My daughter has been dancing here since she was 5, she is now 12. We plan to stay with LAD all the…read moreway through high school. At LAD , the instructors stand out as true masters of ballet, blending rigorous classical technique with personalized feedback that elevates every student's progress. Their deep expertise, drawn from prestigious academies worldwide, ensures classes are both challenging and inspiring, fostering a supportive environment where dancers of all levels thrive. The quality of ballet instruction is exceptional, with meticulously structured curricula that emphasize precision, artistry, and musicality in every barre and center combination. I can't recommend LAD enough--it's the gold standard for anyone serious about ballet. Miss Kate is our personal favorite!

Lincolnshire Academy of Dance (LAD) is the best studio ever. The instructors teach excellent…read moretechnique in all styles of dance, are extremely experienced, and many of them still perform, choreograph, or direct in the industry. LAD's environment is positive and loving, and all of the instructors are personally interested in the physical and emotional well-being of all dancers, as if they are their own kids. My daughter took dance lessons for 15 years. When it came time to switch studios halfway through her career, she considered four other studios. Some taught good technique but the environment was toxic, or there was not enough focus on technique and too much focus on competitions, or they made you choose between the studio or high school activities rather than allowing both, or the dress code was not professional in the studio and on stage. Only LAD was highly recommended by one of my daughter's directors at the time. We read all of the LAD instructor bios to learn about the depth and breadth of their experience, attended a recital, and my daughter took a summer class. She was sold, switched to LAD year round, and traveled an hour roundtrip to get to/from the studio for many years. LAD was life-changing for my daughter. She found her passion and the joy of dance, thrived in a positive environment, and also made amazing memories and friendships that she'll cherish forever.

Absolutely Love this studio! Very professional from the Instructors to Owner. The love of dance is…read morefelt throughout the dance family! Top Instructors are brought in to teach not just dance, but how to do it correctly & safely while using correct dance language & etiquette! If your dancer is looking to expand their training intensity, there is plenty to choose from! Between a Competitive Youth Dance Team, 2 PreProfessional Companies, Hip Hop Squads your dancer will definitely find their niche!! The Summer Intensives are packed with Highly Sought after Instructors to enrich a dancers training and expose them to new styles! As soon as my daughter switched to Talent Forum she knew this was where she belonged!

My daughter did a Hip Hop class here and also did the show at the end of term…read more They made her feel so welcome and she had a blast. It was really nice to have a local business that cares about the children they teach. The performance was awesome and my daughter looked forward to going to class and learning new choreo. The confidence gained here was simply the best!

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate and thank you all for another beautiful performance…read moreyesterday. My daughter isn't a dancer, but we've been coming to your performances as one of our favorite holiday traditions since she was 5 and she's now 11. Your production values get better every year and it's so special to have this incredible, intimate and affordable option to see the Nutcracker. The skill and passion throughout every aspect of this production are apparent, your ticketing is user-friendly and everything is very well organized. While I never have a dancer in your shows, I always tear up a few times thinking of all the hard work and training that goes into each performance. There is something so powerful about the way you tell this lovely story through music and dance. Thank you for all you do for promoting fine arts in the Northshore; it is much appreciated!!

YAYAY!!! For Adult Ballet classes! For beginners! I haven't taken ballet classes elsewhere, so I…read morehave nothing to compare this to. This place does seem to be one of the few in the area that offer ballet for adults.

Wonderful place with high quality instructors. Large space, with many studios, lounge area for…read morestudents who have a break between classes. Lots of space with couches to relax on. My daughter has been dancing here for a few years and we are very happy with everything she's learned.

From the owner: Dancenter North is housed in a beautiful old vaudeville theatre in downtown Libertyville, comprised…read moreof 5 individual studios with marley floors. In our 42nd year, we continue to provide comprehensive dance training and a nurturing environment to encourage young dreamers. Whether your student is interested in dance recreationally or has her sights set on a professional career in the dance world, our school has just the right program for your child.

This is the finest dance studio in Lake County. Kind and talented owners, skilled staff and many…read moreclasses for your busy schedule.

This year was my daughter's first year in dance (pre-ballet). She had such a great time. She is…read morethree years old and managed to learn her routine for her recital!!! Ms. Bridget and her staff are so wonderful. My daughter looks forward to her dance day. Talking to some of the parents, not only do they have children who have started dancing with the studio since the age of three, but they themselves were once students with the studio.

