My journey with DAA Dance Academy (and its associated company, which you can find on Yelp under…read more"Dance of Asian America") is a little unorthodox, but I think it speaks volumes to the experience that you can expect here. I am an adult dancer in my mid-30s with a super busy schedule and some creaky bones. I danced throughout my grade school years, led a 200-member-strong dance company in college, and participated in several semiprofessional dance companies in the Greater Boston area in my early 20s. I've been slowly easing back into dance now that life has calmed down, and one of the first places I reached out to was DAA Dance Academy. I initially participated in their adult Chinese dance class, which is taught by the wonderful Helen Hu. It was a very welcoming environment - nonjudgemental, fun and full of laughter, and I found an immediate camaraderie with my classmates. After several classes, I was (re)bitten by the dance bug and reached out to the company director of DAA, Janie Yao, to discuss being more involved. Given my extensive prior experience, she and the academy director, Yeri Bingham, graciously offered to let me take some trial classes with the company and eventually welcomed me in with open arms. I cannot say enough about how validating and comforting of an experience that is: I returned to dance after over a decade away from it, feeling embarrassed and anxious about whether I could keep up. The directors were willing to work with me to find a solution that would allow me to feel fulfilled, while also keeping in mind the learning environment and needs of their current students. I was given several private lessons to help me catch up on choreography, and they continued to check in on how I felt the entire time. The other company members are all INCREDIBLY talented high schoolers that run circles around me, but they have also welcomed me warmly as one of their own despite me being more than twice their age (haha!) I truly think is a huge testament to how nurturing an environment DAA has been, to raise students that are this collaborative, patient, and kind :)

From the owner: DAA Dance Academy has over 35 years experience in training professional award-wining dancers from…read moreages 3 and up in ballet, modern, jazz and Chinese dance. DAA Dance Academy offers our dancers amazing performance opportunities at Miller Outdoor Theatre through East Meets West in very spring, Journey through China every summer and Splendid China every fall. These performances draw audiences of over 5,000 people each night! In addition to DAA's season at the Miller Outdoor Theatre, DAA Academy also has an annual competition showcase, recital that presents a full ballet every year and numerous performances for students to enhance their dance skills and build confidence. Visit danceaa.org for information on DAA Dance Academy and Dance of Asian America Dance Company.

Omgoodness! This place is a hidden gem. Houston has several ballet studios with good adult dance…read moreprograms. But this studio is by far the best. The teachers are some of the best in their field. They are active and involved and teach and correct like you truly matter to them. Ms Sherese's ballet class left me with a serious workout and gave me opportunities for improvement along the way. This studio is my first choice for dance ! Try it, you'll agree!

I started dance classes here last fall. I was initially a bit concerned because I'm one of the much…read moreolder adult students and had not taken dance classes since I was in grade school in the 1950s. Sherese, the owner, was very welcoming and made me feel like my age was not going to be an issue - and it hasn't been! I've been taking the Diva Jazz class from Stephanie Sermas and it's the one evening that I look forward to every week. The classes are small and the instruction is incredible! I cannot recommend City Dance Studio highly enough.

I have been here for exotic aerobics, pole class and now I'm doing the OSS class. I absolutely LOVE…read moreDrina!! She will push you to be the best you can be but she is super nice! The studio is so adorable and clean. I love that I'm able to shower after the class so that I can go straight to work. The locker room is always clean and she has everything you can imagine in there from an iron, blow dryer, flat irons, lotion...everything. If you are looking to take a boot camp class, or even just a pole class I highly recommend going here! You wont be disappointed.

Love this place and the location. I had a pole party here for my 30th birthday and I had a blast…read more The staff was very nice and the instructor made the class awesome. The only thing I would change is the amount of poles they have for your party. I had a party of 10 and I think there were only 4 or 5 poles in the room so we had to keep rotating people on the pole. I also like they they offer a variety of classes and events.

I used to dance at this place... I had fun...I guess. I didn't really learn much "ballet" I thought…read moreyou were just supposed to be pretty and stuff, but didn't know ANYTHING about technique. I was pretty flexible, but that was only because I attended another dance school at the same time. Eventually, they moved everyone to Katy, which I could NOT do. I eventually started only going to my other dance school, J&H Dance School, where I have thrived!

Anjulena is amazing! We worked with her for our first dance, and not only was it fun, but it also…read moreended up being fantastic. Our guests loved it/ were blown away by our dance, and we loved performing it and learning it. Wedding prep can get stressful, and learning the dance and going to class was a stress reliever and a ton of fun. I have never done ballroom dancing before (my now wife had a long time ago ), but Anjulena was a fantastic teacher and could teach us and get us performance ready for the wedding! She choreographed the dance for us based on what we wanted, and it felt awesome to have someone who could make this dance into something we wanted. We told her what we wanted as the dance developed, and she could add in moves and make modifications to meet our needs. She is also super kind and even came to our wedding rehearsal to help us practice our dance and to make sure we were oriented correctly and comfortable to do our dance at the venue (for both plan A and the rain plan). Overall, I highly recommend working with Anjulena. If you have a first dance for a wedding, she's your person. She helped us create a memorable moment we will cherish forever (I have watched a recording of our dance a friend got for us so many times already!) and a dance that wowed our guests (everyone said it was the best first dance they have seen!). We look forward to learning other dances with her in the future. Thank you Anjulena, you are fantastic!

