Terrible customer service. I called inquiring about a dance lesson birthday gift for my friend and was scolded for not understanding how dance companies operate and that they couldn't possibly accommodate my request. Someone should teach this business about how to interact respectfully with clients. read more

We originally hired Ken for our wedding dance lessons. We think Ken has the best intentions, but he was unable to help us learn a routine in 10 sessions. He did not listen to our needs and frankly was difficult to work with. I'm sure he does an amazing job with better dancers or for "easier" songs, which is why he has high ratings. For anything complex, he is very rigid, inflexible, and unable to adjust to a couple's needs or skill level. To put it simply, Ken was unable and unwilling to cater our lessons to the caliber of a wedding dance instead of a professional ballroom performance. After switching to a different company we learned a full, beautiful routine in 4 lessons. The new company asked for our feedback and always made sure we were comfortable with the routine, which Ken never did. We had a very negative experience with Ken and I just want to warn couples before investing time and money into lessons. read more

We had our wedding on 7/16/22, and I am so glad we worked with Ken at Moving Image Dance Academy for our first dance! We called and received a free upgrade to the first dance venue, which was convenient for us in Rittenhouse Square and offered a large dance floor for private lessons. This is a perk, because you aren't learning the same routine as other couples. Going into the lessons, we wanted to learn classical dance and have a routine unique to us and our song, and Ken delivered! As we had no prior dance experience and wanted a more elaborate dance, we started in late February for weekly lessons for our July wedding. Ken doesn't just choreograph a routine with you, but truly teaches you the foundational steps so you know how to move around the dance floor using different steps without choreography first. At first you don't even realize how much you are learning, but your skill set grows exponentially. We had so much fun at the lessons, and it helped us build a life skill we can break out at future weddings! Eventually, we moved into the choreography, which was a traditional foxtrot to Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" with special surprises at the high points in the song! On our wedding day, we weren't even nervous because we were so prepared, and Ken had us gliding across the dance floor! Our guests can't stop talking about our dance and how they'd never seen anything like it. A few family members took video, and I keep watching it over and over--I can't wait to see how our videographer captured it. If you are looking for a first dance to truly wow your friends and family, I highly recommend giving yourself adequate practice time (you need more than you think if you haven't danced before), have FUN, and trust the process. Thank you Ken for all that you did to help us with the perfect first dance! read more

Fantastic Experience learning our first dance with Ken! I have two left feet and have never been a good dancer. Ken not only taught us a dance for our first dance, but actually really taught us how to dance. Our waltz was a surprise to all of our wedding guests as everyone knew I cannot dance. It was a highlight for us as well as our guests as it was truly a beautiful dance, fully choreographed. Even our DJ noted how incredible it was. If Ken can teach me to dance and wow a crowd, he can teach anyone. We looked forward to our weekly lessons in Rittenhouse with Ken. Now that our wedding is over we look forward to continuing dance lessons and learning a new dance! read more

We've been working with Ken in preparation for our first dance at the Rittenhouse Square location. He's been really wonderful and a font of dance knowledge. If you're looking to learn how to wow someone with dance skills you never knew you had, he's the one to teach you. read more

I just called to find out an estimate of how much it would cost for wedding dance instruction. I realize it's hard to give a definite amount of lessons needed because there are many unknown factors: the level of skills we have coming in, the level of complexity we want our dance to be, etc. I was hoping to get an idea of about 8 lessons since that's what I got as a minimum from another dance place. This guy talked for over 20 min, starting out his conversation with a snippy remark about the "way I phrased my question," then went on for a good 5 minutes about how I need to phrase it better. Most of his monologue was talking about how "terrible dance instruction was in the past" and the sales tactics of other dance studios and how his is better. This place is "pay as you go" private dance lessons so (like I read below) he wouldn't even give me an estimate for a "basic" dance instruction. After the first 5 min of my time, I spent the rest of the 20 or so minutes with the receiver on my desk, didn't even listen. Really ridiculous. read more

My Fiancée and I took lessons for our wedding and our dance was fantastic! Don't listen to the cranks on Yelp. Ken knows his stuff. Go to the First Dance Venue; one on one in a big room with an instructor with 35years experience . Put in the time and work and trust Ken, he will get you in wedding shape to knock your guests out on the big day. read more

My fiance and I have been taking lessons in advance of our wedding. We opted to only take a handful of lessons, but even in that short time Ken has us moving together in a way that makes us feel reasonably confident about dancing together at our wedding. Ken makes you feel very much at ease, very fast. He is also very good at assessing strengths and weaknesses and working within that construct. I would definitely recommend Ken to anyone looking for private lessons. read more

