Groove Nation is such a hidden gem in this town- from the performances that never cease to impress,…read morethe obvious bonded relationships & close community built, the leadership skills, confidence, & worth built into each participant, to the skills acquired from their warm & professional staff. It's clear they truly care; not just about making each participant, team & show or competition *look* good, but also feel good about themselves in the ways that truly matter. If you're looking for family, for fun, & growth, you'll find it here!

Looking for your kiddo to make friends? Socialize? Gain trust with other amazing adults? Learn new…read moreskills, flexibility, and exercise? Look no further!! Groove nation is all of that and more. My daughter has blossomed at groove nation. She's taken skills such as team work, communication home with her. She's gained confidence, made friendships, & we've gained a village here of new friends! We're so beyond grateful to be apart of groove nation.

My daughter is a student at Evergreen Dance Academy for eight years and she has loved every minute…read moreof it. They have great teachers that care about the kids, and the environment is amazing. You won't regret choosing this dance studio.

Amazing little dance school! My 9 year old took a 6 week session in ballet, and loved every minute…read more She loved Mrs. Jana her teacher. I got a chance to meet the owner, she was so nice and seems to have big plans for the school.

I'm so furious that I'm shaking…read more My daughter has been placed in pointe levels at Northwest Dance Project and Oregon Ballet Theatre, both with professional companies. She was placed in pointe this past spring at a dance school in Paris with instructors from the Paris Opera Ballet. The Paris Opera Ballet is one of the best dance companies in the ENTIRE WORLD. So obviously she's at the level of pointe. Last night, my daughter had a placement class with DanceWorks Performing Arts. They said that level 3 is the best level to assess new dancers. Shortly in, her asthma started acting up, and she ignored it. She ignored it so long that she nearly reached a point of passing out and had to step out. If her father and I weren't already there, it would have been a situation to call 911. That's how severe it was. She ignored it because she wanted to impress the instructor, Savannah. At the front desk, Karen, who I found out is the director just now, told us that our daughter could redo the assessment tomorrow night, when she's able to breathe properly. Today, I got an email. They're placing her in level 3 instead of reassessing, which is two full years away from pointe, and, no, they don't do midyear advancements. No, they don't skip levels. Karen said Savannah can tell "within the first couple exercises," which was before ny daughter couldn't breathe. You means when they're warning up?! No combinations, no floor work, nothing. Based on "the first couple exercises," they can tell a dancer's full ability? That's absolutely BULLSHIT. There's a reason assessments are an entire class rather than coming in for the first 15 minutes. Karen said this is an absolute, that she has to take at least two more years before pointe there, which is so wildly inappropriate I'm still in disbelief to some extent. So...are they REALLY trying to effectively say that other dance schools, with professional company, and Paris Opera Ballet instructors themselves, were all wrong in their assessments? Really? REALLY?!! REALLY!!! We could understand a few weeks of 3 to warm her up to this school, then 4 for a few weeks, then 5, which is the first pointe level. We could maybe accept a full term of 3 and then a term of 4 with 5 next year, or 4, which is a year before pointe, this year. But no. Even that's not considerable. They want her in a class level with 10-12-year-olds who are two years, minimum, away from pointe, with no exceptions at all, ever, whatsoever. There's no way their instruction is so much better that a pointe dancer with my child's experience would only be at a level 3. If the dancers there were that much better, this school would be world-famous. But since they're not, there's got to be another reason they don't want her in pointe, or even in a pre-pointe level. I suspect, strongly, that, since this school also has competition teams (which is optional and NOT something my daughter has interest in doing), they don't want her in pointe with their pointe dancers who are all the stereotypical twigs. It's the ONLY thing that makes sense. Knocking her down two levels from pointe would age her out of competition, which, again, she had no interest in doing. So basically this would mean she's too fat for pointe. Since my child is absolutely a pointe-level dancer, this is the only thing that makes sense. There's literally no way two schools with professional companies AND Paris Opera Ballet instructors are the wrong ones. None. All that's left is there much be another reason, and what else is left other than my daughter isn't emaciated? That's actually part of what makes her so beautiful to watch on stage, and it's not just me saying that, but people who didn't know which one is mine. Look at the pics from Paris below and tell me if you think that. Tell me if she looks like she needs two more years, minimum, before pointe.

