Testimonials

Derek is a fantastic teacher - enthusiastic and professional. Would highly recommend. Myself and my husband had 4 lessons before our wedding - we learned a routine to our first dance song. Derek created a brilliant dance, considered the size of the space as well as our start and finish positions. We loved our lessons and hope to be back again in the future!. Thanks so much Derek

Kate Barry
9th June 2023

We were dreading our first dance, but from the start to the finish, Derek made it so relaxed and fun , and our first dance turned out to be one of the major highlights of our day. I would highly recommend Derek. From our hearts to yours, thank you so much for everything you did to make our first dance so memorable

Rona and Jan
15th April 2023

We did 4 sessions running into our wedding. Derek was great fun, read our ability and worked with us. He was also super accomodating when covid hit. Thank you. We had so much fun.

Siobhan Kennedy
23rd March 2023


We had 4 lessons before our wedding where Derek helped us learn some steps to the song we had chosen. It was definitely an enjoyable experience and we enjoyed doing our first dance on the day.

Mary - Louise Coughlan
12th September 2022

We took lessons with Derek for our first dance at our wedding. He was brilliant was very committed and really arranged a great routine for us!. Mix of foxtrot, cha cha cha and jive! Loved doing the lessons. They were great fun and no pressure!.

Jess Angland
25th August 2022

We took lessons with Derek for our first dance. Derek is a patient, kind, and knowledgeable instructor. He was flexible with dates, times and locations. He choreographed a routine for us that perfectly fit our song choice and our ability. He pushed us out of our comfort zone and we are really happy with the end result. We really grew in confidence with his support and putting in the practice. We are very happy with our experience overall. We highly recommend Derek for dance lessons. Thank you for everything Derek

Tina McCarthy
6th August 2022

My husband and I contacted Derek ahead of our wedding in an attempt to do more than just shuffle around the dance floor for our first dance and we were thrilled with the result. In just four lessons we had a routine that included the Quickstep and Cha Cha Cha, twists and turns. It gave us so much confidence, especially my husband who, before this, was allergic to dancing. Now he is talking about taking it up as a hobby. We put our trust in Derek and he did not let us down.

Carol Kelly
25th July 2022

Derek helped us out with some dance lessons before our wedding recently and it was a very enjoyable experience. He was very patient and his touch of humour made us really relax into it and enjoy it. Derek was very open to our suggestions and met us where we were in terms of our experience. We would highly revommend him, particularly if you are a nervous about getting started like we were.

Darren and Aoife
24th July 2022

We loved our time with Derek! He gave us a great dance for our first dance at our wedding and it made the night so special!. He has a really positive and patient attitude and i could not recommend him enough!

Jennifer Elaine
17thn December 2021
I contacted Derek to arrange a few dance lessons for our wedding. Not knowing what to expect, we were highly nervous as we have never danced before and unsure whether we would be able for what Derek had planned for us. It turned out, we didn't need to be nervous at all. From start to finish, Derek was a pleasure to work with. He broke down every lesson into challenging but exciting segments, and made something so daunting in our heads (dance), an activity we would love to continue in the future. Every guest at our wedding were blown away and couldn't stop talking about our first dance. We really want to thank Derek for all his help, and i'm sure we will be back again for further lessons.

Patrick Mc Sweeney
12th December 2021

We sought the help of Derek for our first dance for our recent wedding and are so glad we did. Within a very short time he had us confident with our dance and it is something we would recommend highly. Thanks, Derek

Sinead Loughnane
17th December 2019
So happy we got Dancing Derek to guide us through our first dance!. He had so many amazing ideas and kept the routine within our comfort zones. It was much fun and we were so happy and comfortable on our wedding day. The first dance went off so well and we really enjoyed it!. Thank You Derek!!

Marion Drumm
1st September 2019
Thanks Derek for helping us with our first dance for our wedding. It was a great esperience and was something fun to do together in the run up to the madness of the wedding. We would definitely recommend you!

Amy and Aidan
7th August 2019
Derek is a great teacher, especially with myself and made the lessons very enjoyable!

John Walley
3rd August 2019

Derek is such a nice person!. He was super patient when me and my spouse kept messing up our dance. Really helped us, gave us awesome ideas for the dance and overall, such a brilliant man! We would recommend if anyone wants to have a laugh while dancing!


Martin Yesayan
18th November 2018
I can't recommend Derek highly enough. Lessons were always fun and covered exactly what we needed. We had so much fun with our first dance and got a great reaction from friends and family 5/5.

Eddie Daly
26th October 2018

For someone with 2 left feet, Derek showed me some moves that actually fooled people into thinking we could dance well on the day of our wedding 😁.He is very patient and even did the last class at our wedding venue prior to the wedding which we both found very helpful.

