I love the new Fairfax location of Roco!…read more They've got a variety of dance classes to choose from - morning and evenings - like modern, ballet, hip hop, and zumba/latin. Great workouts, fun dancing! They also offer youth classes and summer camp. My favorite classes right now are Joan and Annie's modern classes, and Shana's Yoga Boogie Ballet. All of them work on great technique and core strength, while also just having fun with dancing and basic to challenging choreography.

(((Also posted on Mill Valley)))…read more (pardon my language) If you like to shake your ass, this is the place to do it! (ok language better from here on out) Let's talk about fitness with fun, dancing is the way to go. I've checked out Jacquie's Cardio Hip Hop and Beginners Hip Hop classes, they are both amazing. She's a great teacher and kicks your butt. Cardio hip hop is easy to follow and keeps your heart rate up, not to mention you are drenched with sweat by the time it's over. Jacquie also adds in a FREE weight training session to the end of both of her classes. Yeah, I said it, FREE... Whatever Jacquie says to do, I do it. Check out her body, she knows what she's doing. I dragged a friend of mine to Tika's "Zumba" class, zumba with quotes because it's not your normal zumba. Tika is all about the dance more then fitness and I appreciate that. Though I'm not drenched in sweat as much as Jacquie's cardio class, I appreciate the movement and feel Tika brings to her version of zumba. I'm a huge fan and I've been frequenting both Fairfax and Mill Valley studios at least 3 times a week. If you're looking for a great way to burn calories and having fun doing it. Check out the above mentioned classes. I'm a huge fan!

Our family has participated in shows with Katia and Company for the last three years, and we have…read moremany more years ahead of us. Done right, performing builds confidence, teamwork, timing, problem solving, and resilience. We've recognized all of these qualities developing in our boys, and they have an absolute blast on stage. My husband and I really appreciate Katia's whole-child approach to this work. She has long-term relationships with former cast mates who are now staff working with young thespians. We also attend the teen productions which have been stellar. If your child is curious about theatre, I suggest starting by attending a show and then participating in a week-long summer camp. I suspect they'll be hooked!

My daughter was just in their production of Frozen jr and she loved it! She gained so much…read moreconfidence and I loved seeing her light up on stage. The show itself was fantastic. The parents aren't really involved in the process so I had no expectations going into it but it was amazing! The older kids were outstanding. We will be back!

Our 8-year old daughter just completed a week of musical theater camp at PAA of Marin and is now…read moregoing back for the "Triple Threat" (singing, acting & dancing) course. She loved the experience and we - the parents - loved the way she developed both her artistic talent AND collaborative skills in working as an ensemble/team. We highly recommend this for kids who want to have fun while learning important life lessons applicable to everything we do in today's world. Performing in a musical theater production involves creativity, self-expression, discipline, practice, attunement to what's going on around oneself, and working with others. A great way to build multiple skills while having a great time.

-----Adding to address Annie's comment below: Annie - if…read moreindeed you want to apply consistency across all performers, then when we fly in for the performance on Sunday we will join the show just like a number of other caucasian ensemble performers who had lower attendance and are still being allowed on stage. I plan to have my video on, so will record any interactions in which we're stopped from going on stage, and point to the caucasian students who have missed tech rehearsals this week yet still being allowed on stage. If paam is keeping our money, then we are performing on Sunday. Paam can also issue a refund and we'll be happy to go separate ways. But Paam does not get to take all our money and disallow us to be on stage yet allow others to be on stage who have lower attendance than our kids. Appreciate you doing the right thing. -----Original post: Our experience with the Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM) has been deeply disappointing -- both in terms of fairness and the overall learning outcomes. The program feels heavily commercialized, prioritizing revenue over education or student experience. Tuition is extremely high for what ultimately amounts to very limited technical instruction, the pressure of buying vanity products aimed at parents who think their kids a star is everywhere, and the refund/credit policies are rigid to the point of being unreasonable. I've never written about race or discrimination in a review before, but I feel obligated to address it here because it has affected my daughters repeatedly. In the lyrical squad, choreography has been super simple and non-technical, yet cast placements have shown a clear pattern: the same Caucasian dancers are routinely placed front and center, while my older daughter -- who is a good dancer but not Caucasian -- is continually placed in the back or off to the far side. My younger daughter was once put in the front purely due to her small size in a formation, but it wasn't part of any fair or rotating system that would give all dancers a chance to shine. The final straw has been this: Multiple Caucasian dancers have been allowed to miss tech rehearsals and still participate in shows. Meanwhile, my daughters, who need to miss a single 24-hour window for a required ski team race and assessment (and for which we arranged to return early at significant cost of flying in, tickets already purchased), were told just 3 days before that they would not be allowed to perform once they fly in -- despite knowing their choreography thoroughly and being disciplined, capable dancers. The rigidity applied to them simply hasn't been applied to others. The pattern is painful to watch as a parent. It's demoralizing for kids who have worked hard and earned their place on stage. It's their right and not someone's at the front desk to strip them of who doesn't even see them. At the start of the year parents also receive an extremely one-sided agreement through DocuSign -- which I declined to sign because it was so imbalanced. I can't say I'm surprised. But it is disheartening to pay thousands of dollars for a program that delivers minimal instruction, selectively enforces rules for preferential kids, and ultimately allows discriminatory dynamics to persist. I wish our experience had been different, but based on what we've seen, I cannot recommend PAAM for families seeking a fair, inclusive, or educationally meaningful dance program.

