I attended a Tap recital at Paul Robeson Performing Arts Center for Northwest Tap Connection on…read moreSaturday. I was thinking, ok a tap recital...BORING. But I was SO WRONG! This was one of the best performance pieces I have seen by youth and young children (4-18 y/o) that are part of the South Seattle community. The recital was called "An African American Odyssey," and told the history of African Americans through tap and African Dance pieces. Northwest Tap Connection is under the direction of Melba Ayco, and "Is dedicated to building the whole dancer through a love of dance, personal discipline, respect for the community, respect for fellow dancers, and knowledge of the history of the art form." During the regular hours, NWTC operates a dance studio with classes that boasts 100 children from the South Seattle Community. This is a positive enriching community program that I was proud to witness! What a gem this program is...I will be donating $$ and sending my future children to NWTC.

My children have been training at Northwest Tap Connection for over 10 years, as a single parent of…read moretwo daughtets, it is imperative I keep my girl occupied and around positive children and adults. This studio is very unique it truly is a villiage type stuio, they reach out encourage and build the the youth. Oh let's not forget the many performances around the city and their opportunity to participate in intentensive workshops in different states once they reached a certain age/skill level. They are exposed to so much, as a student of Northwest Tap Connection. If you have a child or children who may be interested in dance (tap, ballet, hip hop, modern, adult tap), I highly recommend Northwest Tap Connection. If you do not have a child, please consider donating to Northwest Tap Connection to sponsor a child whose parent my not be able to afford to send their child(ren). Go to their website to check the day/time of the next event, buy a ticket or two and enjoy the show!

We are enjoying our first class at Creative Dance Center, where Anna is taking the children and…read moretheir caregivers on a lively, fun, and wonderfully pleasant brain development journey using music and dance to spark their creativity, imagination and coordination.

What a thrill to see my child dancing today in the school show "An afternoon of dance." This was…read moreher first time performing on a stage and now she can't wait to do it again. At beginning of the show, we were told that we would not be seeing expensive costumes that we'd had to buy, and we not be seeing very precise dances that had been drilled into the dancers for months. What we did see was a burst of colorful costumes that clearly each dancer had picked out for themselves at home, that expressed each personality wonderfully. And more importantly, we saw a ton of creativity, joy, and teamwork on the part of the kids, gently guided by the dance instructors. It was amazing to see how skilled the older dancers were at both dancing and choreography. My daughter and I started out in the parent/toddler class, then took the parent/child class, and she has taken the creative dance and creative ballet classes. And we really enjoy the intergenerational interplay classes which happen once a month on Friday nights. Whenever I tell my daughter that it is time for dance class, she immediately stops whatever she is doing, gets dressed, and goes out to the car at a speed usually reserved for birthday parties and trips to the candy store. As long as that is the case I will keep signing her up.

It saddens me to write this review, as over the years we have collected many great memories in our…read morerelationship with this studio. I also have friends who helped make this studio a success over the years- I hope they can understand the spirit behind this review and what compels me to speak out. My first commitment is to my child- who I will fiercely advocate for, to the neurodivergent community as a whole, and raising awareness. Nine straight years with Applause with a neurodivergent child. My child grew up at this studio. I wasn't always the perfect dance mom due to my own ADHD struggles with time management, but I contributed a lot to this studio over the years. In the end, we had to move on from this studio due to the rigid management style of their current director, Amanda. While as studio manager she has provided a much-needed organizational structure, in addition to a creative spirit. It's the mistreatment and disregard with regard to the needs of the neurodiverse that compels me to write a less than favorable review. I asked her to incorporate diversity and equity inclusion policy into the studio's mission. That was not done. While there are a couple older kids who may identify as neurodivergent that attend Applause- and management likes to tout inclusivity and kindness- there are no official protocols and considerations to serve as a guide for teaching staff. When you add a rigid management style to that, the end result is a child who exits with a literal broken heart. I am deeply disappointed Amanda did not take my suggestion with official DEI incorporation, as I feel she would have learned valuable skills and insight I feel she is lacking as a young studio manager. She was a child when I first met her, and I spent years rooting her on. So it really is especially disappointing. I have had several conversations with Amanda regarding my child's struggles there- which include shunning, and a bullying incident that occurred in their theater group at the age of 9 that we sought therapy for. She is aware there are multiple other exceptionally talented children who were pushed out from the studio with the same struggles. We hung on. I think she feels she has done right by us, and fulfilled her role as studio manager. I have hit a brick wall. We would just continue the rounds of what she feels she's done, and me trying to convey and help her understand how the studio could improve with examples. In recent months, I could see her attitude toward me change. So there really is nowhere else to go with the relationship, except to encourage a DEI policy and follow it. It's their responsibility. I would also recommend working better with the kids they promote to teach classes. It's one thing to say "sorry that didn't work for you". But does that identify and fix problems that arise with inexperienced kids promoted to teach classes without proper direction? You've got to walk the walk- and having a mission statement, plus policy and procedures surrounding equity and inclusion is a great start. I wish this studio the best.

