I am just reading all these reviews. I am very shocked to read so many similar ones. I really hope we do not experience this nightmare everyone has posted. However, I've had my daughter in here for a few months. Her teacher Izel is very nice to the kids and patient. I haven't had any complaints. They let us sit through practice and the encounters I've had with Kareli have been pleasant. My Daughter is loving the folklorico. I really hope it keeps going smooth. So far my experience has been really good. I will continue to keep my daughter here. read more

The actual name of this school is Kareli, there is never communication that is 100% clear you need to be in three different apps and check their website for any updates because they do not give you any information and in every single platform, the information is different. there is always billing issues. You can never get a hold of the owner or a person in charge. No one ever answers the phone when you have a concern or question it's frustrating to have a class and not be able to communicate with the school. read more

Before I share my experience, I would like to note that I read every review on here and it is all true. Anyone who still has their children enrolled and has not experienced Kareli as their child's teacher, would not understand where the rest of us are coming from. There are still parents I know in the lower level classes who do not interact with Kareli, therefore they find the reviews hard to believe. Teaching: As skilled as she may be, Kareli is a terrible teacher. She is condescending, impatient, disrespectful and outright mean. She gets AGGRESSIVELY physical with CHILDREN during class. You will NEVER hear her praise or speak positively to the children. As other reviewers mentioned, she WILL single out a child and embarrass them in front of the entire class for having trouble with a step. If a child is not catching up to her liking, she finds it a drag to insert them in the routine. Communication: She refuses all interactions with parents, will not answer questions and gets extremely defensive when a simple question is asked. Another parent sent an email addressing their concern for the way Kareli was treating the children and all she did was let the parent know that she had a masters in social work from USC and did NOTHING to remedy her behavior towards the children. Structure: The classes begin with warm ups and technique work before moving onto choreography. This is okay when any teacher other than Kareli is instructing. She loses any patience she has extremely quickly here. With her lack of teachers and lack of attention to her younger performers, the children learn one new song every six months. This is boring to the students and their progression in folklorico is stagnant. Tuition: As a parent who supports their child in anything they are passionate about, I have to say tuition would never be an issue. However, with the new increases she implemented with her rebranding into Kareli's School of Folklorico, $240 per month was not worth the egregious experience and very little teaching she was providing. All in all, do not let social media posts lure you without doing your research. She is terrible with children and teaching altogether. If you want your children to have fun while learning folklorico, go somewhere else. Save yourself your money and your children's self esteem by going elsewhere. read more

Whatever you do, DO NOT I repeat! DO NOT take your children to this studio. Let me tell you all about my experience with this location which is now being abolished and rebranded into Kareli school of folklorico. My guess is that she's being investigated for all the nonsense she has done. I had been taking my children to this location for two years. It used to be ok. I would have given it a 3 out of 5 only because the structure of the classes was ok. Now, going into 2024 I'm giving it a 0 out of 5! Kareli Montoya is the so called director of this studio. She is rude, careless, doesn't say hi to parents, hides to avoid any questions from parents, and if she's in a bad mood goes in to classes and screams at the kids. I had to remove my daughter from this because she was starting to develop anxiety just driving to the studio. My daughter loved folklorico and now she wants nothing to do with it because of the experience. Kareli likes to bring people from Mexico that aren't even supposed to be working in the US! She's already had two teachers removed by immigration because she pays them when they're not even supposed to be working. How do I know this? Because her mom told parents. I'm not ok with having some random person teaching my kids that is not even fingerprinted. She doesn't allow parents to sit and watch because she knows that her actions would get her sued! It's a nightmare and I do hope all these families grab their kids and take them somewhere else. I gave this studio two years to shape up and it's just burning in flames. Everyone knows about her personal life thanks to the parents there that like to gather around and talk. Her mother which is also there working at the studio shares a lot to the point that it makes others feel uncomfortable. Also, the experience that you get is not a pleasant one and now with tuition being raised to the point where I don't even want to give this studio a dime is ridiculous. Kareli steals from the parents. I am sad that their office manager has left but I don't blame anyone that decides to leave because it's horrible. She's asked others to come back and teach but they always turn her down. Whatever you do, please do not take your children here. It's unsafe and Kareli does not care for the wellbeing of the children. read more

I recommend Karelis School of Folklorico, my son has been attending this school for 10 years. It is his motivation for his Future. Now he has become a professional in dance and music. read more

I enrolled my daughter here in 2018 and then my other daughter in 2020. They both loved the studio and the teachers that were with them throughout the years. Last year, in 2023, they both got moved up to the "Angelito" group and everything went downhill from there. Teachers that were there had been let go and they worked more with the director. She was inconsistent, would yell at kids, make them feel less then and made parents feel unwelcome. Signs went up stating that parents couldn't even use restrooms, regardless of how many hours we were there. She wouldn't speak to you unless you asked to speak to her and she would rush to end conversations. My daughter would get so much anxiety because she was scared of getting scolded or ridiculed in front of the class. My daughter would literally see the directors car in the parking lot and instantly would be nervous. The whole year they learned 4 dances, causing kids to get bored and unmotivated . She may be talented in choreographing but why get in the business of working with children if it appears that you don't like children. Dance should be fun and learning about your culture not about being scared of getting yelled at as a child. These kids range from 6 yrs old to 16 and as a director of a dance studio with a Masters in Social Work you should know how to speak and uplift children, not slam them and make them feel like shit. There are way too many studios out there to put up with this BS. Look elsewhere! read more

