Arthur Murray Franchised Dance Studios

We received an intro package of dance lessons as a gift. My husband was not looking forward to the experience as much as I was. However, under the instruction of Jonny, he ended up enjoying himself and gained a lot from the experience. Jonny was able to give us some great tips and make us feel comfortable and more confident on the dance floor. We did not experience a hard sell at all, which we really appreciated.
The studio is nice and the ambience is fun. Yesterday my entire mood changed after entering the studio for our lesson. I had had a difficult weekend and a hard day at work and it was all erased in moments. Thank you Jonny!

It took me long time to write this review because many of the instructors and people involved are relatively close acquaintances. First the good — a highly professional atmosphere and some excellent instructors can be found here, and if you are lucky you will get one of them.
Also a great and friendly crowd of students.
The downside is the hard sell. You will learn pretty quickly the subtle undertones of ‘pay up and we will continue to be exceptionally nice to you.’ New reasons are found weekly easily for shedding more money.
There is a lot of emphasis on ‘competitions’ and I felt pressurized into following their schedule and learning multiple dances. Also look up ‘Glassdoor” for Arthur Murray Employment practices. Gives you pause for consideration.
Having said that if money is not an issue this may be a good place for you.

Great dancing system, friendly and knowledgable staff and a tailored program. My husband and I had so much fun dancing together for the first time here!
HOWEVER, from the moment you walk in, be prepared for the Hard Sell. I bought a 5-​lesson intro pack for my husband, and although we loved the dancing, the really pushy salesmanship from the moment we walked in the door slightly tainted the experience for us.
We may very well continue dancing here, but the steep prices for a lesson package and pushy sales tactics are keeping us in the «thinking about it» category.
If you want to learn to dance, and money is absolutely no object, come here — you won’t regret it! Otherwise, think carefully first.
Why 3 stars instead of 1 star?
1. The instruction really was tons of fun and the Arthur Murray system is a strategy that’s quite organized, clear and effective.
2. At the end of our package, when we explained that we would have to take at least 6 months away from dancing due to prior commitments, our instructor didn’t try to insist that we buy lessons immediately (not a time-​share level of selling — think car dealership).
3. Friends of ours tried a different studio in the area for wedding dance lessons and had exactly the same experience — hard sell from the beginning, and exorbitant prices for lessons. Apparently, this is par for the course.
Another reviewer posted about a very similar experience. Sadly, I didn’t see the post until after we went, or I would have felt far more prepared.

After trying several studios in my visit to Scottsdale, hands down Arthur Murray Dance Studio has the highest level of instruction and teachers in the area. It’s all great fun, great classes, and I always left with that «high» you get when you just accomplished something new! Of course dance lessons cost money, but I’m willing to pay a bit more to work with champion teachers than pay only a little bit to work with someone who doesnt have style and technique.

My husband I had a blast learning to dance here. The people are very nice and the instructors know their stuff and are experts in teaching it. That said, I must give warning to anyone who signs up for their introductory lessons to prepared for the HARD SELL. We fell for it and it wasn’t made clear to us what we were getting into. Basically, the monthly payment we negotiated (that we could just barely afford) for our lessons effectively made us more and more indebted to them every month without our knowledge. They were giving us lessons beyond what we were paying for. When we decided to call it quits we owed them quite a bit of money! We only got 8 lessons into the 16 we committed to before they approached us to sign up for a higher level and commit MORE money. Thank God they did because that’s when we figured out that we already owed them quite a bit. If you have the means to afford $ 600 a month, I highly recommend this place. If you don’t, please learn from us and don’t fall for the «we can make it work for you» spiel.

One year ago I decided it was finally time to learn how to dance. Specifically I wanted to know how to two-​step. Of the many options available, I decided to try Arthur Murray Scottsdale and that proved to be one of the best decisions of my life. The staff and instructors are exceptionally talented. Not only are they amazing dancers, they are also incredible instructors, and genuinely great people. They use a well thought out curriculum from the Arthur Murray organization that makes it very easy to learn the basics and then build on that foundation. I am having so much fun learning to dance that I did not stop at just learning to two-​step. Ballroom dancing is so much more than I ever imagined. It has been a truly life enhancing experience that will enrich me for the rest of my life. Thank you everyone at Arthur Murray Scottsdale. If you want to learn how to dance, there is no better place!

Wasn’t sure I’d like it at first but my wife made me go. It touch and go there for a while but I ended enjoying myself quite a bit. We’re having fun, reconnecting, and generally just making a fool of ourselves. lol
Seriously, if in doubt, just give it a try.