It is hard to be objective when it comes to assessing the quality of dance teachers or dance…read moreschools, so I'll try and avoid that pitfall and stick to some of those things that some people call "facts". This dance school is small. Or more accurately, the dance floor is small. And that is probably the biggest disadvantage of this school. In second place would be the lack of air flow, resulting in it becoming a bit too hot. Many tango schools have a bar but this one is too small for a bar. Having said that, there is a dedicated group of tango students who continue to take lessons here. The aforementioned disadvantages don't seem to mean much to them. One of the advantages of its size is that many of the students know each other. And the lack of a bar isn't such an issue when a bottle of wine appears out of nowhere at the end of the evening. What makes this tango school stand out from others? Lessons are given in blocks of five. (It's a personal thing, but I find short blocks much better than long ones that might be 10 or 14 weeks long. Fourteen weeks sounds like a punishment!) They have a "tango fitness" class - a cross between a tango lesson and an aerobics class, which I don't think is available elsewhere. It is the only place I know of that has lessons for show tango or stage tango. When you have gone through the late nights, the early starts, the hours of rehearsals necessary for such a show, your fellow performers take on a much different role than "fellow students". And that might be the secret of the place.

It's the blue floor. The blue linoleum floor. It is so undeserving of tango dancers. Such a…read moresensual, initimate dance. Other venues bait dancers with their wooden floors. Or better still, their "floating" wooden floor. The blue floor, the low ceiling, the four pillars that always get in the way and being on the fourth floor of a building facing the Melkweg, don't combine to make this the ideal tango venue. That's enough about the floor! Academia is one of the oldest tango schools in Amsterdam. And one of the largest. (Aside: many parties claim to have been the first to bring tango to the Netherlands; there are many stories, many contradictions and I take them all with a pinch of salt. Actually, a handful of salt.) They offer lessons five evenings a week, from a variety of teachers. Some schools offer lessons three or four evenings, but then always from the same teachers. While other schools might have lessons only once or twice each week. This is probably the most attractive thing about Academia: choice of evenings, choice of teachers, and a chance to have a catch-up lesson should you miss on. It is also worth mentioning that Academia is very centrally located, has a bar, seating all around the dance floor and a nice, old fashioned atmosphere. Some venues play a mixture of traditional and modern ("neo") tango or even non-tango, but here you shoukd expect to hear only traditional tango.

From the owner: Tango Argentino: Lessen, workshops, choreografie, privé lessen, salons met optredens /live muziekread more

This is a very nice Cuban salsa school also offering Kizomba, Bachata, Rueda and Ladies Styling…read moreclasses. They teach M-F in two rooms and have a wide range of offerings from beginner to advanced, from 6-10pm. They are in partnership with Cafe Sao Paulo next door to offer dance nights a few times a week. The teachers are good and students friendly. They also have experienced dancers who aren't officially teachers to help even out the M/F ratio; I've never had to stand on the side waiting for a guy to "open up." Compared with other schools I've been to, class sizes are smaller and you get more personalized attention.

Just positive things about this school. Such a wonderful place (in the centre of Amsterdam) to…read moreenjoy my first salsa steps. Atmosphere is really cosy and made a lot of new friends. The level of the lessons is quite challenging but at the same time with a lot of fun. After few months I was able to dance with intermediate and advanced (from other schools) with no single problem at all. Last but not least, Rodolfo is a great teacher, you will notice that from the beginning (I did!!!). His level of salsa expertise is above the level of other teachers I have seen in The Netherlands.

At this address you will find Zaal 100, a podium for jazz, spoken word and experimental music; also…read moreRestaurant 100 that serves only vegetarian (often vegan) food at very low prices and, of relevance to this review, Studio 100. The latter is a high-ceilinged room with climbing frames along one wall and was the gym in the school that this building once was. I know, it doesn't sound very attractive. But read on. Every Wednesday evening, Studio 100 becomes Tangoland. This is one of only two places in Amsterdam where you can come for a drop-in lesson. No commitment, no planning, just one and a half hours of of tango instruction. As I mentioned in another review, I wil try and avoid rating subjective qualities such as the quality of teaching, but one thing that helps make the lessons here so worthwhile is the small size of the class. Instead of having 13 couple competing for the attention of the teachers, here five couples will do just that on a busy evening. On a quite evening you will get evenb more attention. Last week, no one else turned up so my partner and I had a private lesson. That is nice! Some points worth noting: there is only one lesson/workshop per week, so levels are mixed. The teachers do adjust to each pair's ability and the more experienced dancers will be given more challenging exercises to work on. The lesson is not suited to beginners. If you have a good basis of tango, then you can come here. After the lesson/workshop, there is free dancing ("milonga" or "salon" in the vernacular). Because of the low attendance figures, this will probably feel more intimidating than other salons, where you can hide in the background until you're ready to take the floor. The way how everyone is huddled around one table that makes it seem like the rest of the world is locked out. But nothing could be further from the truth - the regulars here are open to newcomers and welcome them with open arms. Or a close embrace ;-) Did I mention that this might be the best dance floor in Amsterdam? And that it is free to come and dance after the lesson? (The lesson ends around 22:00.) If you have an allergy to 14-week long courses or just want some extra instruction, you might want to pop along here some Wednesday.

I've been taking singing lessons with Claudia for a couple of months now and I have to say it's…read moreeven better than I thought it would be! First, let me say that I had zero experience with singing, as in, I had literally never sang before (except around camp fires when I was a teenager!), so I am a total beginner. Well, Claudia could totally deal with that! I found her online as I was searching for private singing lessons in Amsterdam. I liked the fact that not only is she a professional singer, she's also a PhD student in musicology and her research focuses on teaching - so I could trust her teaching skills! We had a first meeting to discuss what she had to offer, her teaching methods, the goals that I had, and just get to know each other. And then: that's it baby, now you sing! :s :s As a total beginner, I have everything to learn. We started with theory - but even theory was always applied and we did lots of exercices to understand how everything works in your body when you sing. I really, really love the fact that she focuses so concretely on what is happening within your throat, mouth and lungs, rather than use some weird metaphors!! She really knows what's going on, she has an incredible ear and can always tell you what you're doing (consciously or not!) and then guide you very specifically to improve your technique. She's also so dynamic and enthusiast, always encouraging and pushing you to go beyond what you think you can do! Then I picked a few songs that I would like to sing, and she also continuously proposes new songs, so it's always varied and you don't get bored with singing the same thing over and over. I also totally love that we do all kind of styles. It's Claudia's conviction that everyone can learn how to sing every style and that we should be able to choose which style we'd like to sing, once we understand the differences and the different techniques. It's really fascinating to find out what you can do with your voice!

Claudia is an great coach and excellent teacher who guides you for exploring your potential and…read morepossibilities and, at the same time, by discovering new things in the world of music in an environment ludic. This is time to enjoy!