# Dance Lessons

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**Dance Lessons** is an international music collective whose sound combines pop, electro, jazz, indie and neo soul. The project is led by singer and producer [Anne Freier](/source/I_Am_Harlequin), alongside bassist and backing vocalist Tom Christensen and guitarist Nat Cantor.[1] To date, Dance Lessons have released seven singles and one full-length album.

## History

Anne, formerly of [I Am Harlequin](/source/I_Am_Harlequin), met Tom Christensen in late 2019 at a house party where they got discussing a mutual love of disco, jazz and an interest to start a new musical project.[2] Christensen and Cantor, who had previously played in the [XL Recordings](/source/XL_Recordings)-backed indie band [The Collectable Few](/source/The_Collectable_Few) and toured with [Karima Francis](/source/Karima_Francis) as part of her live band for several years, were driven by a desire to create new music that blurred the lines between alt-pop and jazz. This led the three collaborators into the studio to start working on new material.

The trio released their first single 'SMABTO' (Some Mistakes Are Better Than Others), a jazz-infused, dance-pop song in 2020 to positive reviews from *[The Fader](/source/The_Fader)*[3] and *[The Line of Best Fit](/source/The_Line_of_Best_Fit)*.[1]

After writing and recording several more tracks in Anne's [East London](/source/East_London) studio, the group began conversations with New York-based mixer-producer [Andrew Maury](/source/Andrew_Maury), with Maury later mixing Dance Lessons' new batch of songs.[4] The result was the collective's second single 'New Job'. The music video to the song was shot in Los Angeles during the COVID-19 lockdown by director [Sarah Chatfield](/source/Sarah_Chatfield) and premiered in June of 2020 on [COMPLEX](/source/COMPLEX).[5]

The group's third single 'Just Chemistry', was released in 2021, for which the group was awarded 'Best of 2021' by US music publication *Earmilk*,[6] which stated, "Despite their newcomer status, Dance Lessons exudes a magnetic, sultry allure that could soundtrack almost any situation." The song was also added to [BBC Radio 1](/source/BBC_Radio_1)'s regular rotation, being named [Jack Saunders](/source/Jack_Saunders_(presenter)) Future Artists[7] 'Tune of The Week' and praised by [Jess Iszatt](/source/Jess_Iszatt)'s *[BBC Music Introducing](/source/BBC_Music_Introducing)* show as a band who "ooze confidence and sexiness".

In 2021, Anne was featured in Atwood Magazine for [Women's History Month](/source/Women's_History_Month), where she discussed being a female producer in a male dominated industry.[8] On July 25th, the band released their debut album Beginners on the Exotic Creatures label; launched with a sold-out show at The Waiting Room in Stoke Newington; a limited 250 LP vinyl pressing also sold out within a week of its release.

## Associated musicians

- [Anne Freier](/source/I_Am_Harlequin) – vocals, piano, keyboards, synths, drum programming, production, engineering
- Tom Christensen – bass, vocals
- Nat Cantor – guitars, synths, vocals
- Clark Hogan-Taylor – keyboards, vocals
- John Harris – live and recorded drums
- Duncan Eagles – live and recorded saxophone
- Yasmin Ogilvie – live saxophone
- [Alex Bone](/source/Alex_Bone_(musician)) – recorded saxophone
- Ben Grossman – recorded saxophone
- Alex Hammond – recorded drums

## References

1. ["Dance Lessons tantalise with sultry sound of "SMABTO" | Best Fit"](https://www.thelineofbestfit.com/new-music/discovery/dance-lessons-smabto). *The Line of Best Fit*

1. ["Dance Lessons: Just Chemistry"](https://headlinermagazine.net/dance-lessons-just-chemistry.html). *headlinermagazine.net*

1. ["Dance Lessons ride off into the sunset on "SMABTO""](https://www.thefader.com/2020/04/09/dance-lessons-smabto). *The FADER*

1. Rosen, Michael (13 October 2022). ["Dance Lessons"](https://www.digitalinberlin.de/dance-lessons/). *Digital in Berlin*

1. Keith, James. ["Premiere: Wash Away The Pain With Dance Lessons' Leftfield Pop Number "New Job""](https://www.complex.com/music/a/james-keith/premiere-dance-lessons-new-job). *Complex*

1. Fulton, Robin (16 April 2021). ["Dance Lessons articulate modern love on "Just Chemistry" \[Video\]"](https://earmilk.com/2021/04/16/dance-lessons-articulate-modern-love-on-just-chemistry-video/)

1. ["BBC Radio 1 - Radio 1's Future Artists with Jack Saunders, Live Music Fix"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000vx8j). *BBC*

1. ["Atwood Magazine Celebrates Women's History Month 2021, Pt. VII"](https://atwoodmagazine.com/whm2107-womens-history-month-2021-feature-part-7/). 29 March 2021.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dance Lessons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Lessons) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dance_Lessons?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.