Reconnecting Circles / The Wedding Dance Coach

A wedding dance coach in a Basel community studio

The Wedding Dance Coach is the wedding offer of Chiara Jarrell, a dancer and teacher who is listed on the website of Reconnecting Circles, a non-profit association with a dance studio at Elsässerstrasse 215a in 4056 Basel. The page, headed "The Wedding Dance Coach", opens with a question: "Lust auf einen Hochzeitstanz, der eure Geschichte erzählt?" (fancy a wedding dance that tells your story?). It gives Basel as the location and names three languages: German, English and French.

That language line is the key fact for this readership: English and French are stated on the page as working languages, so a couple from abroad can plan the whole collaboration without German. The page itself is written in German.

How the coaching works

Chiara Jarrell writes in the first person. With The Wedding Dance Coach, she says, she accompanies couples as they shape their own personal wedding dance, step by step, at their own pace and with ease. The key lines on the page:

• "Jede Choreografie entsteht aus eurer Geschichte, eurer Musik und dem, was euch als Paar verbindet." (Every choreography grows from your story, your music and what connects you as a couple.)
• She combines different movement worlds and influences, from rhythmic and earthy to calm and flowing, always so that they suit the couple and their energy.
• The path there matters as much as the moment on the dance floor, with room to arrive, try things out, laugh and grow.
• The coaching takes place in a calm, appreciative atmosphere ("in einer ruhigen, wertschätzenden Atmosphäre") and suits beginners as well as advanced dancers.

On format and cost, the page says only that the collaboration is arranged individually, and that she is happy to discuss scope and prices personally on request. There is no fixed package, number of lessons or rate.

Who Chiara Jarrell is

The association's About page introduces her as its vice-president. She writes that since childhood she has devoted herself to classical singing and to dance. Her first training was in ballet and contemporary dance. She then discovered the Jamaican style Dancehall and came into contact with Coupé Décalé, a dance style from the Ivory Coast. Several trips to Jamaica, Ghana, the Ivory Coast and around Europe let her work and dance with many pioneers of these styles, and she says she expresses all of these impressions in a body language of her own. At the studio she teaches an Afro and Dancehall basics class and an Afro and Dancehall choreography class on Wednesday evenings.

For a couple, that background explains the range she promises. A first dance with her could lean toward a flowing, contemporary piece or toward something rhythmic with Afro or Dancehall roots, depending on the couple and their music.

The association behind the studio

Reconnecting Circles describes itself as a non-profit association based in Basel whose goal is to create a unique space for creative encounters, movement and art, and to encourage reflection and dialogue. Its timeline starts in 2021 with dance concepts shared on social media, followed by the conversion of its studio at the end of summer 2022 with support from the Elys Boulderloft, and the opening of the studio in January 2023. The studio's classes span HipHop, House, Floorwork, African Streetstyles, Dancehall, Brazilian Zouk and social dances, along with Pilates, Yoga and Skhumbafit. The vision stated on the About page is an empathetic, supportive and critically thinking society, which it calls crucial for sustainable development and peaceful coexistence.

The team listed on the About page includes Chantal Sieber, the president, a qualified dance and movement teacher; co-founders Arvin Pineda, Olivier Küng and Mark Montalbo; Steffi Mediavilla, who is responsible for the studio; and Melanie Afi Glover, a dance teacher and choreographer. The mission section adds that togetherness matters more than opposition, and that compassion and understanding for other perspectives are essential because, whatever our opinions, we share the same world. The site also offers room rental (Raummiete) and workshops and events, and publishes bank details for donations to the association.

Prices at the studio

The wedding coaching is priced on request, and the studio's price page lists private lessons as on request too. For couples or guests who would like to join regular classes, the page gives the rates for adults: a trial lesson at CHF 10 per class, a one-week trial pass at CHF 30, drop-ins at CHF 22 for 60 minutes or CHF 25 for 75 minutes, 10-class cards at CHF 190 or CHF 220, valid for 3 months, and half-year subscriptions from CHF 462. Holders of a KulturLegi get 30% off courses. Trial lessons need to be booked in advance, and drop-ins and the trial pass are paid on site in cash or by Twint. Subscriptions have an individual start date and can be paused once, for 2 weeks up to 2 months; missed classes are not refunded but can be made up in the same week. For under-16s there is a semester subscription at CHF 228, and there are no classes during school holidays.

Contact

For the wedding coaching, the page gives Chiara Jarrell's own email address, info@chiarajarrell.com, and the Instagram handle @theweddingdancecoach. The studio's general contact is info@reconnectingcircles.org.

What the page leaves open

The page does not say where the coaching sessions take place beyond Basel, whether at the studio or elsewhere, and whether they could be held at a wedding venue. It gives no price range, no typical number of sessions and no lead time. It also does not describe how the choreography is handed over for practice at home, for instance by video. The studio's address is given, but the site offers no directions or parking information.

Who it suits

This coaching suits couples in or near Basel, including English- and French-speaking couples, who want a first dance built from their own story and music rather than a ballroom standard, and who like the idea of a teacher with roots in contemporary, Afro and Dancehall dance. The calm, unhurried approach suits nervous beginners. The caveats are a page that describes the approach but not the format, and prices that have to be discussed in person.