Our family has participated in shows with Katia and Company for the last three years, and we have…read moremany more years ahead of us. Done right, performing builds confidence, teamwork, timing, problem solving, and resilience. We've recognized all of these qualities developing in our boys, and they have an absolute blast on stage. My husband and I really appreciate Katia's whole-child approach to this work. She has long-term relationships with former cast mates who are now staff working with young thespians. We also attend the teen productions which have been stellar. If your child is curious about theatre, I suggest starting by attending a show and then participating in a week-long summer camp. I suspect they'll be hooked!

My daughter was just in their production of Frozen jr and she loved it! She gained so much…read moreconfidence and I loved seeing her light up on stage. The show itself was fantastic. The parents aren't really involved in the process so I had no expectations going into it but it was amazing! The older kids were outstanding. We will be back!

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!

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!

This is a Beautiful studio! The minute you walk in the door your feel great energy. The owner…read moreDoree Clark is a very creative, wildly out of the box thinker! The place is absolutely great energy! You are going to love this little Gem! Have always wanted to take up dance and this place is just going to inspire us all!

Sounds like this is a great place for dance classes - but I go for their shows which are always…read morecreative, edgy and totally fun - and even kinda sexy. I honestly haven't seen any other shows/performances like this in Marin. Variety is the spice of life and I'm glad Stage Dor keeps doing what it's doing to entertain us!

A great place in San Rafael to learn improv. Also the once a month shows are awesome.read more

Love the Improv Marin classes. I've taken classes at other schools and this is the best. I'm…read moretaking the class to be more spontaneous and to have FUN! I love the way the teacher starts us off by simply pairing us up and talking to one person before we circle up with the whole group. This helps quiet the fear and let's face it we all have fear!

We have our two daughters in this program and we love it (and so does the girls). The instructurs…read moreare very professional and they are also professional singers themselves. They do lots of performances at elderly homes etc. They normally practice once a week in San Anselmo. The instructor for our girls is Katie Gerber. She's fantastic.

This organization is a hidden gem in Marin. The instructors are so passionate and talented, the…read moremusic they choose is so beautiful, and you can tell the girls are having the time of their lives.

-----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 took my daughter so she can try out for ballet at Contessi Ballet and she loved it. She tried out…read morefor the age group 6-9yrs old. I had a few questions since every ballet company works a bit differently and I was happy that the staff was quick to response and answered all my questions. It's a small ballet studio in a beautiful community of Penngrove. There is a park near it as well as a Penngrove Market. I liked the atmosphere and what I saw the first two classes I attended. Parents are welcome to stay to watch the class if they like or take advantage and finished those last minute errands you might have while your child it's at ballet. The teacher is nice but firm and she runs the class smoothly. She has a good handle on the kids and most important she knows how to talk to them. She makes sure everyone gets a turn and sees that everyone is in the right position otherwise she'll correct them. She makes the class a learning experience but fun but at the same time. There isn't a water fountain in the studio so make sure you bring water or you can purchase from the snack Bar water bottles or snacks. There is plenty of Parking so no worry there.

(( This business is also known as "Contessi Ballet". I will be reviewing the Adult Ballet division…read more )) Located in Penngrove's historic train depot building, Contessi Ballet has a warm, community feeling and they embrace dancers of all ages, shapes, and sizes. At my first class, I was warmly welcomed by the staff and dancers. They offer a decent compliment of adult ballet classes, including two levels of pointe. They offer classes both in the mornings and in the evenings, making it easy for a busy adult to take class during our ever-changing schedules. Best of all (and what attracted me to the studio in the first place), they allow their adult dancers to perform dancing roles in their productions, and even join the NBPA company if they qualify. The company class on Saturdays also offers pas de deux. The studio holds both a winter production (The Nutcracker), and a spring production. The only issues I would put forth is the cleanliness of the floor (I would prefer it to be a bit cleaner), and the temperatures in the studio can fluctuate, so dancers are encouraged to bring layers. I feel that more corrections could be given during classes (some of the teachers are young and seem hesitant), and perhaps more teacher/pedagogical training could be provided for the instructors. A great studio for adults who wish to pursue dance!