The #1 Most Recommended Wedding Dance Company in the Nation! " We turned our dance lessons into a dinner and dancing date!
It became a welcomed weekly escape from our hectic wedding planning." Cindy Rich, Newlywed and Assistant Editor of Washingtonian Magazine "
The Hill - " Girls' night out of the ordinary" by Andrea L. Alford, 02/06/08
Planning a bachelorette party can be a stressful event. Trying to please and entertain a group of people is always a difficult task, but don’t fret. Here are some fun and alternative ideas for the bride-to-be and her guests for the second most important day of her life.
Kelly Magyarics Wine Consulting caters to women looking to do something both fun and unique before their pending nuptials. Kelly Magyarics, a wine educator and writer, offers a variety of interactive reception-style wine tastings aimed at satisfying everyone from the casual wine drinker to the amateur expert...
...Chariots for Hire: “Your Party on Wheels” provides functionality to the bachelorette party experience. No longer do you have to worry about getting to and from party events because Chariots for Hire will pick you up, where ever, from start to finish...
The Wedding Dance Specialists. If the bride-to-be wants to dance, the Wedding Dance Specialists are the answer. The mini-group and customized in-studio dance lessons offered by the specialists are tailored around the music of your choice and or the theme of the bachelorette party. If you bring the people, they will provide the dance floor, music equipment and a dance teacher.
“We customize toward what their goals are, so we set the schedule to what is convenient for them,” said Deborah Joy, Manager of The Wedding Dance Specialists. “We create the length of the lesson according to how long they want the lesson to be and how much material they want to learn.” In addition, Joy says that the bridal party, at specific locations, can have a small reception to open gifts prior to or after the lesson.
The Wedding Dance Specialists have 13 locations in D.C., Maryland and Virginia, with a 14th location opening soon in the Capitol Hill area. Website: www.theweddingdancespecialists.com 703-626-7016
Virginia Lifestyles Magazine - "The Romance of Dance" by Kelly Starck, January 2007
WPGC 95.5FM Radio - Donnie Simpson's $125,000 Wedding Giveaway! - December 2006
It’s Donnie’s Morning Wish! During the holiday months, The Donnie Simpson Morning Show on WPGC 95.5 FM spread
holiday cheer by granting wishes to its listeners. On Friday, December 8, 2006 the show gave away the biggest gift in the history of the show, a wedding giveaway valued over $125,000!
Read the letter sent from Duane Harper to Donnie Simpson's Morning Wish.
Gotta dance, just gotta
By Abigail Tucker Sun Reporter
copied in part from August 6, 2006 in the Arts/Life Section
The left-footed crowd needs help for weddings, so businesses now exist to teach short-term dancing By Abigail Tucker Sun Reporter Originally published August 6, 2006 The trouble is the dip. Not the raspberry yogurt dip to complement the assorted melon slices; the wedding caterers have that under control. It's the dancing dip, where 25-year-old Michelle Rabovsky is slated to recline, resplendent, in her new husband's arms, as 100 guests wildly applaud.
And yet, at a fox trot lesson three weeks before the big day, the dip remains a low point for the couple, neither of whom has really danced before. The groom, Jonathan Keck, 24, is supposed to signal its approach by gently squeezing below her shoulder blade, or murmuring in her ear. Instead, he barks, "Diiiiiiiip!" as though calling in an airstrike. This alarms Michelle so much that she barely bends backward, her spine as stiff as a shower rod.
"The good news" - a calm, reasonable, Ukrainian-accented voice interrupts - "is that it's not a long song."
This is Valery Viner, the couple's dance instructor. She works for the Wedding Dance Specialists, one of a new breed of businesses specializing in the growing market for prenuptial ballroom lessons, often for total beginners who just want to squeak through the first dance without shattering each other's toe bones. This is peak season for the classes, when the most organized couples rehearse for autumn ceremonies, and procrastinators cram for the glut of summer ones. All want to spare their grandmothers the sight of the nightclub-style grinding and bear-hug swaying that passes for dancing these days. A few, inspired by the recent run of television dance contests, even want to put on a show.
