Dance Arts is the best! The teachers and staff are always warm and welcoming, and their…read moreprofessional instruction is amazing. It's a always a joy to take dance classes there to improve my dance skills.

I've been to Dance Arts many times over the years for private lessons, and did it again this past…read moremonth. It is always an awesome experience because the facility is quite nice and recently remodeled, and the teachers are all consistently terrific. Seth was our dance instructor, and he is very personable and a wonderful instructor so it was a pleasure to work with him. And it seems like everyone is very competent and friendly. The owner Joanne is an incredible teacher, and a very nice personality, so in summary it's just a pleasure to be there, and I love this place!

My 10 year-old has been at Splitz for about 10 years and it has been such a life-changing…read moreexperience. She has learned so much about dance and performing. She is so strong and confident from her time at Splitz!

Wonderful dance Academy, my daughter has been there for the last three years and she loves it!…read moreDon't hesitate to send your kids.

I was one of the older students in the open division adult classes for the last 2 years or so. I…read morehad never taken ballet at an early age so while I lacked the proper body training and preparation and attempted to start ballet at age 60 (15 years ago) I nonetheless had redeeming qualities, that being grace and good musicality and sometimes good form in certain movements. I could keep up with the speed pretty well, am fairly intelligent and enjoyed the rigorousness of the classes and the excellent teaching, as hard as it was for me at times to "keep up" because of my aging memory. At one point, 2 other women in my class (at least 50+ years of age) ganged together to bully and intimidate me because I wasn't dancing "in form" across the floor. One of them accused me of never having been in a performance before, and she was wrong--I performed at the College of Marin Dance Concerts as a student there. They had no right to gang up on me like that, and the teacher had never said anything about it. I was insulted and angry. I took the matter up in a private meeting with the teacher and executive director of Marin Ballet. I didn't expect much results but at least the offending party stopped going to that class for awhile. The bad news is, the instructor became suddenly very unfriendly towards me afterwards like he was angry at me for "rocking the boat" or something. I was very sad about that, and took classes until the end of my 20-class card that I purchased earlier and then left for good. When I told the office manager that I wasn't coming back and why, basically all she said was "have a nice day". In my book, there is absolutely no excuse why anyone should be bullied in a dance class, especially an older person. We should all feel welcome in dance classes, and I certainly never had this problem in any other dance classes I attended at other Marin dance studios and College of Marin. In fact, I was often complimented by the teachers. So I think the students that bullied me were completely out of line, and I had no support around that. I'm surprised that Marin Ballet wasn't more understanding around this issue, even though I know it does happen more on the professional level. But we were not all professionals in that class!

A very special place. A Marin institution. My daughter studied ballet here for many years. She…read morelearned so much more than just dance. She developed lifelong friends. (She graduated over 10 years ago but still gets together with her ballet class mates) The facility is amazing. And I just love going to the Marin Ballet Nutcracker each holiday season even though I no longer have a child in the program. This place is magic.

Had a great birthday party for our 4 yo. It was well organized, the staff helped set up and kept…read morethe kids entertained through dances, bounce house, and games. Highly recommend.

When you see how many people find Love2Dance to be a place to learn, discover and realize their…read morepotential, you'll come to understand what a gift it is to our communities in Marin. We started with a beginner class a few months ago, and today watched many choreographed productions with many other families. It was fun, inspiring and touching all at once. I cannot recommend them more highly.

Just Dance Academy has impressed us in every aspect. The studio director and staff exude warmth and…read morea love for dance. Jenna, the owner, is a graceful and enthusiastic instructor, and also an incredibly responsive and diligent administrator. She manages the studio with great care and professionalism, communicating quickly, paying attention to details, and always going above and beyond for her students and their families. Most importantly, my daughter loves dancing at Just Dance Academy. Her instructors have been outstanding, and the performances we've been a part of have been fun, innovative, and inspiring. The classes bring her immense joy, confidence, and excitement. We are so grateful to be part of such a nurturing, well-run, and inspiring dance community.

Artistry, Inclusivity, Athleticism, FUN and JOY! These are all the things that make Just Dance…read moreAcademy a spectacular community! My daughter started in 5th grade when we moved to Marin, with only one year of dance under her belt. Today as a 7th grader, she does Jazz, Ballet, HipHop, Contemporary, and Competition Team. She is learning creativity, resilience, artistry, and commitment -- dance has boosted her body confidence and helped her make a bunch of new friends in our new community. And then there's the shows (oh, the SHOWS!)...the winter show and spring shows are incredible! High production value and absolutely incredible choreography. Jenna and all of the teachers create a warm, welcoming, encouraging, and inclusive environment for all abilities and interest areas. Highly recommend!!

