My two daughters take hip hop and ballet here. They are four and five years old. We are just about…read moreto finish up our first month of classes and love it!! This studio is family ran and you can tell. It's super welcoming here! Every staff member, from the instructors to the parents in the waiting room are really friendly!! What I'm mostly impressed with is the love, the connection and the passion, each staff member has for every single students. All while maintaining structure and control of the class. There's so many students and it's very impressive to see them connect to each and every dancer. They are super organized, have great communication and always send out emails on updates. I called 4-5 different studios, before I found Encore, with no call backs from my voicemails, no reply to my emails at all and the one studio that we did a trial class with was a a total fail. They put my girls in the totally wrong level class and the instructor was completely unprofessional. Encore replied immediately and got us right in.!! So, don't settle for just any studio they are not all the same. I have a 19 year old daughter and have been through this industry before. I'm a dancer myself, (well I'm only dancing in the kitchen these days lol) but let me tell you, sometimes it is like an episode of dance moms and it's important to find the right fit if your trying to build your child's confidence in dance and plan on having them dance long term. Check Encore out!! They are amazing!!! They really care about their dancers!! I'm very happy to become part of the family!!!!

My kids have been taking classes from Encore since 2013. My…read morefavorite things about ENCORE: * High quality teachers for every age range/class level * Personalized attention to each student and their dance career * The most well developed street styles program I know of in the area * An excellent acrobatics program, with highly knowledgeable instructors * The Pre-Pro program is amazing! Geared toward kids who are working toward professional dance careers, this program prepares them in every way, physically, practically, and with the knowledge they will need. I cannot recommend Encore enough!!!

First timer. Great introductory hour long dance class to master the basics. Second hour was a party.read more

This is a review for the lessons, not the Sunday swing. We…read morewent to a "Lindy 101" lesson from stumptown that was $25 each and two hours long and barely even danced the basic to music by the end. It was painfully slow, way over explained and allowed almost no practice-just a lot of the instructor talking. I don't feel like anyone there who didn't walk in already knowing how to do Lindy left with the ability to try Lindy outside of a classroom setting. It felt like a swindle honestly. I've been to a lot of lessons from many teachers and this was by far the least useful. Mindy is really nice and she knows her stuff in how to dance but, she is not a great teacher (at least not in large group setting) and the lesson was way overpriced for what it was. Everything taught in that lesson could have been covered in about 20mins. Just go to the pre dance lessons on Sunday and you'll be better off, or look on YouTube and then just go dance!

Groove Nation is such a hidden gem in this town- from the performances that never cease to impress,…read morethe obvious bonded relationships & close community built, the leadership skills, confidence, & worth built into each participant, to the skills acquired from their warm & professional staff. It's clear they truly care; not just about making each participant, team & show or competition *look* good, but also feel good about themselves in the ways that truly matter. If you're looking for family, for fun, & growth, you'll find it here!

Looking for your kiddo to make friends? Socialize? Gain trust with other amazing adults? Learn new…read moreskills, flexibility, and exercise? Look no further!! Groove nation is all of that and more. My daughter has blossomed at groove nation. She's taken skills such as team work, communication home with her. She's gained confidence, made friendships, & we've gained a village here of new friends! We're so beyond grateful to be apart of groove nation.

I haven't been into a dance class in about 10 years but I used to go to Vega and was a collegiate…read moredancer before that and let me tell you the experience I had at Vega was so great! Everyone is so supportive and lovely and the studio looks incredible. I highly recommend they have so many different types of classes for everyone. I love that it's an adult setting. And they have air-conditioning! Yay!

I have tried many classes so far and the teachers I liked the best are Nikki, Jeanine, Evie and…read moreTara. I am basically an absolute beginner and I found their classes easier to keep up with. If you are a beginner I would suggest a class that is labeled more workout than choreo because they do choreography in all I have been to. The owners are very nice people and the people who go there are also nice and approachable.

