Dance Institute is an outstanding place to send your kids who are interested in dance! I moved my…read moredaughter to DI b/c of its ballet program. Having danced for many years, I was looking for a studio who would take ballet seriously. Ballet is the foundation for all dance genres and without proper instruction, a student will not master the proper technique to perform at his/her best. My daughter has improved tremendously under the instruction of Linda Holland. Her love for dance has exploded and now she dances with the Dance Institute Performance Academy, one of DI's award-winning competitive dance teams. DI also has a hip hop dance team called Street Heat. Its many talented hip hop dancers have also competed extremely well. The facilities and resources available at DI are not found elsewhere in Austin. If you are looking for a great studio to grow your child's passion for dance, Dance Institute is the place! Check it out!

Nobody puts Baby in a corner…read more Really, that's all you need to know. That and... come on guys, do you want to be Johnny's cousin manning the record player (excuse me, Ipod) again, or would you rather be Johnny singing "She's Like the Wind"? Er...ok that came out totally wrong. This is the Dance Institute, a beautiful brand new school built from the ground up specifically for the purpose of teaching you to shake your maracas or for your children's pointe preparation for Julliard. You might not think this is too special, what with dance schools all over the place, and Austin still not widely considered a bastion of dancing, despite the fact that Ballet Austin is the 4th largest ballet company in the U.S. But typically dance schools are constructed in preexisting spaces, and they do the best they can. This place is, well, bangin', from the design standpoint. Some pro dance folks have shown up here from out of town already to give workshops, and say it is one of the most killer dance spaces they have ever been in. Open, airy, that sort of thing. So if you care about that, voila! A very nice space to learn in. The Dance Institute's logo incorporates a couple doing a hot salsa or ballroom type number, and it is the partner dances that DI is primarily designed for (at least in terms of sheer physical space and adult classes), if you ask me. Their space is huge though, so really they can teach anything they want in there. In addition to the ballroom dance classes that start you on your way to Dancing With The Stars type stuff, and social dancing classes like salsa or two step, they also teach pilates and yoga. I am not familiar with their fitness classes, so I cannot comment on them, but they do have them. They also have regular social events (with byo beverages, last time Monichacha O and I attended) which are preceded by mini lessons in a variety of social dances that you can choose to pay for, or not, if you are already skilled in that sort of thing. On my 5 year journey to learn how to do some ballroom dancing here in Austin, I have taken lessons from many people, and at most of the schools in town. As I have improved, this has led me to become a picky picky bastard about my teachers. DI has several of the finest in partner dancing that Austin has to offer. And imho, Austin does not offer a whole lot of fine partner-dancing teachers (though I believe their number is slowly increasing). Teachers I like at DI: my faves there are Sabrina, Kat, and Denis. I do tend to favor the Latin dances, though, so these are the folks I have had experience with who I like, who do latin. Sabrina, the Ballroom Director, has had years of dance training, and uses a lot of crafty plain language descriptions to help you figure out why you can't seem to do a box step after 50 attempts Edison. Kat was a professional ballet dancer and not only teaches the ballet program for kids (I do not think there is an adult ballet program there now) but is a superb salsa dancer and instructor as well. Often she will get folks to go out to salsa dance at local clubs in town. Denis is a former U.S. 10 dance champion (this means that he and his partner competed against other people in ALL the dances they do on dancing with the stars, really really well) from Russia, yet despite being from a country that churns out seriously hardcore ballroom pros sorta like Bela Karolyi makes gymnastics champions, he is quite nice and caters to your ability without making you run through the snow like Stallone in Rocky IV. Additionally, you can take private lessons from all their folks rather than group classes, and they do lessons for couples getting ready for dancing at their weddings. Ok, so why not the 5 star? 1. they are located in BFE for a big chunk of Austin - you can see from google maps that Sitio Del Rio is near 2222 and 620. If you don't live close by, you are going to be burning a lot of gas to become Johnny Castle or Baby. 2. they are probably the priciest in town, though with the current state of the economy, perhaps they've got some deals going. 3. The number of truly intermediate to advanced dancers that are available at this point in time, in Austin, who frequent their classes there (or anywhere in town), to do Latin Ballroom, is still pretty low. This probably doesn't apply to most folks in the universe, but it does to me, so. The Dance Institute is pretty sweet. If they were closer to the heart of Austin, I'd say there is no good reason you shouldn't give it a shot to get your dirty (or Fred Astaire & Ginger Rodgers' style) dancing on.

