This is a very welcoming place. We started ballet this year at 15yo, 12yo and 8yo. Alexia, the owner/head instructor, is very positive and encouraging to all her students including older beginners. She knew what they were capable of before they knew it themselves. Four months later, they are performing in the Nutcracker on stage! If you are looking for a place where your child can grow and be nurtured into a professional ballet dancer, if desired, this is your place. Alexia is on a mission to inspire the next generation to be leaders through a love of dance. Each of my girls enjoy going to dance class, they have made lots of friends and they are learning so many new skills. read more

These litterbugs put up signs in February advertising their summer ballet classes. Now that the sign-up deadline has long passed (summer is basically over), they refuse to take them down. (I sent an email to no avail.) Yet another business who doesn't care. Maybe they think that signs just magically evaporate after a certain amount of time. read more

Conservatory Ballet Reston focuses on nurturing the love of ballet and music especially with the very young dancers. The studio helps the young dancers and preteens with musicality as well as ballet technique, while teens and advanced dancers are afforded the opportunity to further develop their technique and artistry. I notice that they very much care about their students, and I am impressed with the way they still are able to provide individualized training and confidence building through their group classes, master classes, and performances. Of course, in order to observe this, I needed to be in the studio for a few hours each time for the past few months. Our 16-year-old dancer has been training in various studios throughout the country since she was 2 years old. We have had the opportunity to observe the different styles and methods of training and motivation. We feel very fortunate that our dancer has the opportunity to train with Conservatory Ballet Reston. read more

This place has become a second home for our young dancer. It's powerful to see her growth and development in dance, but also in character, confidence and so much more. Those are the things that follow her outside the studio and its really cool see her excel in school and other activities because if these skills. read more

I am agree all the one star review here. No respect to their customers and no reply at all. It never works to cancel the subscription when they closed the nearest office. What I know is students are leaving. So do I. read more

Wanted to love it as we signed up our daughter for a princess fairy camp at the Reston location. When we checked in - we said we were here for a princess fairy camp, Alexia (owner) didn't say it wasn't happening. I kept waiting for our 4 year old daughter to bring home the items she was suppose to make at the camp including a tiara, wand and ribbon skirt, of which none happened. I finally asked on the last day of camp, why none of it was done and find out that she was in a nutcracker intensive week camp. I then proceeded to write many emails that went unanswered and left messages. Their only response was that my daughter seemed to be doing ok during the week, not that they hadn't fulfilled what we signed up for or communicated that there had been a change. It's a horrible way to do business in my opinion, should you not be able to fulfill a camp that a 4 year old signed up for, be upfront and let the parent know. I would not recommend this business as they were not honest and really gave no acknowledgment of their mistake, to say I'm extremely disappointed, would be an understatement. I would try to find your child another dance studio to go to instead of here. read more

I love the conservatory ballet and my daughter has been going for a few years now and is thriving there. They take the time to not only teach the technical aspects of ballet but help instill a true love of dance. They are amazingly patient with all children. read more

My daughter was at Conservatory for six years--from age 2 in the Pixie ballet program to age 7 in the curriculum program. The pros for the Conservatory include the sense of family/community and the performance opportunity each year to participate in the Nutcracker. The cons are that the Montessori style of teaching ballet does not work for every child. By the time we left Conservatory, my daughter was in tears each week when it was time to go to ballet because it was "boring" and she "did not get to dance." The classes were not structured, and there was plenty of sitting around for the younger kids as they observed the older girls dancing. But I thought that ballet was probably just not for her (due to the tears) and was ready to move on to other things. However, we did check out another studio prior to cutting the dance cord. And now my child loves ballet. She loves actually participating in the classes, and she likes the structure. She also enjoys that 12 year-olds (not exaggerating) are not teaching her class. The other con of the Conservatory is the disorganization of matters such as bookkeeping. Nothing like being accused of not paying fees you already paid for and not receiving things you did pay for (because you will pay $45 if you want any footage of your child in the Nutcracker...no videos or photographs allowed...and that is after you pay a performance fee. Three times for the same performance in my case). read more

I wish I could give this place 0 stars after being frequently emailed and texted after attending 1 class at this studio (with my son). If you read the prior review, you'll understand why we never went back. I am STILL getting emails and text messages from these people. read more

I wrote a harsh review a few months ago that I am updating. I am still disappointed with my experience here, and I would not recommend this school to my friends. However, my daughter had fun and when they are young I suppose that is what most can expect. Pros: The instructors are nice and care about the kids. My child had fun. Cons: The recital is NOT worth the money if your child is 6 or younger. Emphasis is placed on the older students, and they dance almost the entire time. We waited over an hour to see our child who danced for less than a minute. Her hours and hours of class netted hopping across the stage and kneeling in the corner. I originally rated this school a 1 star and now updating it after a nice message from the school. Good luck read more

