“Aris embodies the rare blend of expertise and empathy”
Starting my dance journey as a complete novice, I was initially overwhelmed by the prospect of couple dancing without any background. The leap from knowing nothing to stepping onto the dance floor felt immense, but Aris transformed that daunting gap into a bridge of confidence and skill for me.
Aris embodies the rare blend of expertise and empathy, demonstrating not just a deep understanding of dance but an exceptional ability to impart that knowledge. His approach is rooted in a profound body awareness, a testament to his background as a fitness trainer, enabling him to pinpoint and address the nuances of movement and posture with remarkable precision.
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“he's always willing to have a discussion about the ‘why’”
Take dance lessons with Aris! He is an excellent instructor and human. Whether I need a mindset shift, drills for technique, empowerment for artistic expression, he's there with quality knowledge and a welcoming presence. He's always willing to have a discussion about the "why" behind the movement and his personal experience in the industry. I emphasize quality again because of his observant nature. He notices minute details about my body movement and helps explain/adjust feedback I have received from other instructors. Aris's instruction is digestible and helpful; I find that I can apply it to my dance and practice the concepts outside our lessons. Additionally, Aris is an excellent cheerleader! You can tell he is passionate about his art as well as mine. In the community, he is always up for a dance, a chat, or a quick question. I am fortunate to be able to call him an instructor, a local asset to the Denver community, and a friend.
“his background in athletics and strength training is also incredibly helpful”
Aris is a fantastic dance teacher—knowledgeable, kind, and intuitive. He listens and helps you hone in on what you want from the lessons then observes and gives thoughtful and focused feedback to help you improve quickly. He has a knack for explaining things clearly. His background in athletics and strength training is also incredibly helpful if you're dealing with injury (as I am) to help make the movements safer and more accessible. My partner and I highly recommend Aris as a dance teacher!
“I have never walked away the same dancer I was before”
Aris is the type of teacher that, regardless of what level the workshop is advertised as, I will be taking his class. As a local I’ve had the opportunity to take many of his group lessons (one-offs and longer series), private lessons, and video critiques, and I have never walked away the same dancer I was before. He is consistently innovating how he delivers information and always has new creative ways of explaining things. From heavy bird beaks to someone pulling on your belt loop to being tethered to the wall, he’s got a visualization for everything and as a very detail oriented person, that has vastly simplified my “dance checklist” and helped me turn my off nights back into on nights. I can’t recommend Aris enough for any of your west coast swing needs. He’s a stellar teacher and all around good human that you want to have on your team.
“feels less like taking a lesson and more like this holistic, comprehensive experience of West Coast Swing”
I found West Coast Swing 3 years ago, and I’ve never been so addicted to improvement in my life. I’m a novice lead with no other social dance background, so I’m something of a clean slate when it comes to this dance. By this point, I’ve been lucky enough to take my fair share of private lessons from teachers across the globe and dance level spectrum. As far as teachers go, however, I cannot express how highly I think of Aris’ teaching style. Here are my highlights as to what made learning with Aris truly unique.
The way he gives feedback.
One of my fatal flaws is that I’m unfortunately picky when it comes to receiving feedback with my dance. After 3 years of dancing, I’ve gotten better at this over time, but it’s still a remarkable chore for me. However, Aris delivers feedback with this impressive combination of patience, grace, and attention to detail, that I blinked and the lesson was already over. I was engaged from start to finish. After most lessons, I’m accustomed to feeling like my brain is full: that if I absorb even one more piece of information, I might explode. After my lesson with Aris, I was surprised to find that I learned more concepts in an hour than ever before, could recall them all, and (here’s the kicker) that I somehow still had the bandwidth for even more!
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“feel more stable, controlled, and connected”
Aris is one of my favorite WCS instructors because of the way he provides feedback, his background and passion for west coast, and his dynamic approach to teaching.
His approach is thorough and insightful, providing clear, specific feedback that makes a real, immediate difference. He encourages me by drawing my attention to what I do well, which boosts my confidence, but he also offers practical improvements in a way that feels constructive and motivating.
As a teacher by day, I know how important it is to make your students feel safe enough to make mistakes and Aris does that exceptionally well. He helps me practice each adjustment until I can recognize what doing it right feels like which helps my retention and solo practice.
His background in physical training is a huge advantage—he explains which muscle groups to engage, helping me feel more stable, controlled, and connected in my movements. He’s great at working with dancers of all levels, so you feel comfortable and see remarkable improvements no matter where you’re starting from. I really can’t recommend him enough!
“find the story you want to tell as an artist and embrace it”
In a word, Aris' instruction is special. Aris has a way of helping you find the story you want to tell as an artist and embrace it. His education with the best of the best figures in WCS is truly extensive, so he is uniquely poised to help you adopt the technique that works best for you. I often take lessons with pros only to be told exactly what he told me! While he is thoughtful and focused on technique, he also creates a safe space for creation and creativity. What I like most about Aris’s instruction is that he adamantly believes there is no one “right way” to do this dance, but that there are so many ways that work. Simply put, Aris is passionate about helping you find “your way”.
Also, his video critiques are straight fire.