I would recommend Moving Image Dance Academy if you have little to no dance experience and want to learn how to dance and build your dance correctly from the basics up. My husband and I have been taking lessons with Ken for the last 3 months and Ken's knowledge of dance is evident as well as his abundant patience. Although I had a bit of dance experience, my husband had none. When we first started I thought this would be huge challenge for our teacher as well as for us, but Ken was prepared. His many years of dancing and teaching were the perfect antidote to our inexperience. His quiet manner, endless amount of calm and positive encouragement has been just what we needed to build our dance confidence . Can you ask for anything better than that? If you are interested in learning from a true master Ken is your man. read more

My husband and I feel so lucky to have found Ken at Moving Image Dance Academy. We both have zero dance background and Ken truly helped us feel beautiful and comfortable on the dance floor. I initially found Ken through the Knot. I decided to give him a phone call (rather than email) because we were about 2 months from our wedding day. If I could go back, I would probably have started lessons with him sooner (there is so much to learn in dance). I highly suggest calling him on the phone rather than emailing, because he gives you important information that can sometimes get lost in emails. My husband and I scheduled with Ken the very next week and got to work. Our first lesson was very basic - learning to use our legs in certain ways that we never had before. I read some prior reviews about couples getting angry about this, but listen - you need a foundation in order to do anything correctly. You can't expect to walk in and be a pro during the first lesson. We continued to see Ken at least once a week (sometimes 2 to 3 times a week). His pricing is very reasonable for one on one coaching for 45 minutes. The venue in Rittenhouse square is actually a wedding venue, so it really helps when you are learning how to use a dance floor. You also get to play your own first dance song through their audio system. When I spoke with other dance studios, you actually have to share the dance space with other couples learning to dance and you do not get one on one coaching. Nor do you ever get to dance to your own song. I have a really tough work schedule because I work in health care, and Ken was always very flexible. He even came in to work with us on a weekend (on his day off) when we were getting close to the wedding. Ken really cares about dance and it shows. He really helps you create a beautiful first dance, that you feel comfortable doing. We both had a blast during our first dance at the wedding and our guests raved about it! Many people said we should go on "Dancing with the Stars!" That is definitely not in our future, but we are so glad to have found Ken and worked with him. Thank you, Ken! read more

I've been a dancer my entire life. I've trained at many companies, and I'm currently studying dance, and training to be a professional dancer. One of my dreams is to be on the tv show "So You Think You Can Dance." I've never taken a ballroom class before, and I simply called to ask a question. The man on the phone was so rude to me. I've never had AWFUL customer service like that IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. I told the man "okay great, thank you," because I was done with the conversation. He then proceed to tell me that if I went somewhere else, they would be taking my money. I'll let them take my money. Speak as a dancer, don't go to this studio, it's not worth the bad customer service, OR YOUR MONEY. read more

BEWARE!! Ken from Moving Image Dance begins by explaining why he is the best in town and has the best prices. My fiance and I began lessons with him. I should have known something was up after the first lesson. He spent the entire time criticizing my fiance and not in a helpful constructive manner. The second lesson was a bit better, we did learn a dance step. For the third lesson my fiance came down with a brutal cold and could barely go outside without coughing up tons of phlegm so we cancelled the lesson. We re-scheduled a week later where at this lesson he spent almost the entire lesson making my fiance and I practice walking back and forth across the floor. He criticized myself and my fiance the entire time, and once again not in a constructive manner. We would ask questions to try to understand what we were doing wrong and he would simply say to just trust him. Then if we did something wrong he would reprimand us for not asking questions. 90 bucks to practice walking and get yelled at for an hour. At the end of the lesson we explained that the following week we would not be able to come at our usual time and asked for alternative times. He said perhaps over the following weekend and would let us know. He did not let us know that Sunday would be acceptable until that Friday. At that point my fiance and I decided to stop lessons with him due to our disappointment with his professionalism and our financial struggles. I'd now like to mention that his policy is to pay one lesson ahead. Thus every week we would be paying for the following weeks lesson. When we cancelled lessons with him I requested he rip up the check for the next lesson. He agreed. I have recently been notified from my bank that he cashed the check. He did not return any of my voice mails or emails until I finally tried calling him from a different number. When I finally got him on the phone his explanation was that he cashed it because we had cancelled the lesson the week my fiance was sick. He never told us there would be a fee for canceling the lesson, especially not a 100% fee. I mentioned I could understand a small fee for the inconvenience had it been agreed upon prior, but not the entire payment. I also mentioned that when we did see him again the check we gave him was acknowledged on all fronts to cover the next weeks lesson, not to cover the prior weeks cancellation. I asked him if he was refusing to refund my money and he said there was nothing to refund. He continued arguing with me bring up many invalid points until he hung up on me. PLEASE BEWARE OF THIS "DANCE STUDIO"! It is not worth his fees to practice walking nor is it worth it to be stollen from. I suppose I should have put a stop on the check however I mistakenly believed he would not steal from us. I have learned my lesson. Do no make the same mistake. read more

