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From ballrooms to classrooms, instructor helps couples perfect the dip and dazzle.
If anyone knows their way around a dance floor, it’s Monica Mohn. “I’m a performer at heart,” she says. The three-time USA Dance National Champion for ballroom dance has been dancing since grade school, and after a storied career as a competitive ballroom dancer, Mohn is dedicated to sharing her passion with others. “I want to take everything I learned and give back,” she says.
Mohn competed in ballroom dance from the late 1980s into the early 2000s. After achieving her goals, including winning several national titles in nine dance styles, her favorite being the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers style of American Smooth, Mohn set her sights on the next generation of dancers. “I volunteered with USA Dance to promote social dancing, and, watching the younger people, I realized I wanted to teach,” she says.
For two decades, Mohn has offered classes, including couples and social dancing; foxtrot; line dancing; mambo; merengue; salsa; swing; tango; and waltz, for example. “Each dance has its own personality,” she says. “The waltz is romantic, Latin is sexy and jazz is flirty.” Mohn teaches dance classes through community education programs all around the Metro, including Minnetonka Community Education. “Watching people discover the joy of dance is amazing,” she says. “Hopefully, it will stay with them for the rest of their lives.”
One of her most popular offerings is a two-hour Wedding Dance Workshop for couples. Mohn says the theme is: It’s not too late to look great, and the class is designed to build confidence. “We want to get them comfortable moving together as a couple,” she says.
“I help them pick up a few moves, so it’s not just doing the swing-and-sway,” she says. “I teach them how to walk out on the floor, do a couple of moves and a dip. Nothing too complicated. No Dirty Dancing-style lifts.
“If this is their first contact with a dance class, I want to give them the best experience they can have,” she says. “I want them to believe they can dance.” Mohn firmly feels that anyone can dance. “If you can walk, you can dance,” she says.
Mohn can help couples choose the dance style that will best complement their first dance song and, in some cases, their wedding attire. “We want to make sure we choose what’s going to work for the dress,” she says. It’s all about being comfortable. Mohn says, “If I can get them comfortable, resistance goes away and we can dance.” Some of that comfort comes from practicing open communication—a lesson that applies well beyond the dance floor. “A lot of times, in the end, they’re laughing together, and that’s great,” Mohn says.
For those interested in trying out the workshop, Mohn’s advice is simple. “Come in with an open mind, and don’t be afraid,” she says. “Look at the first dance as a joyful experience.”
