Manhattan Ballroom Society

The Manhattan Ballroom Society is a magical place--a true unicorn in NY. It is a warm and welcoming community of ballroom dance enthusiasts presided over by one of the nicest people you will ever meet: Stephen Dane. An excellent dance instructor and just a really sweet guy! His assistant, Nancy is a true gem. I have been dancing with them for several months and it has been a lot of fun. The Friday evening dance lesson followed by an open dance party is often the highlight of my week. Other reasons why MBS is so special: (i) it is very affordable ($20/lesson) AND (ii) you don't need to come with a partner! It is a round robin format and the more experienced dancers are very gracious and will generously dance with newbies. This is key for me as my husband does not (and will not) dance and I am a beginner who loves to dance. MBS has become my new "happy place"--thank you Stephen!

We started with the Manhattan Ballroom Society to choreograph our wedding dance over a year and a half ago. We loved it and instructor Stephen Dane so much that we have kept coming back ever since. They offer private lessons, group lessons, and a big dance every Friday night that starts with a “brush up” lesson in one style of dance right beforehand. The crowd is generally a bit older, but we’re in our 20s and we still love it.

The Manhattan Ballroom society has one of its locations at the basement of the St. Jean Baptiste church. This location features high ceilings unusual for a basement and spacious wooden floor ideal for ballroom dancing. Stephen Dane provides exceptionally well designed brush-up lessons in popular ballroom dances. The music is a bit old-fashioned but elegant and sweet. The crowd is friendly and giving a chance to dance to everybody.

Steve fully choreographed our first dance and taught us how to do it over the course of three or four private sessions with him. Our dance was amazing - people still talk about it, and multiple people said we looked like pros. Steve was so nice and patient with us throughout, even though neither of us had any dance experience at all. Thank you for giving us such confidence, and for making us look good in front of 150 guests on our big day!

Manhattan Ballroom Society is FANTASTIC. I agree with the other reviewers: Stephen Dane is an exceptionally talented instructor. He is not only a brilliant dancer, but a warm, intelligent and sensitive human being - such a rare combination in the world of performing arts. I studied with San Francisco Ballet for many years, and Mr. Dane is by far the best dance teacher I have ever encountered. It is a miracle that his classes are so affordable. I highly recommend Manhattan Ballroom Society - for private lessons leading to a special event, for group classes, for the Friday brush-up dance parties - but most of all, for the careful, detail-oriented, masterful instruction by Stephen and Nancy. Bravi!