We love the Beat! I (and my husband Robert) have had nothing but fantastic experiences here and…read morehighly recommend it. Roger is so wonderful. He always has a kind word for everyone who enters and has the true soul of a dancer. Nick and Irina are also awesome teachers. It's crazy how much you learn and progress in even one class!

I came here to support my former teacher who was subbing a Brazilian dance class here and parking…read moreis free! The staff is welcoming and there are all sorts of classes here. The studio where the class was held is small but cozy enough for at least 8 people.

Our 6yo has been going here for several months and it's been great. The kids all seem so happy to…read morebe there and our daughter loves it. They did a choreographed recital for both kids and adults in a nice little theater in Oakland and it was soooo goood. The classes are fun but also take dance seriously as an artistic skill. There's a sense of community there that we're happy to be a part of. I asked my daughter what she liked about it and here's what she said: "she teaches us the different positions and the names [she then started to show us all the positions] First, second, third... [now she's dancing for us]." Whenever she gets home from class, she keeps dancing. We went to a couple different classes in the area before starting here and this is a VERY different result and we're all very happy about it.

My toddler and I loved our dance classes with Teresa! She's a master with little people, fluidly…read moremanaging demonstrations, imitation, games, and adjustments to their sudden whims. She does everything with ease, grace, and humor. Plus, the classes are diverse and welcoming, which is a wonderful introduction to dance for all children.

I have two daughters who have many treasured memories from taking gymnastics, aerial arts, dance,…read moreand musical theater at Kids N Dance since they were little. They both developed innumerable skills and grew emotionally in countless ways under the supportive guidance and encouragement from all of the staff there, and especially from the owners. One of my daughters joined the Cirque Masquerade troupe (Expression Arts) in 2023, when she was 16. As in previous years, she has only positive things to say about Esme, Kris, and Marielle during her time in Cirque Masquerade. Like everywhere else in life, we have found at Kids N Dance that while things may not always be perfect, the staff there are all highly skilled at what they do, are compassionate and sincere, and very open to communication. As in other situations in life, rather than avoiding communication, it is always better to reach out with an open mind towards understanding the other's perspective instead of lashing out with negative reviews. Esme is brilliant, caring, and highly skilled, and like all of us, also human and not yet perfect. In our experience, it should be and is possible for mature adults to hold concerns about a perceived problem, and at the same time still recognize and show appreciation for the incredibly hard work that Esme, Kris, and Marielle have all done in order for our kids to be able to put on these magnificent shows. And let us remind ourselves that in situations where we demand curiosity from others, we should hold ourselves to the same standard and demonstrate the same curiosity towards them.

