About House of Dance LABDS · Dance Studio, Centurion

The Dance Studio Centurion Built on 30 Years of Social Dancing

One instructor. One tradition. The Arthur Murray lineage of social ballroom and Latin dancing. Still alive in Gauteng. Nowhere else.

30+

Years Teaching in
Centurion & Pretoria

1000+

Students Taught
Ages 9 to 76

Only

Studio in Gauteng
Arthur Murray tradition

Book a Free Couple Session
Book Your Instructor Interview

THE SHORT ANSWER

House of Dance LABDS is a social ballroom and Latin dance studio at Eco Park, Centurion, Gauteng and the only dance school in Pretoria operating in the Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire tradition of social dancing. Founded by Gideon, with 30+ years of teaching and over 1,000 students trained. The studio offers private couple dance classes and qualifies aspiring social dance instructors in 10 weeks, without a franchise.

ABOUT GIDEON

He Didn’t Choose Dancing. Dancing Chose Him.

Gideon’s first dance lesson was at age 11. He didn’t dance again for over a decade.

Then, in 1996, he walked into a studio in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. Within weeks, the studio owner pulled him aside: “You should be teaching, not taking lessons.”

He listened. By late 1997, Gideon was a qualified instructor at DanceWell studio in Sunnyside, Pretoria. Within one month, he had his first students.

“Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire built social dancing in South Africa for decades. Their studios are gone. The tradition is not. And I intend to make sure it never disappears again.“
– Gideon, Founder, House of Dance LABDS · Centurion

Over three decades of studio work in Constantia Park, his own private studio and in-home lessons during COVID, Gideon taught  more than 1,000 students. Ages 9 to 76. Sighted students, blind students and two deaf women who could not hear the music but could feel every beat.

He trained in the Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire tradition of social ballroom and Latin dancing, a method no longer formally offered by any active franchise in South Africa. The studios closed. The tradition did not.

House of Dance LABDS is the culmination of 30 years and a vision held for over two decades: to train the next generation of social dance instructors and give them the tools to build their own studios, in their own communities, on their own terms.

30+

Years Teaching
Centurion & Pretoria

1000+

Students Taught
Ages 9 to 76

Only

Studio in Gauteng
Arthur Murray tradition

THE JOURNEY

Three Decades. One Floor.

Every year on the floor shaped the programme that exists in Centurion today.

1985

First Lesson, Age 11

Gideon takes his very first dance lesson. He won’t return to the floor for another decade. The seed is planted.

1996

Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal

Enrols in a dance studio at 22. His teacher recognises his ability immediately: “You should be teaching, not taking lessons.” He relocates to Pretoria six months later.

1997

DanceWell, Sunnyside, Pretoria

Joins DanceWell studio as a qualified instructor. Within one month he is teaching his own students, learning the discipline of social dance instruction from the ground up.

2001–2011

Constantia Park Studio, Pretoria

A decade of teaching in Constantia Park. The 1,000-student milestone is passed. Blind students. Deaf students. Couples of every age. The Arthur Murray method is refined.

2011–2019

His Own Studio

Opens and runs his own private studio for eight years. The vision for a structured instructor training programme becomes clear: South Africa needs a new generation of social dance instructors.

2020–2024

COVID & Private Lessons

The studio closes but the teaching does not. Private in-home lessons keep the tradition alive while the 10-week Bronze programme is developed and refined.

2025 — Now

House of Dance LABDS · Eco Park, Centurion

The studio relaunches at Eco Boulevard Shopping Centre, Centurion. The 10-week social dance instructor training programme opens its first intake. The Arthur Murray tradition of social dancing has a permanent home in Gauteng and a pipeline of qualified instructors to carry it forward.

What We Stand For

This Is Not a Dance Hobby Club.

House of Dance LABDS is built on five non-negotiables. Every lesson, every intake, every graduate reflects them.

The studios that teach you to compete train you to win in front of judges. We train you to dance with a partner, on a real floor, in front of nobody, because that is the only audience that matters.

Book a Free Couple Session →

Become an Instructor →

Social Dancing Only

We teach the dances people actually do on real floors, not competition routines. Every skill you learn works at a wedding, a social evening, or a function. Not just on a stage.

Private. Always.

Couple lessons are one couple per session. No strangers, no group dynamics. Instructor training is capped at 8 students per group. Either way, you get Gideon’s full attention.

Arthur Murray Tradition

Trained in the Arthur Murray and Fred Astaire method of social dancing, a lineage no longer formally offered by any active franchise in South Africa.  The studios are gone. The standard is not.

Two Paths. One Standard.

You come as a couple wanting to dance with confidence or as a dancer wanting to build a career. The path is different. The quality of what you walk away with is not.

A Career, Not a Hobby

Aspiring instructors qualify in 10 weeks with no franchise fees and no locked-in agreements. Your qualification, your students, your studio on your own terms.

A Movement, Not a Business

The vision is to fill every social dance floor in South Africa with confident couples and every community with a qualified instructor who can teach them.

What We Teach

Ten Dances. Every Social Floor Covered.

Latin, Ballroom and South African social dances. If it is played at a function in Pretoria or Centurion, you will know how to dance it.

Tango

BALLROOM

Slow Waltz

BALLROOM

Slow Foxtrot

BALLROOM

Viennese Waltz

BALLROOM

Cha-Cha

Latin

Salsa / Mambo

Latin

Samba

Latin

Rumba

Latin

Swing / Jive

Rock & Roll

Sokkie / Two-Step

SA Social

Why House of Dance LABDS

The Studios That Train Champions Teach You to Compete.

We teach you to dance with a partner, on a real social floor, with 50 other couples around you. Whether you come as a couple who wants confidence on the floor or as an aspiring instructor who wants to teach them, the standard is the same.

There is no other dance school in Pretoria operating in the Arthur Murray tradition of social dancing. No group classes, no franchise commitments and no years spent waiting to do what you actually came here to do.

Book a Free Couple Session →

See the Instructor Programme →

House of Dance LABDS

Typical Dance Studio

✓ Social floor confidence. Real dances, real events

✗ Competition choreography for judged performance

✓ Private couple lessons, one couple per session, always

✗ Group classes shared with strangers

✓ Couples teach each other with a built-in practice partner

✗ Singles classes with rotating partners

✓ Arthur Murray lineage. Social dance the way it was taught

✗ Generic competition syllabus

✓ No franchise fee. Your studio, your income

✗ Locked-in franchise commitment

✓ Instructor qualified in 10 weeks

✗ Years of unpaid apprenticeship

✓ External examiner with an independent result for instructors

✗ In-house assessment only

Common Questions

Answers About Gideon & House of Dance LABDS

About the Studio

About Gideon

Two reasons to walk through the door.
One studio that takes both seriously.

Whether you want to dance with your partner at every function you will ever attend or turn a lifelong passion for dancing into a career and your own studio, this is where that conversation starts.
Every session begins with a free, no-pressure consultation. No robots, no automated emails. Gideon answers his own phone.

Book Your Free Couple Session
Book Your Free Couple Session

Existing Studio Owners: Book a Coaching Call

📞 072 426 6555  ·  gideon@houseofdancelabds.co.za

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