The Academy of Ballet Arts inspired my son to become a professional dancer, so I have spent many…read morehours there watching him take class. What I love about ABA is the way the teachers speak to the students. They encourage, correct, and praise in such a way as to give each child what he or she needs at that point in his/her dance education. The children love being there because of the camaraderie of the other kids and the family atmosphere. The older students take the younger ones under their wings, but don't substitute for the teachers. The performances are not stressed-out recitals but wonderful showings of what the students can now do. I would absolutely recommend this studio to parents who want a safe, caring experience for their children!!

The training I received at Academy of Ballet Arts was instrumental in my development as a dance…read moreartist. With the professional training, performance opportunities, and mentorship that is ever-present at ABA I was fully prepared to go on to a college conservatory majoring in dance, and to now be a professional dancer in NY. Thank you ABA.

I couldn't imagine a better studio than BADA. Our daughter…read moreis thriving and learning so much but that aside, she cannot wait to come to dance. She adores her instructors and BADA has become "home" for us!

Edit after sleeping on this, but leaving my upset: For 3.5…read morehours at dress rehearsal, my son was not accounted for by the people in charge. When he didn't show up on stage (due to their neglect at communicating), not an eye was batted. He didn't have anyone come to ensure he was safe. He was left in a room with a volunteer, presumably another parent at the school. Just because you have another parent volunteering does not mean they are a safe person. When someone is missing from a place they are supposed to be, the person in charge should feel quite compelled to locate the missing person. Original review: My son worked for 6 months on a dance he will not be performing tomorrow after severe neglect from the school to have tabs on their dancers. He was the only boy in the number, and one of a handful of boys at the school. He was only performing in ONE dance. No one thought to stop and find him for rehearsal when he was missing. He sat in a dressing room for 3.5 hours for literally nothing. They never called his name to come to the stage. When I confronted (admittedly, very heated after hearing of this) the woman in charge, she offered to have him practice then. At 8:30 at night. After my son had already sat for 3.5 hours waiting for them to call him up. After they were already 30 minutes behind schedule. Picture day was just as much of a mess. This is not his first rodeo with a dance company (he is last one stopped dance programs or we would have gladly stayed with them), and it isn't mine either- after having taken classes and performing for 15 years, myself. I would drive to Tampa over going to this dance school again. You would think if this is something you do over and over again, you would have it down by now. Not happy that they robbed my son of this experience, and have set him up for complete failure.

What can you day about art....hmmm ....well how about there is no eARTh without art. When you…read morecombine art with physical performance and you turn the human body into the brush and the music is your canvas ....you have ballet. We are blessed to have a world renowned choreographer set down roots in our fair town and we are already seeing dancers arriving from far and wide to train with Mr Servy Gallardo. It is a great opportunity for all dancers young and "young at heart", aspiring to earn a living a or to dance for the joy. The conservatory even has an adult class for those of us who want to try or never want to stop trying. I am over joyed to see a professional ballet conservatory open its heart and soul in St. Pete and excited to see more of Mr. Gallardo's art in motion!

So this is not my typical place to review. I'm a sports loving guy who likes to find good places to…read moreeat. I feel like this place needs to be out there a little more so the word will get out. My daughter started here a little over a year ago. This school at the time had only been open about 6-7 months and they were starting to grow. The Melton's (the owners) are great people and are more than a pleasure to deal with. They want nothing but success for the dancers here. They have what is considered to be two studios that are very large for a ballet studio that when opened up become a nice sized theater. There is some seating upstairs in a balcony type area where you can watch classes and rehearsals taking place. The instructors Servy and Alexe Gallardo are excellent and professional at what they do. My daughter began with Alexe and thrived with her. Alexe took my daughter in who knew nothing about ballet and she has taught her so much. My daughter now also has a class with Servy and she has loved working with him as well. He works his students very hard and pushes them to achieve more than they realize they can do but he does it in a way where there is a lot of encouragement and the students also enjoy what they are doing. My daughter always comes home a little sore and tired but is always wanting to do more and she always says how much she enjoys both Servy and Alexe. For any parents reading this. This is definitely a family type of environment with kids ranging in age from 5 years old to late teens and possibly early 20's. The classes are broken up so they are appropriate for age and skill level. The students are not competitive with each other and are more encouraging to each other which makes this a fun environment for all. The studio has now put on multiple shows at its location. Each show has only gotten better and definitely showcases the improvement each dancer has made over time. There have been many dancers (younger and older) that have have wowed the crowd during these shows with how skilled they are and how much they learn. They will be doing a full length Nutcracker here in December. I would encourage anyone to look this place up and check out the show. To any parents with a current ballet dancer or one wanting to become a dancer I would say run don't walk to this studio and enjoy the professional instruction and atmosphere this conservatory has to offer. There are not enough nice things I can say about what they have all done for my daughter and the other dancers at this location.