While I am a dancer at BFLA, I will not disclose my identity in order to prevent any retaliation from the director. Having studied all the previous reviews, I can affirm that they are all accurate and there are no falsehoods in what they are talking about. We as dancers have to put up with a lot of things being in her professional team. List of examples: *Every dancer in her company and studio is belittled by her. *All of her dancers are subjected to her unprofessional and disrespectful behavior. *She has consistently been late in paying us, and when we do receive payment, we are faced with the issue of the checks being returned due to insufficient funds. *She talks about every teacher in the Folklorico industry. *She has a strong dislike for her dancers, leaving to dance with other groups. *Every studio's teaching technique is subject to her critique. *She talks about the parents and dancers who are part of her apprentice group. I feel sorry for a few girls in the apprentice group because they are so dedicated and talented. * She utilizes her apprentice group to dance when the company's core dancers are not available to dance at gigs. In all, she has no interest in her apprentice group. *Regardless of whether her younger dancers are in school, she expects them to prioritize her studio. *All she cares about is ensuring that her company dancers learn new choreography and look good in all shows. *She lets go of Dancers and talks about them even though she knows she is always at fault. *She brings teachers from Mexico and uses them, but when she no longer needs them, she talks about them and lets them go. *She aggressively grabs her dancers if she sees they're doing any incorrect steps rather than being respectful and teaching the correct way. *She constantly fat-shames her dancers. The list is endless. She is not loyal to anyone, and she only uses others to blame for her actions. Male dancers have harassed her female dancers multiple times in the past, but she will ignore the claims because she needs male dancers to perform at her gigs. her assistant director has been known to give alcohol to minors during the tours. He exhibits unpleasant behavior towards female dancers, particularly when he drinks. While drunk, he texted multiple female dancers, which made them feel very uncomfortable. Despite being aware of this, the director chooses to ignore it. What is very interesting is that he has always talked about the director to everyone. For the entire year before, he was complaining about leaving and talking about the director and her new boyfriend. The amount of information I have is enough to write a book about dancing in this studio. Dancers, you all know that what I'm saying is true. It's important that we unite and speak up. Speak up because it is not right. What we go through in this studio is years of emotional distress and being disrespected. read more

I'm going to preface this by saying that I have read all the previous reviews and can affirm that they are truthful. I am able to state this because I witnessed the behavior and my daughter experienced it. I had my daughter start with Kareli's studio when she was 4 years old back in 2018. We remained there for 5 years and finally had to leave in November 2023. My daughter was happy throughout the years while she was learning from other teachers. Last year she moved up to the Angelitos performing group and that is when the situation became toxic. Kareli was teaching the class and there was not one class where she wasn't yelling and demeaning the dancers. Kareli's way of teaching is very strict and there is nothing wrong with being strict and having discipline, however, there is something very wrong when you try to teach via screaming and putting down children or anyone of any age for that matter. My daughter started to have anxiety before class and was always scared of being yelled at by Kareli. In addition to this, one of the girls in the class started to bully my daughter and nothing was done about it. We had to handle it ourselves. Kareli allowed it to happen and that same girl bullied someone else and it turned into a physical situation as she punched and purposely stepped on the other dancer. My daughter stopped having fun and stopped learning as they were doing the same couple of dances over and over again. Kareli is not open to speaking with parents when they have concerns or willing to resolve issues. As I mentioned earlier, we stayed for 5 years and in those 5 years we saw and experienced a lot. The past reviews have laid it all out and now there are new allegations of sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior toward minors, etc. Enough is enough. To those of you that are looking for a studio to put your kids in or to take a class for yourself, look elsewhere. There are better options. To those parents that still have their kids at Thee Academy, why?? What more do you need to see and hear? What does it say to them and teach them by keeping them in that type of environment...? read more

This is a professional dance studio and the Director and her staff are great. They know their profession and they are experience in the vast regions of Mexican Folkorico. They will take you or your child to the next level and the sky is the limit if they stay with them long term. The parents are also great, and surprisingly there are dancers that come as far as Ontario, Filmore, and Simi Valley. That says a lot of the quality of this Dance Studio. read more

Im writing this review because enough is enough. I am disgusted with how things are done at this studio. 1. The owner, she could care less about the students and families. All she cares about is the money coming in so she can go off and spend it on her personal things. Overpriced classes and poor poor instruction. 2. The staff, what staff? She has nobody. 3. The amount of money spent on skirts, shoes, accessories? Ridiculous! I had to spend close to $500 and never received my daughter skirt. I have emailed and called and I receive no response. Poor poor customer service. Quick to charge but won't respond back when you kindly ask for a refund. 4. Whoever manages their social media is always posting about classes but when you try to get a hold of someone, good luck with that. 5. Poorly managed. Take your money and kids elsewhere. It's a joke. Don't get fooled by the name because once you attend you'll see how horrible this place is. 6. I'm only leaving 1 star because Yelp doesn't allow less!! read more

