Although, the instructors and dance troupe are fabulous. The owners and the way business is conducted has alot to be desired. The studio likes to close for 'fall break' (after just re-opening after summer break), AND every national, religious and made up holiday they can think of. You still pay for full months of class even if your child's dance day falls into one of their 'breaks" or holidays. Make up classes are not encouraged (even though they are allowed). The dance instruction is excellant, but the business itself is lacking in customer service and fairness. read more

We came and danced for a week and all of the negative reviews are absolutely true! Awful toxic environment with very young teachers with little to no experience working with kids, with the exception of one teacher (Mindi) who is amazing! Just because you are a good dancer does not mean you are a good teacher or know how to work with kids. The teachers and owner do not know how to stay out of the drama and it's really sad. I had high hopes for this studio but it was very clear that it is not a mentally healthy place for anyone other than the favorites. read more

Dcaz is the most toxic environment in Scottsdale for young girls. I have been dancing here for 10+ years, and I never knew how toxic the environment really was until I quit. Teachers pick favorites randomly or based on social status amongst the girls outside life and nothing is based solely on skill. They will not help you improve your technique if you are not one of the favorites, but they will publicly humiliate you amongst your teammates, which promotes them to exclude you throughout team activities and they will not like you as a person, simply because of what a dance teacher said during practice. They refuse to put you on an actual team unless you have been there for years and will not even take your skill set or commitment into consideration. The lower-level teams would get bullied by the more advanced ones, and they would get no opportunities to improve, because they would get the new teachers that have barely even been trained. The older teams that were not advanced would get extremely embarrassing choreography and costumes that were immature and laughable. Favoritism is never acceptable when the entire team should be improving, not just specific people. This entire studio is a toxic environment and takes the joy out of dancing. It is common to mess up sometimes when rehearsing dances, but it is UNACCEPTABLE for teammates to yell at each other DURING THE DANCE for a tiny mistake. It is the teacher's job to fix corrections in a proper manner, but the teachers would also yell at students, and allow teammates to degrade each other, which can really alter a teenage girl's mental health. Dance is supposed to be something I am supposed to enjoy and do in my free time, not something I am supposed to be perfect at and get yelled at for making a small mistake. One of the teachers that taught the toddlers, and the intermediate teenagers, was not fit to teach either because of her abusive teaching style. Britni Lamken would constantly give useless exercises and did not care about students' injuries. Her choreography is cute for toddlers, but not teenagers. She should not have been teaching anyone above eight because she did not know how. She would gossip about teammates when they were not there saying absurd things that were not true, and she would even leak personal business, that other team members should not have heard. Senior company is the most advanced team at the studio, that all lower teams strive to be on, but lately, they have gone downhill, due to the toxicity within the team. The token boy of the team, Cameron, has been there since he was a baby, so he thinks he is entitled to make fun of everyone at the studio, including his own teammates. He would make rude comments about his teammate's technique, personalities, and would even yell at them for messing up during practice. Cameron would get away with all this behavior, because he is adored by all the teachers (specifically Lisa) and has never been given consequences for his years' worth of abuse towards other dancers at the studio, since he is the token boy. He is a strong dancer, but he is not good enough to act the way he has been acting. The favoritism amongst dance connection was so severe, it is difficult to deconstruct completely, but I know it severely altered my mental health. The ballet training was extremely poor for most of the teams, and they make you wear pink tights and black leotard combo until you make it senior company, then you can just wear all black. I can recall having Teisha when I was younger, and she gave me severe body dysmorphia. She yelled a lot but was a bad teacher. Kanako would call certain dancers bigger than the other and would refer to them as "the bigger one." Dance Connection will never give you credit for your commitment, if you are not a favorite, and will immediately discredit you. They were strict with attendance, but only with certain people. If you had to miss for a pom event at your school, that would be okay, but if I were to miss for a family emergency, I would get flamed. The teachers need to learn how to foster a healthy environment, and help students improve, instead of whatever is going on now. Dance Connection only cares about money, because I have stayed loyal for years, and the minute I quit, they cut off all ties. The owners and teachers at this studio clearly peaked in high school, ran out of peers to bully, so they decide to bully kids who just want to dance. Overall, Dance Connection is unprofessional, toxic, unethical, etc. I would not recommend this studio to anyone. If you want your kid to love dance, send them somewhere else, or they will grow to hate it. Growing up here slowly sucked the love and joy I had for dance right out of me. read more

