Wedding Dance Instruction « OUR WEDDING DANCE BLOG

April 22, 2010

First Dance A Last Thought?

Ok, so you’ve been totally swamped and now it’s just weeks or days away from your wedding and oh-my-gosh that’s right you have to do a first dance!

Never fear… you can do something simple and pretty even if you just plain have no time left.

In fact, I probably get at least five phone calls a week from brides or grooms getting married in under two weeks.

Of course, it would be preferable to have a month or two before the big day to get the first dance in your muscle memory, but what if you just want to have a bit of help with some turns and simply keep off of each others feet while dancing!

I’ve worked with students right before the big day very successfully and given them something quick and easy to work with for their big moment all alone on the dance floor.

One of my recent couples said they certainly felt better after their time with me than before and although they wished they’d had more time to work on their dance they felt a glow of confidence that would take them through it with flair and fun.

So if you’re debating about whether to go ahead and do just one lesson for your first dance even though you’re in the eleventh hour of preparations why not go for it?

I think you’ll be glad you did and who knows maybe you’ll take a few lessons after the honeymoon to wow your friends at their weddings with your lead and follow and fancy footwork.

Remember dancing lasts your whole life long… burns calories… and let’s face it guys, is a real pleaser for most of the gals out there!

Call Jillian at 949.400.7347 or email her at Jillian@OurWeddingDance.com and squeeze a first dance lesson into that to-do list today!

Jillian of Our Wedding Dance!

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January 21, 2010

Be An Early Bird…

It’s January and lots of inquiries are coming in for first dance lessons right now! Maybe it’s the rain deluge we’ve been having and everyone is stuck inside and looking at the internet… but regardless…

The excitement is contagious and I can’t wait to work with these fantastic brides, grooms, moms, dads and wedding party participants.

2010 looks like a “bumper year” for weddings!

I’ve had questions about father/daughter dances, first dances utilizing musical numbers, wedding party group dances and beautiful bride and groom waltzes, swings, foxtrots and rumbas.

So far May and July are going to be big months for saying, I Do.

The average sized wedding is coming in somewhere between 100-175 guests.

Brides and grooms seem to be trimming their guest list so they don’t have to trim their wish list!

Popular right now…

The bride’s shoes in a color to match her bridesmaids dresses and her wedding colors.

Currently I have one dancing bride wearing gorgeous deep purple high heeled sandals with a rhinestone circle and another wearing red pumps to kick off a Valentine’s Day wedding!

Grooms are getting even more of that traditional “to do” list to do than in years passed. At least 50% of my calls and emails have been from grooms this month; fitting since they’ll be doing the leading in the first dance, I say!

So if you were thinking about dance lessons but putting off getting some info and firming up some evening or weekend dates… the time is now!

Be an “early bird who gets the worm” and email me today or call me at 949.400.7347 and start getting some dance figures and technique in your muscle memory today.

Happy almost February!

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January 17, 2010

How Cool Is That?

I raced off to see Young Victoria the other night and was met at the Lido by a nice ticket attendant asking me if I was with the special event?

Hmm, what special event?

Guess not – we bought our tickets and found a seat in the nostalgic black light fish festival mural theater on the pennisula.

The preview came up and then suddenly shut down.

Another employee said they were experiencing technical difficulties… not unusual.

Then another “preview” came up and I noticed that the two people in it bore a huge resemblence to a man and woman who had entered the theater and sat four rows down in front of us. The longer it played the more I thought “wedding video” as it showed the blond gal doing lots of fun things with her handsome man all over the world.

Minutes later the film screen went to black and four wonderful words popped up on it, “Will You Marry Me”?

The lights came up in the theater and about fifty people in the balcony (yes, this theater is one of the last I know of with a balcony!) started shouting and whistling and throwing streamers. The bride-to-be was totally surprised and her fiance got down on his knee and proposed right then and there.

What did she say? – came the shouts from above.

Yes, Yes, Yes the bride responded, tears running down her face.

And then, Oh you poor people who just came to see the movie!, she added.