Do not take your children here! 1 start because I am unable to give a 0 rating. I took my child to this location for a couple of years and at first it was an ok studio but as the years have gone by it has become a total nightmare. Going into 20204 I am no longer thanking my child. What the other reviews stated is accurate. Kareli the director is hardly ever around BUT when she is it becomes a total spectacle with her unprofessionalism and extremely rude and disrespectful behavior towards dancers and parents. She often does not let parents watch the practices which gives her more freedom to yell and be rude to the kids. I ultimately decided to pull my child due to the anxiety attending classes was causing. My child would often leave class in tears following Kareli's verbal abuse when not completing a step correctly. My child would inform me that although there were other kids who also did not perform steps correctly often time she would pick on my child. As stated in other reviews, Kareli also aggressively grabs dancers and constantly yells at students. What is noticed, is that if you or your child are not sucking up to her, she treats your child poorly. And when you do suck up to her, she tends to show favoritism often. by moving less skilled dancers up to dance with the core and apprentice groups. Kareli has a Masters in Social Work, which one would hope would have taught her that her behaviors towards the students negatively affects their well-being. Tuition was recently raised to the point that it does not match the services you are receiving. Students seem to only be taught about 1-2 dances during a 6 month period, and steps are very basic. When issues arise and you walk Into the studio attempting to talk to Kareli, she is never available. Her mom who works the font desk will try to help as much as possible put ultimately getting issues resolved is a nightmares. When you attempt to contact her via email, again if it is regarding and issue, she does not respond. Kareli's personal life is constantly being talked about given her mom oversharing information regarding her divorce and current relationship, ect. Her mom also overshared with students that Kareli was facing a possible lawsuit from the Mariachi USA event, which I am not surprised given her unprofessionalism. Ultimately, save your self the hassle and find another studio for your kids. read more

Last month here a lot of parents have pulled out because this place is a total nightmare. Now, this location is called Karelis School of Folklorico. I agree with the last comment. The director, Kareli Montoya, is very rude and unprofessional. Everyone knows her personal life, she's always late, she treats her workers badly, and all of them speak badly of her. Everything YOU see on tiktok and instagram is a show. They teach nothing here!! She charges $155 dollars per month and doesn't teach ANYTHING. It's not worth it!! She verbally abuses the children, yells at them, and belittle them, and also her staff and professional team dancers. She is very unorganized. she had 3 moms who were in charge of fund committee for 4 yrs and they took advantage of parents and kids at the end they stole money that was in the account kareli never did anything about it but did abolish it because parents were complaining that the committee never disclose any information about the funds and never use money towards the kids. After the owner abolished the committee, she never gave information of what happened to the money in the fund that was donated towards kids, and kids did several fundraisers and all for nothing. Do yourself a favor and look for a place that will be grateful to have you in their studio. That will show respect towards you and your children. She is very rude to the parents, save yourself the time, and look at other locations! You been warned!! read more

Voy a dar una reseña muy honesta. He estado aquí por un tiempo pero planeo cancelar el registro para el nuevo año. Cuando empezamos, estaba muy organizado y estructurado. Mis hijos aprendieron mucho, pero antes tenían profesores de baile increíbles. Poco a poco se fueron alejando como lo hacen todos sus bailarines profesionales. El problema con este estudio no es el personal ni los bailarines, el problema es Kareli Montoya, la directora y propietaria del estudio. Ella es muy poco profesional y no se preocupa por las familias ni por los niños. Ella es muy RUDA y solo se preocupa por su grupo de elenco profesional porque los necesita para actuar, pero en realidad los menosprecia y es muy irrespetuoso con ellos. No sólo eso, ella es muy irrespetuosa con nosotros, los padres. Hazte un favor y no registres a tus hijos en este estudio. Si te preocupas por su salud mental evítalo a toda costa. CONFÍA EN MÍ, ahorra dinero e investiga para otros estudios. Hay uno en la ciudad de Whittier. read more

Just started coming here for my daughter. The studio is pretty good size. The staff is passionate and pro. My daughter really likes this place. We drive up from LBC to get her there and it is worth it. read more

Do not Hire for your event!! Even though this happen 1yr ago I decided to post it so every one will see how bad this people are read more

Thee Academy - Do not hire them, they will not follow the contract or showed up to your event!!! - Dance Studios Near Me - Bell Gardens, California

My daughter is 2 years old and she has been coming to this acadamy for the last 8 months and her development is impressive, miss Liz, Kareli and all the teachers, stuff are fantastic!!! read more

Folklorico Fit class is like no other! Great workout and at the same time you learn traditional Folklorico choreography. Really enjoy this class! I look forward to the next class. read more

I always give up when it comes to working out lol! BUT this class gets me going! Its an awesome work out PLUS you learn the techniques and choreography of Folklorico! I love this class!!! Its definitely something i look forward to! :) read more