Hen party themes · Chicago
Chicago Hen Party Dance Class Blackpool
A chicago hen party dance class in Blackpool, built on the bits everyone pictures — flexed Fosse hands, a shoulder roll held a beat too long, a jazz square done with a straight face. It looks far harder than it is, which is rather the point. Ninety minutes of Chicago for one fee — £185 plus the venue — however many come.
Get it booked
Two lines from you is enough to start.
A date and a rough number, and we can tell you which room is free and what it costs. Anything else — the bride's nerves, an injured bridesmaid, a group who'd rather not be filmed — is useful but not urgent.
- £185 plus the venue — one fee, whatever the final numbers
- The Hornby Road room we hire, or wherever the group is staying
- One clear reply inside 24 hours, with dates and the room cost
A real Blackpool hen doThe room, and the alternative
We hire a function room in town; failing that, we bring the class to wherever you're staying.
- Hornby Road, FY1 4RDThe function room we hire in town, near the Winter Gardens — pinned down as soon as your date is agreed
- Wherever the party is basedA hotel function room, an apartment with the sofas pushed back, anywhere on the front or across the Fylde coast
Why Chicago photographs so well
Slow, sharp, and easier than it looks.
Look at the picture at the top of this page: that's a genuine Blackpool hen party, mid-routine, at a Chicago class of ours. We use it as the photograph for the whole site, partly because of what the theme does to a room. Chicago is the slowest thing on our hen party dance class list and, by a distance, the most flattering. Nothing is fast. Nothing needs a big jump. What it needs is intent — a flexed hand held still, a head turn on the beat, everybody hitting the same shape at the same moment — and that is a far easier ask of a group at four in the afternoon than eight counts of running about.
Which is why a chicago hen do dance class tends to convert the sceptics. The bridesmaid who announced in the group chat that she doesn't dance will do a shoulder roll and a jazz square without noticing she's been had. The choreographer builds it in layers: the stance first, then the hands, then the walk, then the attitude, looping each until the room stops apologising. We'd usually hang it on the numbers everyone knows, but which tracks carry your routine is agreed with your group and can be swapped on the morning — nothing is promised in advance. Bowler hats, gloves, chairs and anything else you've seen in the film are yours to bring; we don't supply props, costumes or shoes, and honestly the routine reads better without a chair to trip over.
As a dance hen party it suits a Blackpool weekend for practical reasons too: ninety minutes of this leaves a group looking pleased with themselves rather than wrung out, so dinner and the Illuminations still happen. If your lot want the same sultry pitch with more feathers, the Burlesque class is the neighbour; if they'd rather belt something out, Musicals covers half a dozen shows in one session. Brides who find they rather like this end up back with us for a wedding first dance, which is how a lot of our couples start.
What you're paying for
The flat fee — £185 plus the venue, ninety minutes.
The longer session wins nearly every time with this theme, because Chicago rewards cleaning things up rather than rushing them. Beyond the fee there's only room hire, told to you before you commit, and nothing at all if the class comes to your hotel. Some groups ask for a chicago dance class hen party, some for a Blackpool chicago dance hen party. Same session, same flat price.
What's included
- Professional dance instructor
- Chicago choreography built for your group
- All music and sound equipment
- Warm-up and cool-down
- Beginner-friendly instruction
- Photo and video opportunities
- Help picking the theme and the song
- Group coordination beforehand
- A spotlight moment for the bride
What you'll experience
- A Chicago routine hung on music your group has agreed to
- Hands, stance and head turns taught before anything travels
- Material layered in short loops so it sticks without cramming
- A choreographer who tunes the attitude up or down to suit the room
- The bride placed exactly where she wants to be, front or hidden
- One clean, slow run at the end that films beautifully
Perfect for
- Groups who want to look good rather than get sweaty
- A bride who'd sooner smoulder than skip
- Hens in outfits they'd rather not sweat through
- An afternoon hen party activity that doesn't wreck the evening
- Parties with a couple of self-declared non-dancers in them
- Anyone whose group chat has already argued about the film
How ninety minutes tends to go
The shape of a Chicago session.
It starts standing still, which throws people. Before any steps there's posture, weight and the hands — because get those three right and the simplest walk already looks like the show. The choreographer then adds a short phrase, loops it slowly, speeds it to tempo, and only moves on once the room is together. Attitude arrives about a third of the way in, usually via somebody's mum, and after that the volume in the room goes up rather than down.
The last third is about polish: spacing the group so everyone's in shot, deciding who does what on the final pose, and giving the bride whatever moment she signed up for. Ninety minutes means the full routine gets run twice at the end — once to prove you can, once with the phones out — and there's normally time for a still photo in the final shape. All of that is the usual pattern rather than a fixed running order; where the time actually goes gets decided in the room, with your group.
Straight from the groups
Four things people said afterwards.
I have never felt so smug about doing so little. It's all in the hands and the standing still, and we looked incredible.
My mother-in-law-to-be did a shoulder roll and the room fell apart. Worth the money for that alone.
Slow, sharp, brilliant.
We had two who swore blind they wouldn't join in. Both of them are in the front row of the video, absolutely committing.
The usual questions
Chicago, cleared up.
IIs the Chicago routine too hard for beginners?
It's one of the kinder themes for a group that's never danced, because the pace is slow and precision does the work. Everything is taught in small loops and repeated until it feels automatic. Looking sharp matters far more here than moving quickly.
IIDo you provide chairs, hats or gloves for the Chicago class?
No — we never supply props, costumes or shoes. If your group wants bowler hats and long gloves in the pictures, bring them. The choreography is built so it works without a single prop, and chairs tend to get in the way more than they help.
IIIIs the Chicago class too racy for a mixed-age hen group?
Not as we teach it. It's sultry in the way the film is — attitude, stillness, a look over the shoulder — and everyone stays fully clothed and on their feet. Grandmothers do this class regularly and tend to be the ones milking it.
IVCan we choose which Chicago song the routine uses?
Tell us what the group wants and the choreographer works with it. We never lock a setlist in beforehand, and tracks sometimes get swapped on the day once we've seen how the room is moving. If the bride has one she loves, say so in the enquiry.
VHow many people can join the Chicago hen party class?
Anything from eight to twenty-six works well, and the fee stays flat at £185 plus the venue whichever end of that you're at. It's a rare hen party idea that gets better value the more people say yes. Larger than twenty-six and we'll talk about bringing a second teacher.
VIWhereabouts in Blackpool is the Chicago class held?
Most groups use a function room we hire in Blackpool town centre, on Hornby Road (FY1 4RD), a short walk from the station, the Winter Gardens and the front. Groups staying somewhere with a bit of clear floor often have us come to them instead — hotels, apartments and holiday lets up and down this coast.