So grateful we found this studio. Our daughter has been begging to take Hip Hop dance classes. We…read moretook her to another studio and were immediately concerned about their lack of awareness/acknowledgement that we are in the midst of a pandemic- wearing no masks indoors with the omicron variant wreaking havoc. This studio is clean, the staff and dance teachers are extremely friendly and everyone is wearing a mask. We feel like our daughter can enjoy learning and having fun while we feel safe in an environment and business that is doing it's job to prevent spread of COVID. The hip hop class she is in is for 6-8 year olds. The teacher is super energetic, the studios are lit up with colorful lights, and the music and routines are on point! Thanks DanceWorks!

My two daughters take hip hop and ballet here. They are four and five years old. We are just about…read moreto finish up our first month of classes and love it!! This studio is family ran and you can tell. It's super welcoming here! Every staff member, from the instructors to the parents in the waiting room are really friendly!! What I'm mostly impressed with is the love, the connection and the passion, each staff member has for every single students. All while maintaining structure and control of the class. There's so many students and it's very impressive to see them connect to each and every dancer. They are super organized, have great communication and always send out emails on updates. I called 4-5 different studios, before I found Encore, with no call backs from my voicemails, no reply to my emails at all and the one studio that we did a trial class with was a a total fail. They put my girls in the totally wrong level class and the instructor was completely unprofessional. Encore replied immediately and got us right in.!! So, don't settle for just any studio they are not all the same. I have a 19 year old daughter and have been through this industry before. I'm a dancer myself, (well I'm only dancing in the kitchen these days lol) but let me tell you, sometimes it is like an episode of dance moms and it's important to find the right fit if your trying to build your child's confidence in dance and plan on having them dance long term. Check Encore out!! They are amazing!!! They really care about their dancers!! I'm very happy to become part of the family!!!!

My kids have been taking classes from Encore since 2013. My…read morefavorite things about ENCORE: * High quality teachers for every age range/class level * Personalized attention to each student and their dance career * The most well developed street styles program I know of in the area * An excellent acrobatics program, with highly knowledgeable instructors * The Pre-Pro program is amazing! Geared toward kids who are working toward professional dance careers, this program prepares them in every way, physically, practically, and with the knowledge they will need. I cannot recommend Encore enough!!!

Excellent place to learn new dances or brush up on your skills. The staff if super friendly and…read morevery patient.

I recently went for a job interview for a Dance Instructor position. The Manager at the dance…read morestudio where the interview was held was very biased and rude towards me. They had explicitly mentioned wearing business attire for the interview, and while a few people followed the dress code, most did not. The parking was awful, the studio had a terrible smell and intense heat. I have always been passionate about dancing, but I found these dance schools, which are quite popular across the U.S., to be like the McDonald's of dance schools. If I were to take dance classes, I would prefer a private school with professional instructors who have years of experience. I find it ironic how some people want to be accepted and not judged by society, yet I felt uncomfortable due to the behavior of some staff and the owner. Thankfully, I have high self-esteem, and I know that I am intelligent and beautiful.

This place is horrible. The manager is never there. The front desk ladies are rude. My kid could've…read morehad a concussion because she landed on her head while getting spotted in a makeup class. She also has learned nothing in Gabriels class.

My daughter has been going to Naydenov Gymnastics for 3 months. We started making the commute up…read morefrom Portland when our neighborhood gym wasn't challenging enough. Naydenov has been great! It's an amazing facility with topline equipment and all of the coaches my daughter has worked with have been great. We have had an especially outstanding experience with Coach Chris. He is a great combination of exact, hands-on instruction and playful silliness that works really well for my kiddo. She has made awesome progress with his coaching!

Love this studio. My daughter has learned so much from the amazing choreographers/teachers at this…read morestudio. They have two studios that are always full of eager dancers. They staff is very nice although at the same time very professional. I would definitely enroll my daughter in this studio if she wasn't already in so many activities. Love this place and I would highly recommend them.

Beware of the staff at this dance school! The customer service and care is awful. I've never been…read moretreated so poorly by a business that needs my money to keep afloat. The teaching is average...nothing special. My 4 year old hasn't learned anything that she hasn't already learned at our previous school in Los Angeles. If you're even 1 day late on tuition, no matter what family emergency had happened, you will receive relentless harassing phone calls from Phyllis demanding money and an exorbitant late fee. I've never experienced such awful treatment by a business.