We went to Moving Image for pre-wedding dance lessons. Our expectations were realistic - neither of us has dancing experience. We just wanted to learn a simple dance. What you will find is that the "Dance Academy" is really just one person, Ken Kalowy. The phone number listed on the webpage is his cellphone. True to his word, the lessons are private lessons at the Ethical Society on Rittenhouse Square. Our frustrations was two-fold. We felt like we were being pressured to make many dance lesson appointments. It was obvious that he wants you to come in for as many $90 (45min) lessons as possible in order for him to maximize the money he gets from you. Our other frustration was his style of teaching. He is a poor communicator and instructor. He will teach you very little in each lesson and focus on the things that won't help you at the wedding. Overall this was a bad experience. I have many friends who took about 5 lessons before their weddings and seemed to have a much better experience. I would recommend you go to another instructor/academy. read more

My husband and I had less than two months to learn how to dance for our wedding and neither of us had any experience in dancing before. We needed an instructor who can focus only on us, so group classes would not work for our needs. Ken immediately understood our needs and he was very patient with us through out the classes. He is an expert teacher who can teach how to dance to anyone. He pays attention to details and does his best at explaining how we can fix the mistakes in our moves. Everyone at our wedding loved our performance and they were surprised to see how much effort we have put into our first dance. We would definitely recommend Ken to anyone who is serious about his/her first dance. read more

So, my lovah and I decided to start taking dance lessons several months ago, as we have a large event coming up, and we didn't want to 1. Grind on each other in front of my grandmother (she collects knives), 2. Look like were being electrocuted, 3. Resort to using my go-to dance moves (it looks like the hokey pokey mixed with the robot, but not nearly as sexy as either of those dances) 4. Dance only to the electric slide or cha cha slide 5. Do the prom dance shuffle. All those sound awful right? Anyway, I began a search for ballroom dancing lessons and after a thorough browsing of reviews, speaking to several companies, I met Ken Kalowy (owner of Moving Images) (also, I may spell his name wrong. Every single time I write him a check. It's pronounced Callaway! Like the golf people. We had a long discussion about how the spelling of his name confused me and he should do something about it). We are learning several types of dances (you know, cause these events generally play more than one type of song). We've been going once or twice a week for several months now! It's $90 per private lesson - AND WORTH EVERY PENNY!!! He's incredibly patient with us, funny, doesn't mind touching me while dancing even though I get a little sweaty. Ew. What a champ. My paramour, who I thought would be awesome because he's generally never afraid to get in the middle of a dance circle and make his butt clap, has been having a little more trouble, but it's because he wants to do it right! He's a perfectionist. Anyway, Ken is always patient with him. He has an amazing eye - catching things we do incorrectly and nipping that bullsh*t in the bud before they become a habit. At first we started off just marching/walking/moving to the beat (like for 5 minutes when we were first learning how to salsa), but as we've continued, we've realized how important it is to get the timing perfect, and how even though it looks easy - every little motion is taken into account in order to make the dance (and you) look good. And that is how it has gone for each type of dance he's introduced to us - he breaks it down to the basics, provides constructive criticism, and even let's my sweet SO lead him (but that's only when sweet SO is doing something really wrong). The pacing of his lessons is perfect. At first I was worried we were going too slow, but after our first lesson, I realized just how much we learned! He teaches us 1-3 new things at every lesson - depending on how well we're doing each move. Lessons are 45 minutes - pretty standard for all the dance companies I spoke to. He does have a policy where he asks you to cancel 24 hours in advance, because he pays to rent the room he uses for private lessons (it's separate from his studio). We once had to cancel the day of because I was sick, but he let us off the hook :) Otherwise, you have to pay a cancellation fee. But honestly - canceling at least 24 hours in advance should be common courtesy for any business/person you are working with. Anyway, we unwisely rescheduled for right after I got better and I was clearly off my normal "only kind of bad" game. The next lesson, he spent asking me if I needed water, if I was ok, and generally keeping an eye on me to make sure I wouldn't pass out on him. It really meant a lot to me. Honestly, I'm just sorry we didn't start taking lessons earlier. Anyway, because we love it so much, Sweet SO and I have decided to continue taking lessons after the big event (a wedding)! It gives us an excuse to take a break, go to beautiful Center City, dance, followed by a dinner date :) Ken gives private lessons in a building on Rittenhouse Square - perfect for a date night! At our last lesson (we just left it) he told us that his company got an award - Best Of Philadelphia 2011!!! Congrats and you totally deserve it :) I've never had so much fun exercising! read more

