I've been taking absolute beginner ballet for adults on Sundays for several weeks and I love it! I…read moretruly am an absolute beginner. I have done absolutely zero ballet before, but after a couple weeks of classes and a couple YouTube videos to brush up on the terminology, I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. I like that you don't have to commit to a series of classes and can just pay for single drop in classes. I needed that freedom to be brave enough to try it. The instructor is great, kind and encouraging and clear. Come join, it's fun!

Nice studio! we went here during covid. All the staff were very safe about it all and made sure…read moreeveryone wore a mask and used hand sanitizer when entering the building. they ran it so well! the teachers were all very kind and they helped train even in crazy times! great!

So fun! A little intimidating when going alone as many have their groups or friends established…read more Advice is go with a friend.

After taking loads of classes here, and even taking triple back-to-back classes sometimes, I…read moretemporarily have stopped coming here because I don't have the flexibility in my schedule to come. It really is mostly a location thing and I had to prioritize another (also great) workout studio near my home that I could walk to in a shorter time that it took me to drive or ride my bike to Pulse. But about this place: I love that you can take classes back to back so you can get both strength training and cardio out of the way. And they even have wonderful recovery/muscle-repair type classes as well. Anyway, I miss Pulse! I hope their schedule and my schedule align sooner than later because I would love to go back and dance my butt off!

I had a brief visit to Portland about a year or so ago, and one of the top must see's on my list…read morewas Datura! It was my dance Mecca and luckily I was in the area. I decided to try a drop in class with my cousin while I was there, just to get the full experience. The Studio is a small space but it's immediately recognizable on the street due to the cute window decorations and signage. Inside it's amazing, and has a bazaar like feel to it. You almost feel like you're being transported into a studio set off the beaten path in the Middle East. My dance teacher for the evening was very welcoming and made us feel at home immediately. The actual dance space is very spacious and beautifully adorned with a hanging carpet/tapestry and perfectly lit with ample space to move. The class flew by quickly and I was sad to have to leave. I again thanked all the students and instructor again for taking us in only for the evening. I left with a cool new T-shirt (yay shopping!) and a big grin on my face. If it wasn't for my real life I would move to Portland and start classes right away. What's not to love about this place? For anyone in the area interested in belly dance, this is the cream of the crop!

One of the most authentic and wonderful dance studios Iv been too. Warm warm people and the dancing…read morewill pretty much knock your socks off in the best possible way. Love this place!

Don't waste your time. I made the drive twice, planning to attend one of the classes on their…read moreschedule, but both times the studio was locked and dark, and the instructor never showed up. I'm done.

Wonderful teachers with easy-to-follow instructions and demonstrations. Great class variety also.read more

I go to Center Space every Friday I'm not out of town, sick, or being forced to do something else…read morethat invariably is way less fun than going to Center Space. I go for the most fun, wonderful, queer-friendly hip-hop dance class in the entire world, Swagger. The teacher is probably the most patient, upbeat dance teacher I've ever encountered - you can tell she really loves what she does and so do her students. I recommend it, and any other class at Center Space, to beginning dancers and more advanced dancers of all stripes!

Mariecella Devine, the dancer behind Devine Funk, has been holding down some of the best Hip Hop…read moreclasses in the Pacific Northwest for quite a while now. She's not only an incredible dancer but also a fantastic and confident teacher--a rare combination in the dance world. Having tried many dance classes over the last 3 years in NYC, DC, San Fran, and Seattle, I can now declare that hers is among the very best out there. Dance has long been one of the less appreciated/understood arts in Portland, which maybe is why Mariecella has flown largely under the radar for much of her career. But anyone of any level looking for a fun Hip-Hop dance class would do well to jump into one of hers. Hot beats and plenty of space to make the dance your own.

We had a bachelorette class last weekend at Brassy. What an incredible experience and so much…read morefun!!!! I highly recommend this studio to anyone looking to try out pole dancing no matter what size or shape you are! Thank you so much fo a fantastic start to our girls weekend!

I have been wanting to find a fun, new way to workout that would leave me inspired to keep going-…read moreand Brassy Butterfly definitely delivered. First off, it is an odd area and when you first walk into the business complex it seems a bit sketchy. It is not. You are in the right place! The studio itself is beautiful and cozy with lots of mirrors and a nice seating area. My first beginners class with Thalia I was the only student! What could have been horrifying and awkward turned out amazing. Thalia is a very knowledgable instructor- patient, supportive and incredibly sweet. She will push you through and not let you get away with half-hearted moves. :-) On top of all this, the environment in just fun. The classes are small and everyone gets a pole. Everyone is super supportive and there to have a good time- no drama or competitive attitudes here. Highly recommended!

I always know I am in for a good time when I see a Bodyvox show. I love that their performance…read morespace is in an area where you can find parking and is not horrific traffic as well but close enough in that a wander before or after a show for a spot of food or drink is also a great plan. I like that their shows seem to explore a bit of the dark and the light - it feels right. I also love the way that they use the space very creatively. As an ADA person, it means a lot that I have easy to get in an out of seating. Even just easy in and out of the building! And the staff there have always been so kind and welcoming.

Bodyvox is such an amazing dance space!…read more Their staff is friendly, warm and knowledgeable. I also love the lounge area they have. The space is huuuge! I love that there's dressing rooms and tall ceilings with mirrors. I take clases with Asteria who teaches many classes including Contemporary for Fat Bodies. She's so talented and a great teacher. I always feel welcomed there and love their commitment to accessibility with sliding scale options.

