Kathy is such a wonderful instructor and my partner and I are so so happy to have found her to help us with our first dance for our wedding. She's a highly experienced dancer with decades of dance experience. The moment we played our song for our first dance, she immediately knew what type of dance best fits with the song . On top of that she's funny, patient, and extremely flexible given our busy schedules. Her rates were also extremely reasonable. We would definitely recommend her to our friends who need a dance instructor for any occasion! read more

My now-wife and I went to Kathy for 5 dance lessons for our wedding first dance. It went very well! She created and taught us a routine that perfectly matched our chosen song. She has a great ear for music. For example, she timed our spins/moves at the climactic parts of the song. I would definitely recommend using her! read more

What can I say..only that Kathy is a fantastic dance instructor. Have been taking private lessons with Kathy for a number of months. I always enjoy going to her studio. Kathy is very kind, meticulous and highly professional. She is a great dancer but most importantly, Kathy is a great and very patient dance teacher/ instructor. If you want to learn ANY kind of dance- call Kathy. read more

My husband and I took dance lessons with Kathy for our wedding and we could not be more glad that we did. She was able to show us different styles to songs we liked which helped us narrow down and choose which we were interested in learning most. Her choreography was great, she comes up with it so quickly and she really makes sure to teach you in a way everyone can pick up. She made it so fun and we even got some extra line dancing lessons in there too to make other parts of our reception fun! We were so nervous about our first dance we're both pretty shy when it comes to dancing but we did a great job thanks to Kathy and it was just a really special memorable experience to do together, we couldn't recommend her more. We are forever grateful. read more

Dancing for Life - Wish I could figure out how to post a video to help! But here's a photo of our entrance into the dance - Dance Studios Near Me - Van Nuys, California

Great dance instructor! M partner and I went from having 3 left feet to feeling comfortable dancing a 4 minute song. We feel so confident going into our first dance! She is a good motivator, a bit strict, but always helpful. The rate is great too! read more

Kathy is awesome. Unfortunately we procrastinated and our travel schedules didn't give us more than 2 hours to take lessons the week before the wedding. Despite having limited instruction due to our scheduled Kathy made us feel better about the first dance. We are looking forward to taking classes with her in the future now that we don't have any pressure. She was very friendly, funny and patient with me since I had zero dance history. She was very responsive via phone and email. Her rates are very reasonable and she even saw us on a Friday night. I highly recommend Kathy. read more

Dancing for Life - Dance Studios Near Me - Van Nuys, California

Kathy is first and foremost a kind, open-minded person. It's very to speak your truth and she will support you with an open heart. This is important when life gets in the way of your schedule, she will work with you. Her rate is more reasonable than any place I've seen elsewhere, so reasonable in fact, my partner and I have made this a weekly tradition that we will stick with far into the future. She teaches out of her home and that probably helps keep her rates low- I hate to think my patronage is the reason a poor business owner can pay their expensive lease for a unnecessary dance studio in Santa Monica. I mean Patrick Swayze taught Jennifer Grey to dance in a lake for Pete's sake! I would recommend Kathy to anyone who needs to learn how to dance, no matter your skill level; However, you do have to want it. You can't learn anything in life without the desire and passion to learn! read more

We are in love with Dancing for life and the instructor Kathy. My fiancé found this place to prepare our wedding dance. We learned foxtrot on Bollywood song.We were apprehensive initially but Kathy helped us to learn the dance and it was a big hit :). She is an incredible dance instructor and is also flexible with time, both of us are working professionals and we used to go late in night to practice our dance. I would definitely recommend this place if you want to choreograph your wedding dance, you will love it. read more

Kathy is an absolute dream of a dance instructor! She is very knowledgeable, extremely patient and all around wonderful. We are getting married in about a week and have been taking lessons from her for a bit now. It has been a challenging but really enjoyable experience for my finance and me. read more

Kathy is wonderful and a great teacher. She has a ton of patients and brings such a calm energy to the room, because let's face it learning a dance routine can be stressful at times! We had no dancing experience at all and by the end of 5 lessons we had our whole dance routine down for our wedding. Kathy is not only a great dance teacher but she is super fun and really loves to get to know her students, I feel like she's my aunty and we often find ourselves having a good old chat and laugh after our lesson. We never feel like she's rushing us out the door, she generally cares and we have thoroughly enjoyed our time with her! Thanks Kathy!! read more