The people in charge of this establishment should be ashamed of themselves…read more My son is a 13 years old professional recording artist who lives and goes to school in Marin County. Our school's music director reached out to me asking if my son could help the Stapleton School. Apparently, they were in need of a pianist who could provide musical accompaniment for a ballet recital. I was put in touch with Isabella Qureshi who is the Director of Stapleton's Theatre Division. Isabella began an email thread communicating with us daily to ensure that my son would be able to fulfill their request. I explained to Isabella that despite being only 13 years old, that my son is an advanced pianist who has both competed as a state finalist in the MTAC program and was also the recipient of the Marin Music Chest Scholarship (he won in his first year of eligibility.) After receiving the sheet music, my son set out to learn the pieces. We were sent 4 individual piano pieces. I should mention that my son is actively involved in numerous recording engagements and live performances throughout the U.S. While my son was willing to take on this request for help on behalf of the Stapleton School, by no means was it convenient to do so. My son dedicated time every evening to learning these pieces in order to get them performance ready. This was after completing all his school work and other responsibilities. By no means was this effortless, he spent about 2 weeks overall in preparation for the event. A couple days before the performance date, I receive an email from someone named, Janell McFarland stating how "small changes can really confuse the kids" and "thank you for your offer." First of all, we didn't offer, we were specifically asked to help the Stapleton School in their "time of need." Second, is this how you conduct business on a regular basis? What a shame! You could have used this as an opportunity to build relations within your community. Instead, your flippant disregard for a young man's commitment and dedication has left us disenchanted. I'd like the Stapleton School to know that I share this experience with everyone who mentions your name.

Recently saw Stapleton's Swan Lake ballet at the San Anselmo Playhouse. I was blown away by the…read moreprofessionalism and poise of the dancers. They all seemed to love to dance and obviously have really great teachers. The costumes were lovely, the music beautiful and all in all a thoroughly enjoyable performance! Thank you!

We were invited to a Canadian costume birthday party. Say what? We were stumped what to wear. Our…read more"go to" place for costumes .. Belrose Theater. We had such a good time looking through the many costumes. The woman (sorry I didn't remember her name) was so helpful in finding just the right ones. We decided on being Canadian Mounties. See pic. Overall, an excellent experience in costume choices, customer service and a whole lot of fun.

To be fair, I've been coming to this studio since I was in my teens (years ago!) so it's not a new…read moreexperience for me. But we went this weekend to see Will Durst and couldn't have had more fun. Even though we worried as it was hot outside, fans were going and kept it cool. Great show. Great ambiance. Really glad we made the show.

Where do I start? The instructors of MDT are nothing but passionate, caring and dedicated to the…read morelove of dance. Miss Vicki has been an amazing instructor. She is always creative with her curriculum! We are grateful to be part of this wonderful program!

I've been taking Nancy Gallenson's class the past 4 years, starting as a beginner, and I absolutely…read morelove it! I've tried classes in several places in the Bay Area, and I have to say Nancy's instruction is by far the best you will ever find in Marin, if you want to learn classical ballet technique as an adult beginner. I have tried them all, classes in the city, other parts of Marin. Her teaching style is very approachable and down to earth. The class atmosphere is friendly and non-intimidating. Nancy offers clear instructions at every level from beginners to advanced. No dancer is left behind in the dust. She explains everything and corrects everyone. Her classes offer a good cardio workout, builds strength and gives you the "ballet body", lengthening and toning your muscles. You'll be sweating at the end of each class. Dress code, anything goes, as long as your feet and ankles are visible. If you like wearing the gear, you'll feel at home joining the Yumiko leotard brigade, in every color under the sun. But if you just want to wear whatever leggings and t-shirt, that is fine, too. There's no pressure. The drive up to the school off the freeway takes you past verdant pastures of cows and open countryside. The school is located in a stunning original 19th century cloistered campus, anchored by a beautiful chapel. The studios are varied, but beginners are usually in smaller studios (great for inspiring high grand jétés) and the intermediate to advanced are in the larger, airy studios, each with romantic views of the beautiful original architecture of St Vincent's campus and the green pastures beyond. It's no wonder your worries evaporate as soon as you are in class. I joined her beginner pointe classes recently, as a complete beginner en pointe. In her enthusiastic manner, Nancy gives very concise instruction and inspires confidence for those learning pointe work for the first time, starting in mid-life. The MDT Adult-Teen program is a great place for adults to learn the basics, as well as for more serious students who hope to graduate on to pointe for their very first time as a mature student. What a great find.

Wow! Great class! Terry McGovern is the real deal. A serious veteran of the industry with countless…read morefilm, TV, radio broadcast and VO credits to his name. The class itself is excellent. Good size, nice eclectic mix of different people of different backgrounds and age ranges - many of whom are very talented. I've attended many acting programs and worked with many instructors over the years and this is among the very best. Highly recommended! 5 stars!

Been a member for almost 3 years and loving every minute of it. Very supportive, dynamic, creative…read morebunch and couldn't ask for a better director/ coach than Terry McGovern.

We went to a concert on Saturday evening at O'Hanlon. It was very well organized and paring was a…read morebreeze as well. The space was terrific and the grounds were tranquil. I would definitely attend another event there.

This is a treasure trove of artists nurturing &creative human beings. Located in the Redwoods in…read moreMill Valley. Can't recommend more highly! MarieM