Top Hat Dance Studio

This evening I left the Top Hat Studio with my wife. It is my only day off and I drove 32 miles in traffic for an hour to get to the studio. I was so excited about getting here to learn different patterns and moves I was so disappointed. During the instruction when I asked a question on a step there was little to no support through the move. If your struggling through a move. You are shown twice maybe three times and then your moving on to another step. So if you did not get the move you’re SOL. How can you move to the next part of the instruction if your not clear what was explained to you. Every-​time I tried to ask the instructor something he said I’ll address that shortly, and addressed nothing… He ignored me for the hour and did NOT ever address anything with me! OMG I could not believe this. So I waited for him up against the wall because I did not want to disturb the class. I felt for the first time in my life like a wall flower while I was waiting for the instructor to talk to me. After the class was over you would think the instructor would maybe want to ask a new student (me) that was waiting for a half hour to speak to him maybe it would have been a good idea to address his issues of what he liked or didn’t like about the class. With the hope that he would want to provide excellent customer service. This would be good business sense… I think. It appeared to me that the instructor was not interested in helping me. When I asked the instructor to watch my wife and I dance after the class he told me I have no time I have to go to my next class. The instructor said if you want to ask questions you need a private lesson. What a mistake I wasted a day off. Everyone learns differently I need to watch a pattern of the dance and I could then pick up the move. My mad would have probably went away if I could have talked with someone like a manager/​owner to defuse the situation and have an intelligent conversation and have someone listen to my problem and provide me with a solution for me to get where i want to be. I have danced a New York hustle since I was 16 and traveled all over the NYC NJ Philly area to go to a club just to hustle. My goal for attending this class is my daughter is getting married so I wanted to tune up for the wedding but I have never been to a formal dance class. I was extremely excited to do this with my wife. Top Hat missed the mark and lost an enthusiastic couple that loves to dance. They lost an enormous opportunity to gain two more customers and possibly there friends.

We got vouchers for 6 group dance classes and we decided on trying to beginner salsa. We had a lot of fun even when we were lost and missing steps. Our class was taught by Jenn and was very knowledgeable and gave suggestions for practice locations and clubs outside of class. She also changed up each week who rotated partners the girls or the guys (we generally were lacking enough men in the class). From this experience I would consider taking classes individually or as a couple so we could work on fine tuning what our mistakes are and correcting them. I highly recommend the group classes as something fun and enjoyable to do whether you are solo, as a couple or with friends.

Great place to learn to dance — they offer group and private instruction by great instructors who really know what they’re doing and know how to dance. They also throw great monthly dance parties which are attended by some of the best social dancers in the area.

I can’t believe that this studio doesn’t have more reviews. I agree with the previous reviewers that the lessons are moderately priced and are reasonable. The parking is free (which is important, since one can pay as much for parking in center city as the cost of the class itself!) and the staff is very pleasant and responsive.
Before picking a studio, I sent a few emails out with questions and only Top Hat was prompt to reply. (In fact, they were the only ones who replied). I love the fact that there is no «initiation fee», no contracts to sign, etc.
I understand that this is «THE» studio to go for Hustle, but can’t review it, as hustle just doesn’t do it for me. I like that our teacher (Ginny) is prompt and no-​nonsense. I am tempted to take away half a star (though Unilocal won’t allow me) because it would be nice to have a tad bit more individual correction during the class. To be fair though, I understand that some teachers might be reluctant to give individual critique during the class because some people may take it too personally. Of course, there is always an option of paying hourly for instruction.
I should mention that one shouldn’t think of this studio only as a Hustle place. There are intermediate classes taught by Joe Figueroa, who is a well-​known salsa dance instructor.

They are fantastic at what they do, and make everyone feel welcomed. I love Top Hat. They do, of course, have flaws, but who doesn’t? Besides, those flaws are few. 5 stars from me.

Top Hat is one of the best deals for dance instruction in the Philadelphia metro area. The group classes are pretty typical, both in price and material, but the private lessons are the real bargain: they’re far less than any comparable area studio, are taught by very skilled instructors, and don’t require you to commit t an enormous contract. It is a great community with an excellent main dance space. Finally, it is hands-​down the best place to learn hustle or west coast swing in the area, frequently taking home top studio prizes in those dances at events such as Mad Jam and Disco America.
That said, there are a few downsides. Many of the students don’t take any private lessons, and so are limited in how much their technique can improve. Also, some of the instructors are in incredible demand (two have a wait list six people long in the event of a cancellation) so scheduling with them may be difficult.
Overall, Top Hat is a great studio with only a few downsides. One of the best bargain in the Philadelphia area.