The Adult Ballet class taught by Rita Ockrim is absolutely wonderful!…read more The class is essentially all about you, about really warming up and strengthening all of your muscles, and you will leave having worked your entire body! Since Rita generally does the class with you, she can tell which muscles have been properly warmed up for subsequent combinations, ensuring that you feel safe and comfortable as you progress through the class. Rita has an immense knowledge and passion for ballet that she would like to share with you. She will take time to explain and to help you feel how to properly execute different movements - which muscles to engage, how to position your head, where to apply pressure to the floor, etc. - all of the details that are generally left out of adult ballet classes, but that make the class much more interesting and valuable whether this information is just a refresher, or if you are hearing these insights for the first time. It shows that Rita genuinely cares about her students and strives to provide whatever it is you are looking to get out of the class. She makes the class as fun and enjoyable as possible, and definitely puts a lot of thought into her music selection. Anyone that has taken ballet knows that there is quite a plethora of cut and dry ballet music out there, or that it can become that way when it's played repeatedly. Rita makes sure to play new music essentially every class, and only recycles the best pieces that you probably wouldn't mind hearing again. If nothing else, you could come to class just for the beautiful and varied music selection! If you haven't danced in a while, don't be intimidated that the class is taught at an intermediate level. Rita will go over and do the combinations with you, so there is no stress in memorizing combinations, instead, you can really focus on what your body is doing. If need be, you can always simplify the combinations, but it is nice to have the option of a more advanced alternative, and to see how it looks when executed properly. This may seem like a lot of praise, but all of it is well deserved. I have been quite frustrated with many of the adult ballet classes I have taken, and I have finally stumbled on a gem that I believe deserves more attention!

Rita Okrim is a superb ballet instructor! Her technique at the barre is outstanding with so much…read morevariety. Her center is so creative and original. A wonderful workout. The studio is enchanting, making you feel like you are on stage dancing. Very inspiring- I highly recommend classes from Rita! - Susan Wright

My son has been on the boys hip hop dance team going on his 7th year this year. This has been the…read moremost amazing experience. We have an incredible leadership team in our choreography and studio director. The communication for the team is amazing and we the team of boys has grown together over the past few years so much that it has led us to compete and win First Place of World of Dance and we have traveled to CA for the past 2 years. It has been an incredible experience and moving into our last year is very emotional to think we have to leave the studio when he graduates.

My granddaughter has danced at Soul2Sole since she was 11/2. She finally moved into the preschool…read moreprogram and has had a wonderful experience with the preschool team! They are warm and friendly, they have an amazing energy and work very hard for each child to have a positive experience. I couldn't be more pleased with them and Soul2Sole.

So sad I heard no dance this year. Beautiful place and beautiful people. We will miss you all.read more

