Arthur Murray Dance Studio of Toronto - Richmond Hill — Kid-friendly Storytime & Classes in Richmond Hill, Ontario

What parents say

• Timothy Varghese

  My wife and I came to Arthur Murray without any dance experience and high hopes for a "passable" first dance. Our instructor, Jeffrey Lake, was excellent. He is clearly passionate about his craft and was so patient with our lack of experience. Given our schedules, we had very limited availability and Jeffrey was very accommodating. Our final performance was beyond our imagination and was one of the most memorable parts of our wedding day. We HIGHLY recommend Jeffery Lake's mentorship and wish him all the best.

• Flavio Freitag

  Since moving back to Ontario, me and my partner. Have been going to AM. Once we did the intro classes we sae how good our instructor is. And how much he can get done every class. Riley (our instructor) is the best! We always have a blast, and have improved our dancing skills in such an amazing speed. We can't wait to try our wedding dance for real, with the amazing coreography Riley made to us!

• Danielle Fairfield

  Could not recommend Arthur Murray enough!! We have being dancing with our instructor, Riley, since Sept 2024 and have enjoyed and learned so much in each lesson! You can tell the instructors care so much about their clients having fun while learning! They also will encourage you to challenge yourself, and their guidance will allow you to surpass your potential and believe in yourself! Riley expertly choreographed our upcoming wedding dance and we are so happy with the result, it truly is a love letter to my and my future husband’s story. Riley also had me come in with my wedding dress to make sure the dance moves would work with my style of dress, just another example of the AM instructors going that extra mile. If you are considering starting a new hobby, interested in competing, meeting some lovely and talented people, or wanting the best guidance for your upcoming wedding dance, please take this as a sign to call Arthur Murray Richmond Hill, you will not regret it!!

• Good Guy

  My experience at Arthur Murray was frustrating, stressful, and ultimately very disappointing. I went in as a complete beginner, hoping for a low pressure, social introduction to dance, but what I got was anything but that. From the start, the staff were warm, welcoming, and friendly, making me feel excited to try something new. I was reassured over the phone and in person that it would be fun, beginner friendly, and low pressure. However, as soon as we discussed signing up, everything changed. I felt pressured into a $563 membership without ever being shown the terms and conditions to understand what I was signing up for. I didn’t even get to see a proper agreement, and when I asked questions about how long sessions were valid or how the membership worked, the answers were vague or contradictory. During my first private session, the instructor started planning out my entire training plan, and when I tried to set limits (like attending fewer private sessions because of the cost) she responded with comments like “Did you bring that up with the manager?” and questioned me in a way that felt intimidating and personal. They also repeatedly asked me, when I mentioned it was expensive for me, “How much do you think we’re worth? All these years of training, all our teaching…how much do you think it’s worth?” which felt manipulative and uncomfortable rather than informative. It also felt very strange that the people selling the memberships were the same ones teaching the group classes. Their warmth seemed to vanish the moment I expressed hesitation about signing up for as much as they wanted. I felt put on the spot, pressured, and like my enjoyment of dance wasn’t the priority, selling sessions was. Even during group classes, I was left standing alone for minutes at a time, with instructors observing instead of helping me, which made me feel awkward and unwelcome, especially as a beginner. I felt that small details about myself were exaggerated or made up by the instructor, which made me question the genuineness of her interactions. For example, the instructor said, “Your favourite colour must be blue, because every time I’ve seen you here, you were wearing blue,” even though I was actually wearing grey both times. She said it with complete confidence, which made the interaction feel forced, scripted, and manufactured. The studio gave off an eerie two-faced vibe — no one could clearly agree on policies, rules weren’t well-defined, friendliness often felt performative, and in the blink of an eye they could go from being overly nice to making you feel guilty for not signing up for more frequent sessions. This was extremely apparent since I clearly stated I was just trying to be social and try dancing, not become a pro. They were also informed that I have injuries, so pressuring me to dance at their pace made it feel even more two-faced, as when money became the focus, they forgot every personal detail about me, why I was attending, and what they promised me when I signed up. Overall, the experience felt predatory and dishonest. While I initially felt excited and included, the pressure to buy more private sessions, lack of transparency, and manipulation left me feeling stressed, uncomfortable, and misled. I would not recommend this studio for beginners or anyone seeking a welcoming, friendly introduction to dance. It’s quite obvious that Arthur Murray’s business model allows this behaviour. This is why I like sticking to flat rate gyms with group classes, as you can form a good relationship with the instructors since they aren’t trying to sell you anything. Putting teachers in sales roles is always a bad idea in my opinion.

• Kate Florea

  2025-7-8

  We didn't take classes specifically for our first dance, but because I wanted to break out of the dreaded slow dance circle! We took Waltz, Bachata, Salsa, and Tango lessons with Riley for several months leading up to our wedding, and we had so much fun we have signed up for 6 more months! The entire team are so friendly and accommodating and Riley is a dream teacher! We are both busy professionals and it was occasionally difficult to fit dance class into our weekly schedule. We'd go into class feeling tired from our workweek and leave laughing and feeling so connected to each other! Riley is patient, encouraging, and always had alternate instructions when we got stuck, that made everything clear and easy. We are both looking forward to returning to class in the Fall!