TikTok invades Palm Beach: West Palm dance guru puts islanders in the groove

From trending dances such as "Renegade" to "Say So," Sean's Dance Factory owner and choreographer Sean Green teaches TikTok choreography from the video app through his individualized classes to Palm Beach kids and adults.

Parents can sign up their kids, and themselves, for a private dance session with Green, who breaks down the popular moves into easy steps for anyone to learn. He has taught classes via TikTok to kids, teenagers and adults in Palm Beach, New York, Miami and London.

The idea began as a result of the pandemic

The idea began as a result of the pandemic when town resident Rachel Uchitel reached out to him about teaching her daughter TikTok dances for a week.

"I would teach her two to three dances because of how quick she catches on,” Green said.

After posting the dance lesson with Uchitel and her daughter on the social media platform, Green’s video went viral. He received messages asking for TikTok lessons and birthday parties.

In the Hamptons, he started teaching four students and, by the end of July of this year, he had 28. He started getting requests to teach entire families.

"Last Thanksgiving, I had family in town and we had three generations dancing with Sean. Everybody in the house, boys, girls, men, and women of all ages from five to 80," said Ann DesRuisseaux, owner of Palm Beach restaurant LeBar, whose kids participate in the classes.

Resident Emilia Pfeifler had Green host a TikTok-themed birthday party for one of her daughters after seeing his dance videos on Instagram. She describes Green's teaching style as uplifting, motivational and inspiring to kids.

"My girls and their friends think of Sean as a very cool mentor and he has a lot of positive energy," she said.

Pfeifler recalls moms who attended the birthday party wanted to participate in the dance class as well.

Sean Green shares his love of dance with his audience

With the 200.6K followers and 1.6 million likes on his TikTok profile, plus 14.6K followers on Instagram (@seangreensdf), Green shares his love of dance with his audience. Green believes the interest in learning TikTok dances has grown because they are easier moves and fun to do. The format of the app with videos under a minute lends itself to scrolling for a few seconds or hours.

“The app is designed for a kid, teenager or adult to be creative, follow a trend where there’s lip syncing, dancing or creating your own dance. These kids are so obsessed with it, might as well make it a positive thing because it’s still a form of expression,” he said.

When he teaches, Green's goal is to build confidence and self-esteem as well as manage anxiety and depression.

"Dancing is therapeutic. It helps students step out of their comfort zone,” he said.

Green is a self-taught dancer. He remembers mimicking dances from MTV, BET and VH1 music videos in his backyard when he was just 11 years old. While attending Suncoast High School in West Palm Beach in 1994, he submitted his first audition tape to MTV for a dance contest. He and two colleagues won first place — and $25,000.

He also performed at Showtime at the Apollo in college and won first place with the dance team Strikers All Stars. Green also choreographed the pregame dance for Super Bowl XXIX in Miami, as well as worked with the Miami Heat dancers and Miami Dolphins cheerleaders. He graduated from Florida A&M in Tallahassee with a bachelor's of science education degree in 2000.

“Having all that experience under my belt, never taken a class. Remember we couldn’t afford dance classes, I had to dance in the backyard. There were no hip-hop schools in my time in 1994, 1995,” he said.

In 2003, he was inspired to start Sean’s Dance Factory, his West Palm Beach dance studio that specializes in hip-hop, popping, locking and foundational dance styles. His purpose with the studio is to help kids express themselves through dance, give them something positive to do after school and keep them out of trouble.

According to Green, dance is not only therapeutic but students can make a living out of it either by becoming a dance teacher, studio owner or a professional dancer. Some of his past students include Mikey Pesante, tour dancer for Britney Spears and Rihanna, and choreographers Ben Faustino and Michelle Griffith.

"It just shows that what I did was well worth it,” he said. “The students that came out of Sean’s Dance Factory are the reason why I do what I do.”

Sean's Dance Factory student Lauryn Garcia has been taking dance classes with Green since 2019.

"He finds a way to teach so that we understand the choreography and also have a great time," she said. "It's not only a studio or a place where you can go dance, but it’s also a family. It’s a place where people support each other throughout their journey of becoming the greatest version of themselves."

Sean's Dance Factory is located at 435 6th St. in West Palm Beach.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: West Palm Beach dance studio owner Sean Green creates Tik Tok trending dance lessons