As leading choreographers in Vancouver “Hollywood North”, we perform and choreograph for various live and film productions. We also prepare couples for wedding dances and competitive routines.

Stage & Film

Casting Directors: We are represented by Reel Athletes Inc. Please visit our Casting Workbook portfolios for portfolio images and demo reel. We are both professional dancers and choreographers in all forms of dance, from Jazz and Aerial Lifts to Disco and Ballroom. Both are available for Dancing, Choreography or Actor’s Dance Coaching for film. We specialize in Swing Dance, specifically West Coast Swing. West Coast Swing is a partner dance that is suprisingly extremely appropriate for music videos.

 

 

 

 

Event Coordinators: Please see our Press Kit page for a full menu of services. Need to hire professional dancers for entertainment for your private or corporate function? We have a selection of routines available for performance, or if you like we can get your whole group learning how to dance in under an hour! Great for corporate training seminars, team building experiences, Christmas parties, weddings, and fundraisers. We also have a local and global network of both amateur and professional dancers available for performance.

Competitive Routines

In addition to doing our own choreography for competition and stage, we are frequently hired to choreograph routines for students who compete in West Coast Swing or other dance styles:

  • Classic Division
  • Novice Classic Division
  • Sophisticated/Masters Division
  • Showcase Division
  • Formation Teams
  • Salsa
  • Country
  • Cabaret
  • Lindy Hop
  • Hustle/Disco

Choreography can be done in person or on DVD, with followup coaching available live online via web conferencing. Rates are either per hour of teaching or per minute of choreography. Please contact us for a quote.


Performance Teams

High School & College Teams

We have choreographed and coached several school teams with varying ability levels. We prepare 2-4 minute routines for groups of 4-40 dancers aged 14-25 years, showcasing West Coast Swing and including easy yet impressive aerials and tricks. For choreography for your school team, please contact us for a quote.

 

 

DIVA Training

Well before the Pole-Dance trend, Tessa was one of the very first to offer this unique type of training to dancers of all levels. Now, pop culture has caught up to her and Tessa is proud to still offer the original Diva Training workshop at events around the globe, and has produced the only Ladies’ Styling DVD series for WCS in existence. Using movement drills and choreographed routines, she teaches women how to be sensual, graceful, sexy, and elegant. The routines are performance-worthy, but can also be used as home practice. For more info on how to incorporate this training into your WCS workshop or event, please contact Tessa.

 

Vancouver’s West Coast Swing Performance Team

In Summer, 2004, we created Vancouver’s first West Coast Swing Performance Team, for the purpose of doing a demonstration at DanceSport BC’s Robson Square Summer Dance Series. It served to educate the public audience about West Swing Coast Swing, and make it seem more accessible to the learning dancer. For the team members, it served to provide a chance to be in the spotlight they might not otherwise have. The Performance Team performed at Robson Square 2005, 2006 and Seattle’s Easter Swing 2005. Working on a routine is guaranteed to improve your dancing, as it forces you to work on clarity of movement, control, timing, musical interpratation, focus, and environmental awareness. We are available to create and choreograph a performance team in your area – please contact us for a quote.

Weddings

Do you want to “Rock the Reception”?

You’ve planned all the other aspects of the event down to the tiniest detail. Everything is going to be perfect, exactly as you’ve dreamed. Why not make your first dance perfect too? Learn to dance now, so when the big day comes, you will feel prepared and confident and relaxed as you sway elegantly with your partner in front of your friends and family.

Dance lessons are something that need to be planned in advance, like booking the DJ and ordering the cake. They are a great way for the bride and groom to spend time together learning something new, or to bring the families and wedding party together.

Even if you have no dance experience whatsoever, we can give you the basic skills and moves to look competent and confident on the floor. Your friends and family will be impressed to tears!

Frequently Asked Questions:

Which style of dance can we learn?
The most practical and ideal dance for weddings is called NightClub Two-Step, which is an easy to learn, elegant yet relaxed, impressive looking partner dance.  Other dances are available such as Waltz, Swing, or Salsa, which you may be interested in continuing after the wedding is over. We will teach you a variety of camera-friendly romantic moves, including a dip, that are mix-and-matchable so there is no choreography to memorize.

We have a song we consider “our song” can you teach us to dance to that?
Yes, depending on what the song is. The genre of song will determine which dance we teach you. We can also edit your song to make it shorter, longer, faster, or slower. If your song is not good for dancing, you can always use it for the bridal procession or during a slideshow and pick a different song to dance to.

We’re pretty traditional – we’d like to dance a Waltz. Can you teach us that?
Yes, absolutely. But because Waltz is in 3/4 time, it is harder to find a ballad (slow song) to choose for “your song” which you can dance Waltz to. If you are hiring a string quartet or pianist to play classical music, you can ask them to play a waltz for you.

How much time do we need to plan to take the lessons?
Give yourself at least 6 weeks of lead time before the wedding date. You’ll want to take one or two lessons per week, (and remember to practice between lessons). Then, if you have to reschedule a lesson, you won’t run out of time.
Since the goal is to be confident and competent on the floor, we recommend a minimum of 6 1-hour lessons. Most couples take one or two lessons per week for 6-8 weeks before the wedding date. These are private or semi-private lessons in our studio.  You decide if you would like just the bride and groom to dance at the reception, or if there will be a dance for the bride & father, groom & mother, etc.  You may want to include the wedding party in your lessons as a bonding opportunity, or learn one dance with the wedding party and keep another dance style for your own song.

Do I have to buy a package? Can I just buy a single dance lesson?
Yes, we can do single lessons a la carte. But we HIGHLY recommend a package of at least 6 lessons, because in our experience, most couples only start to feel really comfortable and confident with their dance after 5 or 6 lessons. Couples who only take one lesson are usually those who have already learned how to dance elsewhere and they just need a tune up or a few new moves for the photographer. We have found that couples who are new to dancing and only take one lesson do not retain enough to use what they learned when it comes time for their dance. They still feel awkward when it comes time for the reception and don’t retain enough to actually use the moves they learn in the spotlight.

Emergency Wedding Package $149.00
2 Private Lessons for the Bride & Groom: bare bones – nothing fancy

Basic Wedding Package $450.00
6 Private Lessons for the Bride & Groom

Complete Wedding Package $525.00
6 Private Lessons for the Bride & Groom
Choreography for the first dance
1 Group lesson for the Wedding Party/Family

Credit card payments accepted via Paypal only.  $100 deposit due upon booking.