Unfortunately there are not many dance schools in Castle Rock but I would not recommend Castle Rock Dance Academy to anyone who wants a fair, supportive, and professional dance environment. My children experienced blatant favoritism, where the same students were constantly given opportunities while others were overlooked, no matter how hard they worked. The class leveling is a complete mess, students with vastly different skill levels are lumped together, making it impossible for anyone to truly progress. When their regular instructor is unavailable, the kids are often taught by high school students who are given too much power in this school. While these students are lovely, it feels more like I'm paying for babysitting rather than a real dance education. I believe this is closely tied to the owner's lack of maturity, which affects their ability to run a business and hire qualified dance instructors. The instructors rarely provide meaningful feedback to help students improve, leaving them to guess what they need to work on. The "highest ranking" ballet teacher who is also good friends with the owner, is extremely condescending and rude to anyone who isn't one of their favorites. More so, the teachers are immature and not properly trained, and openly discuss students with other students, which is completely unprofessional and damaging to young dancers' confidence. The schedule is never provided in a timely manner and constantly fluctuates, leaving parents at the mercy of the school's availability rather than allowing for proper planning. We were constantly told the schedule is coming out on X date, registration is coming on X date and this rarely happens and is usually delayed weeks. If you truly want your child to learn proper dance technique, and grow as a dancer, look elsewhere--this school is more about instagram than an actual dance education. read more

If you want a studio that is fair and challenges you this is NOT THE PLACE!!!. If I could give this place a zero I WOULD!!!. my daughter experienced favoritism with her teachers over looking her and other student. The same person would get favorited by getting special parts multiple times in a row and getting most of the attention. My daughter has lost ALOT of passion for dance and doesn't want to go her anymore.And they're not trying to hide it. The studio owner best friend will be rude and inconsiderate when the student is not her favorite. The leveling is all wrong, they put girls that can do AMAZING things and others that are not as excelled as others. They are not understanding of your home life. They make you sit out in class when you don't meet their behavior expectations when your the one paying them. My daughter came home crying or would dread going to dance. Certain Teachers make the class a competition. The teachers also talk about particular students right in front of them and make them feel bad and that they are not good enough. Instructors provide mean feedback. More so, the teachers are immature and not properly trained,and openly discuss students with other teachers in public which is damaging to a young dancers confidence and passion for dance. They also focus more about instagram than the dance education. DO NOT SEND YOUR KID HERE!. read more

Amazing studio!! My daughter has been a student for 13 years. It is a kind, inclusive, challenging and beautiful environment. Between the annual Nutcracker, Spring showcase and Spring recital there are many opportunities for shows. My daughter made a great group of friends outside of school that I am grateful for. Highly recommend!! read more

My daughter has been going here since she was 3 and is now 10 and feels at home here. This is not a competitive dance school but it teaches friendship, teamwork and respect among the great dance skills. read more

We LOVE CRDA! We been a part of their company for 5+ years. They have grown amazingly and their programs are top notch. Their Nutcracker show is amazing! Comparable to professional shows, in my opinion. Their Spring shows are totally unique each year. They put a ton of thought, work, and preparation into every show. The studio also really works hard to prepare the girls for pointe shoes so that they girls don't have as many injuries. We would HIGHLY recommend CRDA to anyone and everyone! read more

CRDA is an incredible studio and has made a huge impact in our daughter's life! They have also done a phenomenal job navigating changes with COVID and were super nimble in the spring--going immediately to Zoom classes and being thoughtful about things like cybersecurity for the kiddos. Our daughter did summer camp and does several weekly classes in person this fall. They have a tight protocol that's kept the kids safe, clean incredibly between each class, monitor temps, and there have been no outbreaks. That means the kids have been able to have the huge gift of something to look forward to, including Nutcracker! They also recently invested in a new air filtration system so they take the kids, their development and their safety very seriously. The previous owner, Joy, set an incredible bar for quality and care for the kids, and the new owner, Maria, is a fantastic leader in her own right. She was instrumental in the COVID adaptations and runs a (great), tight ship! Her teachers are super talented and really engaging for the kids, and students get extremely high quality training here, but there's also balance in the approach--it's about personal development, creativity, work ethic, and focus vs. a "Dance Moms" environment where it's super competitive. If you want an awesome local place where your kids can grow and thrive and have a great time doing it, this is it. We could NOT be more thankful to have found CRDA. Also...their shows are amazing--so fun, well choreographed, and the costumes are out of this world and are hand-made in most cases by Stephanie who is a crazy talented designer who works backstage for every show and outfits everyone in these magical creations. The kids absolutely love it!! Can't say enough good things about these guys. Game changers! read more

We were new to Colorado and left behind the greatest dance studio in Florida was worried we couldn't find a replacement...well we did! I am grateful for the day Joy came in to rent a storage unit from me! The sweetest woman ever...and she owned a dance studio?!?! It was meant to be! My daughter loves it! She loves her teachers and looks forward to dancing everyday! Oh and affordable! We looked at several in Parker and given she takes just about every class...I didn't know how we could pull it off....so thank you Joy! Worth the drive for sure read more

Absolutely TERRIBLE experience. If I could give this place 0 stars I absolutely would. We signed my 3 year old up here as her introductory to ballet and tap. She's been beyond excited to dance since she was 1 years old! First session was wonderful with a sub teacher who was older and clearly has kids of her own, made the class super fun, made the kids feel comfortable and my daughter was excited to come back. Second session was with the actual teacher who probably is no older than 20 maybe, she was completely un- nurturing, uninviting, unenthusiastic, rude and you could tell she was utterly uncomfortable being around the 3-4 age group. Melanie I believe is her name and I highly recommend you do not allow your child to be "coached" by her. She was rude to my child to the point of her crying multiple times, was also shoved out of the second session before it ended, where we left early. Third session I finally pulled my child out half way through having had enough during our second attempt of her attending (we were asked to come back and give it another try and that it would be more fun and my child would feel more comfortable, did not happen whatsoever.) Melanie lied about the way OUR experience actually happened to her director feeding the director her own perception of how things happened instead of owning up to the mistakes that were made (these kids are 3 how could anything be their fault!). She never apologized to me or had a conversation with me about my child's bad first experience with her. Then, the director Joy proceeded to contact us 3 days after the second issue we had with Melanie after multiple emails and voicemails being left for us to be contacted and essentially told us our experience was our fault, my 3 year olds fault specifically and completely lied saying she sat through the last session my child was apart of watching and observing. Myself, my husband and a set of grandparents were all there to watch and saw no one else sitting in the room at all, a complete and utter fabrication by the director! I am completely mind blown at how unprofessional, rude and condescending both the teacher and director were about the whole entire situation. Not to mention they would not refund all of our money back after so many terrible things happening and only about an hour of 1 session completed and enjoyed! Disgusted. DO NOT SEND YOUR CHILD HERE!!! DO. NOT. SEND. YOUR. CHILD. HERE. read more

My 5year old loves this studio. Joy is always so friendly (the owner). My daughter loves Ms. Maria her ballet/tap teacher. The class teaches them both ballet and tap and the recitals twice a year are always so cute! read more

The owner goes through dance instructors. The kids never have a stable teacher. The owner lets the kids run around and scream in the studio. She does not have rules for any of the kids. As far as dance, they are not at the level they should be for their age. If you want your kid to learn dance, go somewhere else. However, if you want to pay for your kids to run around the studio, scream and waste time, this is the studio for you. read more