I wanted to love this so bad, but it just wasn't it. Mind you, this is my first American dance…read moreclass. I just spent a month in Colombia taking 4 hours of bachata a week with a 1:1 teacher for 20$ an hour. I learned so fast because I was learning one to one with a professional competitive dancer. Learning bachata with a strong experienced lead makes a huge difference as being the woman, I'm supposed to follow. If the lead doesn't know what they're doing, as in the classes here, you not only learn a lot slower, but often learn incorrectly. I signed up for a full month of lessons here however, my first class was a turn off. The classes are extremely full. There might be 30 to 50 people in the room. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe 15 or 20 equal men and women that you would get to know each other over the course of the month. Just something more intimate. I also thought you would also dance with the teacher kind of get the feeling physically of what the correct dance looks like, however, this is not the case, you're just watching. It is also very fast-paced, so if you're neurodivergent or take a little bit to get the hang of things, it's probably not for you. Especially since the class is only an hour you only learn a little bit at a time, once a week in class. There's also really no time for you to like invest in learning a specific step, the 30-50 or whatever people in the room are all on the same clock, and one step is rushed to the next. After my first class I was looking into the cost of individual dance lessons here however they are ridiculously expensive at $100 an hour. I have a decent job, but still cannot afford that. The location is also not that convenient unless you live in the general area and can walk. Parking is really difficult, it's not right off the freeway or anything so if you live in another part of town, give yourself at least an extra 15 minutes to park and walk to the location. I guess I will be back in Latin America soon to learn more one-to-one! Or maybe at a bar in Portland they'll teach us some steps

This place is run by amazing humans and the teachers are great. I really enjoyed their practicas…read moreand other socials. I also love how they put teh class videos online. As a background, I have done 20 years of partner dancing. I am physically fit and able. The classes usually start with a warm up for about 10 minutes. Tl;Dr version: you will not be able to learn salsa here unless you really really stick with it, have some innate ability and previous dance experience, have a good musical ear etc because salsa 1 is too crowded to learn anything and step up to salsa 2 is way way too fast and do not teach much things you can use in social dancing. More info: My issue with VMAC is that their classes are insanely crowded at level 1 (this was salsa). And I mean insanely crowded. Probably because they are also on PCC curriculum so there are lots of PCC people there. The only reason I was able to pick up things was because I knew a bit of salsa and a lot of lead/follow/frame. But I can't see the instructors half of the time (the class had I think 75 or so people!!!!). I went to practicas which means another extra hour which is also why I was able to do ok. But moving to salsa 2 was horrible. It is not because I am not a good dancer. I think I was one of hte better ones in salsa 1. But salsa 2 is 3x the speed and 3x the number of moves. They show 4 "shines" / solo steps but they do not really break it down, they just do it quickly, and then almost within minutes increase the speed again. And since these steps are done in succession throughout the class, if you do not get one, and mind you, you will not esp. moving from salsa 1, you are now trying to find a way to do the ones you can. And salsa 2 can be busy as well, at least the first two weeks of the session so these super fast teaching/immediate application can be frustrating because you might not be able to see it. I am not surprised the later weeks got busier as people dropped out, probably because of this. Then they will teach you a move. Usually it is complicated and involves swapping places with your partner which means you can't see the move very well half of the time. So now you are stuck with frustration of not being able to do the shines they show, and then you can't see half of the steps. Salsa 2 is a HUGE step up, and also is 6 months so now you are in a class with people who have 5 more months of experience (in contrast, salsa 1 is 3 months). And since you do not know many moves, going to a social sucks. My friend is a lead and he had very few things he could do and his follows would get bored. Shines are great if you already have the beats, the fundamentals, but I think the teachers have not been beginners in a long time and do not udnerstand, esp. for leads from what I have seen, that they will not do any of those 4 insanely fast taught shine steps since they do not have much other things to do at a social. Hard to do steps that you can do alone when you are doing a partner dance you are just learning. I do not know where else they teach salsa in Portland, but this is not a good place to take salsa classes IMHO. They are too focused on number of attendees and showing you things that you can't use and not showing enough of things you can. Stepping from salsa 1 to salsa 2 is just a huge step up, and with the way/speed it is taught, you have very little chance of picking up things. Pick a place that teaches in smaller groups. I also took bachata and it was a slightly smaller class and though they do also show things that you have not learned already at the warm up, it is a slower pace and they do go over it in other weeks. Sorry to be a downer, but this was a very frustrating experience and it can be better if they focused on things we can actually use on the dance floor to get more of a feel as relatively new dancers instead of this obsession with teaching us 4 different shines every class in a rapid way that is not being broken down and then we have to put them together, in the same class, at an even faster tempo. Also in practica one of the teachers would just chat with her friend the other ambassador instead of dancing with one of the leads who didn't have a partner and had to wait (I looked) 5 minutes for them to remember to rotate by which time they moved to another thing. John and Sophia are very fun to learn from in practica.

I attended a performance last night of "Notes From the Field". It was my first time at this venue…read moreand I was impressed with every aspect of the venue and the play. Seats were comfortable and you could see the stage from every seat.. The sound system was perfect and oh my gosh, the performance was outstanding. This is a one person play, and Ramona Lisa Alexander was amazing. I was literally on the edge of my seat throughout the entire performance, and it brought tears, laughter and a much greater knowledge of the black experience. I will be coming here often if this is a reflection of what happens in this space! Bravo Portland Playhouse and everyone involved in this production!!

Wonderful actors and great facility! Actors were talented and you could tell they were enjoying…read morethemselves. Highly recommend! We saw Christmas Carol and it was the highlight of the season!