The Zebra Room Introduce
For residents across Orlando and the wider Florida region seeking to add a unique flair to their special occasions or simply to discover the joy of dance, The Zebra Room stands out as an exceptional local resource. More than just a dance studio, it's a creative hub where personalized instruction and memorable choreography come to life. Specializing in crafting custom dance routines for weddings and other significant events, The Zebra Room helps individuals and couples shine on the dance floor, creating moments that family and friends will talk about for years to come.
What truly sets The Zebra Room apart is the highly praised expertise and creative genius of its instructor, Olivia. As glowing testimonials from local clients reveal, Olivia has a remarkable ability to take even reluctant dancers and transform them into confident performers, making the learning process fun, engaging, and remarkably effective. Whether you're a groom looking to surprise his bride with a spunky mother-son dance or a couple aiming for a beautifully choreographed first dance, The Zebra Room provides a supportive and inspiring environment to achieve your vision right here in the heart of Orlando, Florida.
The Zebra Room is conveniently nestled at 2609 Gowen St, Orlando, FL 32806, USA. This accessible location positions it just southeast of Downtown Orlando, making it easily reachable for residents throughout the city and surrounding Central Florida communities. It's situated approximately one block west of the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Bumby Street, a well-known area in Orlando.
Finding The Zebra Room is straightforward, even though it's described as being "behind the house at 2609 Gowen Street" and "next to A Child's Place Day Care Center." The entrance to the parking area is notably found by turning right onto Jersey Street from Gowen Street, leading to an open lot. The studio itself is clearly visible from Jersey Street. Ample free parking is available in the open lot accessed from Jersey Avenue, and additional street parking can often be found on Jersey or Gowen. The studio entrance is from the back porch, accessible from the parking area, leading to a raised wooden deck. This accessibility makes it a practical and stress-free destination for private lessons and special event preparations for Floridians.
The Zebra Room specializes in personalized dance instruction, particularly for special events, and fosters a vibrant community for social dancing. Their services are designed to cater to various needs and skill levels.
Wedding Dance Choreography: This is a core service, providing custom routines for:
- First Dances: Tailored choreography for the newlywed couple's first dance, adapted to their chosen song, skill level, and desired style. Lessons focus on making couples feel poised and at ease.
- Mother-Son Dances: Creative and unique routines, as highlighted by a client, for the groom and his mother.
- Father-Daughter Dances: Personalized choreography for this traditional and heartwarming moment.
- Bridal Party Dances: Fun group choreography for the entire bridal party to perform.
- Wedding Workshops: Hour and a half lessons designed for family and bridal parties, requiring a minimum of three couples, perfect for a quick group lesson.
Private Dance Lessons: One-on-one instruction for individuals or couples. These lessons are highly personalized, focusing on specific goals, whether it's learning a new dance style, refining technique, or preparing for a performance. Olivia is praised for her ability to give personalized attention.
Custom Choreography: Beyond weddings, Olivia has a reputation for being able to create choreography for "any song," meeting specific creative visions for various events or personal projects.
Ballroom Dance Instruction: The studio is described as a "ballroom studio," suggesting expertise in a range of ballroom styles. The website mentions offering instruction in Ballroom, Latin, and Swing, including specific styles like Salsa, Bachata, Zouk, and Argentine Tango.
Group Dance Classes: While private lessons and special event choreography are prominent, The Zebra Room also serves as "The Home of Orlando's Tango Dance Community" and offers open classes, such as Salsa partner work and footwork classes, as per their calendar. This provides opportunities for social dancing and learning in a group setting.
Professional Expertise: Instructor Olivia Gale brings over 30 years of experience as a dancer, teacher, choreographer, actor, and writer, with a degree in Theater and Dance from FSU. Her background includes Jazz, Tap, Ballet, as well as Ballroom, Latin & Swing, providing a vast breadth of knowledge.
The Zebra Room in Orlando offers a distinctive set of features and highlights that make it a highly desirable choice for dance instruction and special event preparation in the Florida community.
Expert and Engaging Instructor (Olivia Gale): The most consistently praised highlight is Olivia herself. She is described as "amazing to work with," "creative," "awesome," and able to make even reluctant dancers "have fun." Her ability to personalize choreography and connect with students sets the studio apart.
Customized and Unique Choreography: The studio excels at creating "fun, spunky, funny, with some wow factor" routines that are "exactly the way I imagined" and "uniquely special." This bespoke approach ensures that each dance reflects the client's personality and vision.
Results-Oriented Teaching: Clients consistently report impressive outcomes, with families "still talking about it!" and guests being "so impressed" by the dances. The focus is on ensuring dancers "look good and WOW their guests."
Supportive and Encouraging Environment: Reviews highlight that Olivia makes clients "feel so comfortable throughout every step" and "at ease and confident," even for "first time dancers" or those who claim to have "two left feet." This nurturing atmosphere is key to successful learning.
Focus on Practical Application: For wedding dances, Olivia teaches a "solid foundation in lead and follow" so couples "will be able to handle whatever happens on the dance floor," emphasizing practical skills over just memorizing steps.