Dancing for Life - We did it Kathy!!!! Thank you for all your patience and knowledge xx - Dance Studios Near Me - Van Nuys, California

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Best dance teacher in the area! Kathy helped my fiancé and I prepare for our first dance and we would've been completely lost without her. First, she taught us the basic moves, made sure we had it down and then she choreographed a whole dance to the song of our choice. We now have it memorized and can't wait to show off to our guests at the wedding. If you want someone that can teach you how to learn a difficult dance, Kathy is perfect. read more

Kathy is wonderful! She's the best dance instructor we've ever met. Learning the choreography was fun and interesting. Kathy always wants to bring each movement to the ideal. We were searching different dance studios in our area and most of them tried to convince us to choose group classes. Don't waste your time on group classes and choose a personal dance instructor! Choose Kathy! read more

Kathy is the best! We were searching for a choreographer for our first dance for our wedding. Kathy taught us an original Waltz to a lovely song by Nat King Cole then went on to teach us an original choreographed routine to a salsa song we love. From the very first day she was able to adjust her teaching to our experience level and she was patient and loving all throughout. Kathy is kind, talented, and friendly. I definitely recommend her be it for choreographed dances or just to learn something new. Did I mention we also learned to Rumba? We can't wait to learn more :) read more

My fiance and I were looking for dance classes so we could enjoy our first dance at our wedding. We had a trial lesson at Arthur Murray, and then they told us the prices which were insane! Then we found Kathy at Dancing for Life. She has a studio in her home. Kathy is very professional and her prices are extremely reasonable. When we began, we were beginners with zero rhythm. After about five lessons we already feel much more confident and have learned so much. More importantly, she makes sure you have fun too! We will most likely continue taking lessons even after the wedding. I highly recommend you try Dancing For Life for any occasion! read more

Kathy is a great dance instructor! She is very knowledgeable in all different kinds of dance, and she can teach you any kind you're looking for. I am not naturally good at dancing, but Kathy gave me the confidence to try. I'm so happy I took private classes to help me boost my confidence and learn some new moves! I wish I knew Kathy before I got married, our first dance would have been so much better if I knew what I was doing. Definitely give it a try, you will be happy you did! read more

!!! With heartfelt gratitude and admiration for your masterful skill in sharing ' Lessons in Dance ,' for those misstep, for those ' slow-slow, quick/quick ' dance lingo,and for those uncoordinated body movements ..... when we first started , they are now but a journey and a new rhythm, in our just found , ' zest for life ' Thank you Kathy Levyn !!! read more

I enjoy my weekly dance lessons with Kathy so much!! I've wanted to learn the basics of east coast swing, rumba, mamba etc for years. Kathy is such a pro and so knowledgable, but she is also a warm, funny, patient and engaging teacher. She has been able to work around my schedule too, which I truly appreciate. read more

Kathy is such an amazing dance instructor! My dad and I took 3 private lessons from her for our father/daughter dance and she was able to teach us the basic country two step and choreograph an entire routine in that short amount of time. My fiance and I were also able to squeeze in 2 private lessons with Kathy a week before our wedding. We did not do a choreographed routine, but used a lot of the fox trot moves we learned during our first dance. Kathy is very talented and easy to learn from and I 100% recommend her to anyone looking to learn how to dance. Thank you Kathy for all that you taught us! read more

We love Kathy! She is a great teacher and a lovely person. She is very organized and easy to follow. She is friendly & not intimidating. She is flexible in her teaching style as well as in her scheduling. If, like us, you've always wanted to learn to ballroom dance, then she's the teacher you've always wanted to find! It's never too late to have fun! read more

