January 3, 2012

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Dancing with the stars. Your first dance as husband and wife is more than just wedding tradition—it’s a public display of your union and a hint at how you’ll maneuver through life as a couple. That’s a lot of pressure, especially for someone who’s shy or has never had professional training, which is why Maksim Chmerkovskiy, a Latin ballroom dance professional of Dancing with the Stars fame, recommends taking lessons. “The most memorable part of the whole day is the first dance and it marks the first public activity as a married couple,” says the co-founder of Dance With Me dance studio in Ridgefield (201-941-7797; dancewithmeusa.com). “They will get the chance to show off their wonderful connection in an elegant and classy way if they are prepared with at least a basic social knowledge of partnership dancing.”

Chmerkovskiy recommends enrolling in lessons at least three months before your wedding date. “Three months is about how long it takes to become a comfortable social dancer,” he says, “which is the level a couple would need to achieve before dancing together in public.”

Diana and Neil Maganuco of Ridgefield started taking lessons at Dance With Me with instructor Srdjan Mikuljan almost 10 months before their July 2011 wedding at Il Tulipano in Cedar Grove. “The biggest challenge Neil and I had was communicating through dance,” Diana admits. “We’re both leaders. Srdjan showed us the importance of me not leading and allowing him to lead.”

Before choreographing their dance, Mikuljan trained the couple in a variety of dance styles. It wasn’t until three months before the wedding that they started learning the routine. “At that point, we already knew six or seven dances,” Diana says. “We definitely didn’t want something slow. We wanted a cha cha. That became our favorite dance to do.” If a couple doesn’t have a song in mind, their Dance With Me instructor will help them select one. The Maganucos chose “Forever” by Chris Brown. “Srdjan said any pop song is good for a cha cha,” Diana says. “We were looking for a photographer and it was one of the songs in a video montage. It just pulled on our heartstrings.”

Diana said her guests knew that they were planning on something unique for their first dance, but that they were surprised how professional it was. “It was very Dancing With the Stars,” she laughs. “Everyone was amazed how flawless it was. My mother had tears in her eyes. Neil’s mother had tears in her eyes.” The Maganucos would recommend taking lessons at Dance With Me to any engaged couple. “Srdjan was amazing,” Diana says. “It was the only time [during the wedding planning] that it was nobody else except me and him, two times a week. The dance kind of made a bond and a commitment that we were going to do this.” Dance With Me offers two packages for engaged couples. For more information, call the studio at 201-941-7797.