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    Arete Dance Center

    4.8 (44 reviews)
    Open 10:00 am - 10:00 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

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    Services - Arete Dance Center

    Group fitness

    Virtual fitness classes

    Arete Dance Center Photos

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    Wedding dance choreographed by ADC.

    Took dance lessons here for almost 2 years with my wife. We learned eight different styles of dance, waltz, tango, foxtrot, jive, cha-cha, rumba, samba, and quick-step. Yuriy and Kris are always improving the beginner classes and really focus on teaching you the basics. They have an incredibly welcoming atmosphere for beginner dancers. After several months I felt comfortable ballroom dancing at social events. Additionally, Yuriy instructed us on how to do our wedding dance, which he also choreographed. The dance turned out fantastic. Keep up the great work!

    Bachata Dance Workshop by Vanessa and Guillermo
    Michelle M.

    This is a lovely space for dance lessons. The floor has bounce so your feet don't get as tired. Parking and entrance is in the back. It took me a couple tries to get on the correct street for the parking lot.

    Ketlen A.

    I've been dancing at Arete for three and a half years, and I can only say amazing things about this place and the people I met there. I started going to Arete to dance Zumba, but Kris convinced me to take some Ballroom classes. And what can I say? I fell in love with it! Dancing is now a crucial part of my life, but it was only possible because I found Arete. Kris will make you feel welcome from the beginning; she is passionate about what she does and is a fantastic instructor! She will never make you uncomfortable; you will learn how to dance while having fun which is very important for me (life is already too hard, isn't it?). I've been taking private dance lessons with Richard for three years, and he has helped me trust myself more as a dancer and improve my skills; he pushes me to be better with kindness, humor, and keeping my personal goals in mind. He is a great instructor! I've made good friends in this studio, and I guarantee you won't regret giving yourself the chance to try. Oh, by the way, you don't need a partner to try; plenty of people, including myself, go without their partners.

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    1 year ago

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    Kristina M.

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    My wife and I loved the intro to ballroom class. Great instructors and relaxed atmosphere. Highly recommend.

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    6 years ago

    I went to a beginners' class and found Kris and Yuriy to be kind and patient. Highly recommend this studio, which is very welcoming.

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    Kristina M.

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    14 years ago

    Nice manager, nice instructors, they all take care of your needs and help you learn dance fast

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Arete Dance Center

    Review Highlights - Arete Dance Center

    I've been searching for adult beginner ballet classes and am so thrilled I found Kris at Arete Dance Center.

    Mentioned in 22 reviews

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    Victoria Ballet - Los Altos

    Victoria Ballet - Los Altos

    5.0(2 reviews)
    2.3 mi

    My 7 year old daughter has been learning from Victoria since she was just 4. I still remember her…read more1st class where she refused to do anything. Victoria simply let her sit there and observe. 3 years later, my daughter got her skills as well as her confidence from Victoria's ballet. She practices 3-4 times a week but never complains. In fact, inspired by her I started taking the adult class from Victoria this year and so far really enjoy it. I love the fact that she deeply cares about her students, kids or adults, and she wants to let everyone truly understand and appreciate the beauty of ballet. Her classes focus a lot on the fundamentals which I think is absolutely critical for kids at younger age. Thank you Victoria!

    I have been attending Victoria's morning adult classes (both Miracle ballet stretching and ballet…read morefundamental class) since last summer and love love the classes. Before going to Victoria's , I was looking for a place that would teach the right way to use/train muscles and breathing instead of just focus on techniques and fancy moves, and it has been a difficult search. I am so glad I found her. Her teaching is unique and precious. I made tremendous improvements in my dancing skills and body shapes. Victoria is very patient and positive , she always encourages her student to believe in themselves. The studio is beautifully decorated, which makes the classes even more enjoyable.

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    Victoria Ballet - Los Altos - Stretching Class in Los Altos Studio

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    San Juan Dance

    San Juan Dance

    3.7(9 reviews)
    2.4 mi

    I started dancing at the San Juan School of Dance when I was 2 1/2 years old, and continued for 9…read moremore years until I started junior high. In many ways, I grew up at the SJ School: I remember the twice a week lessons, with Mrs. San Juan simultaneously playing the piano while also watching and coaching us; I remember the Goodship Lollipop costume, the yearly RAD exams, the indulgence of occasionally stopping at Baskin Robbins for Gold Medal Ribbon ice cream after class. I am 32 now, and haven't formally danced since I put away my purple ballet bag. Yet, I can trace so much of who I am now to the lessons I learned at the SJ School. You can breathe better when you are smiling. Focus. Work hard and your efforts will pay off. Do your best. Concentrate. I walk with confidence, balance in almost any situation, and hold my head high, all thanks to Mrs. San Juan.