The Wedding Dance Specialists - which is based in Virginia but steadily expanding up the coast, renting space in dance studios - just opened a Baltimore location; there are others in Jessup and Columbia, and the one in Towson opened last year. That's where Valery, 26, is working this Wednesday night in July, teaching the rhumba, the cha-cha-cha, and all the rest.
This is Michelle and Jonathan's second and final private lesson, and they're wearing casual clothes with their wedding shoes: his lace-ups are patent leather, her heels are oyster-shell white. Both pairs are being broken in as they fox trot to the tune of their song, Natalie Cole's "Unforgettable." Gently, Valery guides them. "Jonathan, it has to at least look like you're leading," she says. "You're taking her into the dip. You're taking her out." She draws imaginary boxes on the floor. She shows them how to clasp hands."It's a lot to remember, I know."
"Unforgettable" plays again and again; the Columbia couple - he's a police officer, she does pricing for J.C. Penney - gaze into each other's eyes, and for a moment, the dance clicks. But a few too many traveling steps later and they are stuck in a corner, entangled with a fake tree, giggling helplessly.
Dance-deprived
Other parts of the cavernous, mirror-walled studio are being used by instructors from different companies, and women in their 50s and 60s take lessons to perfect their technique. They stomp through the tango, hair slashing through the air, moving fast enough to leave skid marks.Such women are the last generation for whom formal dance was a cultural must; rest assured, most did not need to take lessons before their weddings. And yet they are the mothers of today's brides, who are part of the most dance-deprived generation yet.A phone call to USA Dance, a national association of ballroom dancers, points to two causes: feminism and rock 'n' roll. "In the 1940s, there was swing music," says Ken Richards, a spokesman for the group, recalling the days when elegant couples minidragged and cuddle-dropped. But rock 'n' roll drove a wedge between partners (the twist is not danced cheek to cheek), and with the 1960s came "the whole freedom thing, and the feminist movement, and the music reflected that," he said. "So we tore ourselves away from pairs and danced freestyle."
Today's mothers of the bride came of age during this period; many learned the waltz and the jitterbug but abandoned them for Woodstock-style mass gyrations, and later the delights of disco. Then came the free-wheeling dances of the 1980s, the grunge era, and also - hit it, Billy Ray Cyrus! - the line dancing craze. It seemed as if ballroom had bowed out for good. Yet through it all, "the wedding was the one place where it hung on," Richards said. "That first dance, with Mr. and Mrs. Whatever, is just integral." Faced with this tradition, couples winged it as well as they could. But no longer. The American wedding is more extravagant than ever, and brides recoil at the slightest imperfection, let alone an amateurish dance in the spotlight. Also, a spate of televised contests - America's Got Talent, Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance - has whetted bridal appetites for more polished performances, and couples are happy to pay $80 or so for a private lesson.
"The need was there, and it was not being met by traditional studios," said Deborah Joy, who started the Wedding Dance Specialists five years ago. "These are short-term clients with short-term goals, and we accept that reality." Couples with four left feet are stampeding for the service. They don't want to just sway from side to side. They want to look refined. First steps Refined is a lot to ask for. Some of the young couples - like Tom McCarthy, 25, and Mackenzie Bard, 24, together for nearly half a decade - have never slow danced together in their lives, or danced much at all, with anyone.
"Well," Tom says, "I guess I danced at my senior prom."
Mackenzie: "I didn't."
Valery purses her lips.
It's another lesson later Wednesday night. The Owings Mills couple haven't taken the advice of the Wedding Dance Specialists Web site, which - along with practical tips, like not scattering rice on the dance floor - suggests easy-to-dance-to classics: Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Etta James. Instead they've picked Dido's "Thank You," which has a quickened beat. Valery listens to a snippet. "Rhumba," she says warily. Good thing the wedding isn't until November and the couple have a six-lesson package. She starts teaching the slanting steps to Tom, a Wachovia bank teller. He imitates them, hands in his pockets. This looks less like dancing than divot-stomping. His betrothed, a YMCA swim instructor, suppresses a snort.
