Lorena is wonderful! I had my first class with her a year and a half ago, and I had no ballroom experience. She was so good at explaining everything and made sure my friends and I understood things before she continued with the lesson. I still adore taking her classes—everything I know about American smooth, I know from her. Shes really great at tailoring lessons to our skill level, and shes sweet and professional. I highly recommend Lorena!

Lorena is a fantastic dancer and a wonderful ballroom teacher. She is incredibly patient, caring, and professional, and is excellent at breaking down challenging moves into simpler steps. Every lesson is enjoyable and moves at the perfect pace, allowing time for students to review the content of the last lesson before moving on to new material. I would highly recommend taking lessons with Lorena!

Lorena Bravo is an amazing person and an amazing ballroom coach. I have been her student for 3 years now, and have taken both group and private lessons with her. She is all you need in a ballroom instructor and will be endlessly supportive of you throughout your dance journey. Whether you are looking to become a pro-dancer, or just want to show off at a wedding, Lorena Bravo should be your go-to dance instructor. I would recommend her to everyone and anyone.

Lorena is an excellent dancer who has competes professionally! But shes really an amazing teacher because she can really perfectly tailor her level of instruction to the level that best suits you.I learned most of my dancing from her from scratch. Beyond that, I got a huge benefit from a private lesson with her when I had only 6 months of experience, and I got an equally huge benefit from a private lesson with her when I had 2.5 years of experience. The more experienced dancers I know (5-6 years of experience) also keep coming back to her for her excellent instruction.

Lorena is spectacular. Her dancing is utterly flawless, but what really makes her a phenomenal dance teacher are her great communication skills, and how much she cares about her students. If youre looking for a Ballroom teacher, look no further. Youve just hit the jackpot.

I have been taking lessons with Lorena Bravo since September 2012. Across those years, she has taken me from a complete novice to a competitive collegiate open level ballroom dancer. The words hereafter are my attempt to capture what a spectacular educator and excellent human being Lorena is.Great teachers can ignite the imagination and rekindle a love of learning. In this regard, history will soon show that Lorena Bravo is one of the greatest dance instructors of our generation. An endlessly curious student herself, Lorena has studied and continues to study dance from every angle imaginable. Training with other top competitive ballroom dancers isnt enough. Lorena actively studies books on human anatomy and physics in order to understand how different movements affect different body shapes. She also continues to expand her mastery of teaching through not only studying psychology and education theory but by applying it as she teaches people with varying levels of dance ability from limited movement up to professional competitive dancers.The best part of all of that is that you dont see all of it. Rather, you feel it. Lorena has the empathetic insight to connect with you and meet you wherever you are in your learning process. As you learn about dance, she learns about how you learn best. Do you learn best by just trying it and being corrected on the fly? Or do you need to take each move slowly and be set like a mannequin? Perhaps you just want to have fun with some friends and want to impress them with a few moves? Or maybe youre on a tight schedule and just need to memorize a choreography? Whatever it may be, Lorena crafts a learning plan just for you based on your needs and resources.And yet, more important than all of that hullaballoo, is that Lorena makes both the dancing and the learning endlessly euphoric and utterly rewarding. She truly and deeply loves dance, art, music, science and all forms of human expression. Her passion is contagious. Her joy is uplifting. The depth of her expanding knowledge is matched only by the depth of her encompassing heart. You get the sense of your world expanding just by conversing with her.If youre not yet convinced then I will share a bit of my own story and how Lorena has affected my life.I entered my PhD studies in the pursuit of a machine that could translate thoughts and emotions from person to computer then to another person. At that point in my life, I had struggled tremendously with expressing and connecting with others. What initially started as an easy way to decompress after hours of research became a life changing path to my own late development in expression. Lorena has instilled in me an almost unsettling love for dance and the learning of it. My body will wither with time, but for the rest of my life, my heart will always remember what it feels like to be tetherless and free, existing only as motion and music for moments at a time. Yes, I have put in the work to achieve that, but I will always have Lorena to thank for changing the course of my life.

I cannot say enough wonderful things about Lorena! I started ballroom dancing at USC, having danced a few years of Indian classical dance...but ballroom was a completely different beast. Lorena is incredibly patient and can break down the most complicated steps into understandable chunks. She will always answer any questions you have and work with you as much as you need to help you figure out a step that youre struggling with. Most important for me, Lorena spends a lot of time on explaining important techniques. Ive met teachers who brush over the technique and focus on the steps, but Lorena will make sure you perfect your technique. As someone who also started ballroom dancing in college, she knows how important this is.Classes with Lorena are always the highlight of my week. I cant recommend her enough! Whether youre interested in competing seriously or just want a few moves to show off at your wedding (or someone elses), taking lessons from Lorena is the way to go!