My daughter was here for 5 years and unfortunately did not learn anything about ballet. The apparent thought is that the older kids (ie 12 year olds) will teach the younger kids which I learned the hard way is not how to structure a ballet studio. The new management is also disorganized and not easy to work with. Examples include charging credit cards for false charges even not authorized to do so. I would highly recommend going somewhere else! read more

We have been with the Conservatory Ballet for a few years now with my Grand daughter who started when she was 19 months old, she is now going on six years of age and loves ballet. Her teacher has been Miss Alexia, she is great with the children. If you are looking into a school to introduce your child to dance this is it!!! Look no further! stop in and check them out. You will be happy and your child will have the benefit of a great school of dance. Kathy H. read more

We love Mrs. Alexia. My twins took ballet with her for over two years and she is the best! She is caring and knows how to connect with the kids of different ages and skills. My girls learned so much from her and love her. Totally recommend this place. read more

What is there to say about the Conservatory? The mother-daughter Reddicks run the studio and have been our home-away-from-home for nearly 6 years. My 7 year old daughter has been taking classes here since she was 18 months old. Mrs. Reddick definitely expects excellence from the girls. They go into extra innings a lot of times when she's leading the class. I don't consider this a bad thing. Miss Alexia's informal, loving vibe makes puts the children at ease and makes parents feel like family; there's a certain family-style feel to the place; you're half tempted to pick up the phone when it rings or help a new student and her parent get shoes off the shelf. As a mom of a young child, I love how the Conservatory goes out of their way to involve younger children. They have junior performances and include the little ones in special ways that make them feel very much like 'dancers'. Then there's the method. I must say that, bearing in my my child's age, I've seen an improvement in her skill and agility. She has a good time, while still getting a thorough education in the art. There is a certain grace, poise and confidence that she is developing, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it, until I noticed one day that she was trying to emulate Mrs. Reddick's posture and graceful presence. This summer my daughter popped into a ballet studio for a day camp when we were vacationing out of town. At the end of the day, the teacher made it a point to find me and tell me how poised my daughter was, and how good her training had obviously been. Thank you, Conservatory! read more

This studio is chaotic, unorganized, unresponsive, moody, and unprofessional with an "artistic" attitude. They never answer their calls or return their messages. Has poor planning with numerous times classes cancelled at the last minute without notice or a note sent after the fact. It is a VERY poorly managed studio especially since they lost their main manager last year. Also, their is a childish attitude of jealousy between instructors, and some brown nosing that takes place, as well as favoritism of some kids with $$$. The mistress of the company shows up occasionally or when the mood strikes. No one knows for sure if she would be there or not to teach and if so when. Teachers are substituted last minute, without notice, not just on a few occasions. Instructors bring their wee little ones to the class on a regular basis. The children are left to roam around and run around the place as if it's a playground without any supervision. No other serious ballet school would allow that to happen. Parents are treated as elementary school children with condescension as if they had no knowledge whatsoever about ballet. Mrs. Redick may had had some good training in the past but along with her frailty, unfortunately, her teaching ability has come and long gone. To top all this, there is a certain attitude of superiority of which I'm puzzled as to what is for since it is not warranted based on what they have to offer. The facility is shabby and unkept with many inappropriate objects left around; the teachers are ~B- level. The technology is lacking. Curtains and shades are put up to prevent parents from observing what is going on in the class. Is it to cover up all this unprofessionalism that carries through into the classroom studio? Other studios permit parent observation from a one way glass to prevent student's distraction, this could certainly be done here too. They do offer recital performances for the younger children, however they have a very unrealistic requirements for attendance vis a vis the minuscule part that they are given. Weekly 3hrs long rehearsals for a few minutes of performance! Just wonder what the little ones are doing during ALL that time... again parents are discouraged to watch any of this preparation. It's all kept a "mystery"..... What do the kids learn: anything goes.... So why would anyone who is interested in real instructions and professional ballet school stick around this "conservatory"? Well, they don't...they move on to the several other better qualified studios in the area :-) Just to mention a few...GWBS, Baine Academy, CBT read more

What an incredibly special place. As I like to say the teachers are helping me raise my daughter. We are in our 7th year at the Conservatory and could not be happier or more impressed. Mrs. Redick and her staff are not only teaching my daughter the art of ballet but are teaching her poise, discipline and.,,,,good manners. Mrs. Redick demands excellence (and excellence is defined as doing your best). In this time and age it is such a special place in the world. I look forward to many more years there and highly recommend it. read more