About half-way through the wedding planning process, my bride-to-be had a mini-nervous breakdown (or a well calculated ploy aimed at spurring me into action), and I was given a few assignments to complete. I turned my old standby, the internet, to find a reputable dance instructor to train us for our first dance. I saw a number of places that seemed larger, big studios, that were expensive and didn't seem very personal. Then on Yelp, I stumbled upon "Dancing for Life". The reviews seemed pretty positive, and her prices were very reasonable (especially since they're private lessons!). She exceeded expectations. Kathy is very experienced and organized, and not only helped us settle on a style of dance, but choreographed it to our first song. Word to the wise -- if you don't want to be stumbling around out there I would suggest setting things up a few months in advance to give yourself plenty of time for lessons. We started ~4 months before the wedding so we had a lot of time to practice at home, and arrange lessons with Kathy that didn't conflict with our work schedules. If memory serves we ended up doing ~5-6 one-hour lessons, and were well prepared for the big day. What also impressed me about Kathy (besides just her generally pleasant personality), is her ability to tailor the lessons to the individual. My fiancee was a quicker study, whereas I was a little slower on the uptake. I have a background in music, not so much in dance, and she adapted her teaching style to be more "musical" which helped me out. She also strikes a good balance between being polite, while still being a stickler for detail. You don't hire a professional unless you want honest feedback, so when my hand wasn't in the right place, or there was too much bounce to my foxtrot, she didn't hesitate to work it out and correct it. Reading the other reviews, it's great to see so many people having positive experiences with her as well. People like Kathy don't have the advertising resources of bigger companies, but her passion and experience make her an internet "diamond in the rough". Thank you Kathy!! read more

Kathy is a great dance instructor and a kind woman. We came to her for help with our first dance for the wedding as we were total beginners, and after about 5 lessons, we had the most beautiful first dance that shocked everyone at our wedding. Now we want to go back for more lessons just for fun! read more

I have always wanted to be able to dance but with two left feet and no rhythm I needed encouragement and a lot of "HELP". My encouragement came from the new love of my life and the help from Kathy the teacher of "Dancing for Life". Kathy teaches dance steps so that they are easy to follow and she also makes it a lot of fun. I have been taking lessons now for about 4 months and have learned the Foxtrot, East Coast Swing, Cha Cha and the Hustle. I will never make it to "Dancing with the Stars" but I will continue to enjoy dancing through Kathy of "Dancing for Life". read more

Recently I began taking private ballroom dancing lessons from Kathy Levyn, proprietor of Dancing For Life. Kathy is a superb, elegant dancer and motivating instructor, honest and amiable, encouraging and simply fun. The hour lesson passes so quickly and thanks to her, I believe that I am rapidly improving, soon ready for prime time. This is one of the finest investments I have made in myself. My sole regret is that I didn't begin studying with her sooner. read more

Kathy is an excellent instructor. She teaches steps in detail, hand position, and all the other details to make you look good on the dance floor. She's patient & has a great personality. I highly recommend her if you want to learn different styles of dance. read more

My (now) husband and I took classes from Kathy at Santa Monica College for a couple of years and she was so much fun to learn from. When we decided to get married, we went to her for help choreographing our first dance. She was wonderful. Her home studio is spacious and she is just really fun to learn from - she clearly really loves dance of all kinds and she was great at teaching us steps that would look great on the dance floor. I would definitely recommend. Also my 86 year old Papa said that our first dance was his favorite part of the whole wedding which is just a priceless thing to hear! read more

Kathy is an incredible teacher who really knows her stuff! My fiancé and I really wanted to add a special touch to our first dance at our wedding and Kathy was able to choreograph a dance that fit our song and was fun to learn! Even if we weren't learning a song for a dance, I would highly recommend taking a lesson from her! read more

Just entering my 60's and with three daughters, I decided it was time to learn how to dance. I wanted to do something more than the awkward sway we all know and hate from high school. I found Kathy online and made an appointment for that weekend. That was almost a year ago. I have not missed a weekly lesson since we began. Kathy's knowledge of an indeterminable amount of dances is, on one hand, daunting. But, on the other hand, I know that I will be with her for years to come. I want to know half of what she knows. Kathy loves dance. She has been there. Her experience, knowledge, and personal history in professional dancing is an indication of her commitment to dancing and she is happy to pass this on to her students. She is sensitive to my abilities, or lack thereof, and works to find the best way to encourage me, applaud my accomplishments and patiently help me understand and correct my mistakes. Kathy challenges me with new dance styles and adding new steps before I think I'm ready. She knows better. She adjusts to me and my learning styles and speed. Did I mention patient? Sometimes, I feel bad for her having to tolerate me at times. But she does with a smile and gentle persuasion to continue. I thoroughly enjoy my lessons with Kathy and recommend her to anyone that has a desire to learn how to dance. read more