I know Karen Bernard. She started this place when she moved here years ago…read more She truly loves her work. All of her daughters dance with her and if you live in Winchester and have a daughter, chances are they learned to dance from this woman here. Nice studio off Swanton St in Winchester. Her patience with the little kids is incredible. She puts on a dance show each year which is always a success.

The best of the best. Every teacher is very experienced, friendly, and genuinely care about their…read morestudents This place is my second home.

My husband and I decided to take dance lessons at Balera in preparation for our wedding. Our only…read moregoal was to not look like complete idiots - something that could have happened since we are horrible at dancing. Johnny, who is also the owner of Balera Ballroom Dance Studio, was our instructor. He was absolutely fantastic. Johnny had so much patience with us and was able to teach us the two-step, despite our lack of rhythm or ability. Johnny made our dance lessons fun, and we began to look forward to our weekly dance lessons. It is also because of Johnny that we heard roars of applause as we did every turn and twirl during our first dance on our wedding day. I highly recommend Balera to any bride and groom looking to learn a few dance steps for their first song. To warn you however, do not be intimidated when you first step on the dance floor. Balera teaches some very experienced ballroom dancers in addition to beginners. One time, when we had one of our dance lessons, the world champion of ballroom dance was there giving lessons to people who could have been national champions. If anything, by having these very experienced dancers with you on the dance floor makes you feel like you are part of Dancing with the Stars!

I learned about this place through a living social deal. Prior to purchasing the deal i checked the…read morewebsite for a discription of what the clas entailed and it stated: "A wedding is the beginning of your journey together and our goal is to create a first dance that is unique, memorable and expresses the love you share as a couple. Learning to dance is an opportunity to learn and grow together while accomplishing the goal of a first dance for your wedding. Our qualified instructors take the time to teach not only the basics, but are able to choreograph a dance from beginning to end to the wedding song you choose." My fiance and I took the "wedding dance" class based on the offer that was provided by living social- and were taught 3 steps and the instructor proceeded to "up-sell" us. I understand that everyone's ability is different and as such what can be accomplished in a 45 min class needs to be clearer. Rather than just offering one class they need to specifically spell out that the program entails multiple classes and the instructor has no intention of choreographing a dance during the first lesson. Regardless, we had fun and our instructor was friendly and enthusiastic; i just wish the information we were provided was clearer

I have seen 2 Russian Ballet companies dance, Once I spent an entire pay check to see the The…read moreBolshoi Ballet ,in performances in WDC 1963 with their prima ballerina assoluta of the Bolshoi ,,Maya Plisetskaya!! Was I blessed. Much later in the early 2000's in Boston I attended a night of a performance by The Kirov Ballet. It changed my life. I had never seen ballet performed even close to these two companies. A week or so ago, I saw on WGBH the story of a Russian Ballet company in of all places Watertown, MA! named The Koltun Ballet. I had never known that such a Russian Ballet company was so close. Believe me we are blessed to have this company in the USA and in The Greater Boston area. I can hardly wait to finally see another Russian Ballet so close!

Koltun ballet is an exceptional ballet school, with very professional, committed coaches. My…read moredaughter has attended this school for over 7 years and I could not be happier.

it's a great dance studio kids are happy having fun and getting better it's a great space great…read moreteachers and the teams and classes are very good

I've been bringing my daughter here for 2 years. We love it! Miss Elizabeth is a fantastic teacher,…read morethe recitals are amazing, and the support staff are so helpful. The studio is clean and bright, and the waiting area is comfortable. The prices are reasonable too. We're very happy at ASD and plan to be here for many more years!

I couldn't agree more with Will's review of the Hamby dance studio. Brian and Maureen are…read moreincredibly talented, patient, welcoming, professional, and most of all fun! I have never been a "dancer", but my girlfriend is, and I wanted to get myself up to speed so I could keep up with her. Choosing to take an advanced beginner class here was a great decision for me and I am thrilled to have found a space where I am comfortable learning the basics, but also challenged to learn more and more each week. If you're looking for a great place to pick up (or perfect) dancing I highly recommend going here! Class sizes range from just a few dancers to more than a dozen, depending on the style and level. Prices are reasonable and parking in the lot is a breeze!

I love taking dance lessons from Hamby Ballroom with Brian and Maureen! How could you beat two…read moreexcellent teachers for the price of one? B and M are so nice, funny, patient and great at teaching. My fiancé and I took ten dance lessons with Arthur Murray. Afterward we felt like we had not learned enough to even dance one style for a full song, comfortably. Meanwhile, only a few weeks in to learning from Brian and Maureen felt like a world of difference. I never would have thought I would enjoy dancing this much.

