Petty, over-priced, owner picks favourites to the point where it is damaging for kid's self esteem…read more Took dance lessons here for 5 years with my siblings, spent thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars, danced for the studio's company (which exists only to promo the studio via free advertising) for free for years. Since this studio only offers one jazz class and one ballet class for EVERYONE between the ages of like, 12-18, I started taking classes at a different studio in order to prepare for an audition for an arts-based high school, while continuing my classes at the S.P.A.C.E. and continuing to provide free advertising for the studio via it's dance company. When my mother asked the owner, Linette, if she could write a letter of recommendation for my audition, seeing as she was my first dance teacher, only dance teacher for 4 years, and we had sunk thousands of hours of time and dollars into her studio, Linette flat-out refused because her studio wasn't the only one we were practicing at anymore, and instead told us to get a letter from the new studio where I had been training for less than a month. Ironically, my friend was auditioning for the same school, and Linette not only wrote her a letter, but choreographed her entire audition routine.
When I was accepted into the dance school and attended the following year, I learned that all of the ballet technique taught at the S.P.A.C.E was not only incorrect, but had been causing damage to my ankles. I spent my time in arts school un-learning and re-learning the proper technique.
If you're looking for a reputable studio in the east end that teaches RAD ballet technique (the S.P.A.C.E doesn't follow any one school of ballet, so it is impossible to progress through RAD levels), I recommend taking classes at The School of CCDT in Cabbagetown.
Furthermore, there are many hidden costs associated with the S.P.A.C.E. For the year-end show every year, Linette forces every student to buy their costumes, spending hundreds of dollars on one-time-use costumes, whereas every other studio I have attended in Toronto rents their year-end showcase costumes at no costs to the students. If you are trying to get the best bang for your buck, learn proper ballet technique, take classes in multiple levels, and progress as an artist, avoid this studio and check out 509 Parliament instead.