I never before experienced such a lack of care for students and such a disrespectful attitude on a…read moreservice company like I had with this studio. Especially considering that it caters to very young children. Last year we enrolled both our daughters in ballet and dance classes. We thought that the owner, Ms Leslie, was strict but otherwise a good teacher and enrolled them again this year in multiple classes. This time the classes seemed different, the teachers were very young (one I believe was Ms. Leslie's daughter) and didn't seem to have the right experience to make the classes interesting to very young kids (my daughters are 6 and 3). Still we remained in class believing it was still a good activity for them. That was until a few weeks ago... it was a very cold day and the studio was not nearly warm enough for little girls in short sleeved leotards. I was wearing a coat, as well as almost every dad or mom in the waiting room with me. In the middle of my daughter's class, she came out asking to go to the bathroom. I took her to pee and she told me she was very cold. Her skin was indeed cold and she was trembling a bit, so I (as a concerned dad) put her jacket on her (it was a fitted fleece jacket with a zipper an no hood or anything loose) and sent her back into the classroom. A few minutes later a hear a loud voice from the teacher telling my daughter to take her coat out. I go back and, as the door of the classroom opens, I hear my daughter say "but I'm cold" and see the teacher push her out of the door saying "No, you are NOT! Now go take out your coat or you won't be allowed back in class" I took my daughter out of the class and (trying not to create a scene) went to talk to Ms. Leslie's husband who was at the desk (Ms. Leslie had been absent at that point for several weeks). There I told him that I understood thta the teacher was trying to uphold the rules of the studio and, independent of if I agreed with them or not, I didn't think a teacher should act in such a manner, contradicting my daughter's feeling and assuming what she was or not feeling (specially because it was indeed cold and all the teachers were wearing long sleeved shirts and warmers while the students were in thin short sleeved leotards). Instead of showing understanding, apologizing or at least showing some empathy to the situation, he started telling me that those were the rules of the studio and that most students would fake cold to get out of class and that he saw my daughter do this many times. I decided at that point not to push the subject and, after getting home, we wrote an email to Ms. Leslie to explain the situation and see what could be done to prevent this from happening again. A week later, before the next class, we received a reply saying that we got all fact wrong, that my daughter was using a hooded coat, that it wasn't cold and that she was disrupting the class. It ended reinforcing that those were the rules of the studio and they would not allow any exceptions. Since we were both there and Ms. Leslie was back, my wife tried to talk to her to clarify, but she started complaining to my wife of the misbehavior of our OTHER daughter. She was clearly emotionally unbalanced and was taking her frustration with us or the situation on my other daughter, which was not even part of the initial problem. My wife kept saying that she didn't want to have that kind of discussion in front of all the other parents there (her clients) but Ms. Leslie kept raising her voice and saying that nobody would listen to them there. Well, I was sitting with the other parents in the waiting room and I DID hear, so i went there and tried to move the discussion back to the original issue (the teachers behavior with my older daughter). Ms. Leslie looked at me with hate and said that if we wanted to have our kids in class we should follow protocol and then turned back and close the door in my face. We left then to never come back to that place. Don't care if they issue a refund or not or if we lose the rest of the season and deposit on clothes and recital. There no way I'm exposing my daughters to this kind of environment and will make sure I warn as many parents I can so they don't fall in the same situation I did.

This place is wonderful. The classes are professional and fun for kids. I would rate it higher but…read moreit's also quite expensive. The christmas and summer shows are fun for the kids and really create an ensemble, though in the older kid shows there is a bit of a bias toward actors in company. Has some flaws, but overall good.

This review is based on my opinion & from my observations:…read more Steps seems to only focus on the kids in "company" &/or the ones taking multiple classes. Although kids who take one class can easily become that student whose interests are to get to that level; I don't understand this. And, no my child did not try out for company & not make it. I'm not disgruntled due to anything of that nature. There's no assistance to help guide your child's interests, or to get them onto the right "track"; I know this because I asked. If your child has found their passion and you need a little guidance, "there's no help here", was the message I heard loud & clear. If you try asking a question btw, plan on a 6 week turnaround. Made me feel very unimportant and that I had my child at the wrong place. Obtaining tickets for your child's yearly performance was ridiculous (website crashes/credit card error messages/rescheduling ticket purchase dates). Even if your on the website at the exact start time, you will not get a decent seat no matter what you do. And you'll pay $16 per person to attend btw. Don't even get me started on the multiple discussions I had to have, to get a costume that fit my child before picture day. The class teacher was pleasant and my child never complained about class. But my child couldn't tell me her name until after Christmas. Substitute teacher was class participant mother (unsure if any dance teaching background - again no communication) that simply confused my child with changes to the routine; this was the one time she did complain about class. Again my opinion is from my observations; there's a feeling of a very clicky atmosphere at the studio. The kids who go to school together know each other, but that seems to be it. Kinda like a "Dance Moms" feel to the atmosphere, but I did chat with a couple of VERY nice parents a few times over the past year. And it seems like the kids all got along well in the classes. Don't plan on sitting in a seat in the studio, while waiting for your child. The kids stuff is all over the tables & chairs while the kids are in class. Why they cannot be directed to place their belongings in a cubby? They do that at school. Or maybe put up some hooks or lockers? You could definitely use some lunch tables. Plan on doing something outside the studio during class & picking them up at the door. I've been to other studios and were easily blown away by their welcoming nature...treated as WAY more important then we've felt here. Definitely shop around before settling for the local dance school. And if Steps reads this review, I honestly hope you'll take this review to heart and make some positive changes. I'm not writing this to be malicious, I writing this to help other parents make informed decisions. These things definitely bothered me, and that's what reviews are for.