Shawn Gardner Dancing — Local services in Tigard

I don't think I've ever met someone as fake as Shawn since I've been in Oregon. I would think twice about taking a dance lesson from her or going to one of her events. I go out Latin dancing almost every weekend but I have never felt as disrespected as I did at a salsa event organized by her last Friday. My girlfriend and I went to Pasha Restaurant for dinner and dancing. We were told we would have a table and be able to eat, so we paid the cover charge, sat down and ordered food. Little did we know that a short time after we received our food, we would be asked to move because they wanted even more space for the dance lesson. There were a lot of people attending this event (more than they planned for) so our food took some time to get to our table. A short time later Shawn approached us in a very impatient tone that we needed to move because our table was going to be removed for more dance lesson space and walked away. This was never brought to our attention pior to paying the entry fee. My girlfriend wasn't even halfway through her meal when she approached us again in a more demanding tone saying that we needed to move and made a comment to my girlfriend how she thought she would have been done with her food by then. She very quickly told us to follow someone to another table.. a dirty and occupied table. My girlfriend had to carry her own plate and drink to the other side of the restaurant. We didn't want to make a scene, so we waited until we were about to leave to talk to the restaurant staff about the situation. We expressed our appreciation for the restaurants costumer service and explained our disappointment in how Shawn handled everything. They quickly caught her attention at which point she proceeded to lie about how she "asked us nicely if we were okay with moving". She ended up walking away rudely leaving the restaurant staff to deal with...

I attended a class here quite a few months ago, and hesitated to leave a review because of how I've seen the owner respond to people who have less-than-positive feedback. That said, I wanted to share so that others can have a little more information. It was my first time at this particular studio, and my first time dancing after about 6 months off, but I had the required experience (i.e., 6 months of dancing weekly prior) and so I attended their level 2 class. Another student in the class was particularly aggressive/unpleasant in his way of attempting to "teach" me the moves, and that left me feeling insecure and forgetting how to dance altogether. What was most upsetting about this was having the owner come up to me shortly after and telling me I should consider attending their beginner class next time.

I don't mind being a bad dancer, or needing to return to a lower level class, but the whole experience felt very shaming and judgmental. I have since found more accepting/fun places in the Portland area where I can dance to have fun and learn, and I sincerely hope others' experiences at Shawn Gardner are better than mine! But I will not be returning. And I am also hopeful that the owner reads this and chooses to consider the possibility that there is some validity to this negative experience so she can reach more students. My advice to anyone who is considering dancing here is to take the level 1 class no matter how much experience you have so you can be trained with Shawn’s expectations...

Love this place! Shawn does a great job keeping ballroom, Latin, and country dancing open in PDX. I have so many positive things to say about SGD and I am constantly trying to get my friends to come try it out.

Personally, I try to go at least once a week and I'd love to go more if I could! The lessons are fun, the socials are a BLAST, and there are so many unique features that SGD offers to make them stand out: tacos, bar, multiple ballrooms, outdoor dancing... Oh! And the membership program?? An absolute steal!

Honestly, dancing changed my life. I've met so many great people (especially at SGD) and had so many wonderful experiences. I am thrilled to continue dancing at such an awesome location!

For those just looking for a venue, the facility itself is beautiful and definitely worth checking out as a rental (especially as the rainy season starts limiting us to indoor locations). The space is open, well ventilated, has a kitchen, balconies, and three rooms (plus the outdoor space) available for use. Parking lot plus lots of easy street parking makes it easy for large groups. Plus, I've always felt safe walking to and from my car at night.

There's honestly so much more I could say about Shawn's but you definitely need to check it out. Come to a Friday social sometime, I'll...