Start The Dance – On The Right Foot with Jess Brichto

When you’re planning a wedding, there’s a hella lot to remember. Flowers? Check. Venue? Check. Speeches? Check. Drinks? Check. Spouse to be? Check. But there’s one thing you might not think of immediately: the first dance with your newly wedded husband or wife.

A quick survey of the ooh team suggests that we would be, at best, ill prepared for any kind of high profile dance situation involving multiple witnesses. But that’s where Jess Brichto at Start The Dance steps in.

We asked Jess where the idea to give couples-to-be dancing lessons came from: ‘My mother-in-law had been to many weddings where she’d agonised over watching couples step on each others’ toes and sway embarrassingly from side to side. As I was a dancer, I thought it would be a good idea to help brides and grooms shine on their big day.’

We wanted to know what kind of couples Jess deals with: ‘There are two types. The first is the “youtube” type – they want to perform and entertain their guests- they want some serious cheers and whoops. Their dance is most likely to include dips, twirls and even lifts!’

‘The other type couldn’t think of anything worse and merely want confidence. They want to know how to hold each other and move in a natural way to avoid that embarrassing shuffle!’

We asked Jess if there are any other dance classes she runs: ‘a team of us that work for Start The Dance and we cover all styles including Bollywood and Bellydance! We’ve had teachers in peoples’ homes to spruce up a dinner party, at hen parties, offices to add a bit of dazzle to a lunch break, schools and colleges.’

‘We’ve taught single people for a bit of extra confidence before an all important date and huge groups at events and festivals too.’

We wanted to know what people enjoy most about this, save knowing they won’t be horribly embarrassed on their wedding day by their rhythmical ineptitude. ‘People say that the lessons are enormous fun. Planning a wedding can be a huge pressure and dance lessons are often the best way to spend time together amidst the chaos to relax and have fun. At the end of all our classes you can tell that everyone has had a great time.’

We asked Jess if she had any good stories to share and she produced this gem: ‘For a corporate event I had taught a team of bosses to dance to ‘Hot stuff’ to amuse their employee’s. As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough the first time round, their staff made them do it all again at the end of the night!’ We’re hoping to nab Jess for the next ooh party…

We wanted to know how many couples Jess teches a year: ‘Around 1000. About a third of people who contact me are grooms and the other two thirds are brides. It’s the modern day – boys have to do their bit you know!’

So boys, drop Jess and email here or visit www.startthedance.co.uk to save yourself the shame of dancing like a chimp on that special day!