The Local Dance Professionals

Pearl is simply amazing and you’d be a fool not to book her.
To get an idea, I have no dance background and have avoided dance for decades simply because I’m a slow learner, I’m easily confused with patterned steps, I get frustrated quickly such that I give up, and I look like Elaine on Seinfeld when I dance.
I came to Pearl with a simple mission: teach me how to dance country in one month so that I could ask a special lady, «May I have this dance?» I was ambitious. I wanted to learn El Paso, Schottische, Sidekick, and Shadow in no more than one month to be adequately prepared to dance at Nashvilles in Rochester, NY. Pearl wasn’t phased. She didn’t think I was crazy for trying such a stunt and she was confident I could succeed [even though I wasn’t so sure despite assigning myself this mission]
Pearl didn’t know the country couples dances and i was fully aware of that when I signed up with her. It’s very clear on her website what she is versed in. But, she’s a professional dancer and an experienced teacher. All she had to do was look at videos of the dance styles a time or two and she had it down immediately. It was unbelievably amazing to someone like me who would watch for hours just to fail.
I truly did learn ALL of those dance styles in one short month. And although I didn’t get the chance to ask that special lady that one night, I have since discovered that I enjoy country dancing immensely and I can thank Pearl for fostering that development and confidence.
Now, I’ve asked Pearl to take me through her unique dance program to learn the language of dance and apply it to Country Two Step. It’s not memorizing steps, patterns, or combinations. It’s like learning concepts, theories, and vocabulary so that when you take your follower on the dance floor, you have all you need, to dance however you feel, in that very moment. I’m not stressed out about, okay first I turn her, then I put her in a wrap, then into a neck wrap, then switch places, then go into cape position… now, «Finish her!!» [Mortal Kombat reference] No, I do what I feel and I have fun with it, every time.
I’ve only had a few of those lessons so far and it works. I get comments from long time country dancers who are surprised that I’ve only been learning for less than 2 months [which is really more like 1 month because of the other dance mission] And, I notice that I don’t learn as well in other classes who are trying to teach memorization of combinations; all my anxieties return and, more importantly, I don’t remember their lesson. I remember Pearl’s.
Pearl is very kind, patient, energetic, and effectively communicative in both her words and actions. It makes for a great lesson each time. If you want to learn how to dance, whether the style is listed on her website or not, just ask her, and put your trust in her that she won’t let you fail — because she absolutely won’t.
PS — for all you brides and grooms to be that are looking for help with their 1^st wedding dance event, I personally got to see a couple grow from rigid timidness to graceful fluid movements in 7 lessons. The choreography that Pearl created fit their chosen song so well. Altogether, it was very heartfelt, endearing and awesome.

This review is way over due and we owe Pearl a lot more than just a Unilocal review. She was phenomenal right from the beginning! She was quick to respond and following our first lesson with her, she had our entire dance choreographed and ready to start practicing a couple days later. Her choreography is so much fun and she doesn’t give you anything she doesn’t think you will be able to perform. Our families and friends were shocked when we came out and performed our surprise first dance. We’re are still hearing about it 4 months later. Pearl is ball of fun to work with and our time with her was much needed comic relief in the stressful wedding planning months. I can not recommend her enough!

Pearl was amazing in helping us prepare for our first wedding dance. She helped us get ready in just a few lessons, was friendly and engaging, and we ended up with a great dance for the wedding. In addition, the lessons themselves were fun and a great way for my wife and I to spend some time together in the run-​up to the wedding. She also worked with our crazy schedules and fit us in late at night and on weekends. She was wonderful, and I hope that we can find the time to return in the future for some additional lessons.

I cannot say enough good things about Pearl. I’m a former competitive dancer and my fiancé has two left feet. I wanted to learn a fun first dance for our wedding and Pearl has been a godsend. She choreographed a routine to showcase both of our strengths. Our lessons are super fun and upbeat, and Pearl works with even the most complicated schedules. I can’t say enough good things. You won’t be disappointed!

