Dance Lessons in Edina

Little did Arthur Murray know when he opened the Arthur Murray Dance Studio in 1912 that it would play an integral part in history. It was a dance studio that helped revolutionize direct mail advertising and led Murray to be the first person in the world to broadcast live dance music on the radio. By the 1930s, he had his instructors teaching new dances including “The Big Apple,” followed by the “Teeny Banana” on first-class steamship cruises. His instructors moved from steamships to big screens, teaching actors dance moves and starring in such films as Dirty Dancing and Saturday Night Fever. By then, the studio had inspired the hit song “Arthur Murray Taught Me Dancing In A Hurry” by Betty Hutton and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. Today, the studio’s name appears on the pages of Vogue, Martha Stewart Wedding, and Sports Illustrated.

Aside from remaining a presence in media and cities around the world, the Arthur Murray Dance Studio gets feet moving by teaching popular dances that include the cha-cha, fox trot, salsa, samba, and swing. The studio instructs on a variety of dances that help people look cool at bar mitzvahs, nightclubs, crosswalks, and anywhere dance is popular.:m]]

Mambo101 Dance Studio—founded by Omar Martinez—comprises two separate dance spaces that constantly pulse with the rhythms of salsa, mambo, and other Latin-style dances. Despite ample square footage, instructors only ever host one class at a time in each studio, ensuring that students can focus on the music as they learn the steps. They teach men’s and women’s steps with equal grace, partnering with students of either gender to show them the appropriate moves. Students need not come equipped with a partner either, as they’ll rehearse with the same group of individuals week after week, learning to dance with all their fellow students. Since shimmying, twirling, and sashaying can be sweaty work, the studio has showers where students can pretend it’s raining inside.