Unsure where to begin as there are so many negative things to say about the owner Lisa and the way this business is conducted. Although the teachers are wonderful and the kids enjoy the classes, I can speak on behalf of most parents when I say we all absolutely hate communicating with Lisa. A very negative person who is obviously an unhappy and miserable individual. I wish there were other dance studios closer to where we live. We would not be attending this place if there were. Many parents have also left and are willing to drive far distances to not have to deal with Lisa. Aside from her mannerisms, she charges students for class that fall on a holiday and does not encourage make ups. She needs major training on customer service and how to be a kind human in general! read more

We love DC! Miss Kim is amazing with the little girls and they put on a great performance every year in June at Mesa Arts Theater. We will definitely be back in the fall. read more

I am a 13 year old dancer at Dance Connection. I have been dancing here since I was 2 years old. Dance Connection has helped me shape into an amazing dancer and human. I love dancing on their company. I always feel like I am at home when I am here. The teachers, dancers, and staff are nothing short of exceptional. Thank you Dance Connection for your training read more

My kid loves Lisa and the place! The only thing is for parents the waiting area is a little too crowded ... read more

My daughter loves it and thinks it is a great thing to do and all the dance options we love

This place is fabulous! The instructors are wonderful, they have tons of class options, the recitals are very well done and professional, and the new studio is very nice. The address on yelp is their old address. They are now located on Via Linda and Mountain View in the AJ's shopping center. If you sign your child up here you won't regret it! read more

Best studio. Love the teachers and staff. The technique and training is second to none. Highly recommend.

A few months back I tried to reach The Dance Connection for more information on their studio as my daughter was interested in taking some classes. After three attempts, and no return call, I gave up. I was surprised the owners wouldn't be interested in new business....especially in our current economy. My friend recently told me the same thing happened to her...never heard back from them after leaving two messages. We both placed our daughters at a different studio. Even if they are over flowing with dancers (which I doubt), not returning phone calls doesn't seem like a good way to run a business. read more

I enrolled my daughter here because I heard very good things around the community. However, the owner Lisa, suggested the class to put her in and she was way over her head. Then the owner who suggested we take this class was also the teacher proceeded to walk out into the lobby after class and say loudly in front of a crowd of parents and kids, "You're daughter is in the wrong class! I can't believe she's five years old. She should really be with the two year olds. I've never in my career seen a child with less of an attention span!" I was shocked and horrified and said, "Really, you've never seen worse than my daughter?" And Lisa said, "Yes, REALLY!!!" My daughter was traumatized and didn't want to go back and didn't even want to try another studio. I really had to talk her into trying another studio in town. The good news is we've found a loving and nuturing dance environment elsewhere which focuses on teaching the fundamentals in a fun way. My daughter is now enjoying dance, but I would not recommend this studio if you want quality and nurturing. If you want your child to never be shown basic moves, be told to use sexy hips and sexy shoulders when they're in preschool, and be encouraged to have a nasty attitude, then this is the place for you. I'm not impressed. read more

For what it's worth.........Highly recommend visiting the location before enrolling (I did not and wished I had). While Lisa, one of the owners, seems nice and the kids generally seem to like her, her studio is filthy and old. Finger prints are on every surface and both bathrooms are disgusting. The studio does not have the traditional wood floors (lobby does?); it has concrete floors covered in some sort of black paper (see for yourself). Studio is painted a horrendous turquoise blue while the very small makeshift waiting area is covered in dark brown carpeting and dark brown walls (very depressing environment). With all of the available commercial space on the SCottsdale market, Lisa should consider relocating or insist that her landlord pay for a remodel. The only good thing about this studio is it's close proximity to Chompie's Deli! read more