When searching for dance lessons for my wedding I came across Dance U2. After talking with Tony, I…read morerealized he was the right fit for us. Tony can teach any dance such Salsa , Bachata, Two Step, Swing, and Argentine Tango etc. so it was nice that we had a choice when picking which style we wanted to dance to. My fiancé and I had no previous experience with Salsa dancing, but Tony made it so easy for us to learn! He taught us the basic connection principles and before we knew it we were doing many different types of and dips and tricks at an advance level. You will leave Tony's dance lesson not only feeling more in-tune with your partner physically, but emotionally as well. He has taught us many valuable dance lessons and life lessons in the process. Our time with him was always enjoyable! I would also like to add that we did this during the COVID pandemic and Tony's space was always sparkling clean, hand sanitizer available at all times, and he always wore a mask. Made us very comfortable. I am so excited to show off our new moves during our wedding dance. I HIGHLY recommend Tony for anyone interested in dance lessons! You will not be disappointed!

I can't believe I forgot to write a review of this guy's class. Guess I was trying to forget the…read moreawful treatment and lack of professionalism I received from the instructor. Tony was incredibly rude toward me when I attended my first dance session with him. The other students were more helpful and polite than the instructor himself. I'm not the most coordinated person. I'll admit that and appreciate any person's patience when teaching me a sport or activity that requires a decent amount of coordination. I believe I was learning Polka or foxtrot at his class, but I was struggling with getting the coordination down since I was a first-timer. Tony was going about making sure that the students were on the right track. He looked frustrated that I wasn't getting it, and finally started to berate me. He asked me: "Why don't you understand how to do it correctly? Can you not understand English?" I was stunned and furious to say the least. He wrote me off as a foreigner unable to understand English based on looks instead of being patient like a teacher should be. I'm a native English speaker and was born in the US, unlike him, but saying something hurtful so casually like that wouldn't be acceptable even if the person wasn't a native English speaker. I've heard that South America had horrendous racial tensions, so I could see that Tony brought its racism with him when he came to the United States. If you're not an Anglo or Hispanic person, and don't have any experience with dancing, then expect Tony to say something rude when you don't understand his dance lessons on your first try. I excused myself and went to cry in the bathroom for a few minutes for the poor treatment. Then discreetly left the building. Lo and behold, the man had the gall to follow me to my car! He even positioned himself so that I couldn't slam my door without hitting him. He started advertising his other classes, and gave half-hearted encouragement since I was a beginner. As far as I'm concerned, the "encouragement" was too little to late when he burned a bridge by criticizing my English listening skills. I won't try learning how to dance again thanks to this man even if it's for my own wedding.

It's difficult to find adult dance instruction in Austin geared towards the older dancer, but…read moreSynergy's Silver Swan ballet program does just that. Theoretically, one should be at least 55+ to enroll, but exceptions can be made! The instructor, Maureen Slabaugh, is certified by the Royal Academy of Dance to teach under their Silver Swans model and does an outstanding job of making the class work for both absolute beginners as well as dancers with some level of experience. Currently classes are offered two days a week. I enrolled two years ago and really wonder why I didn't find out about Silver Swans years ago!! I hadn't taken a ballet class in at least 25 years and I simply love it! Highly recommend.

I've been taking adult ballet (Silver Swans class) for 2 years and it has been a fantastic…read moreexperience all around. Maureen is a phenomenal teacher - encouraging and nonjudgmental when you need it, excellent with technical details and technique when you need it. It's not just a good workout, it's also REALLY good for our brains! Every class has something a little extra challenging to work our memory and keep us on our toes. The classes are structured like the ballet classes of my childhood - first the barre, then the center. Maureen is great at giving options for newcomers and experienced students, and making sure everyone is both comfortable and challenged. She is also really good at helping people modify if they are injured or need to take additional care. Synergy itself is staffed with cheerful friendly people and it's always a pleasure to be there.

My soon to be 6-year-old has just completed her 2nd year at Dancers Workshop. They are an…read moreincredible organization, and my daughter has thrived under their direction. She absolutely adores her teacher, Ms. Naomi, and wants to be in all of her classes. We've done the ballet/tap combo class for two years and added the jazz/hip hop combo class this year, and my daughter always comes out of the class with the brightest smile. Watching these kiddos do the shuffle step in their tiny tap shoes or hot steppin' while Gettin' Jiggy With It is the embodiment of joy in human form! 10 out of 10, would recommend!

