My husband found Creative Dance Theatre 3 years ago when we were looking to move to another studio…read moreafter aging out of the current school. I messaged with the owner and office manager and my child was able to attend a class to see if it was good fit. It was. First year they took tap/ballet and a yoga class. Year 2 was tap/ballet and cheer/pop, year 3 is ballet/contemporary and Acro. They have a wide variety of classes, with varying age groups, offered daily at various times, making it easy to find a class to fit your child's age and schedule. Because it is a small studio, it is a more personalized experience. Class sizes are a reasonable amount, the same teachers teach year to year, the owner and office manager are very responsive to emails (my primary way of communication). The school dance "year" follows SDUSD schedule. Starting in August and finishing in May. The yearly recital is held in May and is optional. If your dancer wants to participate they can, but if they prefer not to do they do not have to and their dance "year" ends at the end of the current payment cycle (end of February). In addition to dance classes during the year, they have added dance camps. They host birthday parties and have a summer session if kids want to dance during the summer. Since the summer classes are a shorter length of time it is a great time to try a type of dance that your dancer may not be as sure of. With that said if your child is at an age where they can do 2 different classes with an age range for example ballet/tap 4-6 years old or ballet/tap 6-9 years old if you start in one class and feel like your child would be a better fit in another you can swap. I think it is dependent upon the teacher agreeing. I feel like when we switched to this studio my child did the younger and older class and the teacher is like "they would be fine in either" so we selected the older aged class. The teachers do a great job of teaching a group of kids with varying experiences. They are patient and explain the dance steps and make recommendations or modifications based on the child. The classes are a stretch, warm up, dance and then dismissal. Since this is a non competitive school each child is met where they are and allowed to learn and grow at their own pace. The other thing, I have enjoyed as well as my child is that while there is an "adult" teacher there is also a "student" teacher. These are usually students who are in high school who also dance at the studio. Many of these student teachers have been dancing at CDT since they were the age of my child! Billing switched last year from monthly to 3 payments spread out at enrollment, November and February. If doing the block payments is an issue if you reach out to the owner and office manager they are very reasonable with finding payment terms that work with your family and budget. If you take multiple classes there is a 10% discount. The dress code is dance wear but they are very flexible in what the kids can wear. No pressure to buy from them or a certain studio. For ballet ( my child is not en pointe) I have ordered leotards and ballet shoes on Amazon. I also ordered tap shoes on Amazon, as at this age the size changes quickly. The studio even keeps a supply of shoes at the studio (usually previous dancers shoes in good condition) so if your child forgets them or maybe in between sizes you can "try before you buy." All of the information about the studio, pricing, classes, attire is found on their website. It is easy to communicate with the owner and office manager. If there was a downside I would say that it is not being able to communicate directly with your child's teacher if they might be absent (due to illness). I typically just email the office manager and owner and ask them to pass along the message but there have been some hiccups this year with some information being communicated and needing a response in one class but nothing was communicated in the other class. It was easily resolved by an email to the owner and office manager, and I understand they are busy managing a lot of teachers, kids, parents etc but it is truly the only compliant I can think of. If you live in the area, have a child in the area I highly recommend checking them out!

This studio is a great spot to help kids of all levels become comfortable with dancing! All of the…read morestaff are so welcoming, while providing the students a discipline of learning new skills. Rosie loves going to dance at this studio for the last five years!!!

I've been hiring Alexis and her team to provide group dance lessons for my daughter, who truly…read moreloves it! The instructors are great at inspiring, building teamwork, self-confidence and dance skills. My girl always comes back happy and looks forward to their classes all week. We started in ballet and are trying hip-hop next!

We loved Dynasty Dance Co and their mini ballet class! It was my daughter's first formal dance…read moreclass and the instructor, Shauna, did a nice job introducing facilitated movement with patience and enthusiasm. There was still time and space for the kids to run (with streamers!) and get the wiggles out but still follow simple choreography. I'm looking forward to re-enrolling my toddler when she's a little older (I think I jumped the gun!). Overall it was a fun experience for her that was well-priced.

We absolutely love The Element Dance Studio in La Mesa! Mrs. Sydney has played such a special role…read morein helping my daughter fall in love with dance. When we first tried parent-and-tot classes elsewhere, my daughter felt overwhelmed by all the adults and people in the room. The Element was the only studio we found that offered a class for two-year-olds without parents in the room, so we decided to give it a try--and I'm so glad we did! Mrs. Sydney was incredibly patient as my daughter took her time warming up and becoming comfortable. Even when she was hesitant in class, it was clear that she loved it because she would come home and excitedly show us everything she had learned. These classes aren't just waving ribbons and doing free dance--the children are learning real dance skills and building confidence from a very young age. Mrs. Kai has also been wonderful with my daughter in acro. We are so excited to continue growing with this studio for years to come. As an added bonus, I have even made some wonderful new mom friends! The Element is such a welcoming, positive place, and we feel very lucky to have found it.

Highly recommend starting your kids dance journey here and sticking with it throughout their dance…read moreyears! They sure know what they are doing- turning tiny humans into the most amazing dancers and performers! The kids learn to love dance but actually learn quality technique along the way. My kids completely excelled in dance as soon as we started here. It's amazing to see the growth in their ability and confidence on stage. Not to mention, attending the end of year recital and seeing the bond between teachers and the students who started dancing there as tots and were now graduating as seniors -- it brought tears to everyone's eyes as you could see they had become a true family and they were now on to their next journey! AND the dancers were absolutely incredible! Growing up in dance that is what is most important- an environment where you can build long lasting relationships, feel supported, build confidence and character while perfecting your skill along the way. Element is the place for that!

