To anyone who has a kid/grandkid thinking about joining a dance class or considering a change in…read morestudios... My granddaughter has been attending dance instruction at a studio in Santee for the past three years. She really loves dance, and we've enjoyed the productions they've had 2 - 3 times a year. But honestly, we've been a little disappointed in the staff in the last year or two. Their enthusiasm and hearts for the kids has been lacking. It seems like the instructors are in a job they don't love, going through the motions of instruction, but with little enthusiasm to teach and little effort to connect with the kids. In addition, while the studio was adequate, it was a bit underwhelming.
Not long ago, while sitting in the bleachers of my grandson's baseball team, my daughter overheard chatter about a dance studio called "Jibe Studios", located in El Cajon (near the Santee border). Though Jibe Studios has been open for 20 years, a year ago they relocated. The new space was COMPLETELY remodeled from the studs out, and it's amazing! It's in an industrial type building with a really cool vibe! It's about 8,000 square feet with five or six different dance rooms and tons of open space all around. The ceilings are probably 15 feet high, and everything looks great! Each room is set up so families can easily watch without being in the room itself. And there's lots of seating available outside of the dance rooms (but inside the building) if parents need to take care of things while their kids are there. And as much as I was impressed by the building, I can't tell you how much I loved watching my granddaughter's instructor, Abby (who is a co-owner of Jibe), interact with the kids! She was so enthusiastic and joyful! Part way through, even though in this session there were just four younger kids (all around 6 years old), another instructor came in to assist, and she was equally engaged and bubbly! These people love their jobs! I spoke at length with the second co-owner, Jennifer, and she shared what the dance studio's vision is, how they mentor some of their older dancers to become instructors and more importantly, how they mentor those kids to be better people.
Knowing that their Christmas show was upcoming, I asked about what venue they will be performing in. Part of my reason for asking was that the past performances my granddaughter was in, put on by the other studio, were held at the Joan Kroc Theater. It's a great venue, but unfortunately it has limited seating and some of the performances had a four guests per child seating limit, cutting out family who wanted to attend. Jibe Studios has in the past and are continuing to put on their performances at "The Magnolia" at the East County Performing Arts Center in El Cajon. For all practical purposes, their seating is unlimited, so we're thrilled that there won't be any limit on how many parents, their kids, grandparents and other loved ones can attend.
I was just so impressed by the operation and wanted to share with anyone interested in taking up dance or looking for a new alternative. And just to be clear, I'm not related to anyone at Jibe. and we are not receiving any discount or compensation for this review.
If you are interested in taking up dance or looking at alternatives, I can't recommend more highly Jibe Studios! They are located at 1955 Cordell Court, Suite 103, El Cajon. If you want to reach out to them, their email address is: hello@jibestudios.com and their phone number is 619-728-2882.