    I attended this studio for 13 years and took Jazz, Tap, Ballet, and Pointe, and taught Tap and…read moreBallet. This studio is split into two sections, in my opinion: the Ballet part and everything else. For ballet, the school follows the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, which has a very strong emphasis placed on technique through repetition. Class hours tend to be shorter than other studios, but the upper classes are very small (4 - 6 students) and VERY rigorous, with classes held at night with flexible hours, based on how much work the students feel they need to put in (classes often run long). Pointe students generally are not started until they reaach ten years of age, and the classes are much gentler and slower than at many other studios In terms of Other classes, the best are jazz and tap, with new classes in Hip Hop, Musical Theatre, lyrical, and others developing. There is a kind of general canon of steps taught in the jazz and tap classes, until the upper classes, in which choreography, improvisation, and performance are the focus. this is a Family Studio, with classes for babies, kids, teens, and parents/grandparents. The studio does have a dance team, but overall, this is not a competitive studio; it is good at accomodating people who aren't necessarily the best dancers or the most driven workers. If you are serious about dancing, stick around for the Advanced Ballet classes or go somewhere else. If you're a beginner, this is a good place to get into RAD syllabus (the closest other RAD studio is in Half Moon Bay) for the technique, then move to another ballet school for other aspects of dance.

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    San Juan Dance
    San Juan Dance
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    New Century Dance

    New Century Dance

    3.3(7 reviews)
    2.3 mi

    The schoolmaster Lu laoshi is a very rude and ill-bred teacher. She takes the insult to her…read morestudents as a form of strictness. If you want your kids lose confidence, be humiliated, you can sent your kids to the school. I just give you an example, she asked some students to take off their ballet skirts, and show their hip to the other students.The reason is she want other students know how fat they are. Even in China, there are no teachers treat students like this! If a teacher does this action , the parents will prosecute her. She also said your mom is very fat, do you want like your Mom? She not only disrespected the students, but also disrespected the students' parents. In addition, she discriminated against Chinese Children even though she is a Chinese! So ridiculous!

    My daughter has attended New Century Dance for around 4 years and this review will be a mixture of…read moreboth her experiences as a student and mine as a parent. 1) Classes are increasingly going back to in-person and although all students wear masks (and will be provided with one if not), there is no social distancing protocol - Students will be very close together at times - During an online dance competition, students did not wear masks while recording all pieces - Even when the county is in purple tier, advanced students will be expected to go to in-person (especially for competitive team classes) - As of recently, it is required to get COVID tested if student want to be in person - Upon entry Lu Lao Shi (the main teacher) will take student's and faculty's temperature - Equipment is sanitized and hand sanitizer is available 2) There is a lack of planning and communication between the school and parents - Often Lu Lao Shi will expect parents to drive students to school on demand or expect students to show up to new classes with very little notice - Competition dates will not be announced until a few months before - Families are expected to put dance first and everything else second (i.e. missing recitals, events, and tests for a dance event) 3) Lu Lao Shi often demeans her students and lowers their self esteem - I have witnessed Lu Lao Shi telling students as young as 7 that they are fat and should eat less - Students are expected to fit in the body type of professional dancers and students who don't are shamed in front of the whole class - Teens with developing bodies are told to lose up to 10-15 pounds and threatened that if they didn't they would not be able to have private lessons 4) Lu Lao Shi speaks in mainly mandarin and most of the students are of Chinese heritage - Lu Lao Shi can speak English but typically uses very little and only for her non-mandarin speaking students - Ms. Jocelyn Lu, Ms. Asia Bui, and most of the other teachers can speak english fluently and is their primary language in class 5) Class time is wasted with long lectures (regularly 30+ minutes and waste valuable class time) - This is only in Lu Lao Shi's classes, where when I have sat in on my daughter's online lessons noticed that she would talk continuously about things unrelated to the class - These spiels can be centered around specific students and their flaws and Lu Lao Shi embarrasses them (sometimes to the point of tears) - Technique classes will start 5 minutes late and end 10 minutes late on a regular basis 6) Students are accelerated due to their race, body type, or height - As touched upon before, many students are put into a more advanced class or being given more opportunities because of things they cannot control - Older students attend most classes based on height and students of the same age but of differing height don't get the same opportunities to improve - Students with the more ideal "ballet body" will be given solos and will be given more attention compared to everyone else - Most of the Non-Chinese or biracial students will be "showcased" to show the "diversity" on the school's social media and will also get more attention 7) Students with better financial support and who can afford multiple sets of dance clothes/hair supplies will be preferred and Lu Lao Shi will expect all students to be that way - I've witnessed a student with only one pair of leotard or tights get mocked by Lu Lao Shi in front of the class - Advanced students are also expected to be able to spend $100+ on new pointe shoes every 2-3 months 8) Most of the teachers are encouraging, supportive and helpful - Lu Lao Shi has good intentions and as mentioned in previous reviews, truly does want to push students as much as she can. However, since she was brought up in a professional and outdated environment, many of her views and teaching methods harm students more than help - Ms. Jocelyn Lu is trained in both classical Chinese dance and ballet and is a patient teacher who helps students grow their technique. Often times I find my daughter learns more from Ms. Lu than Lu Lao Shi herself. Unfortunately, Ms. Lu only teaches the competitive team dance classes and not the usual technique classes. - Ms. Asia Bui, a professional ballet dancer with the Sarasota Ballet, was only a regular teacher for about 3 months before teaching exclusively adult classes. In this short time, her teaching style was much more laid-back than Lu Lao Shi but also helped my daughter with her basic ballet technique. All in all, the studio has helped my daughter grow as a dancer, but also helped contribute to her low self confidence and her self consciousness (comparing herself with other dancers in her class). The first step towards making this studio better would definitely start with Lu Lao Shi fixing some of the things noted on this review.