Stage Door IS THE PINNACLE of dance in Sarasota. The word that comes to mind is "EXCELLENCE." My…read morechildren attend hip hop and mini flip hop classes at Stage Door. Their teachers are kind and patient. The staff in the front office is very helpful l, courteous and welcoming. The staff's professionalism is unparalleled. Upon spending any time at the facility, it will be evident that Stage Door Studios is a well-oiled machine. The viewing area is perfect for parents & families wanting to spectate. It is ample space with comfortable seating and screens for viewing dancers working hard and having fun in each studio. There is also a thoughtful children's area with child-friendly furniture and a tv showing children's programs. Every aspect of our experience thus far seems to have been carefully curated to cater to the comfort and enhance the enjoyment of the entire family. We LOVE Stage Door!

My children danced at Stage Door for 6 years (first recreationally and then competitively) and…read moreloved it for a long time. But 3 years into dancing for one of their competitive teams, my children were kicked out of the studio with just a month left to go in the season. They were unable to perform at recital, or at their final competition, and 3 months later the studio has still not refunded the money I paid for services unrendered (summer classes, a convention, unused recital costumes etc) and they will not respond to my emails. The reason for dismissing my 1st and 4th graders? I took them to a private lesson at another studio for additional training and the owner didn't like that. Dancers as young as 5-6 years old are made to sign a contract if they want to dance at competitions with the team. Initially I didn't think much of this but by the third year (and as my second daughter was entering the youngest competition team) I started to have concerns about the stifling nature of it. Essentially, I walked into Stage Door with a 4 year old child in 2016, and before I knew it I was locked into some kind of situation where they would be penalized for even looking at other studios . (By the way, I didn't sign the contract last year but they held me to it anyway.) We stayed a couple years longer than we should have because the kids made friends and didn't want to leave them. If it weren't for that we would have left sooner. As things often do, it all worked out for the best. My girls and some of their previous teammates have found a new studio which they absolutely love and I'm confident that this new studio has their best interests at heart. I'm so excited for their future in dance and it's a relief to know they're training with adults who care about them. Stage Door is a large studio that shows well. It's big, offers a lot of class times for young kids and when you aren't yet enmeshed in the dance world you don't see the red flags. I certainly didn't. My advice, if you're looking for a dance studio, is to sit down with the studio owner and really find out what they're all about. Ask questions. Talk to parents of older kids. Talk to the studio owner at length. I probably talked to the studio owner at Stage Door for less than 20 minutes combined in 6 years. At our new studio, I've talked to the studio owner for hours on end and we've only been there a few months. It's night and day. Just do your homework.

My daughter attended this school and now my granddaughter dances here so we've been here a long…read moretime. The owner (Amy) is awesome and everything runs smoothly. Information is given to us in a timely manner, recitals are organized and summer camps are fun. The teachers were excellent for my daughter with some of the same still teaching here. They youth assistants are talented and congenial with the children. They have a talented dance team but we just wanted our kids to ENJOY dance, not go to the olympics. They were not pressured to compete and this was very important to us. It's okay to dance for fun and exercise. We're very happy at Jeanne Lynne. Can't recommend it enough, especially with the grace with which they have handled the pandemic.