We enrolled our daughter in several courses a few years ago. A family emergency came up and we requested reimbursement (or credit) for the courses, which hadn't even begun yet. We received approval over the phone, then followed up by e-mail and phone and to this day, we still haven't received the promised credit/reimbursement. Very disappointing. We don't trust the school now enough to register again. read more

I rarely post on Yelp, and believe in giving businesses a fair shot... but this is 3 strikes and you're out time! My 3 year old daughter is signed up for Princess Ballet at 10:15 via the Parktakes system. Registration began nearly 2 months ago, on December 6. We show up for the class today, only to find out that the class actually begins at 11:00, and that Conservatory has known all along that Parktakes had the wrong time... but never bothered to email/call (these are both contact information pieces that I've confirmed Conservatory received via Parktakes registration). So that had me super miffed, but we were kindly invited (?) to attend the baby ballerinas class at 10:15 and hang around until 11:00, and then take our class. I'm annoyed about showing up 50 minutes early (on a rainy day, with a toddler and a baby and their heinous parking lot) but I'm even more annoyed because I actually called Conservatory twice last week and left two different messages, trying to find out more information about the class... and no one ever returned either of my calls. I was irritated enough that I couldn't get a call back (Princess Ballet - do you show up wearing a princess costume, or a ballet leotard? Seems like a fair question) but doubly irritated that I showed up at the "wrong time" for a class that I paid for, and then had to squeeze into the baby class where there were not enough princess costumes because there were 14 kids in there instead of the 4 registered on parktakes (10 babies, 4 big kids registered like me for the non-existent Princess class at 10:15). The highlight was the teacher, Miss Heidi, who was lovely and seemed to be a great instructor. She handled the 14 kids well, although I didn't get the attention I was expecting in a class that supposedly had only 4 kids enrolled. Miss Heidi calmly ran off to find more costumes, and added more barres, and found more props - but this situation shouldn't have occured and certainly left me thinking Reston Conservatory has a nice teacher but a studio with terrible communication skills. read more

We enjoy/ed Reston Conservatory as it is friendly, professional and fun. It makes dance creative and appealing for small children. My daughters participated in the toddler classes where they were engaged and enthralled with the studio and the class. The studio is adorable, it seems time and money have been devoted to making it a warm and welcoming venue. The classes are led by young professionals who know children and know what it takes to keep them engaged and interested. We have also attended many birthday parties at RC. Though their focus is clearly ballet (not parties), it has always been an adorable experience! It also happens that Reston Conservatory is located conveniently off the Toll Road (minimal traffic) and provides more than ample parking and space for the shopping area, much unlike other "studios". I would definitely recommend Reston Conservatory for the budding small and not so small ballerina! read more

My daughter has been taking classes at Conservatory Ballet for close to eight years. She started at age 3 taking a once a week 10-week community class (they have a large selection of these, including on weekends, which is uncommon). After 15 months she switched to the curriculum program, which provides continuous learning over an entire academic year. The school has fostered her love of ballet and dance, and has taught her a discipline that she might not otherwise have. Although she is not required to, she eagerly attends class six days a week, and helps in toddler classes one day a week. She is not quite 11 years old, but has gained a lot of performance experience that she would not have gotten at other studios, as they perform the Nutcracker eight times performances a year, plus snippets of other ballets in their Spring Demonstration. I appreciate that Conservatory offers a good value, by not requiring you buy everything from them, and by not making you pay for pricey costumes. Mrs. Redick, the artistic director, has trained some of the greatest dancers in the world, but she has also brought out the best in many girls who have gone on to become respected professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, and I know she is proud of them all. read more

The studio has really come around in the past year. The business side of things, especially have taken a turn for the better. There is an in-house office manager, as well as a few mom's of long-term students who volunteer their time to help things run smoothly during the busy times. The curriculum classes are fantastic and based on a Montessori school method, meaning that the younger girls can follow along in the footsteps of the older girls, whom they really look up to. There are quite a few good teachers in the school now. Heidi, Alexia, and Emily are fantastic with the little ones. My daughters have loved each of these teachers tremendously. The older students have also thrived. There have been quite a few of them recently who have gone off to make careers for themselves in the world of dance. Most notably being Keenan Kampa, who danced as a soloist, with the world renowned company, the Kirov Ballet in Russia, and is now featured in an American motion picture. The school may seem a bit unorganized to the newcomer, due to the owner's artistic spirit, but when you look at the big picture, there is a close-knit family of dancers and teachers at the school. The dancers are groomed for the dance world or college, and more importantly, the students love what they are doing and are gaining vital skills for life, in their dedication, structure and ability to prioritize. I highly recommend this school. read more