The people in charge of this establishment should be ashamed of themselves…read more My son is a 13 years old professional recording artist who lives and goes to school in Marin County. Our school's music director reached out to me asking if my son could help the Stapleton School. Apparently, they were in need of a pianist who could provide musical accompaniment for a ballet recital. I was put in touch with Isabella Qureshi who is the Director of Stapleton's Theatre Division. Isabella began an email thread communicating with us daily to ensure that my son would be able to fulfill their request. I explained to Isabella that despite being only 13 years old, that my son is an advanced pianist who has both competed as a state finalist in the MTAC program and was also the recipient of the Marin Music Chest Scholarship (he won in his first year of eligibility.) After receiving the sheet music, my son set out to learn the pieces. We were sent 4 individual piano pieces. I should mention that my son is actively involved in numerous recording engagements and live performances throughout the U.S. While my son was willing to take on this request for help on behalf of the Stapleton School, by no means was it convenient to do so. My son dedicated time every evening to learning these pieces in order to get them performance ready. This was after completing all his school work and other responsibilities. By no means was this effortless, he spent about 2 weeks overall in preparation for the event. A couple days before the performance date, I receive an email from someone named, Janell McFarland stating how "small changes can really confuse the kids" and "thank you for your offer." First of all, we didn't offer, we were specifically asked to help the Stapleton School in their "time of need." Second, is this how you conduct business on a regular basis? What a shame! You could have used this as an opportunity to build relations within your community. Instead, your flippant disregard for a young man's commitment and dedication has left us disenchanted. I'd like the Stapleton School to know that I share this experience with everyone who mentions your name.

Recently saw Stapleton's Swan Lake ballet at the San Anselmo Playhouse. I was blown away by the…read moreprofessionalism and poise of the dancers. They all seemed to love to dance and obviously have really great teachers. The costumes were lovely, the music beautiful and all in all a thoroughly enjoyable performance! Thank you!

Great aerial class. The teachers are experienced, fun, and welcoming. The whole group was friendly…read moreand welcoming.

Sheila Bannon of Aerial Dance Marin introduces all levels to the beauty of aerial dance. Sheila…read moreand the studio are a gift to all the students as she helps to foster and develop a love for silks and aerial arts. It is a fantastic class that is fun and a wonderful work out for all ages! Sheila's calm, supportive, and kind nature are perfectly suited to teaching at all levels and her knowledge runs deep! My two daughters have so enjoyed taking classes from Aerial Dance Marin and I couldn't recommend it higher!

-----Adding to address Annie's comment below: Annie - if…read moreindeed you want to apply consistency across all performers, then when we fly in for the performance on Sunday we will join the show just like a number of other caucasian ensemble performers who had lower attendance and are still being allowed on stage. I plan to have my video on, so will record any interactions in which we're stopped from going on stage, and point to the caucasian students who have missed tech rehearsals this week yet still being allowed on stage. If paam is keeping our money, then we are performing on Sunday. Paam can also issue a refund and we'll be happy to go separate ways. But Paam does not get to take all our money and disallow us to be on stage yet allow others to be on stage who have lower attendance than our kids. Appreciate you doing the right thing. -----Original post: Our experience with the Performing Arts Academy of Marin (PAAM) has been deeply disappointing -- both in terms of fairness and the overall learning outcomes. The program feels heavily commercialized, prioritizing revenue over education or student experience. Tuition is extremely high for what ultimately amounts to very limited technical instruction, the pressure of buying vanity products aimed at parents who think their kids a star is everywhere, and the refund/credit policies are rigid to the point of being unreasonable. I've never written about race or discrimination in a review before, but I feel obligated to address it here because it has affected my daughters repeatedly. In the lyrical squad, choreography has been super simple and non-technical, yet cast placements have shown a clear pattern: the same Caucasian dancers are routinely placed front and center, while my older daughter -- who is a good dancer but not Caucasian -- is continually placed in the back or off to the far side. My younger daughter was once put in the front purely due to her small size in a formation, but it wasn't part of any fair or rotating system that would give all dancers a chance to shine. The final straw has been this: Multiple Caucasian dancers have been allowed to miss tech rehearsals and still participate in shows. Meanwhile, my daughters, who need to miss a single 24-hour window for a required ski team race and assessment (and for which we arranged to return early at significant cost of flying in, tickets already purchased), were told just 3 days before that they would not be allowed to perform once they fly in -- despite knowing their choreography thoroughly and being disciplined, capable dancers. The rigidity applied to them simply hasn't been applied to others. The pattern is painful to watch as a parent. It's demoralizing for kids who have worked hard and earned their place on stage. It's their right and not someone's at the front desk to strip them of who doesn't even see them. At the start of the year parents also receive an extremely one-sided agreement through DocuSign -- which I declined to sign because it was so imbalanced. I can't say I'm surprised. But it is disheartening to pay thousands of dollars for a program that delivers minimal instruction, selectively enforces rules for preferential kids, and ultimately allows discriminatory dynamics to persist. I wish our experience had been different, but based on what we've seen, I cannot recommend PAAM for families seeking a fair, inclusive, or educationally meaningful dance program.