The Dance Inn has provided so much joy for our family! Our two daughters have taken tap, jazz,…read moreballet, contemporary and hip hop classes and I (the mom) have taken a beginner tap class. I love that they encourage dancers of all ages and body types to join and I also appreciate that they set a high bar--our girls have learned responsibility and discipline while doing something they love.

We love it here! Ms Hannah and Ms Sahana always worked so well with my daughter. She loves to dance…read morearound everywhere these days. Transitions are sometimes challenging for my 4 year old, but they made it easy, comfy, and fun so she got to enjoy every moment instead of fighting leaving my side. They did a great job of teaching Some great dance routines and sharing them for practicing at home. Nothing but kudos for the team at the dance inn!

Very impressed with Miss Maria's School of Dance. Both of my daughters attend class there. My…read moreolder daughter (age 5), prior to attending her classes, had always been very non-plussed when it came to extra curricular activities. We signed her up for Teeny Dancer class, not expecting miracles but miracles occurred. My daughter is not only excited and engaged in class but she asks about it all week long. My 2.5 year old is not great at sitting still or following directions but somehow, Miss Maria has mesmerized her and she listens attentively and for the most part, is a very good participant in class. For the first two weeks, she kept referring to Miss Maria as "the princess"-- as in- when Maria left the room, she would say "where did Princess go?" Obviously, my princess-obsessed toddler was bestowing her with a very high compliment. In addition to the quality of class, I must speak highly to the professionalism and flexibility displayed by Maria herself. When I emailed to inquire about different classes, expressing my needs and circumstances, she emailed me back very thorough answers and advise as to what might work best for my children given their ages and tendencies. My children attend class at different times and Maria went so far as to add in another little kids class at the same time as my older daughter's class to help simplify our schedule. While that class didn't end up having enough students to sign up, she helped me find another solution to help smooth the way to less chaos in our dance schedule. This is the kind of small business I am proud to support and I hope her studio is here for years to come.

It has taken me a few months to write this because I've been going back and forth on how much…read moredetail to divulge. I will start by saying that Miss Maria threatened to sue me for sharing my experiences with others. She said she was planning to sue me for liable - I can only assume she means libel. Anyway. Her threats won't stop me from sharing. After 3 years of being part of this dance school, it has become blatantly obvious to me how appalling Maria's behavior is, and what a horrible business person she truly is. While at first Maria comes across as friendly and helpful, you'll notice that if there is any conflict, for which there will be many, she will flip and she won't know how to approach the situation. The most recent exchange we had started as a fairly simple one and could have been easily diffused. Instead, she became defensive, heated, accusatory, and spewed disgusting insults at me. If she had responded like a professional, she pretty much could have guaranteed that my three children remain enrolled from age 2 until age 18. She severed that, unfortunately to her. Over the three years my children were enrolled, there were many instances in which communication was handled poorly. Of these, the most concerning was a pattern I saw in which it seemed like she completely forgot previous conversations and did something entirely different than she said she would. This happened with assigning teachers (switching last minute after I requested a certain one), changing dance class time to accommodate another class that she never added, allowing my son to join prior to turning 3 and then accusing me of lying), and then becoming defensive and flustered when confronted. There was also an instance when my daughter was enrolled in a 2/3 class where a child's nanny brought her boyfriend to class, and he would take photos and videos of children unrelated to him (including my daughter). I wrote to miss Maria expressing my concern and told her it made me feel uncomfortable. You'd think she'd show up to the next class - she didn't, and instead, I was greeted by a passive aggressive nanny who proceeded to live stream FaceTime the class to her boyfriend who was waiting in the car. I should have pulled my daughter out then, and looking back, I wish I had. Maria should have absolutely asked them to leave, but alas, she wasn't there, and the teacher of the class seemed to be oblivious. Her approach towards handling conflict makes me wonder how on earth she has a successful dance school. Based on the other reviews on this page, I can see I'm not the only one she has done this too. I am saddened that I wasted so much time, energy, and money on this school. I even continued to pay her through covid, after she quite literally begged. There are many other dance schools out there -- trust the reviews.

Fabulous!! Simply fabulous! I cannot say enough wonderful things about Margie Peirce (the owner)…read moreand her staff. The kids are THRILLED to be there, they are kind, understanding, open to suggestion and produce fabulous dancers. LOVE!!!

My daughter is a toddler that attended this studio for a few months and was singled out by…read moreinstructors for criticism and neglected by the staff. When I tried to talk with the program director to find a solution, her response was "I'm not sure what you want me to say". It's no coincidence that she's the only black student in class and no one was willing to even work with my family. Needless to say that we will never be back.