Such an amazing wide range of classes with excellent and engaging instructors!! From drama to…read moreacting to guitar!! We LOVE Applause Studio!!" --Heather R

Great academy to get kids in acting, singing and theater! The teacher Kelly was high energy and…read moremanaged kids really well. My daughter was always excited to go there. Total value for money! I will enroll my kids for next batch most likely (schedule permitting)

I arrived on the scene not knowing what to expect. I am a huge theater fan, a huge frozen fan and I…read morelove seeing how different places handle their birthday party offerings. The Scene I was a guest here for a five year old girls birthday from 1-3 PM. The child's class was invited and it was a mix of girls and boys. The format was, sit in a circle, introduce each other, start practicing lyrics and gestures to a song. Kids all go to the bathroom as a group. Eat Pizza / Fruit / Cake. Parents stand in a line behind a table. Performance of two songs. Some observations: Some kids were warmer uppers, like mine. They suggested I could sit in the circle with my kiddo to help her get acclimated. We were 6 minutes late. I did sit for a bit, but had to move to a chair. I did suggest my kid go and talk to a teacher and that seemed to help. There were two boys who kept playing outside the circle and not paying attention and following the rules. I was a bit bothered by this and am not sure what should have happened. 1. I wondered why the parents weren't encouraging their kids to participate. Was it because they were boys? And boys don't need to participate and follow instructions? 2. Why weren't the teachers trying to encourage the boys to participate? Were they assuming that because this was Disney princesses they wouldn't want to? All in all, I can't see everyone ignoring two girls not paying attention and doing their own thing and distracting the group. I feel like boys should be looked after and encouraged just as much as girls. While yes, the parents should have maybe done something, in situations like this, I try not to jump in, and assume the people who are being paid to run a two our event can work to include everyone. Loved that they had all of the kids go to the bathroom. Smart. One of the teachers seemed new, and didn't quite know the songs, she was looking at the more experienced teacher most of the time for guidance. I could see this made the students not know if they should look at her, or look at the obvious leader. Thought they could have done one dress rehearsal before showing the parents. Only one boy participated out of a group of aprox 25. 5-6 boys stood there. To me, this is a failure of inclusion.

This is a wonderful place for children to learn classical ballet. I was a student of Miss Susan as…read morea child and have enrolled all my daughters. They learn such grace and athleticism. Ballet helps with sports, poise, presentation skills, and gives you grace your whole life long. We are very happy with Island youth ballet. Not to mention their shows are spectacular and as good as Pacific Northwest ballet, in my opinion.

Great workshop where kids (probably best for 8 plus?) can legitimately make their own hand and…read morestick operated puppets that look just like the ones you used to watch on TV growing up. And by make them I mean design, select fabrics, sew, glue, the whole deal. And it ends up being something you'll actually want to keep around and they can use creatively going forward. What a neat class, I'm so glad we happened up on it as my 10 year old daughter loved it. I think this has really broad appeal as most of it is sort of inventing and tinkering, creating the puppet itself. A lot also went into teaching the kids how to actually control the puppets behind the curtains which isn't as easy as it seems. I can see this being appealing both to the typical drama kid who loves to be the center of attention (like mine) and also a creative shy kid, who has a message to convey but may not want to stand on stage in front of a large audience to deliver it. I learned that she does after school programs as well (unfortunately not at my school yet) so I hope to see her around with more programs in the Shoreline / North Seattle area, since I have 2 more kids who also need puppets someday! Highly recommend these classes for kids. Here is my 10 year old's review: Half-pint puppets was an amazing class. You have a wide variety of fabric so you can make almost any puppet you want. You do most of it, like cutting the foam to make the mouth and skull, cutting the body fabric, sewing together the body, putting on facial features, and a few other things. The instructor basically just tells you how to do the basics and finishes the puppet how you want it if is not done by the end of thursday. On friday, there is a fun puppet show. The puppet making is simple and easy, and you will probably (Mabey with a little guidance from a video) Be able to make your own puppets at home. A definite 5-star, i recomend this to everyone.

I really wanted to be able to give a good review as I wanted my daughter to attend dance and acting…read moreclasses here. However after a month of sending an email requesting information and leaving a voicemail I have had no response. To me, this speaks volumes to their business acumen, who doesn't follow up with new potential clients! Really disappointed

Jordyn is amazing! I am 23 years old and have never once taken any sort of singing or performance…read moretype training in my life. I have taken two lessons with her and am amazed at how much I have improved. I never thought I had a voice but she has already started to pull it out of me after only an hour of time total. I am so happy with by decision to start vocal training with jordyn and she has inspired me to continue pursuing this new hobby I never thought I could do! She is so personable and sweet, and really accommodating with my crazy schedule. I am already recommending her to everyone i know! Definitely take a lesson with her, no matter you background or age or experience or anything, lessons with her are a blast and you'll be so happy you did it!

My son's birthday party suddenly went from an outdoor party to an indoor party due to weather and…read morewe didn't know what to do. Thank goodness we found Mary. She does marionettes but also hand puppets (for those of us that watched too many marionette horror movies growing up). The set up was professional and she was great with the kids. The party was for a 3 year old boy but had kids up to 8 or 9, almost all boys. The show was great, it got their attention and the kids were talking about it after. My kid even remembers what happened a week later. I learned that these shows are recommended for ages older than 3 but it worked great for us. I'd recommend her for any party, regardless of weather. Thanks, Mary.