Loved this studio, but unfortunately it's closed now. It's been bought out and is now a traditional…read moredance studio - No pole classes from what I can tell, which is too bad. This was a supportive, judgement-free zone .

I am so happy that the Diva Den became a part of the Shawn Gardener Dance studio. It is wonderful…read moreto have so many great instructors and class options for such a reasonable price.

amazing preschool. amazing staff. my daughter has been attending for 2 years and we are very happy…read morewith all the staff specially teacher Amber and Teacher Ashley

My daughter enjoys the gym and her instructors. My only suggestion would be to update the class…read moresign up via email system. I wish it was online and became "live" for a first come first served system. If it could show open remaining spots in classes etc that would be even better for friend/sibling placement.

Came here and had so much fun! The night we came they had line dancing in one room. It was a blast!…read moreThe lady leading it was great! I was keeping up but some steps I wasn't and the people around kind of helped. Very kind of them! Then we went to a different room for some Salsa! That room was packed and at one point was hard to walk through. I would definitely come back for another night of dancing! Oh, the parking was limited. We were lucky and found on in the parking lot but get there early!

I've been coming to SGD on and off since they opened a few years ago. It's a little far for me, so…read moreI might make it once every few months. I've been impressed by their programming, social and events. I always know that when I go to SGD I'm going to feel safe and have a great time! This past weekend I had a friend visiting from London. She's an avid dancer and can dance w/ the best of them, so of course we chose to spend our one evening together at SGD. Late in the night, she lost her phone and we approached Miguel the owner of SGD to help us. He was super helpful, we exchanged phone #'s and he helped us gain wi-fi access to geo-locate the phone. He said the regulars are all super honest and ethical and that the phone should be here somewhere. Turns out, the phone dropped out onto the floor in our car. So crisis adverted! I guess in summary, what impressed me most was Miguel. The confidence and integrity in the business and community of regular dance patrons he's built. It was an absolute pleasure to experience that. I think some venues I've been to woulda said "Good luck to you!" But Miguel was concerned, helpful and supportive! If you are looking for a dance studio / community, I can't recommend SGD enough. I live a bit far and now will make more of an effort to dance here more regularly.

I had my first class with Jake the other night and he was friendly, knowledgeable and professional…read more I've taken ballroom classes at other schools and was impressed with his level of detail while keeping the class fun and light. Unlike other ballroom studios, Jake does not use high pressure tactics to sell more classes. Instead, it's a low pressure learning environment. I will definitely come back for many more classes with Jake and highly recommend Dance For Fitness!

I struck gold when I discovered International Latin dance with the talented & dedicated instructor…read moreJake Famme. In this past year, I have been a member of both his group classes and now regularly work with him in private sessions. His expertise & personalized approach in teaching is rich with technique, and invaluable in my growth as a dancer. Since I have begun his classes, he has helped me achieve my goals in dancing including my 1st pro/am competition & showcase...I am currently continuing my growth & preparation for an upcoming competition with Jake... He's simply the best! Diane

My dance partner and I had danced on Sunday and really enjoyed the Beauty of the Ballroom , the…read morepeople and the music. I have a new partner who I have interest in coming back to dance. I was wondering if they still offer the dancing on Sunday later in the evening. I really enjoyed it. Thank you. Keith Neuman

Moving your feet isn't so bad when you have a company like this leading the way. It's the…read morepractical way of pursuing one's Dancing With The Stars dream, only in a much slower pace just short of a Dance Dance Revolution. From the fox trot to the tango, they've got it all. Classes are going to range from $35-50 per month / 5 weeks, which I think is a fairly good deal considering all of the dance instruction. Most people who I've encountered here seem very happy with the whole set up. Facilities are top notch as there is plenty of room to dance and rest along the sidelines. Though class enrollment fills up quickly, the actual onsite classes have just enough people to make sure everyone gets some bit of individual attention. The instructors here are super friendly and specialize in all sorts of different dance styles. Not everyone is born with twinkle toes, but they seem to do a great job in being patient and helping people get to where they want to be. Fear not solo visitors, they're also very good at pairing people with the right skill level. For those interested in taking their dancing to another level, this is a place to also train for competition. I've seen some photos of locals who are now professionals after taking their first dance steps here as a beginner. Whether you're a notice or a professional, this is an excellent place to learn. And if that's not enough, this is an excellent alternative to the gym for people looking to get fit.

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.

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!!!

Classes are fun and affordable. My daughter loves interacting with the other kids. These groups…read morereally stick to the age range specified which is nice. The kids really seem to remember and pick up on the routines of the class. The space is nice and clean. The class provides an outlet for my daughter to interact with other kids, burn off some of her excess energy and learn about routines, songs, and movement.