I've sent my daughter here for the Holiday Spectacular one year and she loved it. However, I signed…read moreher up again and she didn't want to go again a year later and was scared to go. I'm not sure why but she said it was scary and wouldn't enter the studio. The holiday spectacular, while adorable-but can be very intense for smaller children. The (little) girls are all expected to wear makeup; such as mascara, rouge and lipstick, which some people may not want their kids to wear under a certain age. The performances are cute, but about 50 kids on stage. Pros: Nice facilities, clean, on trend dance classes (I.e Taylor Swift or Wicked/what's on broadway). Sweet teachers. Cons: Lots of marketing pressure to sign up for classes or your kid won't get into their dance class. Pressure to sign up when is opens or not in. $40 fee just to change a class even if you made a mistake. Their refund policy is not family friendly. I really tried to get my daughter (6) to go into dance class, but she was having anxiety about going. She was scared about going to a new class with new people and just wouldn't go in. This particular performance has about 50 little 6 year olds tap dancing or doing hip hop on stage and a wait list. So, it was a very popular class. However they don't offer refunds. The cost for a semester (Jan-May) is about $700 for a weekly lesson + performance. I think it's just something you should be aware of when signing up to send your kid here is that you may not get any funds back if they can't go for any reason. (Anxiety, injury, work/childcare issues etc.) So, perhaps think about this before you sign up. Recommendation: don't pressure parents so much on sign up day to get into the classes and then don't offer refunds. Offer more "try before you buy" options or options for little girls who might be more hesitant to try new things.

I love the new Fairfax location of Roco!…read more They've got a variety of dance classes to choose from - morning and evenings - like modern, ballet, hip hop, and zumba/latin. Great workouts, fun dancing! They also offer youth classes and summer camp. My favorite classes right now are Joan and Annie's modern classes, and Shana's Yoga Boogie Ballet. All of them work on great technique and core strength, while also just having fun with dancing and basic to challenging choreography.

(((Also posted on Mill Valley)))…read more (pardon my language) If you like to shake your ass, this is the place to do it! (ok language better from here on out) Let's talk about fitness with fun, dancing is the way to go. I've checked out Jacquie's Cardio Hip Hop and Beginners Hip Hop classes, they are both amazing. She's a great teacher and kicks your butt. Cardio hip hop is easy to follow and keeps your heart rate up, not to mention you are drenched with sweat by the time it's over. Jacquie also adds in a FREE weight training session to the end of both of her classes. Yeah, I said it, FREE... Whatever Jacquie says to do, I do it. Check out her body, she knows what she's doing. I dragged a friend of mine to Tika's "Zumba" class, zumba with quotes because it's not your normal zumba. Tika is all about the dance more then fitness and I appreciate that. Though I'm not drenched in sweat as much as Jacquie's cardio class, I appreciate the movement and feel Tika brings to her version of zumba. I'm a huge fan and I've been frequenting both Fairfax and Mill Valley studios at least 3 times a week. If you're looking for a great way to burn calories and having fun doing it. Check out the above mentioned classes. I'm a huge fan!

What an awesome experience! Whether you're and experienced woodworker and just want to make…read moresomething cool or a total novice with zero wood experience, this is the place for you! Michael provides clear instructions, quality equipment, and personalized advice to help you through the build process. Classes are flexible and he allows you to customize your project however you like. It makes the project feel much more personal! I took the cutting board class and he let me choose my materials (I chose walnut with maple), size of the board, and unique touches that I thought looked cool (rounded edges, handles). I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. It's fun to say to be able to say that you built something with quality materials that is going to last for years! The class took about 4 hours which I thought was totally reasonable. And I walked out of there with a finished project that I could show off right away. The shop is easy to get to and Michael works with you on scheduling to make sure you complete your project in a timeframe that works for you. The whole thing is really easy convenient! I'm looking forward to returning and taking other classes!

I had a great day learning from Michael this week. He's patient and flexible with the curriculum,…read moretailoring the session to exactly what I needed and asked for. I learned the proper a/k/a safe way to use: miter saw, jointer, planer, table saw, track saw, and router table all in one day. He's open for collaboration on future projects outside of the fixed classes, so when I come up with something that goes beyond any of my skills, we'll work together to design and execute. Awesome experience all around. Lesson learned: safe woodworking means no gloves and no long sleeves, so prepare to keep your core warm for sessions during the winter months.