Shane Ryan

16th September 2018

I have worked with Derek during a previous Strictly Fundraiser and he has been great. Full of energy and fun. Constantly updating his qualifications and offering the best. Keep hearing great reviews from friends about his latin moves, jive and Zumba and he is great with schools too. Groups and 1-1 classes. Something for everyone.
Lesley
August 16, 2018
So glad we decided to get first dance lessons with Dancing Derek for ourwedding! He was fantastic throughout- so nice and so so patient! He made the steps easy to remember by choreographing them to match with the words of our chosen song. He also let us be very much part of the choreographing process, giving us various options to choose between for the different parts of the dance as we went along. We would highly recommend him and indeed friends of ours who got married a few weeks after us and also got first dance lessons from him likely said how enjoyable they were. Thanks for all your help Derek, Claire & Aidan X
Claire and Aidan
August 16, 2018
I very much enjoyed the dance classes that Derek gave. He is great to get a group motivated and get people moving.His understanding of movement, music and rhythm makes for a great experience. For someone who never danced before I would definitely go to Derek for dance classes. To find out more click here...https://www.dancingderek.com/dance-classes-cork/
Jarlath
August 16, 2018
My husband and I recently took first dance lessons with Derek in the build up to our wedding. I cannot praise him enough and would highly recommend him to anyone who is thinking of doing a first dance at their wedding. He was patient and enthusiastic throughout the lessons and could tailor the dance to your own specific needs. He can make the first dance routine as difficult or as easy as you like and really puts people at ease- especially those who are not used to dancing of any sort! Overall the lessons with Derek were great fun, they settled our nerves on the day and we enjoyed every minute of them. Derek is very professional, has a great manner and is excellent at what he does. If you are considering getting dance lessons he’s the dance instructor to go with!
Heather & Mark
August 16, 2018

Strictly Come Dancing (informally known as Strictly) is a British television dance contest, featuring celebrity contestants, with professional dance partners competing in a ballroom and Latin dance competition. Each couple is scored out of 10 by a panel of judges.

Dancing Derek is just an amazing teacher. I have worked with him for the last few weeks and what he has done for the Students in this Strictly Come Dancing competition was just wonderful.His inspiration and teaching was just second to none. i would highly recommend him as a dance choreographer if you plan holding this type of competition as a fundraiser for your school , football club or chosen charity

 

Bernie Birchill
August 16, 2018
Thank you so much Dancing Derek for all your help. We really enjoyed our first dance , and that is down to you. Your  lessons took away the stress and anxiety we had about the first dance and allowed us to really enjoy our moment together on the floor. It didn’t even feel as if anyone else was in the room with us. We really enjoyed the lessons also, we both found that during the lessons with Dancing Derek we just switched off and enjoyed each other’s company. We would highly recommend any couple getting married to go to you for lessons before their big day.http://www.weddingdancelessonscork.com
Brid and John
August 16, 2018

Hi Derek,

Fred and Ginger played a blast last night on the dance floor. Thanks a mill for the dancing lessons over the last few weeks. Can you send us on details of your group classes. Thanks again.
Finola and Jerry
August 14, 2015

Hi Derek,

I’m doing very good with your group classes and I will be back in September. Thanks.
Patrick
August 14, 2015

Hi Derek,

Our first dance went fantastically well, so good in fact that the band asked us to dance it again for the last dance. We really enjoyed it. Thanks again for everything.
Donal & Muirin
August 14, 2015
1st dance went great Derek. We were so pleased with it and really enjoyed it. Derek was very helpful and kept checking with us to see were we happy with everything. Thanks for all your help and we will definitely recommend this service to our friends and colleagues.
Theresa and Michael
August 14, 2015

