Arthur Murray Dance Studio Clackamas

"This place is awesome!!! The instructors and staff always make us feel welcome and help us better understand the love language and fun of ballroom dancing!! Everyone including the students are kind, positive, and just plain fun!!! Love this group who helped us fall in love with dancing all over again!!"

"Arthur Murray Clackamas is a special place! The vibe is always uplifting and inspiring. There is clearly an intentional effort to create a friendly and cheerful atmosphere without intimidation. If I can learn to dance, so can you!!"

"This is a very long review that covers pricing, studio experience, and instructors. It’s hard to jump into ballroom dancing with no prior exposure to it. In my research trying to find somewhere to learn to ballroom dance solo with no partner, I found that some people dislike Arthur Murray studios because it’s expensive, but after researching a couple of the other studios in my area I ultimately went with them- this Clackamas location specifically. There are a few reasons for this, but the #1 thing I love about Arthur Murray Clackamas is the instructors. I am a 32 year old woman who needed to learn solo. Ous is my instructor, and he is absolutely wonderful. He’s so patient, he’s an EXCELLENT lead, he teaches me dance in a way that makes sense to me - he uses examples from hobbies I have outside of dance and relates something from that, to the way I need to think of whatever we’re trying to do. Ous is my main instructor, but at Arthur Murray they will eventually ask you to have lessons with other instructors to get different exposure, which was a little nervous for me at first, but is so important to see other teaching and leading (or following, if you’re a leader) styles. Not only is Ous incredible, but every single instructor and staff member, as well as the studio manager are great. Ally is a very kind and humble dancer who moves with extreme grace and poise, and dances one of the best Waltz and Tangos I’ve seen. Madalin is incredibly graceful and is a master of arm and body movements and has a way of explaining things and breaking motion down piece by piece that makes sense. Grant is a fantastic leader with incredible energy and always has something kind to say about things he’s noticed I’ve improved. Jesse is hilarious and provides me the opportunity to learn how to dance with a leader who you can tell loves the flourish of dance and the opportunity to learn to adapt to unexpected surprises from a leader. And finally, Robyn, the “mother” of the studio and general manager, who goes out of her way to make sure all her students feel comfortable and happy, and does check ins even when it isn’t required, to ensure she’s fostering a safe and friendly dance environment for everyone. Of course, something that comes up when looking at studios is the price. The price for lessons here is objectively very high compared to other studios, but what I believe the Reason for this is, is that the group classes and practice parties are included in the cost I pay for my private lessons. (125-150 per private, 2 times per week) and the special balls every few months are 125-150 per ticket. For this price, Arthur Murray provides me excellent private instruction, an opportunity for group classes 3 times per week at no additional cost, and throws balls every few months to get the experience of a formal ballroom event regularly too. In the Portland metro area, I have done SO MUCH searching trying to find social dances and daytime lessons elsewhere. Most of the social dances and group lessons at places that aren’t Arthur Murray in my area are late at night, 9pm to 1am or around then, and because I wake up at 6am for work I can’t go socially dance at many of the places people do to get social exposure as well as group lessons. I don’t mind that Arthur Murray is “expensive” because for that cost, I get the rest of it included. For me, it’s worth the money. I’m a firm believer in “you get what you pay for” and at this studio, that’s extremely true. Another thing I also like about this studio, is that they teach you many different dances, and then you can hone in on the ones you prefer after experiencing all of them. If you don’t want to do a certain dance, you don’t have to. If you want to focus on one or two more then the others you can, but the opportunity to try everything is there. If you want to take two lessons with your fiancée for your wedding, they’ll facilitate that too. This place does it all and I could not be happier I chose them for my ballroom instruction."

"My fiance and I signed up for a few dance lessons about a month before the wedding. We were hoping to learn a few steps for our first dance, but what we received from Arthur Murray Clackamas was so much more than we could have ever hoped! The instructors are adaptable to your music preferences and personalities, and their encouragement and coaching gave us the confidence to look incredible at our wedding reception. We plan to continue with the dance lessons after the wedding because it was so much fun!"

"Arthur Murray teaches any type of partner dancing you can think of such as Waltz, Tango, Salsa, West Coast swing, etc. The organization excels at teaching adults with little or no dance experience. This is largely because of their syllabus and high quality instructor training program, IMO. I’ve come to appreciate Arthur Murray as my favorite way to get exercise and connect with music. It’s also been a fun way to meet new people in all stages of life. As a bonus, research shows that partner dancing prevents Alzheimer’s better than anything else. The pricing for their packages can initially cause sticker shock, but the pricing is actually quite comparable to the same services at other studios. The difference is that you pay for everything up front with Arthur Murray, and students progress much faster because of the way that they structure private lessons, group sessions, and practice parties."