Do NOT put your kids into this school…read more
We know many parents who removed their daughters and sons from this school primarily because of their harsh words, and it's not just "discipline." They leave the students with low self-esteem, defeated, berated and depressed.
This school completely destroyed my daughters love for ballet. For years, her "teacher" Ms. Alyssa constantly body-shamed her, starting at the young age of 10, yelling at a mere child constantly leaving her in tears. Instead of supporting her, she psychologically abused a young impressionable child. By her last year, she was being told to "get the f*** out" of the studio, that's how prefers to treat her students. This is not a "he said, she said" matter. This required parental intervention in which the whole class witnessed. Despite same, Ms. Alyssa and the co-owner of the studio published a false and misleading narrative of our daughter that is now the subject of a lawsuit for libel and defamation as it was all caught on video.
After being confronted on several occasions and suggesting that our daughter acted improperly, their statements contradicted reality. They couldn't produce any evidence - not any one student sided with Ms. Alyssa - and despite having an "on-site" video surveillance could not produce any such evidence. However, to the contrary, several students recorded the behind the door episode on their cell phone. That should provide a good example of how they manage their studio.
As it pertains to our daughter, they tried to paint a narrative that the final confrontation never occurred stating that it "never happened" despite the recorded evidence, eyewitnesses and statements of the other students. Adding to this remains that fact that our daughter had the lead role - one that she diligently worked towards for years. One she literally worked so hard for, and when the programs for the show were printed, her name wasn't even listed. When she calmly asked the director why her name wasn't listed, she thought it was appropriate to scream in my face at the top of her lungs. For what its worth, our daughter is one of only a select group that had made it to the world renowned Master Ballet in Phoenix - however that too upset Ms. Alyssa.
The director also refused to pay her for the hours she worked as a dance instructor (which is wage theft and a claim has been filed with the vicinage in Verona). When I (her father) inquired about the wages, Ms. Alyssa said in no uncertain terms to: "Sue me" and refused to pay the wages to our daughter. So hence, the complaint was filed.
Unfortunately, the environment is extremely toxic, cruel, and beyond unprofessional. No child deserves to be humiliated like that. If you care about your kid's mental health and self-esteem, do not send them there.