The lessons are almost always the bride's idea, and grooms are occasionally traumatized. An hour earlier, across the room, another exotic-accented Wedding Dance Specialist instructor, Theodore Zhukov, is teaching a pair from Bel Air the foxy, which is an abbreviated fox trot. The moves to Van Morrison's "Moondance" come naturally to Melissa Burruss, a 24-year-old graphic designer who wears a pretty dress and a sunny smile. Groom Sean Meadows, who does marketing for the Washington Redskins and has a football player's swagger himself, is having more trouble. The 26-year-old watches as the handsome, 6-foot-something Belarusian teacher demonstrates a move, spinning Melissa. Then suddenly Theodore is standing in front of Sean, an expectant look on his face.
"Can you let me?" Theodore asks.
"Um, OK," Sean says.
Theodore glides into his arms, and they twirl off, as Sean shoots panicked looks over his linebacker's shoulders.
No more dance lessons, he swears afterward. That is, if he has anything to say in the matter. Marriage practice In Deborah Joy's mind, dance lessons should be mandatory for soon-to-be weds, not only because a competent performance impresses guests, but because dancing is good practice for married life. And although her company specializes in pre-wedding lessons, she hopes that postnuptial students continue learning ballroom.
Dance "is a psychological and emotional and spiritual connection" for young couples, she said. "They're not groping and freaking and grinding. The man treats the woman as a princess. The man is behaving as a prince." Valery claims that a couple's essence becomes apparent on the dance floor, even if they're total beginners. "A lot of time the woman wants to lead and take control, which says a lot about the future," she says. "You have to do it together, as one." Who fights about timing? Who can laugh about mistakes? "It's almost like you can see who is going to make it."
That bodes well for Melissa and Sean, who, by the time they bid adieu to Theodore, have a firm grasp of the foxy. And ultimately, Michelle and Jonathan manage a perfectly respectable fox trot, although they elect to return for a refresher before the big day. They're partially inspired by the sight of another couple in the room - Pam Flemke, 38, and John Wilson, 45, of Parkville - who started with "no skills whatsoever" and by this evening are expertly turning through a waltz, well into their 19th lesson. Tom and Mackenzie agree afterward that their rhumba needs some work. But by the day after their first lesson the basics have come in handy. Mackenzie learned recently that her mother, who serves in the Air Force, might be overseas at the time of their wedding. She was feeling depressed that morning, and Tom knew it. So he took her in his arms in the kitchen for an impromptu run-through of "Thank You," which was bungled but from the heart. "And you know what?" Mackenzie said. "I felt a little better."
"Real Weddings by The Knot" TV show on Oprah Winfrey's Oxygen Channel, aired repeatedly since 2004 The Wedding Dance Specialists and our students were featured on national television!
WTNT 570AM "Life, Love & Marriage " - Radio show (January 2005) Listen to an Interview with Founders of The Wedding Dance Specialists
HOT 99.5 FM Radio
Win a FREE wedding worth $24,000! (Includes FREE wedding dance lessons with The Wedding Dance Specialists!)
Washingtonian Magazine , January 2003 The author of this article chose us as her wedding dance coordinators and was so inspired she wrote a full page article about our services!
Start on the Right Foot: Worried About That First Dance? Here Are Good Steps to Take.
by Cindy Rich
For many brides and grooms, a first dance isn't really a dance. They stand in place and sway, whisper, and kiss.
I'd always found it romantic. But when I got engaged, my fiancé saw it differently: Those couples, he said, didn't know how to dance.