Pearl has been a godsend to us in preparing for our first dance for our wedding. She is very creative and was able to take our ideas and make them reality, even for those who are not used to dance.
She was great to work with too because of her patience and her ability to work us into her busy schedule when we really needed it. We were very pleased with our sequences and had a lot of fun learning them.

Pearl did an amazing job preparing us for our first dance at our wedding! She put in a lot of time and effort on us and we really appreciated it.

Dancing with Pearl has changed my life! For the past 4 months, I have been taking lessons with her twice a week. And while I initially intended to learn the basic steps of Latin dances, I realize now that I have not learned that at all. Instead, I have learned so much more! Pearl does not teach dances and dance steps per se. She teaches the dancer. Rather than teaching steps of a dance in a mechanical way, Pearl teaches the dancer to feel out the unique, distinct heartbeat of each dance style and, at the same time, to recognize, understand, and play around with the patterns that are universal to every dance, no matter the style or music.
Maybe the biggest lesson that I have learned from Pearl is that there is a dancer within each of us. And it has been so liberating to uncover and discover this part of myself. But, there are on all these smaller, little life lessons that I have picked up from Pearl, like the importance of communication. I am reminded from Pearl that, just as two dancers must communicate clearly (through the «push» or «pull» of their hands, the opening or closing of their bodies, etc.) in order to create shapes in the air, I must also communicate clearly with my teacher colleagues (co-​planning, sharing insight and resources, etc.) in order to create dynamic instruction and assessment. I was reminded, too, from Pearl that a good leader is also a good follower. And, so, I began to think that, just as a dance lead has to lead and be one step ahead of the follower and simultaneously respond to, follow, the dance follower, a teacher leader also has to lead and be one step ahead of her team and simultaneously understand and know when to follow the lead of other team members as well.
It goes without saying that Pearl really, truly has changed my life. It is such a blessing to be able to learn from her. Over these past 4 months, she has taught me to nurture the very inexperienced and young dancer within me and, at the same time, helped me grow as a human being. One day, I hope to be able to dance like Pearl, who dances like water, with grace and strength. I would also love for my boyfriend and I to work with her to choreograph a wedding dance at some point in the future! Until then, I am really just thankful and appreciative for all that Pearl has taught me. She has taught me about being a dancer. She has taught me about being myself. Pearl is a very special dance artist and teacher.

Pearl is a professional all the way. To prepare for my trip to Argentina, She helped me learn the basic techniques and etiquette of Argentine tango in a very limited time. Pearl uses a variety of methods to explain basic moves. And allows time to practice the steps. Her critical eye was just what I wanted to help me learn correctly, so I could build on the basics once I master them. She is patient and motivated to teach! Private lessons were extremely helpful since I am a dance beginner.

My husband and I are former ballroom teachers, and when we decided to get back into dancing we wanted to learn something new we hadn’t done before. We had the opportunity to see a couple that Pearl had taught do the Argentine tango at a local studio showcase and that made our decision for us. We wanted to look like Pearl’s students! So, we signed up for lessons with her and we are happily learning the basics and techniques of the Argentine tango from someone who is a real artist and teacher, not a dance lesson salesperson. We sent our son to her to learn the social ballroom dances as well, and she is equally proficient in that area. I highly recommend Pearl to anyone who wants to be a dancer in any of the various styles. She is a great teacher!

Over the years, I have trained under every instructor/​school in the DC area. One day an acquaintance convinced me to visit this relatively unknown instructor — she just doesn’t advertise much. I decided to make the trip and I’m glad I did. For instance, for years I have been trying to learn a particular move that kept eluding me and no matter who I went to, I just couldn’t quite get it. But in one private lesson with Pearl, I not only got it but pretty much mastered it. She is a very gifted instructor.

My girlfriend and I have been taking group Argentine Tango lessons with Perl for about a month now. She is great at making you feel comfortable, teaching you the technique, and explaining the moves in multiple ways to make sure you get it. I would highly recommend her to anyone interested in Argentine Tango!

Amazing! Pearl teaches not only moves but the reasoning behind it as we’ll as how to vary the move.