Congratulations! Youve just found your new favorite dance instructor: Lorena Bravo.I have been one of Lorenas students for the past 4 years. Because of her, Ive learned not only how to dance but also how to enjoy dancing. I couldnt possibly fit all the reasons shes so great into one review, but Im certainly going to try.Lorena Bravo is the best dance teacher youll ever find. She is experienced as both a dancer and a dance instructor; she teaches to your individual needs and skill level; she promotes a positive, dance-friendly environment. If you want to learn how to dance, shes your first and best choice.Lorena has been dancing for over 15 years. That amount of experience is impressive by itself; but unlike many dance instructors, she has dedicated herself to being able to explain her experiential knowledge. This means she can both show and tell you what you need to know using clear, easy-to-understand language. Unlike many teachers who can do things themselves but cant explain how, Lorenas teaching is highly accessible to dancers at all levels. Her degree in education from USC probably doesnt hurt.Being a good teacher means being a good listener, and Lorena is a great listener. She teaches directly to your dance goals, whether theyre concrete (What do I do with my hand?) or abstract (I just want to learn to dance something). Then, shell work with you to set goals for future lessons--and youll definitely want to come back for more. It doesnt matter whether youre a seasoned dance master or you have two left feet: Lorena wants you to achieve your own dance goals, and shell work hard to get you there.Perhaps most importantly, Lorena is enjoyable to work with. Shes charming, energetic, and easy to talk to. Her positive attitude makes every lesson a treat. Lorena teaches you the skills you need to dance, and in doing so also helps you learn the confidence you need to dance with other people.I couldnt possibly have become the dancer I am today without all of Lorenas help. She is, without a doubt, the best dance instructor a person could hope to find. Take a lesson with her and find out what youve been missing.

Lorena is an amazing teacher and will help you rapidly achieve your dance goals with both precision and grace!

5 stars only, but Lorena deserves an infinite amount of stars!! I started ballroom dancing at USC with zero dance experience. Lorena is excellent at teaching ballroom dancing to adults who are just starting to learn dancing and are worried about having two left feet. She knows exactly how you feel because once a upon a time, she too was a beginning dancer as an adult. In the group classes, she breaks down all the steps very clearly and methodically. There has yet to be a question asked in class and in private lesson that she cannot answer. About a year ago, my dance partner and I started to take private lessons with her so we could better hone our dance skills and become serious competitors. We take lessons once a week and they are always the highlight of my week. Lorena is inexplicably patient and honest. She will tailor her teaching specifically to your goals and your needs. There is no cookie cutter plan. You want a wedding dance in 5 weeks, okay, no problem. She has a plan for you. You want an elaborate showcase for your wedding and you have 5 months? She has a plan as well. You want to compete in competitions and move up to higher levels, which is where my partner and I are at? She will make a binder for your and list out the plans and ideas she has for you. My partner and I went from placing 6-8th in bronze american smooth so 1st in almost everything. Lorena is the type of teacher that you can feel comfortable enough with to talk to and share your life stories. She aims to get to know you as a person not just as a pupil. If you need life advice, she has a plethora of knowledge. Honest to god, everything that comes out of this wonderful womans mouth is gold. Lorena is a gift to the adult dance world and the world of teachers. She wont use wishy washy abstract language, but will break complex topics into tangible, understandable items.I cannot recommend Lorena enough! Whatever your goals are, she will help you reach it. Some dancers are born, but I strongly believe that dancers can also be made. Saying that you have two left feet and that its impossible to learn dancing is just an excuse. With Lorena as your teacher, you will be doing the Waltz after 45 minutes.

I could write a million-word review and still feel like I havent adequately expressed my adoration for Lorena! Her classes--along with those of her dance partner Jonathan--are the highlight of my week and one of the reasons I love going to USC. While I know her as the American Smooth coach for the SC Ballroom and Latin Dance Team, Lorena is an exceptional teacher for all levels; it doesnt matter if you are an experienced dancesport competitor or a beginner wanting to learn a dance for your wedding.Even with large groups (some of USCs group lessons have more than fifty participants), Lorena manages to break down dances in a way that is clear to almost everyone. Cramming each style of dance into five 45-minute group lessons is no easy feat, but Lorena has done it for years and never skimps on explaining technique, a valuable foundation for dancers looking to advance/compete. Having Lorenas undivided attention is even better. I never feel nervous asking Lorena for individual help because she makes it clear that she is always willing to help.As a collegiate-competitor-turned-professional (Lorena is an alumna of the same dance team she coaches), Lorena understands the struggles of her students and goes out of her way to give them opportunities to grow as dancers. She believes in hard work and dedication and often reminds her students that she was once a terrible beginner, too (thats actually very encouraging, considering she recently competed at Blackpool).Although Lorenas skills as a dancer and teacher are amazing, what I love about her most is her personality: warm, caring and kind. She could make even someone with two left feet feel welcome in her class and takes the time to learn about her students as people. She cares about both our growth on the dance floor and our lives off it.Thank you, Lorena, for being a part of the most rewarding part of my college experience thus far: dancesport and USC BDT.

Lorena is great! Highly recommend.