Movers and Shakers Salsa and Bachata Dance Academy — Attraction in Los Angeles

• Long sappy review incoming 🥹*

In August 2022, my partner Nick and I uprooted our lives on the East Coast to move to Los Angeles for a job opportunity. Struggling to make friends and adjust to the LA lifestyle, we decided to join a local dance studio as a fun couples' hobby and to form new friendships. We chose Movers and Shakers based on the overwhelmingly positive reviews praising the instructors, the quality of the classes, and the vibrant community of dancers it attracted.

Having danced Bachata on and off since 2018, I had experienced my share of quality dance studios and held relatively high standards. However, after enrolling in our first Bachata 101 class with instructor Ariela through Movers and Shakers, it quickly became clear that this studio was different. The warmth, energy, and genuine care that Ariela brought to each class made us feel welcome from day one, and we immediately knew we had found something special.

Standing here two years later, I can confidently say that joining Movers and Shakers was the best decision we ever made and has far exceeded our expectations. Not only have we mastered the fundamentals and grown into confident dancers, but we’ve also found a true sense of community and made lifelong friends.

What truly sets Movers and Shakers apart from all the other studios is that our academy director, Danny Kalman, doesn’t treat his studio as just a business — it’s a real family. Danny pours his absolute heart and soul into every class. I genuinely appreciate how Danny and the MaS instructors go above and beyond to ensure that every nuance of the dance is fully mastered. From perfecting the fundamentals and adding creative styling to honing dancing musicality, they delve into levels of detail that most studios barely scratch the surface on.

But beyond the lessons themselves, Danny and the team creates a welcoming environment where everyone feels part of a close-knit dance community. While most other studios focus on cycling students through the curriculum as quickly as possible to generate maximum revenue, Danny makes it his mission to foster growth, camaraderie, and support among his students. He goes above and beyond by organizing frequent dance socials and weekly Friday practice sessions in the studio, providing us with safe and encouraging spaces to refine our skills. He also pays attention to small yet significant details that make all the difference, like posting recap videos on our class website and creating group chats to help us organize our own social or practice sessions. To top it off, Danny regularly hosts massive student parties that attract hundreds of past and current MaS students — truly some of the funnest parties I’ve ever attended! 🥳

Having experimented with over five dance studios throughout my dance journey, I can confidently say that Danny and Movers and Shakers are completely unparalleled in terms of the student experience and the quality of the instruction. Nick and I couldn’t be happier with our time here and are incredibly grateful to have found a place where we’re not only advancing as dancers but have also discovered a community where we truly belong.

It’s officially been over two years since Nick and I moved to LA, and I’m proud to say we’ve stuck with Movers and Shakers ever since. We’ve completed the entire Bachata series (101, 102a, 102b, 103a, 103b, 103c) and have even added Salsa to our repertoire, having finished Salsa 101 and 102, with our next goal possibly being to audition for the performance team!

While moving to LA was perhaps the hardest transition of my life, finding and joining the Movers and Shakers dance community was truly the best thing that has ever happened to us. I am eternally grateful to Danny, Ariela, and the rest of the MaS team for the gift of this beautiful community that I will cherish forever. My heart...

Dancing abilities expectations beyond exceeded!

I came to Movers and Shakers not knowing anything at all about dancing. At this point, I have taken part in MaS’ Salsa 101 and Bachata 101. To be honest, outside of a few family parties, where I had no idea what I was doing, I had zero dancing experience.

Get ready to hit the ground running! So much knowledge and dancing skills are learned immediately. Although I completely stepped out of my comfort zone and felt nervous on my first day, those feelings were gone within minutes during the first class. By the third class, I had already reached the level of experience that I expected to have by the end of the course! I had no idea that I was going to learn so much and feel so comfortable on the dance floor. I felt so confident that I even went out social dancing after the second class!

The dedication and hard work that Danny has put into the curriculum and the business is clearly evident. I had the privilege to learn Salsa from Ariela and Bachata from Inna. Both instructors are incredibly talented at dancing, and it is clear that their love and passion for dancing is something that they want to share with the world, which, in my opinion, makes them the amazing instructors that they are.

Practice and repetition are crucial for your advancement and success. The Friday night social dancing that MaS offers is not mandatory, but I think they are just as valuable as attending the classes. You not only get to practice dancing with people that are in your class, but with other MaS students that are further along in their dancing journey. The comfort and search for success can be felt in the room during the classes and on Friday nights.

Although it is not necessary, I absolutely recommend doing private lessons. The progress that I made and the expertise that I gained from the class alone was more than sufficient for me to comfortably ask any woman out to dance, but I was able to take my capabilities to a completely different level after my private lessons.

In addition, something that I did not expect to accomplish, but I am glad happened, is that I made new friends. We are all there to learn how to dance and the ambiance that is produced will naturally encourage new friendships and relationships.

My short drive from Westchester was completely worth it. This course is for every one of all ages; if you think that you are too young or too old, that is not the case here. My classes had people in their early 20s and people in their 60s. If you feel intimidated, nervous or are simply on the fence about joining MaS, don’t be, you will not regret your decision, and I can guarantee you that your dancing abilities will go far beyond your...

Movers and Shakers Academy's combination of top tier, full-time instructors with a meticulously crafted program results in a premier dance education.

Knowing how to dance arguably the most popular social dances in the world unlocks a whole new avenue for connection, friends, and life experiences, where a dance allows you to have a conversation with someone else without even saying a word or speaking their language. Movers & Shakers gives you the proper tools to have that conversation with precision and intent (this is especially true for Leads). The program moves at a well thought-out pace with just enough new material each week (10 week program) for you to learn the basics of the moves during class, but advanced enough to where practice/self study is needed for developing mastery (you can practice by yourself, no big deal).

The instructors (Inna and Aerial) make it a point to have the Leads actually... lead, or "move" the followers, rather than just having everyone go through the memorized moves, like many other studios teach. This small detail is so critical to the muscle memory for Leads to learn, and really makes the difference. Movements are explained thoroughly and with excellent detail, which is really attributed to Inna and Aerial's impressive communication skills and teaching abilities. Both teachers are patient and extremely caring, and take the time to ensure everyone is learning the details properly, without sacrificing pace. As a bonus, Danny and the team have created an App with recap videos of what you learned in class each week. These are a wonderful way to review what you may have missed in class.

It's difficult to fully capture the amount of joy M&S has brought to my life in an online review. Movers & Shakers adapts the mindset that having a solid foundations (i.e, mastering the details) will carry you farther as a dancer. It is this approach that makes the learning process effective and extremely rewarding. Danny and the team have created something special with the program and community they've taken great care to build.

If you're looking to actually learn Salsa/Bachata well and are tired of not knowing what to do at social events, joining M&S is my only recommendation. The lessons, the community and friends you make all lead to my last my message to the reader: enrolling M&S is a well worth investment in your social life. I look forward to continuing my education in the more advanced classes, and can't...