Dance Arts is the best! The teachers and staff are always warm and welcoming, and their…read moreprofessional instruction is amazing. It's a always a joy to take dance classes there to improve my dance skills.

I've been to Dance Arts many times over the years for private lessons, and did it again this past…read moremonth. It is always an awesome experience because the facility is quite nice and recently remodeled, and the teachers are all consistently terrific. Seth was our dance instructor, and he is very personable and a wonderful instructor so it was a pleasure to work with him. And it seems like everyone is very competent and friendly. The owner Joanne is an incredible teacher, and a very nice personality, so in summary it's just a pleasure to be there, and I love this place!

Just Dance Academy has impressed us in every aspect. The studio director and staff exude warmth and…read morea love for dance. Jenna, the owner, is a graceful and enthusiastic instructor, and also an incredibly responsive and diligent administrator. She manages the studio with great care and professionalism, communicating quickly, paying attention to details, and always going above and beyond for her students and their families. Most importantly, my daughter loves dancing at Just Dance Academy. Her instructors have been outstanding, and the performances we've been a part of have been fun, innovative, and inspiring. The classes bring her immense joy, confidence, and excitement. We are so grateful to be part of such a nurturing, well-run, and inspiring dance community.

Artistry, Inclusivity, Athleticism, FUN and JOY! These are all the things that make Just Dance…read moreAcademy a spectacular community! My daughter started in 5th grade when we moved to Marin, with only one year of dance under her belt. Today as a 7th grader, she does Jazz, Ballet, HipHop, Contemporary, and Competition Team. She is learning creativity, resilience, artistry, and commitment -- dance has boosted her body confidence and helped her make a bunch of new friends in our new community. And then there's the shows (oh, the SHOWS!)...the winter show and spring shows are incredible! High production value and absolutely incredible choreography. Jenna and all of the teachers create a warm, welcoming, encouraging, and inclusive environment for all abilities and interest areas. Highly recommend!!

I was one of the older students in the open division adult classes for the last 2 years or so. I…read morehad never taken ballet at an early age so while I lacked the proper body training and preparation and attempted to start ballet at age 60 (15 years ago) I nonetheless had redeeming qualities, that being grace and good musicality and sometimes good form in certain movements. I could keep up with the speed pretty well, am fairly intelligent and enjoyed the rigorousness of the classes and the excellent teaching, as hard as it was for me at times to "keep up" because of my aging memory. At one point, 2 other women in my class (at least 50+ years of age) ganged together to bully and intimidate me because I wasn't dancing "in form" across the floor. One of them accused me of never having been in a performance before, and she was wrong--I performed at the College of Marin Dance Concerts as a student there. They had no right to gang up on me like that, and the teacher had never said anything about it. I was insulted and angry. I took the matter up in a private meeting with the teacher and executive director of Marin Ballet. I didn't expect much results but at least the offending party stopped going to that class for awhile. The bad news is, the instructor became suddenly very unfriendly towards me afterwards like he was angry at me for "rocking the boat" or something. I was very sad about that, and took classes until the end of my 20-class card that I purchased earlier and then left for good. When I told the office manager that I wasn't coming back and why, basically all she said was "have a nice day". In my book, there is absolutely no excuse why anyone should be bullied in a dance class, especially an older person. We should all feel welcome in dance classes, and I certainly never had this problem in any other dance classes I attended at other Marin dance studios and College of Marin. In fact, I was often complimented by the teachers. So I think the students that bullied me were completely out of line, and I had no support around that. I'm surprised that Marin Ballet wasn't more understanding around this issue, even though I know it does happen more on the professional level. But we were not all professionals in that class!

A very special place. A Marin institution. My daughter studied ballet here for many years. She…read morelearned so much more than just dance. She developed lifelong friends. (She graduated over 10 years ago but still gets together with her ballet class mates) The facility is amazing. And I just love going to the Marin Ballet Nutcracker each holiday season even though I no longer have a child in the program. This place is magic.

5 stars for wonderful teachers and really fun classes that my child enjoys so much. We love this…read moreschool a lot. -2 stars because it's become clear to us that none of the teachers are willing to maintain a respectful environment for little dancers to learn. The teachers are all very positive all the time (lovely! yes nurturing teaching!) but they all pretend not to notice when a child or several children (not babies or toddlers) are completely ruining a class by screaming, throwing themselves on the floor, or leaving every couple of minutes for a sip of water. The distractions are endless sometimes. This is a huge shame for kids who actually want to hear their teacher and be present in the dance classroom. Some kids have a hard time focussing when other students are cutting off the teacher non-stop. The teachers also fail to shut down loud conversations in the waiting area. Adults and other children watching the classes all too frequently talk loudly, eat loud snacks, run around wildly, or cry (baby and toddler siblings). The culture at this school is so fake positive that it ignores how stressful it can be for parents who want to watch their children dance and, most importantly, for kids whose learning is constantly interrupted by loud people in the waiting area. There is a nice space outside at the front of the school for people to excuse themselves, but the rudest people rarely do, and the teachers NEVER ask them to take a moment outside. Please PLEASE fix this problem so we can continue loving this school and recommending it to all of our friends with young children. My child has taken class from almost every teacher here, and we really do love it, but this is a problem that will likely send us to another school in the not too distant future if it's not resolved.