BIPOC PROGRAM... WHAT THEY WON'T TELL YOU: Months ago after watching their Nightmare Before…read moreChristmas event, I looked into their dance studio and learned about a BIPOC Program they offer. All I knew about it was there was a waitlist. So when over half a year goes by and we get the call that we've been asked to "audition" for their program, I had trepidations because the fact that an audition was required for my 3 year old to do a dance class meant for toddlers seemed elitist to me. If I knew there was going to be an audition for this program from the beginning I would have never waited with baited breath for them to contact me. But since it was focusing on BIPOC students and we had waited so long I figured maybe we shouldn't miss this opportunity. In the audition they are looking to see if your kid can take direction but even more they want to make sure your kiddo can be away from you. More on this topic soon... So we paid the sliding scale tuition and were ready to commit to 10 months of Sunday morning classes. Oh yea.. they never mentioned until after we were enrolled that the schedule is from 9:30-11:15 and that it's two 45 min. classes! Tap and ballet/creative movement. My daughter definitely did not want to do tap class and I would have never signed up for this class but it was part of their program and we had no choice. So day 1 of tap... was a disaster. Lots of fetal positioning, leaving the room, off to the corner, hands over her ears, looking for me, leaving the room again... yea it didn't go well. Quick 15 min. break and then my poor toddler was at it again in ballet. She was a little more energized for this class as there was less banging sounds now and the teacher incorporated some games. So I was hopeful that maybe if we toughed it through the tap and just made it to ballet we could get through 10 months of this. Well after about class 3 of her demonstrating the same behaviors, the studio sends us an email. Not only us, we learned that many parents got this same email, and when talking to the parents the wording was almost identical..."child's behavior is disrupting the flow of class...." Also, if you're sending the same email to multiple families, maybe it's your program and not the kids? All of us parents who talked about getting this email were full of anxiety and stress and were not feeling good at all about their experience with the program. The final straw for me came on the 6th dance class after talking to the families and learning that folks were getting reprimanded for walking into the room to help their kiddo who was having a mini-crisis/meltdown and then the tap teacher repeatedly yelled at my child to "shut the door behind her" as she was leaving the room due to stress. And I watched as the tap teacher told a parent to leave their child alone while they were comforting them at the door, encouraging them to enter the room. That was the last straw and we quit that day. I'm sharing this not to give StepsPDX a bad review but honestly for the families interested in this program. You have to know what's coming if you invest your time. I wish I did.

Came here on a Sunday for Dance Church with some friends, which might sound weird but was really…read moreamazing and fun (google it!). Class starts at 10am and online they say you should arrive 15 minutes early. We did this and no one else was there and we were told we arrived much earlier than people normally do. We got coffee around the corner and came by at 9:57am and now there were a few people present. We paid for our class (card accepted), and put things away in the cubbies. There was NO WATER available which is a big deal for a dance class. There was a water cooler but it was empty. Class was awesome, with good music and great energy. I'd highly recommend it. There were probably about 40-50 people there. It felt very freeing to be able to move however I wanted to, but also helpful to have some guidance / reminders about moving my hands or arms. Class wrapped up by 11:30am. The space is bright and open and clean. Street parking nearby was easy. I'd be happy to come back.

Our granddaughter loves this place. Very friendly and they work hard to make sure all the dancers…read morefeel comfortable.

We have two 4 year old girls who wanted to start dancing this last summer. Through a friend at the…read moregym she talked about how her daughter had been going to Columbia Dance Center for quite some time and had nothing but glowing things to say regarding the staff as well as the center itself. We got an introduction to the programs here through their "Super Hero" Summer program. The girls had a blast and they had a short show to demonstrate what they learned at the conclusion of the summer program. My wife and I had concerns about our daughters ability to listen to instructions and we thought that the more exposure they had to structured classes of any kind would be helpful. We were so thrilled to hear that they would be happy to have the girls participate in their kids dance classes during the school year. We enrolled both girls in Miss Molly's 9:30am class on Saturdays and to say my wife and I are impressed would be an understatement. She has so much energy with the kids it makes me feel lazy. The girls love her, love the class, and look forward to coming every weekend. As parents we cannot ask for much more than that, and we look forward to getting further exposure to their dance programs as our girls progress.