Neither did we. So we took our four left feet and our first-dance song, a Billy Joel ballad to Alexandria . Our instructor, Deborah Joy, introduced us to the “Foxy,” a slower version of the foxtrot. Its “walk, walk, sway, sway” pattern seemed doable. We'd have five private sessions to choreograph our 2 ½ minute wedding song.
“The diaphragm is the center of dance,” Deborah said. If we used good posture and looked into each other's eyes, and “invisible current” would flow between us and keep us in sync. She was right: Whenever I looked at my feet, we stumbled.
Deborah suggested that we make it a date, so we turned lessons into dinner and dancing. It became a welcome weekly escape from seating charts and floral arrangements.
We learned enough steps to feel like dancers. We practiced at home. We took our last lesson a week before the wedding so we wouldn't forget anything.
Then came the wedding…We laughed and enjoyed the moment...We're glad we took lessons, even if we do our fanciest footwork in the living room.
WJFK 105.9FM The Wedding Show: (Radio) – February 2004
Click on the icon at the left to listen to an Interview with The Wedding Dance Specialists Founder, Deborah Joy on The Wedding Show
Reprinted in part from The Washington Post – Wednesday, January 29, 2003 , page C16
United States Department of
State: State Magazine – September 24, 2003
Performed in Washingtonian's Artists Hall of Fame Award winning program
called: State of the Arts
Dancer Deborah Joy and her entourage perform Tango, Ballroom and Latin dances in the
Exhibit Hall.
Featured again in the January 2004 Issue of State Magazine - reprinted in part
The Foreign Affairs Recreation Association and the State of the Arts Cultural Series recently hosted a colorful variety of entertainment for State Department employees. The series included, Latin dances, classical and ragtime piano, French art songs and a cellist.
The sereis began with ample serviings of tango and salsa by Deborah Joy and (her enterouge of professional dancers.)
James Madison University, Montepelier Magazine, Spring 2003 Dancing Queen Says 'Face The Music' , By Janelle DiOrio
FOR MOST PEOPLE, dancing is a way to let loose and have some fun. For Deborah Joy ('96), dancing is both a career and passion.
After graduating with a major in mass communications and a minor in business, Deborah Joy was an apprentice at a dance studio for three years. In February 2000, she founded a wedding dance company to share her passion. The studio is located in Alexandria and was at the time, the first and only wedding dance specialist business in the DC metro area. Washingtonian magazine recommended Deborah Joy 's company in its annual wedding issue. Deborah Joy also teaches social dancing to people from 4 to 94 and offers a youth etiquette program.
"People tend to take social dance lessons after college when they have more time and money and want to meet new people," says Deborah Joy . "A huge percentage of my students are in their 20s and 30s looking for hobbies or a way to meet someone special in a wholesome environment."
Deborah Joy teaches many dances, including the Viennese waltz, fox trot, mambo/ salsa, tango, disco/hustle, rumba, cha-cha, polka and merengue. "Once you learn how to dance, you find all sorts of ways to incorporate it into your life on a regular basis," she says.
The prospect of owning her own business "was daunting," Deborah Joy admits. "But, I learned that discipline, determination and delivering red carpet treatment to clients are the secrets to success."
As president, marketing and advertising director, accountant, dance instructor and choreographer, Deborah Joy considers owning a business "the best on-the-job experience anyone can have."
Deborah Joy teaches at the Alexandria studio and performs with a professional dance partner for special events and parties including D.C.'s 2002 Tango Festival, the 2002 Argentine Embassy's Argentina Festival and the McLean and Alexandria Chamber of Commerce galas.
Dancing is great for developing self-esteem and social skills, says Deborah Joy . "It's a guaranteed way to become the most popular person on the dance floor. To the skeptics and critics, the fearful and shy, I say, sooner or later everyone has to face the music and dance."
Learn more about Deborah Joy online at www.TheWeddingDanceSpecialists.com
Click below to see additional photo publicity in the following newspapers:
FOR MOST PEOPLE, dancing is a way to let loose and have some fun. For Deborah Joy ('96), dancing is both a career and passion.