Louise Bretz Dance Instruction

Ventura, United States

4.7

6 reviews

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Telephone:
+1 805-223-0635
Website:
www.psdance.org
Address:
Ventura, CA 93003
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
2 miGold Coast Transit
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Today

Today –
Local time (Ventura) 5:42 AM Saturday, June 28, 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
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Thursday –
Friday –
Saturday –
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

We specialize in:

* West Coast Swing, the state dance of California and the coolest dance on the planet.

* Wedding dances. Louise loves working with brides and grooms to get that first dance polished.

* Helping beginners take that first step

* Creating a friendly place to learn a new skill and make friends

* Group AND private lessons

History

Established in 1994.

Owners Louise and Woody met in a West Coast Swing dance class in the early 1990’s. In 1994, Louise began teaching. in 1996 we were married. We kept teaching throughout the years.

In 2005 we opened Connexions Dance Studio in Ventura, where we were able to offer a variety of other dances through other instructors. Connexions closed its doors in 2013 so we could concentrate more fully on our favorite things: West Coast Swing and wedding dances.

We now teach out of a variety of local venues.

Our group classes employ our «Be Our Guest» program, which allows more advanced dancers to hone their basic skills at no additional cost.

No partner is needed for any class… all dancers rotate partners so this is a great way to meet people.

Louise has won #1 dance instructor in the VCReporter’s readers’ poll in 2011 and 2012. Connexions, under her leadership, won #1 dance studio 5 times. (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012). Louise is a nationally certified West Coast Swing competition judge.

Meet the Business Owner

Louise B.

Business Owner

I’m a native of Ventura County. After leaving for college (in Minnesota) and work (in Virginia) as an engineer, I returned to Ventura in 1991, when I took up West Coast Swing dancing. I fell in love with it.

Through dancing, I’ve grown tremendously, and met a huge arrray of wonderful people, including my husband Woody.

I’m passionate about teaching and about the SOCIAL aspects of dancing, so I work hard to make sure that comes across in my teaching.

I love working with brides and grooms on their first dance… I never get tired of that special time.

I can’t imagine my life without dance, and my mission is to spread that joy around to whoever else wants a piece of it.

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6 reviews of Louise Bretz Dance Instruction

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Camarillo, CA
We started learning West Coast Swing at park & rec classes, but once we got out on the dance floor, we were told by other dancers that if we really wanted to learn West Coast Swing we should take instruction from Louise and Woody Bretz. That’s the best dance advice we ever got. If you’re wanting to learn West Coast Swing, look no further; you’ll never find better instructors than Louise and Woody. One reason why we like West Coast Swing (not to be confused with East Coast Swing) is because of it’s versatility; it can be danced to almost any music in 4⁄4 time, and music of many different styles may be found in an evening of West Coast Swing dancing: pop, R & B, blues … you name it. Both Louise and her husband Woody are not only great instructors, but they’re also very nice people (and very entertaining!). In the group lessons, it’s fine to come without a partner because students are rotated from partner to partner. Louise and Woody used to own Connexions Dance Studios & were 5-​time winners of best dance studio in the County … and rightfully so. They’re now in a new venue which is spacious and lovely. The atmosphere is very nice and fellow students are warm and friendly, making one feel welcome no matter if you’re a new beginner or an advanced dancer. We only have one regret, that we didn’t start much, much earlier in life. We highly recommend West Coast Swing dancing; it’s wonderful exercise both physically and mentally.
Place rating: 5
Los Angeles, CA
The staff is very warm and friendly. My husband and I took private classes with Louise Brentz. We chose a very old Baltic Folk song for our wedding dance as an homage to my husband’s heritage. The look on her face when she first heard it — PRICELESS! She was up for the challenge and within moments created a unique dance for us. She was so patient (my husband had a ‘moment’ aka ‘mini breakdown’). Every class she provided great insight, direction, and technique. We blew everyone away with our dance and we couldn’t have done it without Louise. Highly recommended!
Place rating: 5
San Buenaventura (Ventura), CA
I have never taken dance lessons at Connexions but I have many friends who have. They all rave about how professional they are, the friendly atmosphere and the reasonable prices.
I highly recommend them.
Dan OBrien
Landmark Financial
Place rating: 4
Camarillo, CA
I take the Zumba classes here. There are 3 different teachers, all with different styles, so there is someone for every taste. I love that there are several times to chose from.
Place rating: 4
Alexandria, VA
I only wish I would’ve tried the Zumba classes here sooner since I’m moving out of the area. I went for the first time to the 9:30am Saturday Zumba class. The classes are set up to be very welcoming to newcomers. If you go to their website and print out their coupon for your first class, you can try it for free. After that you can pay class by class or buy a card for multiple classes to be used as it fits into your schedule. This was perfect for me since I really enjoyed the Salsa dance move exercise classes at Camarillo’s 24 Hour Fitness but not the prices I was paying to enjoy the class once a week. I love dance as exercise and I really enjoyed the Zumba class at Connexions. If I wasn’t moving up north, I would’ve definitely gone to more of these classes. The studio is a cute, intimate setting for fun. Parking on the street is pretty easy too. If you enjoy dancing and building a good sweat try this place for sure!
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
I took salsa and cumbia classes from Simon at Connexions for about a year, and I loved every minute of it, and learned so much. Simon has the patience of a saint (he is also a 2nd grade teacher) and really puts thought into how to best teach salsa so his students can be most successful. The classes build on each other (they are offered in 6-​week courses) and the people are pretty constant, which makes for a nice, friendly atmosphere.
In addition, Simon is one great salsero. I didn’t realize it at the time, but Simon and Connexions really set the bar high for future dance instructors for me. I still haven’t found anything comparable in San Diego, but I’m trying.
If you are in Ventura County and really looking to learn salsa beyond a quick class before salsa night at a club, this would be your best option.