Bruce Gombrelli teaches both West Coast Swing and Night Club 2 Step. His background is very extensive in many topics and includes a long history as a musician and music producer. His first real exposure to dance was like most people; Free Style dancing at clubs. But he took it a little further when he did basic choreography with his music bands. After teaching in technical college for about 6 years he discovered West Coast Swing, Night Club 2 Step and ultimately Argentine Tango partner dances. Deeply attracted to the music and the technical aspects of the dance he went on a journey of exploration in body movement, musicianship and technical expertise. Bruce social dances, competes, judges, teaches while maintaining his engineering practices. However, his love of social dance made him realize the many aspects of the different desires and goals people have about dancing and helped him examine why some people are the best competition dancers and yet others make amazing social dancers.

Phone: 425-614-7517. If you leave a message make sure you include your name and phone number.
E-mail:  Bruce@northwestswing.com.

The best lesson times are evening or weekend late afternoon/early evening.

Bruce teaches at the following locations 

My home dance studio

 

The Dance Academy of Bellevue

 

Special Events

Hourly Rate
    $60 for adults
    A special rate is available for students and Seattle Swing Club Members     $200 for a package of 4 privates ($40 saving)
    Group Lesson and Special Event Rates are also available.

Bruce also teach a group lesson on Wednesday nights at 8:00 - 8:45 at the Dance Academy of Bellevue    They cost $7 at the door or $6.25 each if you buy a dance pass.

Some venues charge a floor charge if you take a lesson at them; at a convention for example.

I believe in looking at the things you are doing right and making sure you know what they are. I also strongly believe that good technique is the way to become the best dancer you can be but I consider dance an art and promote the visual and creative aspects of it. Adjustments should be made a bit at a time since there are only so many things you can change at one time. I also believe that the student should have the opportunity to drive the direction of their training along with guidance of their instructor if they choose.

My teaching training actually started before I was dancing so I wasn't new to the idea of teaching others. I was a technical instructor for 7 years, a music teacher, and a department chair. During those years I learned that each student has their own learning style and personality that makes them smile and click. I basically love teaching and helping people develop their dance. It's a great personal thrill to watch people develop personal skills in any activity. I do care about the results you get from lessons! I will look at you dance in technical detail and will examine how you can also become a better social dancer.

The best dancers are active learners. The dance evolves and if you evolve with it, you'll have the most fun. If you take a lesson or lessons and don't apply the knowledge in active dancing you're sort of wasting your money. Try to take lessons at a time when you plan to be actively dancing or at least have time to practice.

I've always supported the idea of multiple instructors but be careful not to mix it up to much. It can be effective to take lessons then switch instructors from time to time. I think this works also because sometimes a concept said slightly differently clicks with different people. I've always thought this was a good idea. Try to have a clear idea on why you pick any given instructor. In other words, have clear goals in mind of why you want to work with an instructor and what they can offer you. Connecting with your instructor is a huge advantage toward making you enjoy your lessons. If you have the wrong instructor your development won't be nearly as fun and may take longer or possibly even set you back.

Group lessons are fine for patterns and for technique tips. But to become a good social dancer or competitor you need to learn how to connect with the partner and dance with the best form. Privates let you know what things you PERSONALLY need to work on to fine tune your dance. You definately need someone to evaluate what to work on based on your dance. You will not learn to be a high quality lead or follow without a few privates, it just won't happen.

In order to develop in dance you have to have an open mind. Be ready to change ANYTHING about your dance to make it better. If you aren't good at examining your own dance (and it's not an uncommon issue) then get someone to help assist you on your journey. Don't be scared to relearn anything if you need to fix broken concepts. It's easy to get bad dance habits sometimes but it's also not hard to build GOOD dance habits if you focus on it. It's harder to fix a bad habit later than to create a good one early on.