Our two children LOVE Dance Connection! They attend tap/jazz for the youngest, and boys hip-hop for…read morethe older one. Mr. David is silly and friendly, but he still pushes the kids to make sure they become stronger dancers. We do the rec dancing, not competition. At other dance schools, I have felt like the focus is solely on the competition teams, with the rest of the kids just serving as filler. Never the case at Dance Connection! I've also been impressed with how the school began to provide high-end virtual opportunities and socially distant summer camps when this became necessary. They adjusted the common areas in the studio and the classrooms to allow for proper distancing, too. Mr. David worked with the parents to explain the new measures and made sure we feel comfortable. We'll be a Dance Connection family for years to come.

My daughter has been taking ballet with The Dance Connection for several years now. She and I feel…read morelike we found our "dance home" here. Every teacher she has danced with has not only been knowledgeable and accomplished but also fun and kind which is very important for cultivating a love of ballet and also the desire to push on. David the owner, an accomplished dancer and also a teacher there always offers a welcoming smile to the children and is always available to the parents. He certainly has a way with children. I remember when my daughter started dancing at his school she hated her tights and refused to go to class filling the waiting area with her screams. David was so gentle and reassuring and managed to get her to pull it together and join the class! All the staff are wonderful as are the families that that share my love of this school. I also want to compliment David and his staff for pushing on despite the COVID pandemic. Dance has never stopped for my daughter. Virtual classes went off without a moments hesitation when the world shut down. He put together a virtual recital in front of a green screen last June! Pretty amazing! Classes picked up on schedule this September. Small classes, social distancing and masks but the dance goes on. I'm so grateful for this little bit of normal and the smile on my daughter's face when she takes off that mask after class and tells me "Mommy that was fun!"

I finally found the perfect cello teacher! Megan Rayl from Metuchen Music Academy…read more A good teacher adapts their style to fit the students needs. As an adult student that never played an instrument before, I obviously need to learn the basics. But I have been listening to music all of my life and I would like to learn to play some of my favorites. Every teacher I tried taught me from a Cello Book One - it was boring and not motivating. Megan is teaching me the technique and theory that I need while we are working on the Bach Cello Suites! It is amazing! She isn't just teaching me to play the cello, she is teaching me to play music! This is exactly what I wanted my retirement to be like. Thanks to Megan!

My daughter start grade two with Mr gelman, now she is grade four, She received both distinguish…read moreand merit for her ABRSM exam. Mr gelman is a very knowledgeable teacher. He pay attention to detail very well. I highly recommend him.

I take the little girl I watch to dance class here every week. With no fault to Icon, the parking…read morelot is always a disaster! So if you an in doing anything other than dropping off and leaving, get here earlier to find a parking spot. There are several rooms and each class is assigned to one. There are flat screen TVs in the lobby and you can see each class while they are in session. When class lets out it's a bit chaotic , so I always wait by the front door to make a quick escape. At the end of the class schedule, the classes perform their dance at a recital. It's really quite adorable. Icon had a dance group, The Iconic Boyz, on Americas Best Dance Crew, which I happen to love!

After 4 years at Icon, we took a hike…read more As someone said, the parking lot is dangerous, that is true. The owner is great, talented and kind and some of the former teachers were at one point, but most left. Several really good teachers left mid-year or a month before the recital in the past 3 years...it was a waste of time after that for my child. They replaced the teachers with plump amateur former students of ICON who were at best, 20 years old. I regret staying there for so long. In only one class at the new shcool we now attend, my child said more was learned then the whole 4 years at Icon. The recital is a nightmare, between the costume fittings, pictures, getting seats for your family and figuring out which dress rehearsals and performances your child is in, is harder then calculus. And no one knows what the heck is going on, there is no one you can ask. They are decent for Hip Hop and Break Dancing IF you get a good teacher, but Tap and Ballet are so lousy. The teachers have no technique and it is a waste of your money. If you don't have a child in a company and enrolled in at least 4-6 classes you are just there to pay their bills and will get nothing from this school. You may never get a call back from their "office" You have to call for weeks and weeks to finally speak with someone. You end up coming in in desperation and the person you need is not there. The satelllite studio is fine except it is not finished so the parking lot is like the La Brea Tar Pit. What started out as a fresh-boy centered "street dance" school has morphed into a hub for kids from Staten Island who have very little talent to hang out in. The owners play favorites and it is like a little kingdom with families who are favorites of the owners. The bottom line is that there are very few reasons not to look around for another school in our are that has at least 25 schools in a 10 mile radius.

I absolutely love my guitar lessons with Joe, he is kind, friendly and patient. Joe is extremely…read moreknowledgeable about music theory, he can answer any question and teach you to play any song. He is very adamant that lesson and practice be fun. I love that he is a private instructor, not a corporate franchise. His hour long lessons are extremely reasonably priced, he offers lessons in multiple instruments and even organizes bands of varying skills. I would highly recommend this music teacher.

