 4 lessons will be enough to learn the steps and feel comfortable with the basics. We recommend that these lessons are done closer to one another. This way, you will have the choreography done and you can keep the rest of the sessions for polishing the edges.

1st Lesson: You will learn a few basic steps to help you further along in developing the choreography, along with very important leading and following advice.

2nd and 3rd Lesson: Your dance instructor will teach you the choreography, directions, timing. They should make a small video at the end of each lesson for you to have and practice before the next session.

4th and 5th Lesson: Depending on how you progress and how quickly you learn the choreography, these last two lessons are kept for styling, presentation and small details that might appear when you start doing the choreography on the music.

If the teacher sees fit, they will recommend another lesson to make sure you practice enough and feel really confident with all the steps.

For couples that want something more entertaining, challenging, maybe a collage of 2 or 3 songs, 3- 4 minutes of choreography, we would strongly recommend to have the Platinum Package.

This offers you enough time to really think the choreography through with all the changes and moments when you need to link the songs. Here is a summary of what you can expect from the Platinum Experience.

1st Lesson: This will be mainly used to plan the choreography and how the songs will go together, dips and lifts if it’s the case, showing the teacher ideas that you have.

2nd Lesson: Once everything is clear about how the choreography will look like, it’s time to go to the basics. Your teacher will go through the basics and prepare you for the more difficult steps.

3rd – 7th Lessons: In this time frame the instructor will teach you the choreography, steps, lifts and dips, going through all the details. We allow time in these lessons for changes as well. So if you feel in any way that the steps are too difficult or do not fit with your personality and style, please feel free to ask the teacher to give you another option. We are committed to providing you with a choreography that you can dance and enjoy 100%.

8th – 10th Lessons: It’s all about PRACTICE. Your instructor will have you repeat the choreography and with each repetition, he/she will signal the mistakes, correct the posture, adjust the timing if needed and so on.

By the end of the lessons you should feel that you had plenty of practice on the choreography.

Book your first dance lesson now and let our professional instructors take care of your first dance!

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30 Minutes Trial Lesson – WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

Posted on April 21, 2019May 4, 2019 by bgdn.voicu

30 MINUTES TRIAL LESSON - WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT?

We want to make your wedding dance a fun, stylish and enjoyable experience and make you look fantastic on the dance floor – FAST!

Every detail it’s important for us as we know that your wedding day is one of the most important days of you life. We create for you a bespoke wedding dance program and all this information helps us understand what would be best for your first wedding dance.

Questions to consider:

What kind of music will you have at your wedding?
Do you have a band or a DJ?
Will they play your first dance song?
What’s the size of the dance floor?
Does your dress or veil have any limitations?
What type of shoes will you be wearing?
How would you describe the style of the wedding?

If you don’t have all the answers, don’t worry, we will advise you on the trial class and find the best possible solution. The trial lesson is also a good opportunity to meet each other.

If your lifestyle is very busy or the wedding preparations are taking over, give us a quick call at 07958601294 or send us an email and we can discuss everything by phone or email.

An experience for two – written by Anna Dima

Posted on April 2, 2019May 4, 2019 by bgdn.voicu

An experience for two

Having the pleasure to work with so many wedding couples, I had the chance to observe how they experience the whole process of taking dance lessons, practicing, deciding on each and every detail and finally dancing in front of their guests on the big day.

Planing the wedding while keeping on with life it’s not an easy job, so I soon noticed that the dance lessons were a great way for our wedding couples to spend quality time together. It was a break for their daily activities and a chance to focus on each other.

Besides receiving videos from happy couples, with the wedding dances I choreographed, seeing how much wedding couples enjoy dancing together is the most rewarding.

Wedding dance lessons are not only a way of preparing to dance in front of your guests at the wedding, but an amazing chance to spend time with your future husband or wife, in a friendly environment, dancing on one of your favourite songs.

Wedding Dance – Answers to your questions

Posted on April 2, 2019May 4, 2019 by bgdn.voicu

WEDDING DANCE - ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS

Your wedding dance is one of the memories that will last forever and we know how important it is to be absolutely amazing and to match your personality and your wedding style.

Working with numerous wedding couples in creating unforgettable first dances, we’ve put together the questions we are most often asked.

1. When is the best time to prepare for your first dance?

It depends on how easily you pick up the steps and how complex you would like your routine to be.

We definitely recommend not to leave it for the last moment, so you get enough practice in order to get used to the steps, therefore when you dance at the wedding to simply enjoy it and all to go smoothly.

2. What song should we choose?

Your wedding dance should reflect you personally and your wedding style, so we suggest to choose a song that has a significance to you and your partner.

We offer 30 minutes free introductory lesson, to make sure together that the song is the right one for the day and to help you make an idea of how dancing on the chosen song would look like .

Click Here for some inspiration in choosing your wedding dance song, from Vogue.

3. What can I expect from the dance lessons ?

A lesson lasts 60 minutes in which you and your partner will have the full attention of the teacher. You will listen to the song together with the instructor and carefully plan how you would like the wedding dance to look like. The teacher will show you some of the steps, danced with your chosen song, so you can have a better idea and make sure the choreography of your first dance as a married couple matches your preferences.

4. How many dance lessons show we have ?

Again, here it depends a lot on the complexity of the routine and on your song choice.

The teacher will advise you on the number of lesson after the FREE 30 MINUTES INTRODUCTORY CLASS.

For a 1-2 minutes choreography we definitely recommend to have at least 3 lessons.

We will carefully plan with you each lesson in order to make sure we use the time in the best way possible and fit everything in before the wedding.

5. Wedding dance lessons for beginners - Can I really learn to dance ?

Yes. Anybody can learn to dance with a little bit of practice.

Going for a routine that’s within your comfort zone will allow you to elegantly perform your first dance with ease.

We will make sure each step matches your ability and you are perfectly comfortable with it.

Preparing you wedding dance for the big day is an enjoyable experience and a great way to spend time with your loved one.