This was my daughters first session with Miss Claire and I couldn't be happier! She's amazing with…read morethe kids and has the best attitude. My 3 year old talks about Miss Claire all week and cannot wait to hug her when we get to class. The recital was quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen. If your looking for a fun dance class for your child, look no further, we will go until she throws us out;)

Just want to leave an informational review because there's a couple of important things they do not…read morestate on their website. 1. There is no where to view your dancer inside of the building. If you choose to stay to watch your dancer in class, you must view from the windows OUTSIDE of the building. (If weather permits of course. Their normal protocol is for you to just drop your dancer off.) 2. Limited parking 3. If your dancer is in a 3-6yr old class- if one dancer has to use the potty, the whole class has to go. The teacher is responsible to take the little ones to use the restroom. I enrolled my 3yr old in one of their classes and was surprised by their lack of accommodations, especially having come from another established studio out of state. I also have a 1yr old that I have to bring with me and watching my 3yr dance from the parking lot was not safe for my little one. I also thought their potty protocol was frustrating because of the time (15min) it took away from class and having a stranger tend to my daughter using the potty did not sit well with me. To each their own. Just leaving this info for other mamas who are looking to enroll their younger dancers. 2 stars because they do not reply to emails and voice mails and for the lack of info on their website. My daughter had a great time in her class but unfortunately the studios lack of accommodations lead to an unsatisfactory experience and we unenrolled immediately.

My girls dance at load and love their teaches! We look forward to going to dance every week!read more

The best thing to come from SNL in years is, without a doubt, Stefon, the uber-hip club kid and…read moreCity Correspondent on SNL's Weekend Update. His recommendations for things like "family-friendly holiday activities" or Mother's Day brunch inevitably begin with "NY's hottest club is..." and he then goes on to describe completely absurd parties that sound like "visions a dying gay man would have if he was under too many blankets", including all-night secret raves featuring performance art like "human luggage" (midgets on roller skates you wheel through airports). Compare some Stefon skits with the usual descriptions of Blow Pony, and I'll bet my boa you might not be able to distinguish them. After all, BP's got bears, chubs, hawks, cocks, pigs, trannys, queens, shirt lifters, pillow biters, crap stabbers, furries, femmes, and knob shiners. Stefon would feel right at home, especially if it was Teddy Graham Night (you know... men with short arms and big bellies). Blow Pony, a monthly event, was started in 2007 as a place where "all our brothers and sisters felt welcome and loved." They list their primary concerns and involvement as being in queer rights, trans rights, women's rights, and "a search in the dumpster for more trash." There's a big sign at the entrance making it known that if you are racist, homophobic, sexist, or just generally do not like hard-partyin' weirdos, this is not the party for you. The venue itself (Rotture/Branx) is a filthy, hot, sweaty mess, and it does get packed to the gills. You will meet new friends. You will get drinks spilled on you. You will be dripping sweat from head to toe. You will dance with strangers. You will see people of every imaginable body type wearing anything from... well, nothing, to clown suits, to pony costumes, to dominatrix outfits. You will also see people in jeans and tshirts; it's definitely not about the wacky get-ups but those are a bonus. There are generally 4-5 different DJs for each event, both upstairs (Rotture) and downstairs (Branx), frequently out-of-town guests and some local celebs. There's a no-frills bar on each level, pouring beer and simple mixed drinks in plastic cups. The bathroom lines get insane. Just past the pinball machines on the upper level, there's a rickety old deck that I cannot believe has not been shut down yet. It gets so goddamned hot in the party, everyone pours onto the deck, and you can feel the damn thing swaying, like it's going to give out any second. It overlooks the Tazo tea factory, which gives off a most wonderful aroma, thank God. I've seen some wicked crazy shit at these parties. I don't really have a more eloquent way to put that. Once, a woman on stage in a hot teal corset threw a chain around my neck. I found out later it was a famous singer that I didn't recognize. At the last BP I attended, I got motorboated, on stage, by a woman in red underpants, and danced with a man dressed as a skunk. This was moments before we convinced an especially attractive but normally shy friend of ours to ascend the go-go dancer platform. Clothing was removed, and that's probably as much as I should say. Five stars for the enthusiasm and for Keeping Portland Weird, though I could break that down to less for some of the trickier aspects of these events, like the super-long lines, icky bathrooms and occasionally less-than-stellar DJs. BUT, I still go with a fiver for the general wacky experience. There is a good time to be had here, people. When the DJs are good, they are very good. One of my favorite Stefon bits - "New York's hottest club is Twice... where you will be greeted at the door by a Rabbi that looks like Joaquin Phoenix... and human fire hydrants. You know, it's that thing when high-waisted midgets have, like, the red pants and the big ass." Or, even better - "New York's hottest club is Creep... lights, psychos, furbies, and screaming babies in Mozart wigs." I wouldn't put any of those things past Blow Pony, no sir. If Bill Hader, the gifted actor who plays this Stefon gentleman ever comes to town, I will make it my personal mission to get him to attend, solely for more (and non-fiction!) material for the skit. It's a helluva good time and one of about 178764 reasons I love Portland, where this kind of debaucherous behavior is not only normal, but welcomed and encouraged. We are blessed, dear reader. Blessed by the Pony. Psst: If you haven't seen a Stefon skit, here's an example http://www.mediaite.com/online/bill-haders-stefan-struggles-to-keep-a-straight-face-on-weekend-update/

I love this place. Let me validate, I am straight. this is a great place to go and dance when…read morefeeling asexual. My tip if you are a man get drinks on the bottom floor. Ladies top floor. Stick with that and you get strong pours. Music is a letdown. Wish they went with a rivethead/industrial/punk mix. My friends make fun of over half of the music played.