Fred Astaire Dance Studio

First Time Dance Enthusiast… this studio is very friendly and the instructors are professional but fun! We love Taylor and our 2^nd lesson we attended a group session which was only a few people so you will have lots of personal attention. The Margarita Party was fun and we were able to watch other more experienced dancers to motivate us… Thank you to Fred Astaire West Loop Studio for having a Groupon to make getting started less intimidating financially. We are enjoying learning! This studio is 3 blocks west of Morgan/​Lake Green-​Pink Line so very convenient. There’s a lot of parking too.

We’ve been enjoying learning Rumba, Waltz, Cha Cha, and Tango for the past couple of months. Each lesson (one on one with an instructor) covers two different styles. Lessons are over a hundred dollars each for a couple, but that includes all the group classes too. So the price is the same as all of the other dance studios if you were to pay individually for a group class and an individual private class.
The individual attention to detail and proper form is unlike any other dance studio we’ve been to. They really help you to get it just right.
The environment is fun and easy going, and the weekly (free) parties are a nice bonus and a great place to practice. If you can afford it, I highly recommend learning to dance at the West Loop Studio.

Fred Astaire West Loop Dance Studio is a fun and energetic place that has become my home away from home. The professionals/​teachers are excellent, not only in teaching but in stepping in to offer advise on ways to do dance steps better. In being students for just over a year, my husband and I have competed in two dance competitions (and did very well) and were spectators at several others. Not only are the pros very talented dancers and patient and excellent teachers, the other students are fun and helpful and supportive in our learning. We have welcomed a whole new group of friends into our lives. And we get to exercise to great music!!!

I have been going to Fred Astaire dance studio for a long time and I highly recommend it. The dance instructors are talented and they are so dedicated and patient. I learn a lot during my lessons and I have so much fun while I am learning. There is a great atmosphere and the people are fun to be around. All the students are great and you get group lessons and practice dance parties as part of your private lessons. If you want opportunities to practice what you are learning, you can perform at a party, perform a showcase or even do a dance competition. The studio brings in professional coaches to choreograph routines and along with your instructors help bring your dancing to the next level. I highly recommend this studio. They offer so much.

My wife wanted to learn to dance and I got brought along. It turns out that the friendly instructors and other students actually made this a fun experience!
There wasn’t any sort of high pressure sales pitch, and the environment was easy-​going and welcoming. After going to about 6 classes over the past couple of months I can say that I’m glad that my wife wanted us to go. I’m still not a huge ballroom dance fan, but I love the fun time with my wife and the entertaining instructors. Their studio has free social parties several times a month that are always a good time. There are opportunities for us to meet other students and create new friendships. It’s a great studio overall.
I’ve been to several Latin Dance studios and this is a different culture with a lot more individual attention and structure in what, and how they teach. For the amount of individual instruction and included group classes and parties the price is really fair. I highly recommend the West Loop Fred Astaire Dance Studio.

My instructor was very nice, had the most disgusting rotten breath ever, and spent more time pushing a sales pitch down my throat instead of pushing me cross the dance floor.
I told him I wasn’t interested in buying more packages until I finished the one I had already bought. He had is colleagues come over and try to do persuade me into buying more packages.
I didn’t even go to my last two classes that I paid for because I didn’t feel like wasting more time listening to a sales pitch.
It’s a much better deal and same level of instructors down the street:-))

I went here after years of not dancing, and it was so much fun! There’s no pressure, and it just reminded me how much fun dancing is. Everyone’s super good natured, and not catty like some other ballroom cultures.

I bought a couple lessons through Living Social and it turned out to be a huge mistake. I ended up paying money for a really uncomfortable hour long high-​pressure sales pitch! I did the first lesson with a friend and ended up apologizing all the way home. There’s no way I’d go back for the second lesson. Traumatizing!

Tried them out via a Groupon and will not be back. We specifically went in with previous ballroom dance lessons and stated that we did not need to start from scratch for our private lesson. Unfortunately even after taking with the instructor and the owner about our previous lessons they gave us a lesson starting from the very basics of dancing! Total waste of money and time. Given that for $ 15 they couldn’t even tailor to a potential customers needs for 30 minutes, I can’t even imagine paying them hundreds more.

My dad and I took a class here to prepare for my wedding. We took a sample lesson where we learned the fox trot, rumba, and swing all in a half hour. I was skeptical as to how we’d learn three dances in a half hour, but amazingly, we were able to get the basic steps.
We were both beginners to ballroom dancing and my dad wasn’t totally sold on the idea, but we had a great teacher (yay Kelya!) who was actually able to get through to him and look past his sarcastic attitude. She actually made it fun related the steps to activities or things we were familiar with. She even played our song and showed us different steps that would work well (that wasn’t included in the «sample» lesson; Kelya just rocked).
We decided not to buy the wedding package, which included 4 private lessons, 2 group lessons, and something else (I forget), because it was a little pricey for what we wanted. We weren’t looking to be pros… just trying to make sure my feet wouldn’t get trampled by my dad.
I definitely recommend this place if you want just a basic lesson like I did, or if you’re more serious about ballroom dancing. The staff was very friendly and the studio space was great. Looks like a lot of fun!

Check out their website:
for a free coupon for 1 private dance lesson/​1 practice session — went there for fun with another couple and we had a blast — they also have another location in Chicago North and Tinley Park. They teach all different types of dance from the rumba to tango to swing to waltz. Since we were prepping for a wedding, we took a waltz class. The best part about our dance lesson was our instructor in how she made us laugh and we felt very comfortable as beginners.