BIPOC PROGRAM... WHAT THEY WON'T TELL YOU: Months ago after watching their Nightmare Before…read moreChristmas event, I looked into their dance studio and learned about a BIPOC Program they offer. All I knew about it was there was a waitlist. So when over half a year goes by and we get the call that we've been asked to "audition" for their program, I had trepidations because the fact that an audition was required for my 3 year old to do a dance class meant for toddlers seemed elitist to me. If I knew there was going to be an audition for this program from the beginning I would have never waited with baited breath for them to contact me. But since it was focusing on BIPOC students and we had waited so long I figured maybe we shouldn't miss this opportunity. In the audition they are looking to see if your kid can take direction but even more they want to make sure your kiddo can be away from you. More on this topic soon... So we paid the sliding scale tuition and were ready to commit to 10 months of Sunday morning classes. Oh yea.. they never mentioned until after we were enrolled that the schedule is from 9:30-11:15 and that it's two 45 min. classes! Tap and ballet/creative movement. My daughter definitely did not want to do tap class and I would have never signed up for this class but it was part of their program and we had no choice. So day 1 of tap... was a disaster. Lots of fetal positioning, leaving the room, off to the corner, hands over her ears, looking for me, leaving the room again... yea it didn't go well. Quick 15 min. break and then my poor toddler was at it again in ballet. She was a little more energized for this class as there was less banging sounds now and the teacher incorporated some games. So I was hopeful that maybe if we toughed it through the tap and just made it to ballet we could get through 10 months of this. Well after about class 3 of her demonstrating the same behaviors, the studio sends us an email. Not only us, we learned that many parents got this same email, and when talking to the parents the wording was almost identical..."child's behavior is disrupting the flow of class...." Also, if you're sending the same email to multiple families, maybe it's your program and not the kids? All of us parents who talked about getting this email were full of anxiety and stress and were not feeling good at all about their experience with the program. The final straw for me came on the 6th dance class after talking to the families and learning that folks were getting reprimanded for walking into the room to help their kiddo who was having a mini-crisis/meltdown and then the tap teacher repeatedly yelled at my child to "shut the door behind her" as she was leaving the room due to stress. And I watched as the tap teacher told a parent to leave their child alone while they were comforting them at the door, encouraging them to enter the room. That was the last straw and we quit that day. I'm sharing this not to give StepsPDX a bad review but honestly for the families interested in this program. You have to know what's coming if you invest your time. I wish I did.

Came here on a Sunday for Dance Church with some friends, which might sound weird but was really…read moreamazing and fun (google it!). Class starts at 10am and online they say you should arrive 15 minutes early. We did this and no one else was there and we were told we arrived much earlier than people normally do. We got coffee around the corner and came by at 9:57am and now there were a few people present. We paid for our class (card accepted), and put things away in the cubbies. There was NO WATER available which is a big deal for a dance class. There was a water cooler but it was empty. Class was awesome, with good music and great energy. I'd highly recommend it. There were probably about 40-50 people there. It felt very freeing to be able to move however I wanted to, but also helpful to have some guidance / reminders about moving my hands or arms. Class wrapped up by 11:30am. The space is bright and open and clean. Street parking nearby was easy. I'd be happy to come back.

My daughter went there 38 years ago great school and she is till dancing I love it. She is now…read moremarried with 5 kids still dance like a pro.

Mrs. Walker is a fantastic teacher who instills in her students not only discipline but confidence…read moreand dedication. If you want your child to be classically trained while also learning modern technique, this is the studio for you!

It was very nice to see a puppet show after decades. The puppets were made differently than the…read moreones I watched as a kid back in India. The artists were awesome with and great voices. The kids seemed to have enjoyed the real life interactions with the artists.

What a fun little theater! If you want to support your local improv community, this is where you…read morewant to be. Located in Down Town Vancouver, parking isn't an issue as long as you give yourself plenty of time to find some. The website is easy to navigate and tickets are reasonably priced. The venue feels like an old school theater, and the staff were friendly! There are a few snacks and drinks at the concession stand, priced just right. I watched an improv comedy show & had an absolutely wonderful time. The performances were great and involving the audience was awesome! I'd gladly return for one of their seasonal shows!