Ken provides an excellent ballroom dance learning experience. The first dance venue is the perfect place to learn and practice your first dance in a exclusive full sized ballroom with just your fiancé and instructor. Ken brings over 40 years of ballroom experience to each lesson and provides an individualized professional approach. We started three months ago and had no dance experience. Now we have a full choreographed first dance. We would highly recommend that you give him a call and ask about the first dance venue and lessons. read more

This is by far the WORST vendor I've come accross in my entire wedding experience. After our third lesson, my fiance and I were starting to get frustrated at our lack of progress. When I asked Ken how many lessons he anticipated we would need to take to be able to dance to our song, he refused to even give an estimate. After the fourth lesson, my fiance and I decided to cut our losses and take lessons elsewhere. When we told Ken that we would not be coming back, he became very defensive, and basically blamed us for not being able to learn, which I found to be very inappropriate considering that we were paying $90 per lesson for him to teach us. Admittedly, neither my fiance nor I are excellent dancers, which was why we were taking lessons in the first place. We both felt that Ken was trying to milk us for whatever he could, and I think he would have easily had us come back for 20 more lessons had we not cut the cord. My advice: STAY AWAY! We subsequently took dance lessons with Kate at the Society Hill Dance Academy and were quite pleased. In just eight lessons, we learned to dance well enough to our song that people were actually cheering as we did our first dance. Additionally, where Ken seemed only to offer negative criticism, which made me dread our lessons with him, Kate actually made the lessons fun, and we are considering resuming lessons just for the fun of it in September. read more

What a rude man. Prior to my first lesson I called to confirm and inquire about proper clothing for the lesson. When I asked if slacks are ok for my partner his response was, "what else would he wear a skirt?". Other comments included "I already told you the rates" and "there is no way you have a 6pm appointment, our times lots are at 6:15." Beyond unprofessional, bring your money somewhere else like Ballroom Philadelphia. read more

I started salsa classes at Moving Image Dance Academy about 4 weeks ago. Already I feel like my posture and form have changed for the better. I feel like I not only look like I am having fun and no the moves but I feel like I am learning the technique of a professional. I was a professional ballet/modern dancer for 3 years in Chicago and Atlanta. I trained in ballet technique for 15 years. After my dance career ended I started another profession that did not allow me to dance as often. I totally appreciate Ken's teaching. He takes time to make sure I understand the technique which is very important in avoiding injury. In addition, understanding the technique of one form of latin dancing can help you adapt to another form easier. I would choose Moving Image Dance Academy again! read more

My partner decided about 3 weeks before our ceremony in Vegas that he wanted to have a special dance. He chose Ken from Moving Image Dance Academy. I was very concerned with the short amount of time that we had and didn't want to look foolish at our commitment ceremony. I clearly am not a dancer, but Ken was methodical and patient with us. We had a crash course with 3 or 4 lessons a week, plus assigned practice on our own. Ken helped us select the music, taught us the basic steps, gave us a big opening and taught us 4 or 5 other moves that we could mix in during the dance. I am pleased to say that we pulled it off. We could not have done this with Ken's instruction. I highly recommend him. read more

I haven't been there yet and just spoke with Ken about pricing, scheduling and basic information about the studio: he was kind, articulate and honest about what I could expect about Moving Image Dance Academy's services. His willingness to speak with me for nearly 30 minutes, answering all of my questions with a sincere and earnest attitude, is an illustration of the service they provide! I look forward to taking lessons with them in the very near future! read more