    Dream Dance Choreography - Wedding First Dance

    Dream Dance Choreography

    5.0(34 reviews)
    2.9 mi

    Anna is an AMAZING dance instructor, and I would highly recommend her for choreographing your…read morewedding first dance! My fiancé, Jonathan, and I wanted to learn some steps for our first dance at our wedding. We scheduled a 1-hour session and figured that we would just be taught some very simple steps within that time. However, by the end, we had a full 2-minute choreographed dance that felt very true to us and matched our song perfectly! She also helped us to learn the proper posture for the dance, and she helped Jonathan know how to step so that he wouldn't end up stepping or tripping on my ballgown on the big day! We were both nervous going into it because neither of us had danced much in the past, but Anna calmed our nerves immediately, and we had such a great time. She also recorded our dance at the end so that we can watch it later and practice. Thank you, Anna!

    I first want to say that Anna was an incredible dance instructor and 100% worth the time! I have…read morerecommended her to other friends who are wedding planning as well. I actually hired Anna to help me choreograph a father-daughter dance. My dad has never danced before, and was nervous about being on the spot at my wedding. We met up with Anna at a ballroom studio in San Jose- the studio has multiple dance floors and smaller rooms as well, perfect for one-on-one instruction. Since I was driving down from Sacramento to attend the lessons, we only had enough time to do 1-hour lessons on two separate weekends (2 hours total). I felt like it was enough time to give us the basic choreography and also polish it a little bit. Our first class with Anna was a 1 hour session- I connected my phone to the classroom speakers via Bluetooth and played my chosen music on Spotify (Celine Dion - because you loved me). Anna first taught us proper posture/footwork for the dance. She then came up with some choreography to match the music, which was also appropriate for our novice skill level, but still looked elegant. Our second class was also a 1 hour session- my mom joined us as well (she also wanted to dance with me at my wedding)! Anna asked me to bring the shoes I would be wearing at the wedding so I could practice the steps in my heels. Anna helped us figure out timing of the music to wrap up my dance with my dad and then transition to dancing with my mom. At the end of the lesson, she recorded the full choreography for us so we could review and practice at home. On my wedding day, our dances went well and we got many compliments from guests-- but most importantly, we had so much fun. It was an incredibly meaningful experience to me to be able to share that dance with both of my parents. The whole experience of having dance lessons together and then showcasing it at the wedding is something I will cherish forever. I definitely highly highly recommend it!! Since my parents were not involved in the overall wedding planning process, the lessons were such a good way of making them feel included in the planning-- and the dance on the wedding day made them feel so special. Thank you Anna for helping us choreograph such a beautiful dance!

    Photos
    Dream Dance Choreography - Wedding First Dance

    Wedding First Dance

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    Arete Dance Center - dance_schools - Updated May 2026

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