This is my daughter's second year at INB and we are so pleased. They have a beautiful mix of fun and focus. They see our kids as individuals and even sent a birthday card. I appreciate their kindness, intentionality, and skill. read more

My daughter had her first dance session ever today and I will just say appalled. Inland Northwest Ballet of Spokane clearly state they work with 2.5 year olds and yet they do not. My daughter 2.5 was signed up and paid. I paid $200 for her dance accessories such as Leo and shoes and after a long anticipated wait for her very first lesson the day of dance was here. She goes in and does so well considering she is 2.5. But she keeps picking up the circles marking her spot. She was sent out to be redirected, goes in and does as she's instructed for a while and starts touching again. Sent out again, goes back in and does well until she touches the wings they are dancing around. Sent out a 3rd time and told she's done for the day, try again another time. I paid for this class as did everyone else. She is 2 and learning. She has never attended any classes before and I was surprised with how well she did but kicking her out!! How uncalled for. We weren't the only ones. The only other 2 year old was also kicked out. They were also left out until last because they weren't listening. Too bad these teachers aren't skilled to guide young dancers. I'm appalled at this teachers behavior. Boo was literally scream crying to dance and had to leave. Just not ok. DO NOT OFFER CLASSES FOR 2 YEAR OLDS IF YOU CANT TEACH 2 YEAR OLDS. Be more selective and you'll spare yourself the trouble of working with a toddler. Take this as a warning if you want your child to dance and they are short attention spanned or learning go somewhere else. This isn't the nurturing place for them. I'm proud of my child even if she wasn't acceptable to this woman. And now we're off to find someone who actually works with toddlers. Thanks for trying to destroy her love of dance but not today. We will dance again just not with you! I'mfuming mad at this whole situation and fully expect a refund since you breached our agreement and refused to teach my child!! read more

Inland Northwest Ballet - My child clearly being disruptive - Opera & Ballet Near Me - Spokane, Washington

Please don't send your child here! I signed up my 4 year old for an individual class in May. When signing her up I told them that she has hypotonia and an expressive speech delay. She doesn't have any cognitive delays. She is able to comprehend and follow direction as well as any other 4 year old. I asked if they thought their Giggles and Wiggles class would be appropriate for her. I was told yes and they encouraged her attendance as they 1) "get kids like that all the time" and 2) it would help her tone her muscles. When I took her the first day she struggled with jumping and moves that take muscle strength. Which was what we expected to happen and they were already aware. I asked Janine after the class if she thought it was OK to bring her back and she said yes and that she did well. My daughter went back for her second class today. She participated in stretches and then when it was time to do exercises my daughter struggled. She tried, but had a hard time. They put my daughter in the corner and made her sit on a silver dot the rest of class because she couldn't keep up. She listened to the instructor and stayed where she was supposed to, but was confused because she couldn't figure out why she is in trouble. They wouldn't let her play with the props or anklets that they brought out. Do you know how heartbreaking it is to watch your daughter think she is in time out when she has done nothing wrong? I am beyond mad. They knew she was going to struggle with her balance and strength. I gave them a heads up and the opportunity to tell me she wouldn't be a good fit. Instead, my poor daughter was discriminated against and placed in a corner. It's a GIGGLES AND WIGGLES class. I tried calling them to discuss my concern before leaving a negative review, but no one has been answering their phone. read more

Pretty disappointing on how strict the instructor is. These are toddlers and some of the girls like my daughter have never done this. To have her get sat down because she cannot keep up or needs extra help. Like let the kids play and dnace and have fun. I'm not trying to make my daughter get a Ballet career drilled into her by some pretentious teacher who makes my daughter feel stupid or like she isn't good enough. She is becoming self concoius and humiliated. If I wanted a disappointed class Ide send her somewhere else. I payed for my daughter to have fun not to have her get sat down and forces to sit out of most the class because she uses the bathroom or doesn't quite to a move right. THEY ARE LITTLE GIRLS!!! This ain't broadway so I don't need some washed up instructor making my daughter sad in her dance class that she was looking so forward to. If you want your kids to have fun look elwewelse because of it's uniform and if your child doesn't respond to something within a second or two they are exposed and humiliated. She doesn't understand why the teacher is so mean to her. read more

I left a very detailed review on google however I just want to share here as well that this studio is horribly unprofessional, students and parents and completely disrespected by the owner Janine, and I would discourage any parent from enrolling their child in this school. read more

DO NOT send your children here, especially if you have a little one. This is my first review ever written so you know it's bad. The class description is very misleading online and is not suitable for young children. The instructors clearly do not understand how to work with toddlers. Both my daughter, who is 2 and a half, and the other two year old in the class were kicked out multiple times because they were being kids. If INB were smart they would make a class for 2-3 year olds and not have the same expectations as 4-5 year olds. There is a massive difference between a 2 year old and a 5 year old but obviously they don't know that. While we find value in our daughter learning to follow instruction and be a part of a structured class, the instructors need to have a realistic understanding of how to teach 2 year olds. Don't say this class is for 2 and a half year olds and not know how to work with them. If you are going to use positive reinforcement, then learn how to do it correctly. read more