It's not like it ruined our wedding or anything (our first dance actually went great), but my wife and I really regret going with Ken. FWIW--my good friend and his fiancé also went to Ken and reported a similarly negative experience that makes me think it was a trend rather than us being an outlier. And this is my only negative review of all the wedding vendors that we hired, so I promise I am not just a Negative Nancy. Neither of us are great classically trained dancers, so our expectations were realistic. We just wanted to have a fun time and learn a few basic moves for our big day. Pros: * He does seem to care deeply about your wedding dance, and wants you to have a great first dance * He gives you focused attention throughout the 45-minute lessons * I'm definitely not the best judge of this, but he does seem to know his stuff when it comes to the technical aspects of ballroom dancing. * The location he uses (Ethical Society on Rittenhouse Square) is nice, and was very convenient for us * He really stresses the fundamentals of dance, which I suppose would be helpful if the goal was to lay the foundation for years of dance instruction. Wasn't our goal, but if it is yours than he might be worthwhile. Cons: * I found him to be an extremely poor teacher. We would do a very simple step (literally walking forward together), and he would stop us to point out that our elbows weren't high enough, and then spend 5-10 minutes explaining to us the importance of that fact. It was like "dude, I get it!". He does a particularly poor job of "reading the room" in terms of helping you get better. I happen to be more of a learn by doing kind of person (I get better by just getting a lot of reps in), but he's really more of a teach by explaining kind of person, who would go on these long diatribes about fundamentals that really eat into the lesson time. * I don't think he was deliberately wasting our time, but he does cost a lot, which was compounded by the fact that he is a very slow teacher who charges by the minute. It really sucked out a lot of the fun that we were hoping to have out of the whole process. We took 6 lessons with him, and still had only learned ~4 steps, so ended up just giving up and doing our own thing on our wedding day. We are admittedly not world-class dancers, but that seems ridiculous. * He is really not great if you are, like us, just looking to have a fun time, not take yourselves too seriously, and learn a few basic moves to not embarrass yourselves on a first dance. * The previous points probably contributed to this, but I found him to be a bit rude, self-concerned and living in his own world. read more

My husband and I have been taking dance lesson from Moving Image Dance Academy with Ken since about early November, 2011. We schedule about 1 or 2 dance lessons weekly. My husband and I have never taken any lessons prior. We decide to do it as a way to get away from every day hustle with work and kids. From day one Ken has been extremely patient with us especially with my husband. He never becomes frustrated or harps on the imperfections. Always looking to make sure we have the basics down and progressing forward. Teaching us how one step evolves into another among many things. He has never promoted his company as the best, when asked questions he answered then honestly and openly. I feel he made me and my husband very comfortable. Letting us know its okay to make mistakes, he points them out and show you exactly what you are doing that is incorrect and how to improve it for the next time. When demonstrating moves he gives us clear reasons why it is done that way and what happens if done incorrectly. He is so patient in teaching my husband that I become frustrated with my husband concerning my husband's steps. I feel we made a great choice in choosing this company. We don't mind paying one session in advance, it actually helps commit us to our next lesson. He promptly returns my husbands call and is flexible at rescheduling lessons when we have conflicts. We do not feel like we have to chase him down. I just learned that they received THE BEST OF PHILADELPHIA 2011 AWARD FOR DANCE LESSONS. I can see why! I want to CONGRATULATE Ken and the company on this award. read more

Just stay away. My wife and I took lessons from Ken and it is not worth it. We have been married for 20 years and have taken lessons from various instructors over the years when we lived in New York and Denver and Delaware. Compared to other dance teachers, Ken is pushy and inconsiderate. Not worth your time or money. read more

Moving Image Dance Academy is a great place to learn dancing, even if you have two left feet. Skilled instructors help you every step of the way, and always make you feel comfortable about learning. read more

Moving Image Dance Academy is an great place to learn. The dancers there are very encouraging and they go out of their way to help you have fun while learning. I highly recommend this studio. read more

My fiance and I took dance lessons with Ken and the Moving Image Dance Academy partly because the organization had been twice awarded Philadelphia's Best Dance Studio! We were not disappointed - in no time at all we were gliding and moving all over the floor. Ken is patient, kind and most important - he knows his craft! My fiance and I worked hard to learn the various dance moves, but the money and the time were well spent. Ken told us the importance of wearing the proper shoes when dancing. On at least one occasion I goofed and wore the wrong shoes - I never made that mistake again! My fiance and I enjoy the classes so much that we intend to continue taking classes with Ken long after we're married. I would definitely recommend Ken and the Moving Image Dance Academy if you are interested in private, affordable and professional dance instruction. read more

I've had an awesome experience learning to dance at Moving Image Dance Academy. The studio is located in Rittenhouse, my favorite area of the city. Their fees are very reasonable, especially for this neighborhood. I've been taking private lessons with Ken and find him to be a fantastic teacher, very patient and kind, and a really accomplished professional dancer. He's great at breaking everything down into easy to understand concepts and teaching the all important technique and style of the various dances, all while making sure to keep a sense of humor about it all. I've learned so much and look forward to learning a lot more. read more