Hi Derek,

Thanks for everything. Our first dance was great and the jive went down surprisingly well. Everyone complimented us on it. Thanks again.
Niamh and Joe
August 14, 2015
Derek, thanks a million for the first dance lessons. Everything went to plan on the night. No damaged toes! Really went down well and we will be delighted to recommend you to our friends.
Martin and Deirdre
August 14, 2015
Our first dance was a great success. The routine you put together for so just worked so well. We would like to thank you for the work you put in and the way in which you worked around or busy schedule. Thanks so much Derek. We had great fun learning to dance with you to the song we chose. We would like to commend you on your great patience and professionalism. Best of luck in the further and hope you keep bring joy to couples like myself and my new lovely wife.
James & Orlagh Ryan
August 14, 2015
We hired Derek to help us with our first dance for our wedding. We had an upbeat song and wanted to do a dance that would give people something to remember. The only problem was that neither of us were born with dancing feet. Derek was fantastic to deal with. Although he could see that we needed a lot of work he never said! He was always patient and encouraging and showed great faith in us. The routine he gave us was fantastic and worked a treat. The first dance was a great success and definitely left out guests with something to talk about! Thanks a million Derek.
Davina & Eamonn
August 14, 2015
We were absolutely delighted with everything Derek showed us. He made us feel at ease and we really enjoyed the experience so much so we're still taking dance lessons long after the wedding. We were such a mess at the start, two left feet is an understatement! We found Derek to be very patient with us and he always reassured us that it would be alright on the night despite our own lack of faith! Our guests were completely blown away on the day as our 1st dance was a jive, very fast and not the traditional waltz. There is no way we could have had our chosen song without the lessons. We would highly recommend Derek to anyone wanting an extra special memory for their big day.
Lisa & Padraic
August 14, 2015
We asked Derek to teach us to dance for our 1st dance at our wedding.
James and Kay 1st Wedding Dance ClassesWe gave him our song of choice and he came up with a routine for us. At first we thought we would never master it, however with Derek's endless patience, encouragement and enthusiasm after 4 lessons and plenty of practice at home we were ready. Derek was very accommodating arranging the class times around our schedule. We were delighted with our 1st dance on the day of our wedding, we surprised all our guests with our routine, so much so that we ended up doing it twice.
Thanks Derek we could never have managed it without you.
August 6, 2015
I thought your group classes in Newmarket CYMS were great. I am delighted I have learned the basic figures in Social Foxtrot and Slow Waltz. I never danced these dances until I started the classes with you in October 2013 so I am very pleased and I think it was a great idea to continue as a beginner again since January 2014. I like the music you play and you are a great teacher. Thanks Derek
Nora
July 30, 2015

Choosing a song we loved to have as our first dance song was easy, figuring out how we were going to dance to it was not so easy until we found Derek. Having listened to our choice of song he choreographed a wonderful routine for us and worked with us with such patience and enthusiasm until we were ready. He is a fantastic dance teacher and we thoroughly enjoyed our dance lessons the weeks running up to our wedding.

Derek thank you so much, you ensured our first dance was truly memorable! We would recommend you to anybody.
Lisa & Pat
July 30, 2015

We hired Derek for private dancing lessons for a specific song that we wanted to dance to at our wedding. Derek took the song, and designed a dancing style and routine for the 3 minutes. Having 4 left feet between us at the time, we were skeptical about our chances of success. However, Derek managed to get us where we needed to be in the time we had. He demonstrated the utmost of patience and professionalism, and we are truly grateful for the dedication and faith he showed in us. It was great fun learning the steps and routine. The practice routines at home were particularly colourful!

Success thanks to Derek!
Elaine & Reinhold
July 30, 2015
Derek is an excellent teacher. We have been attending his classes for the last two years and really enjoy the experience. Derek has been teaching us a range of dances to suit a number of different occasions. We got married this year and Derek gave us some private lessons at the hotel in the weeks running up to the wedding, helping us to develop a routine for our wedding dance which went down very well on the night.
Meabh and Dale
July 30, 2015

I was in urgent need of some one-on-one ballroom dancing lessons prior to a summer engagement.

Derek very kindly accommodated me to fit in as many classes as we could before my summer party. Derek's manner was very friendly and perfectly professional. He made me feel at ease immediately. His skill and way of teaching was just right for me.

Firstly explaining each dance, and the movements and then going on to doing it in front of me himself, and then dancing with me. The step by step approach was just right for a beginner and I seemed to catch on quickly enough to feel confident to dance one or two dances at my summer party.

Thank you Derek, I would definitely come back to your classes when I am able to.
Barbara Barrett
July 30, 2015
Hi Derek, Thanks a mill for such a great dance lesson at our Hen party during the Summer (June13) We had an amazing time. Dancing Derek was brilliant from the selection of music to the section of different routines it was certainly a great and energetic 1.5hours for us ladies...
Hen Party
July 30, 2015
So happy we got Dancing Derek to guide us through our first dance!. He had so many amazing ideas and kept the routine within our comfort zones. It was much fun and we were so happy and comfortable on our wedding day. The first dance went off so well and we really enjoyed it!. Thank You Derek!!

Marion Drumm
1st September 2019
So happy we got Dancing Derek to guide us through our first dance!. He had so many amazing ideas and kept the routine within our comfort zones. It was much fun and we were so happy and comfortable on our wedding day. The first dance went off so well and we really enjoyed it!. Thank You Derek!!

Marion Drumm
1st September 2019
So happy we got Dancing Derek to guide us through our first dance!. He had so many amazing ideas and kept the routine within our comfort zones. It was much fun and we were so happy and comfortable on our wedding day. The first dance went off so well and we really enjoyed it!. Thank You Derek!!

Marion Drumm
1st September 2019