AVOID. "Giggles & Wiggles"??? FALSE ADVERTISING. "These classes are full of magical fun and creativity!!" This is a big fat lie. A 3 year old hearing impaired girl was kicked out of the one-day class on 03/03/22 due to her being "a distraction". My granddaughter was put in "time out" for not following directions. This is not a fun class AT ALL. Far too rigid for this age group. Sadly, I already purchased the 8-week Giggles & Wiggles class for my granddaughter and they will not give refunds. However, I am happy to be out $120 rather than subject my granddaughter to this teacher (Pavlova) ever again! read more

You know how some people seem to get away with terrible, unprofessional, bullying, absurd behavior again and again and again? Why is that? I think bc in certain communities, especially the world of dance, your kid can easily get shuffled to the back or passed over for various opportunities when a parent speaks up or calls out a teacher or owner's ridiculous behavior. And so, they get away with it and even encouraged by those who are willing to overlook ANYthing in order to stay in their good graces! Yesterday this rant was posted on the parent page for the Inland Northwest Ballet Spokane. The class in question is for 6 year olds. SIX YEAR OLDS. And when one parent dare question the tone/appropriateness of the FB rant, they proceeded to kick the mother out of the parent group, delete her comment (of course) and bash the mother's 4 year old child! The child had nothing to do with the FB post keep in mind. They just didn't like someone calling out their passive aggressive behavior, so they attacked. A child. The tone of this studio is appalling. I cannot imagine the damaging words that have been spoken to impressionable young girls if this is willing to be said of a 4 year old in a "Giggles and Wiggles" class! My word. The irony. Please take your littles elsewhere! These kinds of adults are dangerous, damaging and clear narcissists. Most businesses would not get away with this kind of behavior, but as she says herself in the email, there are always more kids waiting to sign up.. I have never left a Yelp review until now, but every mother I know who saw the FB post followed by the email was appalled. *It doesn't appear I can post the screenshots here so I will add them under my profile photos on Yelp. #inlandnorthwestballet #ridiculouslyunprofessional #powertrippingballerinas read more

I do NOT recommend this studio for toddlers. I signed my daughter up a few months late but never expected her first ballet class to go so awful. Janine expected my 2.5 year old to "catch on" and left her crying in the middle of the studio and would simply walk around her. I am thankful that when my daughter finally went up to her with reached out hands she picked her up. However it was all very unwelcoming and not a way you teach toddlers. We went back and forth via email where I feel she was very unpleasant and unprofessional. She refused a refund of my deposit and first months tuition. Do research and take your little ladies somewhere else! read more

We have our daughter in several classes besides ballet at INB. Swim, gym, and princess ballet at the Y. She loves them all. But all those require parent involvement and help keeping your child in line during classes. This was the 1st time our 2.5 year old was in a class that was HER class! The observation area is amazing. I get to watch her without disrupting her. (Silent observation area). You can see them but when the lights are on they can't see you. If you're loud they can hear you, though. I was so nervous that this was going to be an issue with our daughter. NOPE. The instructor/owner is fun yet firm. And by firm I mean, "we can't do leaps until everyone is ready and in their designated spots". All the boys and girls in my daughters class had a blast! I've signed her up for the next couple classes, jumped on a wait list and added a link to my fb so friends and family can gift her classes for her birthday this summer! We are really looking forward to continuing ballet classes all year long. read more

It's taken me a while to decide to write this because I don't like writing negative reviews unless strictly necessary but --considering that Janine works around children-- I decided to go ahead and suggest to other parents that they monitor their children's interaction with Janine. She's one of the most disrespectful and abrasive people I have ever encountered. In our particular interaction, she seemed to relish throwing her weight around and was extremely unprofessional. My daughter is a ballet dancer and I would never consider enrolling her in a studio whose owner treats other people in the demeaning way Janine treated me. Perhaps this was an isolated incident, but I have difficulty imagining a nurturing (or even polite) side to this studio's owner, so I would keep looking until I found a studio run by an actual human being who doesn't relish trying to intimidate people whom she perceives as weaker! If she tried this act with me (another adult who treated her with respect & professionalism) I can only imagine what goes on behind closed doors with younger kids, tweens or teens... read more

My daughter is in her 3rd year at Inland NW Ballet and she is learning a lot. There is a nice progression of dance and respect that they teach young dancers. The location is nice, however the studio could use more room to avoid noise and space issues. These are concerns the owner has noticed, mentioned and is trying to rectify within the current location. read more

My daughter has been dancing at INB for 3, going on 4 years now. She LOVES Miss Janine, and I couldn't ask for a better dance instructor! Miss Janine is warm and sweet to my daughter, as well as my whole family every time we see her. We have done "Movement" dance classes in the past at other studios and we were disappointed at the lack of actual content taught. My daughter was interested in actually learning and growing in dance at a young age, so INB was a perfect fit. And we love it more and more every year as she progresses. Miss Janine instills the discipline necessary for dancers to learn at a young age, which I appreciate as a mother. read more