Leilani has been INCREDIBLE! We have been working with her on the first dance for me and my fiancé…read moreand the father daughter dance. We decided to go with the 7 dance package which seems like a great amount. My fiancé and I did 4 classes while my dad and I took 3. Leilani is giving us some great tips and tricks to make our dances look amazing. She is so encouraging with me and my fiancé and is also very encouraging and patient with my dad who does not have much past dance experience. I think 4 lessons is a great amount for a first dance since we are doing a minute and a half and we have a relatively good sense of rhythm. This will definitely be dependent on how quickly you can learn though (my dad and I covered in 3 lessons what my fiancé and I covered in 1). We had such a wonderful time learning from Leilani and now that our wedding has happened my husband and I have gotten so many compliments on how lovely our dance was. TLDR: patient and encouraging instructor, worth the investment

Going to a ton of weddings recently, I realized for my own wedding I didn't want to high school…read moreslow dance in front of all my friends and family for 5 minutes to start off the reception. Instead, I wanted something "cool". I don't know how to dance. My wife does a bit... but I move like a rock... We hired Leilani to help choreograph our first wedding waltz for our wedding. The classes were about once a week for about 8 weeks. Each lesson was 45 minutes and at the end we had a beautiful waltz which we presented at our wedding. Things I really liked: Leilani was super easy to work with. We basically told her what we wanted, and she built a dance routine exactly to what we were envisioning. She is also nice to a fault. Sometimes I messed up so badly, but instead of reprimand she always had something nice to say. I've never failed so badly yet have someone complement the gracefulness of the way I failed. She recorded the dance steps each weekly so we could study and emailed us the queues. I think the most impressive thing to me was none of the routine was recycled. We constantly moved across the room throwing in different movements. We got in a lift, a drop, and a really nice ending pose. The final result was a gorgeous routine. Everyone at the wedding raved about how awesome it was. Definitely money and time well spent.

I wanted to take the time to praise the Oregon Ballet School for the wonderful year we've had. I…read morefound the school last year after an Internet search and a couple interviews for a new ballet situation for my daughter. We couldn't be more pleased with Leslie Baird's instruction. Her classes are rigorous, disciplined, and focused which is what my daughter wanted. Leslie uses the Royal Academy Syllabus from England, and the students are annually tested by judges. It is a demanding program, but rewarding for the serious ballet dancer. Leslie is so amazingly dedicated to her students and their progress! It is well worth the one hour drive we make to get there! Anna Marie

Teacher Leslie is a wonderful ballet teacher, her passion for ballet is infectious. She knows how…read moreto be supportive and demanding. Teacher Leslie has high standards for her students, but more importantly she knows how to raise the "bar" just enough that each lesson is a challenge and a success for her students.

Our daughter doesn't go here anymore because she's now off to school but when she did a couple…read moreyears ago, her time here was very beneficial to her. She blossomed as her dance skills grew. The staff treated her so well and encouraged her keep expressing herself. There was a good balance between making it fun and still pushing her a little. I would not hesitate to have your child attend class here!

My daughter has been taking dance classes at Sherwood Dance for about 2 years and she LOVES it. The…read moreinstructors are all very professional and great with children. They make it structured and fun at the same time. My daughters dance technique improves more and more every week. If you are looking for a fun place for your child to grow as a dancer this is the place for you!

Don't waste your time. I made the drive twice, planning to attend one of the classes on their…read moreschedule, but both times the studio was locked and dark, and the instructor never showed up. I'm done.

Wonderful teachers with easy-to-follow instructions and demonstrations. Great class variety also.read more