It is unfortunate that I must write this review, but we do so for the benefit of future families…read morethat may be considering Kids n Dance or Expression Arts as an outlet for their children. A little about our experience. Our daughter has taken many classes at Kids n Dance (owned and managed by the same persons who own and manage Expression Arts). As she grew older and developed a passion and skill for circus, she joined Expression Arts and was part of their circus troupe for 3 seasons. For a time, circus was a haven for our child. She built a community with the peer troupers and truly enjoyed the challenge and art of circus. Over the past two seasons, we have increasingly heard of concerns by our daughter about the environment at Expression Arts. While we were receptive to her concerns, we initially tried to ask our daughter to trust the program, embrace the challenges as opportunities to learn, and to believe in the positive intent of Esme, Kris, and Marielle. But over the past season the concerns and experiences have escalated. Numerous troupe members have come forward to raise awareness of troubling experiences endured over the course of years. Some of the concerns raised by troupe members and our daughter directly: Unsafe Physical Environment-Troupe members raised concerns of inadequate warm-up, inadequate breaks, extended time upside-down, and a persistent culture of pushing through pain and injury. During the lead up to performances, the children are often at practice for 6+ hours. Practice increases in frequency until the final few weeks preceding shows, where practice is nearly every day. During the two weeks of performances, troupers were initially asked to do 1 show on Friday, 2 shows on Saturday, and 3 shows on Sunday. Each show is ~2.25 hours. It was only after there were serious concerns raised in a parent conference with Kris and Marielle, that the 3rd performance on Sunday was cancelled. The standards, rigorous schedule, and high-risk performance are a dangerous recipe for the safety of the troupe members. Emotional Manipulation and Inappropriate Behavior- Esme often drifts between friend and coach with the troupe members. This relationship is confusing for the troupe members, with Esme using this bond to instill her values on the children and also playing favorites. Multiple troupe members have noted that Esme can be erratic in her behavior, switching between positive behavior and disparaging and belittling language. In one incident, Esme told our daughter that she must have "ADD" after our daughter offered to help with transitions. In another incident, Esme commented on the body figure of a trouper. And in another incident, she told a group of troupe members that their act was "stupid". In isolation these incidents may be explainable (and Kris and Marielle have attempted to rationalize all of the incidents), but what can't be explained or rationalized is how widespread and consistent the experiences are amongst the troupe members. After a senior troupe member sent a note to the troupe parents about her own traumatic experiences with Expression Arts, numerous troupe members came forward and shared consistent and repeated experiences. What is most concerning about our experience with Expression Arts is not the negligence of Esme, Kris, and Marielle, it is the complete lack of accountability and curiosity to do something about the numerous concerns raised by the troupe members and families. It is our belief that Esme, Kris, and Marielle have the best of intent. We believe they want to provide a safe place for children and to cultivate a thriving community built around circus. We also believe they are wholly incompetent and untrained in how to create this place. The incompetence can be addressed, there are programs like SafeSport which, coupled with Esme's passion for the art, could transform the space. But Esme, Kris, and Marielle first need to face the root of the issue and take the concerns seriously. After the senior troupe member raised concerns about her own experiences, she was abruptly removed from the troupe and essentially called a liar. The parents of the troupe then demanded a conference with Esme, Kris, and Marielle. Esme did not attend, but Kris and Marielle spent the bulk of 90 minutes deflecting and taking no ownership or corrective measures. Despite her initial love and passion for circus arts, our daughter has decided to close this chapter of her life and move on. Despite everything we note above, our sincerest hope is that Expression Arts and Kids n Dance thrives and can be a safe place for our youth to grow and express themselves. For this to happen, two things are needed: 1) Esme, Kris, and Marielle need to be curious, vulnerable, and accountable for the harm they are causing to the children. No more deflection. 2) Esme, Kris, and Marielle need to pursue the ongoing training to equip themselves to appropriately and safely engage with children and young adults.

My wife and I had the pleasure of working with Ruth for the first dance at our wedding. Neither of…read moreus are dancers, but we had our hearts set on a special song. We had never even heard of a Viennese waltz let alone knew how to dance it. Ruth was extremely kind and patient with us, and helped us create a routine at our skill level, listening to our feedback and suggestions all the way. In addition to that, she was flexible with our packed schedule that comes with a month before a wedding. The dance ended up a hit and we got a ton of compliments! Ruth, thank you so much from the both of us!

I've been attending Ruth's salsa classes for about 4-5 months. Ruth is an outstanding teacher and…read moreLatin dancer. A key part of teaching a physical skill is to remind the student as many times as needed what they need to change until they integrate the new idea/movement/whatever. Ruth is excellent at holding out until you get the right idea. Then she moves you right along to whatever you need to do next. Ruth is also super perceptive - She quickly sees exactly what trouble a student is having and then clearly and kindly guides you towards the necessary improvement. I'm impressed by her ability to help people at widely varying levels by giving each person what they need - even though her suggestions are different for each person. Ruth is also friendly, fun and positive. I always feel welcome and encouraged at her class. I highly recommend Ruth to anyone wanting to learn Latin dance.

