Private Social Ballroom, Wedding & West Coast Swing lessons.
Try your first lesson for $30 — and learn what's possible when you dance.
The Joyful Movement Way
Dance is a journey, not a destination.
Whether you're chasing a wedding-dance dream, polishing your social-floor confidence, or finally signing up for that thing you've wanted to try since high school — Joyful Movement is built to meet you where you are and walk the road with you.
Every lesson works on connection, steps, musicality, confidence, balance, and the small details that turn 'doing the dance' into 'dancing.' Couples leave each lesson with more than just patterns — they leave with shared language, shared rhythm, and shared joy.
What We Teach
Waltz — slow, smooth, the wedding-dance classic
Tango — drama, intention, and connection
Foxtrot — versatile and social-floor friendly
Rumba — slow, romantic, and great for first dances
Cha-Cha — playful, sharp, and infectiously fun
East Coast Swing — the gateway swing dance, bouncy and joyful
West Coast Swing — smooth and modern; I teach BOTH contemporary and ballroom styles, depending on what you want
Salsa — hot, social, and full of personality
Merengue — easy to learn, fun for parties and weddings
Night Club Two Step — slow and romantic, dances to almost any modern love song
Try It First — The $30 Intro Lesson
Brand-New Dancers Only — $30 Intro Lesson
Curious but not sure where to start?
The Intro Lesson is for you.
What's included (45 minutes total):
• 30 minutes of actual dancing — we'll get you moving from the first minute
• 15 minutes of conversation — your goals, the packages that fit your budget, and a clear next step
No commitment beyond the lesson. If we're a fit, we'll book your first package. If we're not, you've still learned something and had fun.
Social Dance Packages
For couples and singles working on connection, musicality, confidence, balance, and the dances they love. Packages aren't designed to be 'done' at the end — they're designed to walk you further into the joy of partner dance, lesson by lesson.
Every lesson is 45 minutes. Every package is for one student or one couple (you and your partner share the lessons).
Contact me for group private lesson pricing.
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$125
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$580 (save $45)
Expires: 3 Months from purchase
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$1,100 (save $110)
Expires: 6 Months from purchase
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$1,875 (save $625)
Expires: 12 Months from purchase
Wedding Dance Packages
Every couple's first dance is different — and every package is built to meet you where you are. From a friendly walkthrough of your song to a fully-custom choreographed first dance with edited music, here's what each tier includes.
Note* These packages are only for those wedding couples preparing for their first dance. Packages expire on the date of the scheduled wedding + 30 day grace period.
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$340 (save $35)
What’s Included: Your song, 2–3 steps, and a brief intro & ending (time permitting).
Best For: Couples who want to feel comfortable on the floor without a full choreography.
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$750 (save $125)
What’s Included: 5–7 steps, a polished intro & closer, more musicality and confidence, and (if you prefer) a repeating pattern you can rely on.
Best For: Couples who want a more put-together first dance without going fully custom.
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$1200 (save $300)
What’s Included: Everything in the 7-lesson package, plus full custom choreography from start to finish, styling, and professional music editing of your song.
Best For: Couples who want a true 'this is OUR dance' moment — fully customized.
Studio On Third
102 3rd Ave SW, Cedar Rapids
Parking: On the street OR there is a parking lot behind the building with spots marked for “Studio on Third".”
Studio Policies
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Please cancel at least 2 hours before your lesson to avoid being charged. Unforeseen emergencies are not included in this policy — life happens, and we'll work it out together.
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The $30 Intro Lesson is for brand-new students only — one per couple. Returning students book at the regular rate.
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Standard lessons are 45 minutes with optional 5 minutes video recap.
Intro lessons are 45 minutes total (30 minutes of dancing + 15 minutes of conversation about goals).
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Social packages expire from the date of purchase: 5-lesson (3 months), 10-lesson (6 months), 20-lesson (12 months).
Wedding packages expire on your wedding date, with a 30-day grace period after.
Packages are non-transferable.
Unused lessons cannot be refunded once the first lesson has been taken, but may be credited toward a different package at Christina’s discretion.
Lesson pauses for illness or significant life events are considered on a case-by-case basis — just reach out.
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Joyful Movement carries professional liability insurance. All new students are required to sign a liability release with the studio before their first lesson. This is a one-time requirement and covers the duration of your time as a student.
Meet Your Instructor
I’m Christina, and I have been dancing since I was ten years old.
By the end of high school I knew it was something I’d do for the rest of my life — so at eighteen I started teaching at our local ballroom studio.
Twenty-six years later, dance is still one of the great loves of my life. I’ve trained extensively in ballroom, earning up through Silver level, and I continue learning from other professionals whenever the opportunity comes.
Life as a wife and mother shifted how I teach, lessons are now something I offer from rented studio floor time, on my schedule that accommodates my family, for students who really wanted to learn.
Today I work with wedding couples preparing for their first dance and social dancers who want to feel at home on any floor. I also dream of building a West Coast Swing club and bringing dance fitness classes to this community — watch this space.
I teach because I believe everyone deserves to know what it feels like to move with confidence, connection, and joy. Whether you’ve never danced a step or you’re looking to polish what you already have — you belong here.
I believe everyone needs to learn how to dance — not because it’s a skill to check off a list, but because dance is a language. It’s a conversation between two people, and an interpretation of the music you’re both listening to. When you truly dance with someone, you’re saying something words can’t quite reach. That silent language — the lead and follow, the weight and response, the shared listening — is something every couple can learn, and it does something beautiful that ordinary conversation simply can’t. It’s freeing. I’ve seen it open something up in brand-new couples finding their rhythm together for the first time, and I’ve seen it rekindle something in empty nesters who finally have the floor to themselves again after years of raising a family. The dance floor has a way of meeting you exactly where you are.
Twenty-six years of saying yes to dance has taken me to some unexpected places. I’ve taught wedding couples, seasoned social dancers, and — in one of my favorite stories — a monk who pulled me aside at a campfire gathering and asked for a quick swing lesson on the spot. I obliged. His superiors were not entirely thrilled. The gathering, by the way, was a Catholic young adult camp — the very same one where I met my husband. So you could say dance has been good to me.