This studio has been such a magical place for our dancer! She has confidence, has fun, and learns…read moreevery time she comes to the studio mostly due to the amazing teachers and the environment they create. Ms. Lori and Ms. Kristi have been a source of positivity and guidance since the day she started two years ago, and we are beyond thankful for them both!! Thank you DW for a great experience!

I brought my teenage son to Álvaro and Suzanne to learn to dance salsa. He had never danced…read morebefore. We are so glad we did...they are amazing teachers. My son loves going and he is learning so fast. We can't thank them enough. We highly recommend them to anyone that wants to learn to dance regardless of experience.

Reccomended salsa instructor with lots of experience. He is friendly, patient and can teach folk of…read moreall skill levels.

Great people. These are the folks you want to learn from in…read morethe greater Austin area put on your dance shoes and get down to see them.

I love Four on the Floor. Every Tuesday they teach lessons at the Fed. Lessons are incredible cheap…read more($45 for 4 classes) and a lot of fun. Most importantly, you don't need a partner. I repeate, you don't need a partner. While you're learning different steps, you rotate partners every few minutes. See ladies and gentlemen? If you want to learn, you can totally come alone. Now that I've belabored that point, Four on the Floor is a great resource for learning how to swing dance. I'm on my second class, and I'll definitely be back for another!

Cristina is a great dance instructor. In less than an hour my wife and I went from knowing nothing…read moreabout how to salsa dance to the point that we can practice on our own and feel good doing it. The session was a lot of fun and we learned a lot. Planning on seeing her again soon for some more advanced techniques.

From the owner: Cristina Santana has been a professional dancer, choreographer and instructor with a demonstrated…read morehistory of working in the broadcast media industry. Specializes in latin dance, salsa on 1. Showed case in TV shows like "So you think you can dance" and "Penny Dreadful"

My daughter started at TTD when she was 3. After 7 years of dance, 3 on the dance team, she was cut…read morefrom the team. Throughout her time at Tarrytown dance, we were told she was doing great and was a beautiful dancer. Never did they say she needed help or was not meeting the expectations of the team. I understand not making teams and setting a high bar but she's a good dancer and at least should have seen being cut from the team as a possibility.

My daughter started at Tarrytown dance when she was 2 1/2. She is 4 now. We've done creative…read moremovement, ballet/tap combo, the Frozen summer camp, and a Barbie winter break camp. Basically, anything they offer, we sign up for. My daughter's dance classes here are the only activity she asks to do each and every semester (and even in the breaks between). Here are some of the things we love-- 1. The studio is the kind of place that builds community around it. I've made friends there. She's made friends. It's a warm and welcoming place. We didn't know anyone in town when we started taking here, and I feel so blessed that we stumbled into such a friendly place. 2. I love that the owner, Leigh, actually teaches classes. And she's phenomenal. Which I guess isn't surprising since she's been teaching dance since she was 16! Because she is a huge ball of energy and super fun, the girls love her, but she also is no push over. She keeps everyone in line. They learn a ton, even in the creative movement classes. She's found the balance we all strive for as parents and want from our kids' teachers. 3. At the end of the year they do a performance on the big stage at Westlake HIgh School. I can not tell you how special and cool this made my little girl feel-she was beaming like she was a movie star. There is not a kids activity in Austin I would recommend more. It's just a really special place that has clearly been grown with love by a kind, fun, smart lady.

I never really leave reviews but I just wanted to make others aware that at this location at least,…read moretwo of us applied for a dance instructor role that had been posted online and were brought in multiple times for a dance lesson and trial. We were told they were wanting to grow the business and that we didn't need to have prior ballroom experience (we came from other dance fields), and that a big part of the role was customer service and sales. Both of us interviewing were in contact throughout the process, and both of us were completely ghosted by the owner despite multiple emails. I understand if we weren't the best fit, but to not ever give us closure in the process was very disappointing and unprofessional. Ghosting people is hurtful.

The QC Fred Astaire studio is pretty great. Instructors (morgan) are very good. Patient…read more Competent, appropriately funny, good at communicating corrections when needed in a supportive manner. Flexible lesson options meet most budgets.