We didn’t mind and after the movie a couple of people announced with a laugh, Anyone else want to get married?, as they left the theater.

So… how cool is that?

Remember after you say “I do” say – “Let’s dance”!

Call Jillian at 949.400.7347

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December 4, 2009

Grooms Get Points With First Dance!

A little while ago I wrote this article for a publication and I’d like to share it with you since I think a lot of grooms deserve to be praised for even attempting a first dance in the first place!

Dancing.

The very word can bring fear into a perfectly normal groom’s life.

Guys know that girls like to dance and, let’s face it, most guys learn to dance to attract a girl. So what’s the point in learning to dance once you’ve got the girl? Answer: The First Dance at your wedding reception.

Probably, given a choice, most grooms would opt out of the first dance and move right on through the reception. But the first dance can be a great opportunity for grooms to get those extra “love bank” points that they can use as collateral later on!

Grooms come through the door of a dance studio with two very real fears: 1) They will not be able to do a partnered dance and 2) They will look very silly trying.

But, the whole experience can be a very “liberating” one for them since they will be in-charge of the dance. Because the man leads and the lady follows, grooms find out they can dance with a partner and they don’t look silly because the couple then moves as one across the floor.

During private classes, instruction should be kept in every-day language with work on the dance frame, the couple’s posture, simple walking steps to their song and basic dance patterns. This way a three-way “creation process” can start that will eventually produce choreography that the groom can remember and the bride can look beautiful dancing.

Brides and grooms need to start their first dance as soon as they can spare the time.

Couples can master simple routines in foxtrot, waltz, rumba, tango, and night club two-step in about five to fifteen lessons.

More elaborate first dances with props and costume changes and first dances that combine two or more dance types may take a little longer to feel second nature.

Personalization is the underlying theme with today’s weddings and the first dance can be as personal as the bride and groom want it to be.

No matter what you think you might like to do or even if you have no ideas whatsoever and just want some help “not looking stupid”, a professional dance instructor who specializes in bride and groom first dances can work with you to create your dream first dance.

With time and patience you can have a dance to remember and even keep dancing for other special occasions all your married life.

Happy Holiday Shopping and don’t forget to include a few dance lessons on your New Year’s Resolutions list!

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July 29, 2009

E!Online Battle of the Wedding Dance Clips

Filed under: Dancing,Press,Types of Wedding Dances — Tags: Dance Instruction, E!Online, Evolution of Dance, First Dance, Group Dance, Jill Forbath, Jillian Forbath, Michael Jackson, Orange County Wedding Dance Instruction, Our Wedding Dance, OurWeddingDance.com, Press for OurWeddingDance.com, Thriller, Wedding Dance, Wedding Dance Instruction, Wedding First Dance Instruction — admin @ 9:59 am

Monday I got a call from E!Online regarding the recent and not so recent onslaught of YouTube wedding dance clips from “Evolution of Dance” to Michael Jackson “Thriller” knock-offs.

Yes, I agreed that these wedding dances were over the top and have been going on for at least the last two to three years. And yes, I’ve helped put together some crazy “Evolution” twenty-two or so dance clips for at least three of my more intrepid couples.

It’s fun but it takes a lot of rehearsal, a lap top and a desire to be absolutely absurd, crazy and cool all at the same time. But if that is your wish, as the saying goes, that is my command.

The interview with Joal Ryan went on for about ten or so minutes and I told her about my couple who had their entire wedding party do an adorable dance to “I’m Too Sexy For My Hat” where we did fun formations on a pretend runway and even had a bit with everyone pretending to “drive” around the stage haphazardly for the “Too Sexy For My Car” lyrics.

Another group wanted the song “I Feel Good”. We did some great sixties dancing to that one, the Twist, the Swim and the Mashed Potato and generally looked really laid back and groovy!

If you’d like to read more go to the article and the YouTube at this URL:

http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b136212_battle_of_wedding_dance_clips.html

I got the last words in at the bottom of the article.

As choreographer Jillian Forbath of OurWeddingDance.com tells us: “I think there’s a lot of pressure on a bride and groom to top the last thing they saw at a wedding.”

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