Versatile Dance Offerings: Beyond wedding dances, The Zebra Room is described as "The Home of Orlando's Tango Dance Community," indicating a wider range of ballroom, Latin, and social dance classes and events available to the public, catering to both seasoned dancers and newcomers.
Elegant and Inviting Studio Space: The "ballroom studio boasts a spacious and elegant design, featuring a large, meticulously maintained dance floor." The ambiance is described as "warm and inviting," creating a perfect environment for dancing and socializing.
Rich History: Since 1997, The Zebra Room has been a "special and unique place for dancing and creative events in the heart of Orlando," offering a long-standing legacy of dance instruction and community building.
To inquire about wedding dance packages, private lessons, or general dance classes, you can reach The Zebra Room using the following contact details:
Address: 2609 Gowen St, Orlando, FL 32806, USA
Phone: (407) 494-5941
Mobile Phone: +1 407-494-5941
For the most up-to-date class schedules, event information, and booking details, it is recommended to visit their official website or contact them directly via phone or email.
For residents of Orlando and the surrounding Florida communities, The Zebra Room stands as an invaluable local gem, particularly for those looking to make their special occasions truly unforgettable through the magic of dance. Its suitability for locals is profoundly rooted in its highly personalized approach and the exceptional talent of its lead instructor, Olivia. Whether it's a pivotal wedding first dance, a heartwarming mother-son performance, or simply a desire to learn ballroom and social dances, this studio delivers results that consistently exceed expectations, turning apprehension into confidence and moments into lasting memories.
The comfortable, supportive, and fun atmosphere ensures that even those with no prior dance experience feel at ease and genuinely enjoy the learning process. The ability to create "fun, spunky, funny, with some wow factor" choreography tailored to individual personalities and specific songs means that every dance at The Zebra Room is truly unique and reflective of the clients themselves. Beyond special events, its role as a hub for Orlando's tango and wider social dance community offers continuous opportunities for locals to engage in a fulfilling and active hobby. For Floridians seeking expert dance instruction in a welcoming environment, especially for those once-in-a-lifetime moments, The Zebra Room on Gowen Street is an undeniable asset to the Orlando community.
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The Zebra Room Reviews
My son (the groom) & I (groom's mom) cooked up an idea to do a fun dance to entertain his bride. We chose Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars.Olivia was amazing to work with and was creative in exactly the way I imagined. We wanted something fun, spunky, funny, with some wow factor and she didn't disappoint. We worked hard and she contributed to a wonderful and uniquely special bonding time that nothing else could have come close to providing. Thank you Olivia for all your work. The extended families are still talking about it!
Jan 18, 2018 · Cheryle FryeOlivia is awesome! My fiancé was not a dance but he actually had fun and was asking me when our next dance lesson was. Everyone at the wedding loved our dance and were so impressed. You won’t regret selecting Olivia!!
Feb 17, 2019 · Jenna MillerLet me just say, I am someone who will go out of my way to write someone a stellar review when I have a good experience, and I was hoping this would be one of those good reviews, but unfortunately, Olivia has left a TERRIBLE taste in my mouth. Let me start by saying when we arrived at her "private dance studio," she REEKED like alcohol and we are 99.9% sure she was drunk as she kept asking us the same questions over and over and her breath had a strong scent of alcohol on it. The dancing was decent though.So we paid on the spot for 4 sessions upfront, which we felt very pressured into doing.My fiance has a career that is extremely demanding, and highly unpredictable, so it's very hard for us to find time to do things and plan. Not to mention we decided to proceed with our postponed wedding 2 months prior to the date, so we had A LOT of planning to do in just two months and were getting bombarded with last-minute things he had to do for his job. It has been a very stressful and extremely busy wedding planning process.I called Olivia to say we were 3 weeks out from our wedding and my fiance was called to head out of town for the next couple of weeks and will return right before the wedding, so we'd be unable to attend future lessons and would like to recieve the unused funds back. She had the nerve to say "Oh you think you're busy? Well so is everyone else!" And then had the nerve to say "Well it sounds like he's very successful so I'm not refunding you" insinuating that we could afford to lose the money for the dance lessons we paid for upfront but would be unable to attend. Then she said she could not talk about this right now and hung up on me! I was literally so shocked and absolutely appalled at the horrible customer service and unprofessionalism, especially after seeing so many of her good reviews. I felt so mistreated as a client and will 1000% NOT be recommending this business as no one who is paying for a service deserves to be treated this way, especially in this stressful climate we are in in this world. Especially a freaking BRIDE. Like where's at least a sliver of compassion?Take this for what it's worth, but just know what you're getting yourself into. She might be good at dance but she is INCREDIBLY unprofessional and did not leave us on a good note at all.
Dec 03, 2020 · Alyssa MuellerFantastic, bachata and some salsa dancing. Great dancers from beginners to advance.
Apr 29, 2023 · Arthell Strobles (Black Jesus 23)Lots of parking. AC was cold. Bathrooms were clean. Was a nice place to go dance. Keep up the good work!
Dec 18, 2017 · Antonio Lopez
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