Our 12-year-old and 17-year-old girls love Dance Dayz!…read more Coming to the studio as a military family really helped us to feel settled in the area. They are warm and welcoming, but the girls also receive solid instruction! Both of them have gained confidence, strength, flexibility, and become better in their technique. Because of this approach, my daughter who has had an intense medical diagnosing process over a number of years and had to step back from dancing for awhile felt good enough to add more classes again. The teachers foster a good sense of cooperation in the students. I can't recommend the studio highly enough.

I do not recommend signing up your toddler for lessons here, they want me to force a 4 yr old to…read moreattend and not refund the money.. I signed up my granddaughter, however she was having anxiety about attending and cried the entire week and did not want to attend. I reached out and asked for a refund, Rachel responded and stated a refund would not be an issue, and that I needed to request the refund through the portal. which i did immediately.. However Nadia denied the refund. I explained to her what had happened and that Rachel had approved the refund. She just gave me one excuse after another... when i went into the portal after this conversation, i was unable to get in it suddenly wanted me to read a "Policy Agreement Required" this was not on my portal acct when i requested the refund. She is refusing to refund the money and wants me to force a 4 year old to take the class... How can I even trust the instructors, if the people who rund the business cannot keep there word!!

I have been recommending this class to all of my friends who have little ones! My son started this…read moreclass when he was 12-months-old, and it was one of the first social things he was able to do after COVID cases started to slow down. I am so glad we found this class. My son completed all three sessions, as well as the storybook 4 week class during the summer. At 20-months-old, he can sign about 47 words, and about half of those are words he signs regularly (i.e. more, food, water, milk, diaper) and the other half are words he signs occasionally (i.e. crocodile, owl, flower, stars). Not only did this class help with socializing (for both of us!) but I noticed that once he started signing, he also started to speak some more as well, and is now up to about 25 words verbally. And now that my son is almost 2-years-old and becoming more "moody," signing has helped to decrease a lot of the frustration he feels since he is able to communicate what he needs and I can pick up on it faster than had we not taken this class. For instance, one day he was inconsolable and finally signed "pain" and pointed at his foot, and sure enough, there was a cut underneath his toe. I was able to take care of it and soothe him, which helped the crying to stop. We completed all of our classes outdoors at Morely Field in North Park which our family really enjoyed, but I believe the classes will eventually transition back indoors. If you are wondering if this class is for you and your baby, wonder no more. Monta's Baby Sign Language class is a great investment of your time and money, and being able to communicate more with your baby is absolutely priceless. Here is a list of what my son can sign: More Food Water Please Sorry Ouch/pain Up Down Play Diaper Owl Bird Sleep Milk Dirty Piggy Crocodile Hot Cold Juice Monkey Dog Yay Elephant Crocodile "No" Thank you/you're welcome Flower Tree Stars Dad Phone Again Hi/Bye (wave) Plane Happy Book Stop Help Listen/Hear Stars Sleep Hat Baby Apple Go Cat

I thought the baby sign classes were great. My baby went to two classes and wasn't expressing a…read morelot. I honestly didn't think she would ever sign much, but decided to keep taking her for the socialization. By the third class she really started showing interest and now she knows about 40 signs.

My 2.5 and 4 year old have been taking Erika's Hip Hop Dance class for the past 6 weeks and they…read moreboth absolutely love it! The class is fast paced and fun, Erika does an amazing job connecting with all the kids. My daughter took classes at the YMCA and she didn't want to dance, but here she loves it. Erika makes dance feel like play, and they end up learning moves and all following along. The best part about the classes is parents can sit in and watch and it's both hilarious and adorable at the same time. I highly recommend SD Dance with me if you are thinking about enrolling your kid in a dance class!

My daughter loves dancing here! We are new to the area, and needed a place for a two year old to…read moredance, and this is perfect! I also love how Erica incorporates parachutes, scarves and ribbons along with other fun activities to help her students grow.

After going through several Latin dance studios and not able to improve my Salsa spin technique, I…read morecame across Carl, and he really surprised me. Besides being funny and patient, he focuses on your specific needs, vs having a syllabus like most studios do. He teaches Salsa, as well as Bachata and Merengue, and will go step by step until you get it right. Carl is a multitalented and humble instructor and I extremely recommend taking private lessons with him!

Excellent Experience. Good people. They had a lot of patience whit me . I'm a shy guy but they give…read moreme confidence

This place is awesome, my daughter enjoys every time she's in class…read more COVID-19 is not a issue because they use all precautions, they check temperature and provide hand sanitizer to all the students every time they enter the building, once they're inside they're 6 feet a part and face mask always. When I have a question, they always have an answer for me. They make me feel now part of their family.

Where do I start. My daughter danced at Jeans for 6 years. She was on their competition team and…read moreone of their best dancers. We dealt with teachers who didn't know how to teach proper technique, didn't know how to cut dancers from competition dances before comp, and didn't know how to run a proper class. The icing on the cake for us was the solo that was drafted for her to perform doing competition season this last season. My daughter being sixteen was given a solo that was fit for a 12 year old. If you cannot pay for multiple classes, 5-6 per week, then your child will not receive priority. She will not get the training she deserves and needs. Actually I don't think the instructors have the proper technique at all, as they are volunteers from the community without any proper real training and the performances show just that. Year after year we sat through two recitals (that you are forced into paying for $60 recital fee twice per year) where each dance had the same dance moves and technique, it was nauseating. The dance costumes have a markup of at least 50%. I will never forget the time I was given a $1100 bill for competition fees and costumes to be paid 2 weeks before Christmas and I was given this on 12/01. Not much of a heads up. I would highly recommend to avoid this studio at all costs. There are many more studios around who offer proper training and technique and do not price gouge with costumes, recital fees, etc.