We started coming here when my kiddo was just old enough because we were looking for a mommy and me…read moreclass. Ms. Marissa is the best, and we continued here until my son aged out because she made dancing and learning ballet so much fun. We highly recommend this Tutu school!

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!

We can't thank Ena enough for all of her help with our Sangeet night for our wedding! She…read morecoordinated all our dances for our family and friends, choreographed them all, created videos for people to practice, and then hosted virtual/in person practices the week before. She helped us to pick out songs and created the final song mixes as well. If you have any events or weddings upcoming and need a professional choreographer, Ena is definitely the one to go with!

Ena is a fantastic and inspiring dance teacher. My daughter Ariana has been taking dance classes…read morewith her since she was 6 years old and Ena's love of dance and encouraging positive style motivated Ariana to try many different styles from Bhangra to jazz to tap. Ena makes the classes super fun and engaging, and my daughter loved it. Her experience was so positive that I was inspired to take an adult dance lesson with Ena. I had a blast, made new friends and the performance had my family so impressed! Thank you Ena for being an amazing dance teacher and inspiring our love for dance!

I have been dancing with the Tam Twirler Square Dancers club for nearly five years, and I wanted to…read moreshare how much I enjoy the experience. I'm always looking forward to attending to the Wednesday night club dance. It is a fantastic environment for learning square dance while socializing with a kind and supportive group of dancers. Additionally, our caller, Eric Henerlau, is one of the best in the country; it is truly an honor to dance to his calls. Come to join the club and start to enjoy the fun!!

If you can walk, you can square dance!…read more The Tam Twirlers are a group of awesome humans that square dance! Warm, friendly, kind and helpful they made our move from NJ to No Cal easy - we had instant friends from our first visit. The music is delightfully varied; in a single night you can dance to everything from Led Zepplin to a medley of vintage funk followed by an old school cowboy song thrown in for good measure. Eric, the caller, patiently and wittily keeps everyone involved, slows down for the left behind and teaches all sorts of tricks and style. He often welcomes guest singers to join him, which adds to the fun! Patrick, our President, (4 more years!) leads the club with panache and a dash of Dad humor and the generous people who serve on the board make every occasion special with decorations and yummy food and general oversight. This club makes a point of welcoming and teaching newcomers in a safe judgement free zone. There are potlucks and monthly beginner's nights on the 1st Wednesday of the month; special event dances, classes - no you don't need a partner to dance! Folks come from all over to dance with us. We are all ages and types of folks. The hall is a funky huge room overlooking the bay and the Richmond Bridge - spectacular sunsets for break hangouts are a bonus. Come join the good clean fun at the cheapest most welcoming outing in town, exercise in slow motion to great music, in lovely company!

Great aerial class. The teachers are experienced, fun, and welcoming. The whole group was friendly…read moreand welcoming.

Sheila Bannon of Aerial Dance Marin introduces all levels to the beauty of aerial dance. Sheila…read moreand the studio are a gift to all the students as she helps to foster and develop a love for silks and aerial arts. It is a fantastic class that is fun and a wonderful work out for all ages! Sheila's calm, supportive, and kind nature are perfectly suited to teaching at all levels and her knowledge runs deep! My two daughters have so enjoyed taking classes from Aerial Dance Marin and I couldn't recommend it higher!

They have a passion for upselling and a high turn over rate for teachers. They don't introduce the…read moreteam on the website because the team is ever changing. But give them your money if you'd like or find a smaller business that cares more about their clients and and their teachers. The owners are more interested in a profit than a pirouette.

Highly recommend this gorgeous, huge studio for a date night idea! Specifically, I suggest doing…read morethe complimentary intro course then stay for the group class and dance party. They paired incredible music with various types of dances, which made the lesson more approachable and familiar. The instructors are loads of fun, patient and highly skilled. They will help to make everyone comfortable whether you are a beginner or advanced. I've taken lessons in SF in the past, but this venue and instructors make the experience very special. We're hooked, and will go back!!

An annual FREE event in June attracting artist from all over…read more Several blocks of amazing chalk art. An area for youth chalk art. Live music during the event from 9 am to 7 pm And of course there is food

Observing people create masterpieces out of chalk on concrete is like watching magic. Some pieces…read moreseriously blow you away. It is awesome to think that most of these artists probably don't use chalk as their primary choice of utensil, but they can pick up a piece of chalk and create the most unique, detailed, realistic piece of beauty. If you love art, you will hands down love this festival. And if you love music you will also appreciate this festival. This year they had a band called "Underage Records" wow. These kids must have been no older than 15 years old, and they ROCKED it. The band consisted of a guy bass player, pianist, guitarist/vocalist and a girl drummer. They were unbelievably talented. We couldn't stop watching them. It was almost surreal. It'll be cool to say I saw them way back when.