The First Dance Place - San Diego, California

Tram Nguyen

If you’re looking to add a magical touch to your wedding with a choreographed first dance, Katie is the instructor you need! We had the pleasure of taking dance classes with Katie before our wedding, and she helped us prepare a beautiful routine that wowed our guests.

With only two sessions, Katie worked wonders. She was not only a skilled dancer and teacher but also incredibly patient and encouraging. Understanding our skill levels and the importance of the occasion, she designed a dance routine that was both elegant and manageable for us to learn in such a short time.

Katie’s approach to teaching was personalized and attentive. She made sure each move was tailored to our abilities while still making the dance look sophisticated and fun. Her positive attitude and clear instructions made each practice enjoyable and stress-free, which was exactly what we needed amidst the busy wedding planning.

Our first dance was a huge hit at the wedding, thanks to Katie’s expertise and support. We felt confident and graceful, and the dance went off without a hitch. Many of our guests complimented us on the performance, highlighting it as one of the highlights of the evening.

We are incredibly grateful to Katie for her dedication and for making our first dance so memorable. We highly recommend her dance classes to any couple wanting to make their first dance a special and standout moment on their wedding day.

Briana Legan

Katie was brilliant and extremely easy to work with. Due to my husband's deployment and constant last minute send outs, we were only able to get in two lessons. But in those two lessons we learned so much and our first dance on our 10 year renewal ended up being the talk of the night! We couldn't have done it without her help. Now my husband wishes to continue dancing with me, finding a new passion for us.

Steve Nager

Our experience at The First Dance Place was excellent! My fiancée grew up with a dance background, so I was a little apprehensive to take lessons. From our very first lesson, Katie was so easy to work with and make me feel very comfortable. We wanted something more than the "middle school swaying", but nothing too flashy. Katie listened to our ideas and came up with something we loved. We decided on a mashup of two different songs with very different tempos, but it all worked out seamlessly. She even created the mashup for us, so all we had to do was give her version to our DJ! She is great at giving feedback and corrections and made us both feel like we were getting something unique to us. By our last lesson, I was feeling pretty confident, and our first dance went perfectly! HIGHLY recommend this place!

Melanie Summers

I can't say enough good things about Katie and The First Dance Place team. From our first communication to our last class, everyone was helpful and supportive.

Katie is amazing with beginners; she's calm, communicates well, and met us where we were at. I was amazed with how much more confident I felt about our first dance after our first class and did not think we would end up doing a lift but her small step approach made a world of difference and our dance went off without a hitch.

Our dance lessons ended up being an absolute highlight of our wedding planning process and if you are on the fence, I hope this review pushes you to take lessons with Katie - it's well worth it and we'll be back for a date night class in the future 🙂

Jess Zepeda

We can’t thank Katie enough for the incredible experience we had learning our first dance choreography! From the very first lesson, Katie made us feel comfortable and excited. Her patience and clear instructions helped us pick up the steps quickly. Katie tailored the dance to our song pick and helped us wow everyone at the party. We had so many people come up to us and give us compliments. It was a huge highlight of the night! If you’re looking for someone who is talented, encouraging, and genuinely invested in making your dance memorable, look no further. Highly recommend!

Tracy Carlson

We are SO glad we hired Katie to help us nail our first dance! She is so kind, patient, and a wonderful dance teacher. My husband Nate (who was most apprehensive about our lessons) agreed that Katie made things fun and she explained things in a way that was easy to grasp. If you’re on the fence about whether you should take lessons before your first dance, we are here to say DO IT! You won’t regret it when you land your moves and all your friends and family are cheering you on <3. Thank you, The First Dance Place!

David Saruk

my mom and I bought a package and got to do our trainings with Katie. she was amazing working with both of us for our choreographed dance. we didn’t know everything for what we wanted it to look like and she took the time to show us all the different variations. we went into the wedding extremely confident and it was a huge hit and exactly what we envisioned and hoped for in our heads. the best part is the bonding these classes gave my mom and I. cannot recommend enough!

Kathy Shapira

My husband and I are not gifted dancers. But Katie made everything so fun and we’ve received tons of compliments about our dance. We actually found ourselves really looking forward to lessons as a distraction from the stress of the wedding. Katie was an excellent instructor and was so kind and patient with us. We felt a lot more confident in our dance after our lessons with her. Totally worth it and I would recommend lessons with Katie for anyone! She hit the perfect note for us, and made us feel confident in front of everyone we know.