My review today is a nostalgic blast from the past for me. If you have a child looking for a dance…read morestudio (or if you are looking for classes of your own!) JLDS is IMO the best studio in St Pete! I started taking ballet lessons when I was 5. Every year the studio puts on a recital to showcase everyone's hard work. Watching the recital, I fell in love with clogging. My second year I enrolled in clogging. From beginner, I worked my way up to join the Southern Exposure clogging team and traveled the southern states competing with this team. We even got to travel to Missouri one summer to perform in shows for two weeks at Silver Dollar City, their theme park. Besides clogging and ballet. I also enrolled in tap, jazz, lyrical, African, and hip-hop (my second favorite after clogging). What started off as something my mom put me in as a fun hobby ended in the best time of my life with friends I will have forever. (I'm almost 40 and stopped dancing when I moved out at 22 and I still see some of these girls!) If competition isn't your cup of tea they have normal classes too. Even writing this, my heart is so full and I honestly can't thank my mom enough for the dance memories I have

I am deeply disappointed by our experience with Family Dance Studio (Taylor and her assistant)s,…read moredriven entirely by the behavior of the studio owner. While the dance facilities themselves are adequate, the leadership style creates a toxic, counterproductive environment for young dancers.The owner frequently displays blatant favoritism, which has led to a culture of exclusion and intense anxiety among the students. Rather than fostering growth, constructive critique is often replaced with public discouragement and a complete lack of emotional safety. It is highly apparent that student well-being is secondary to the owner's personal preferences. I cannot recommend this studio to any family seeking a supportive or encouraging environment for their child.

Ms. Makayla is the most professional, proficient, most sweetest teacher a parent could ask for. She…read moreis so patient with our children. And has such a wide range of talents. If you want your kids to reach amazing heights, Family Dance is the way to go!

We started here with my two daughters in January and they have loved it. This is our first time…read moredoing dance and both girls love their teachers and have learned so much. The studio is so cute. Highly recommend for all beginners.

We have had a wonderful time at All That Dance and recommend this studio! Our daughter began her…read morefourth year dancing here this fall. The teachers are wonderful and I also highly respect the owner, Lindsey, who has always been helpful and kind. In addition to dance classes for kids, All That Dance also offers adult dance classes which I have found to be very accommodating regardless of previous dance experience - which is ideal because you get a great workout in a fun environment. I am grateful that All That Dance has created such welcoming classes for their students, both kids and adults. Parent communication has been great and if I ever have questions there are multiple avenues to chat with someone.

Hands down the best dance studio for my daughter. Mrs. Kylee and Mr. AJ are truly remarkable people…read moreand care so much for their dancers. Every year, they have a recital for the kiddos and they do an exceptional job. It's so much fun to watch these kids go from not knowing a thing about dance, to becoming a dance extraordinaire! Mrs. Kylee and AJ are always very involved with the kids. They have dancing, parades, Halloween trunk or treat, Christmas parties, etc.. I highly recommend this dance studio to anyone looking for a dance company for their little one, or even teenagers. Pricing is reasonable - usually $20 per class, could be more, could be less. Depends on the kids age, and what classes they're taking. Still cannot be beat! My daughter has been going here since she was 4 years old, and she'll soon be 10. We love it there!

From the owner: A K Dance Away is a studio set out to make a difference in the community. We want to give everyone…read morean opportunity to dance. We care about every dancer that walks through our doors, from the beginners to the more advance dancer. A K Dance Away is a fun and friendly environment where everyone can learn the art and discipline of Dance. Our goal is to allow each dancer to experience the elements of dance: confidence, coordination, creativity, grace, musicality, rhythm, self-esteem, technique, and appreciation for music and dance and above all FUN! We work hard to introduce to our students the right amount of self-expression, discipline, proper technique, flexibility, and passion to the art of dance. We take pride in every one of our students believing that every dancer has the ability to achieve success. You are more than a dancer to us, you are family. Come join our dance family!

Great dance experience & performing arts opportunities! My daughter has been there 4yrs so far, has…read morehad many great experiences in shows, community events, competition team (w/ many 1st place trophies), plus singing & acting opportunities. As a dance mom, I've enjoyed being involved w/ UDC & Fredi Dance Project (non-profit performance group ensemble.) 1st year on pointe now, w/ wonderful, caring, supportive instructors! At UDC/FDP, they are helping prepare my daughter for a career in the performing arts! For myself, they opened their door for me, too, as an actor, ballet, yoga or anything else I want to pursue. Thanks, UDC/FDP!

If you're looking for a diverse and inclusive dance experience look no further! My daughter has…read morebeen with UDC for 2 years and we couldn't be more pleased with our experience. From her weekly classes to our experience with UDC competition team, my daughter has enjoyed it all and has formed beautiful friendships along the way!