Allie and the gal that works with her are so patient and caring of all of the students at the TUTU…read moreSchool Berkeley. Josie loves "lalallet". Thank you. Her sister a graduate of TUTU School Berkeley, Mackenzie, has continued on with the Berkeley School of Ballet, and has loved ballet with Allie(during COVID online and after) and Charlie(@Hercules) with owner, Sonya at the TUTU Schools. The TUTU School Berkeley & TUTU School Hercules are caring, fun, magical schools for beginning ballet students.

Tutu school has been great for bringing my 5 yo out of her shell. Love the flexibility too!read more

LaurieAnn was a great instructor. We had a little over a month to get a dance ready for our wedding…read moreand she delivered. She was very clear and concise when teaching us, and helped us build the confidence to do it in front of everyone. We had many people complement us, and we had little to no training prior to taking classes with LaurieAnn I would recommend her to anyone who wants to add a little flair to their wedding dance. It's well worth it.

We loved working with Steps on Toes for our wedding first dance. The lessons were warm, fun, and…read morelow-pressure, and our instructor made us feel comfortable from the start. They broke everything down in a way that was easy to follow and helped us feel much more confident for the big day. Highly recommend for any couple preparing for their first dance!

We would highly recommend Brandee for her ballroom dance lessons! Had our wedding celebration in…read moreWestminster, and was satisfied with how our dance came out. Brandee was quick to respond to inquiries, and was able to adapt our routine to accommodate us (blind couple). She was detail oriented and was able to provide a solution to any issues that came up during our live practice sessions. Here is a link to our highlights video that includes footage of the manifestation of our lessons: https://youtu.be/HAUuKjOywmw

We had the absolute best experience with Brandee Selck as our dance instructor for our first dance!…read moreFrom start to finish, she made the entire process so much fun and stress-free. Brandee was incredibly easy to work with, always responsive, and communicated every step of the way. She really took the time to understand the vibe we were going for and made sure the choreography was something we both felt comfortable with. What impressed us the most was how she made learning to dance so enjoyable. My now husband isn't much of a dancer, but Brandee's patience, encouragement, and easy-to-follow guidance helped him relax and have fun with it. By the end of our lessons, he was actually excited about dancing! He even mentioned that he'd be open to taking more dance classes with me in the future--something I never thought I'd hear him say! Our first dance turned out beautifully, and we couldn't have asked for a better instructor to guide us through it. Thank you, Brandee, for making this such a memorable part of our wedding journey. We're so grateful for your expertise, kindness, and the fun experience you created for us!

Zoe Balfour runs this dance school/program/event and to say she has a key that unlocks a fun and…read morefestive world of queer dance (to those of us that feel like we have two left feet) is an understatement. She's been doing this for a while and I was fortunate to find a supportive, talented and loving teacher that is very well versed in working with groups of people that can be dance challenged. I've been to MANY of her classes and dance events. Often, when I receive compliments about how well I dance, (during queer dance events), I walk people right over to Zoe and explain how I once had two left feet and was a beginner, sitting on the sidelines watching and not understanding how people could dance dance-after-dance, all night. Finally, I add, when I introduce them to Zoe; this is the woman that holds a key that will demystify and help you navigate through the intimidating world of dance. We're lucky to have her in our community and you should take advantage of what she has to offer...I've taken private lessons and classes with her in Night Club Two Step, Salsa, Country Western and Country Waltz. Check out her web site for more info... http://www.tripthelightfantastic.org/

My partner and I worked with Zoe in preparation for our first dance at our wedding. I had a little…read moreexperience partner dancing, but my partner had none. Zoe is an exceptional teacher who made us both feel comfortable right away. Even though my partner didn't have experience, Zoe was able to recognize my partner's skills and experience as a soccer player and relate that to dance. She taught us foundational skills for lead-follow communication and presence in dancing that we will now have for our lifetime. Zoe is truly a gem that we have in the dancing world in the Bay Area.