Anjulena is awesome. She helped us learn a dance for our wedding and we couldn't we happier. She…read morehelped us create a unique dance to go along with our body type, song, and style. We were really happy on how well our wedding dance went. When we first came, we didn't know anything about dancing. We were pretty stiff at first, but after a few lessons, we were moving a lot more elogantly. It's a lot of fun and it gets even more fun along the way because you start putting the puzzle pieces together. Anjulena has been a professional dancer for much of her career so she knows a lot. She is very personable and has a lot of experience teaching. I highly recommend her as a dance instructor for any occasion. We plan on coming back to learn other styles of dancing.

You get the best dance resources here! Everyone who teaches here has amazing resume. I've been…read moretraining here for two years and I love it!!!

Not to start off a review by venting, but a little personal touch on why I'm so upset right now…read moremight go a long way in understanding why this is a one star review. I have personally been going through quite a bit lately that has led me to purposefully drag myself out of my apartment and channel my life frustrations into healthy activities and ventures. Between travel, trying to find a cat to adopt, and other every day oddities, I decided that I wanted to get back into an old hobby of mine: dancing. What could go wrong, right? I took ballet at a young age and was encouraged to stop, as I looked like a "flat piece of cardboard flapping in the breeze." When I got older, I dabbled in dance in high school, and went on to become a professional mascot for some years. Dancing isn't something that I find hard, and many routines, I am able to easily memorize, and have a lot of fun with. But, you know, I haven't learned an actual serious routine in human-form in nearly 7 years. Relevant. Today, I ventured to SoReal after being advised by Yelp that this would be a great place for "beginners" to come and "learn how to dance." Let me advise you: there was no learning HOW to dance, rather... after 10 minutes of the class, at least 10 eight-counts were shoved down my throat and I realized, I am being taught A dance. One must learn to dance before being taught an actual dance. So, you know, I took my cardboard-flapping body and left the studio mid-class. This wouldn't have happened if SoReal did a few items off the basic customer service checklist. First of all, when I arrived at 4:30 pm for a 5:00 pm class (early to ask questions, get info, etc.) the door was locked and a very bland young man answered the door. He let me in, and was not welcoming or cheerful or anything at all. I was obviously uneasy and frankly, a little shy, to be out doing something so bold after having spent the last few months hiding under a Calvin Klein comforter, downing margarita wine, while binge watching Grey's Anatomy. Despite my personal issues, kindness is a universal language that this man was obviously not fluent in. He did nothing to sell the studio or class to me, not phased whether I stayed or went. He did assure me that anyone attending this class would likely be their first class, and that you don't need any prior knowledge of dancing to attend. So, I went with it. There were about 10 people in my class, none of whom were very friendly. They stayed mostly to themselves during the warm up and stretching, which was fine by me. But the instructor was a very heavy-set young lady who seemed to be gasping for air after the set of stretches. Then, she played us a clip of the song we'd be learning the choreography to, and within seconds, she was shouting, "And then you do this! This! And this!" First of all, have you ever heard of an 8-count? Do you know how to break it down for us "beginners?" And when you picked on the little Asian guy in the class for adding his own style to a move, did you mean to insult him? I had all these questions streaming through my head as the instructor sped up the pace on a choreography that was FAR from beginner. We didn't practice with music through any of this. I finally gave up about 20 minutes in the class. I wasn't enjoying myself. It wasn't a beginner choreography (or even a good choreography at that). No one was at the front desk when I left, so I was unable to get a refund on my lousy $12. Basically, I left here feeling like I paid $12 to feel even more badly about myself. Thanks SoReal for keepin' it real.

BOOK SUSAN! SHE IS AWESOME! Even if you think you can dance, this is such a good work out and I…read morelearned SO MUCH. Susan left me feeling so empowered, she is so kind and very knowledgeable. Everyone should try this at least once!!

What a blast! I booked with Striptease Houston for my friend's going away party, and Susan was…read moregreat! Professional and knowledgeable, but so much fun. She came over to my house, which is a great option because we were able to drink some wine before she arrived! There were about 9 girls in our group, and she was able to work with all experience levels. By the end of the night, all of us had some moves that we were comfortable doing, and we were laughing and having a blast the entire time :) thanks Striptease Houston for making my friend's going away party memorable!

Had the chance to check out a viewing of Wicked with a friend of mine. We had a great time! You can…read morepurchase food, but we opted to grab a bite to eat elsewhere. In all, no complaints, besides my friend whining about the bugs (she's not used to the South lol). Also something to note, they obviously have seating, but you can opt to bring your own chairs for the lawn. Also, tickets are free and they go fast, just an fyi.

Perfect place during the summer when all the festivities start. It's free to the public and such a…read moregood time. I love how they also make chairs go on one side and blankets on other. Motown in the park is also a fan favorite during this time as well. They've been going strong for years here.