I am a guitarist in Joe Salk's band program for over a year now....great musical experience, he…read moreknows his stuff.

This is an amazing acting school! My daughter has been going here for 8 years! This is her second…read morehome! The staff is the most caring and motivating group of people that can relate to our kids. Whether your child wants to act or just learn tools to better communicate this is the place to be! Summer camps are a great way to start!! Thank you Actor's Playground for all that you do for our kids!! Life long friends are made here!!

Words cannot begin to describe how amazing the Actors Playground is, but I will do my best to try…read more First and foremost I wish that there were more places like this one to help build our children's confidence and make them realize their true potential in a nurturing no pressure environment. My daughter had expressed an interest in acting for some time, but kept changing her mind every time we got to the point of going to check it out. Then early this year, the urge was so strong that she agreed to let me make an appointment for her to go and see what was what. We got to the place early on a Saturday and the butterflies were starting to get the better of her, but we were able to successfully overcome them with a gentle nudge, and a guaranty that if she was not thrilled that I would be back to pick her up in an instant. Well let me tell you. That introductory class ignited a flame in her, and a confidence in herself that I had not seen before. I have never seen her strive and work as hard at anything like this ever before. Ralph, the Artistic Director; Megan, and Dan and the rest of the people at the school are the nicest, warmest and most wonderful people I have ever met. They make the kids feel safe and accepted and nurture them as if they were their own. They truly make the kids and us parents feel like family. If your child has any interest at all in the magical world of entertainment, or if you think they could use a dose of confidence building, then check out the Actors Playground and see for yourself how amazing this little place is.

The best studio with the most talented instructors. This is a second home to many students & the…read morespacious studios are absolutely gorgeous. Such a clean environment for kids to grow from a young age to graduating!

This is my horrible experience with Rising Stars: yesterday, just before her second class of the…read moresummer session, after completing her first year of dance there the year before, Rising Stars School Of Dance & Performing Arts, NJ dropped my 3 year old daughter from their school because I sent them an email expressing my thoughts about their horrendous customer service. My email to them was in response to an email they had sent to me about late payment. My payment was late because I wasn't aware of when it was due, as the session hadn't begun yet and I hadn't gotten any other correspondence from them telling me so. Sometimes, when your husband has Stage 4 cancer and your kids are 3 and 6, you accidentally overlook things. Most people, even huge corporations have some empathy and humanity about things like that, but not Rising Stars. They dropped my 3 year old who has only known that dance school and is devastated that she can't go anymore. Some of the customer service issues that we experienced there were 1. not being allowed back into the recital after picking my daughter up from the green room, following her dance number, as we were told was the protocol, while the rest of our family sat in the seats we paid for. This was the case for the ENTIRE two year old class. When the venue security asked @Rising Stars management if the 2 year olds were allowed back in, Rising Stars management told them, NO. 2. Because I was with my husband at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center the day dance class pictures were discussed I didn't have my check pre-handed in on picture day. So while they were accepting picture checks on picture day, and I stood there with my check in hand, they would not let my 2 year old have her picture taken until a brought the check to the desk in the front. My 2 year old who wouldn't let me leave the room because she has trauma because of her dads illness since she was 7 months old, was hysterical, but no one at Rising Stars would help us. No one would take my check to the desk while I stayed with my crying daughter, nor would they take her picture with me there and let me bring the check to the front desk right after the picture was taken. So as I stood with my check in hand and a screaming toddler, they just wouldn't take her picture until I handed the check in. So following a nasty form letter email that I received from them the Saturday night before the Monday class started, telling me that my daughter would be dropped if I didn't pay within 24 hours (and they're closed on Sunday) my daughter would be dropped, I replied to their email telling them that they should look into their customer relations. Of course that Monday I paid in full for the summer session and my daughter had her first class. One hour before the second class was due to start, and my daughter was all dressed and ready to go, the owner calls me to tell me that my email was hateful (which it was not, although admittedly it was angry, but not inappropriate) and that they were dropping my 3 year old from their school. I don't usually air dirty laundry but to me this is beyond. So I wanted to make it clear that this is how @Rising Stars may treat their paying customers and children/ students. It's how my family and my 3 year old were treated.

My son,Jacob, loves Artisan The staff is welcoming and wonderful!…read moreHe has a great time every Friday in his group class

Been going there for a yr ,my son is special needs (autistic ) and the owner Marlene has been…read moreabsolutely wonderful working with him .He loves art and his drawing abilities have improved tremendously ,it has a nice quiet atmosphere .. David C.

So far everything with my experience is awesome... my son just started guitar lessons a few months…read moreago and he is loving it and staying focused on practicing and enjoying going to the lessons.. The staff is friendly and accommodating ., one time I needed to reschedule a lesson and with advance notice it was an easy task.. while I'm waiting for my son I hear the other students at their lessons and everyone sounds pretty impressive

The owners are very rude. Too much for a disorganized setup. There are better music places in the…read morearea!