Growing up in a dance studio, I know how a well-run recital should be. Unfortunately, Dance Academy West has proven they are not capable of hosting an organized or thoughtful recital experience. I'm beyond disappointed after being told there are no more tickets available and being asked to join a group chat to "bargain" for tickets that families--who've paid for classes all year--should be entitled to. It's incredibly frustrating to know that my daughter may not be able to showcase what she's learned because of poor planning, limited space, and a ticketing process that seems completely disorganized. If the studio has so many dancers spread across multiple shows, why not book a larger venue and hold one big recital? That way, every student could perform once, and families could buy tickets--possibly even at the door. This current setup is chaotic and feels inconsiderate of the time, effort, and money parents have invested. On top of that, charging tuition the week before the show and continuing classes afterward feels like another poorly thought-out decision. While my daughter enjoyed dancing here for what it was, we will not be continuing. I would not recommend this studio to others. read more

Dance Academy West is by far the best dance studio in the West Georgia area. Now with two locations, they are able to serve even more people in the surrounding area. The yearly recital is my favorite experience every single year. It is very well organized, well run, and a highly entertaining production! Our entire family loves attending and watching every year! I think back to recitals when I was a kid and they were boring for my parents to watch dance after dance with no story line or real order to the dances. Dance Academy West offering Musical Theater and Acting makes the show, and the childrens' experiences, a true theatrical experience! I wish my studio had run recitals like DAW when I was younger. This year, when all 4 recital shows sold out, the owner and staff made every attempt to ensure every parent was able to get a ticket to see their child dance. When some parents were still unable to get tickets, they added a 5th show ensuring the child of those without tickets danced in the add-on show. This was an incredible opportunity for some of the kids to get extra stage time and make the recital weekend even better! We also love that the studio offers year round classes so the dancing never has to end! Even when recital is done, classes still continue throughout the summer, ensuring continuous learning and growth for the students. We have been at DAW for 8 seasons and it just gets better every year. We started at DAW when my daughter was 3 years old and the way she has grown throughout the years has been amazing. When we were just starting out and looking for a studio to join, we wanted somewhere that was diverse within their staff and students as well as staff that we could trust with our child. There is a reason people flock to DAW after experiences with other studios. All of the staff and teachers are nurturing, attentive, loving, caring, and encouraging. My daughter calls Dance Academy West her home away from home! She has built lasting friendships with her dance friends! If you are looking for an amazing dance experience for your child, you will not regret choosing Dance Academy West. I would choose them over and over again! read more

This is a very nice studio filled with a lot of talent, but it may not be for people who are wanting to dance casually. The staff is nice and well trained in dance, but all the focus and push is for their dance team. As much as I did enjoy the studio itself, I was more than frustrated that if my kids didn't understand or get how to do a part of a dance, the instructor never corrected them or tried to help them figure it out. If you couldn't dance based on watching the instructor dance, you were on your own. I also felt like they put a lot of money into a recital that was unnecessarily far away and complicated (they had 4 different versions of the show, depending what class you were in, which made parents of multiple dancers insane). They had it in Carrollton instead of somewhere local, and we had to drive all the way down there for a dress call, which was just having the girls stand on stage while they checked the lighting and music (didn't need to drive 90 minutes round trip for that! I was told they'd be practicing on stage!). They made up a nice show, but it felt like it was mostly an advertisement for the dance team again. I get that they are proud and want to get more girls interested in the team, but I'm not sure that the end-of-year recital (that's basically all family of the dancers) is the place for that. If they cut out most of the Dazzler routines they could have probably cut it down to 1 or 2 recital shows instead of 4, which would have saved the parents and the staff a lot of time and money overall. My last little urk that caused me not to give 5 stars - I wish they had used a better photographer for their photos. It was the owner's husband and the photos he took weren't bad, but the printing service he used was. The coloring and levels were terrible and a professional shouldn't want his work hanging on people's walls looking that low quality. read more