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    ABT William J Gillespie Dance School

    4.9 (16 reviews)
    Closed 9:00 am - 8:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

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    Ask the Community - ABT William J Gillespie Dance School

    Review Highlights - ABT William J Gillespie Dance School

    My daughter has been attending ABT Gillespie for over 3 years and she loves it!

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    5.0
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    1.9 mi
    Certified professionals
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    My husband Hector and I had an AMAZING time at Bella Ballroom, and we 100% recommend them to…read moreengaged couples looking to start working on their First Dance! We had the pleasure of working with Thomas for most of our sessions, and had a few classes with Nick as well, and they are both excellent instructors! Everyone loved our dance on our wedding day, but more than that, it was just so fun to practice our First Dance with the crew at Bella Ballroom leading up to the wedding! Hector and I have zero experience when it comes to dancing, but even from our first meeting, Thomas made us feel so comfortable, and made everything so fun! He broke things down in a way that felt manageable for us as beginners, but also challenged us to keep growing, and was always so encouraging and supportive! Nick was also a great teacher, and had so many fun jokes! They both worked with us to choreograph a First Dance that felt right for my Husband and I, and we absolutely LOVED the way it turned out. We even got to spend a few of our sessions working a little on some moves for my Father-Daughter dance, and even learned a little Salsa just for fun! Thomas also did a great job of getting us in the right mindset for our First Dance. I tend to be more shy, and hate performing in front of people, but by the day of our Wedding, I felt ready and confident to do our First Dance in front of all our guests, and everyone loved it!! Our guests were really surprised by some of the cool leans, dips, and the lift in the middle of our song! Hector and I have no regrets - we are SO happy we decided to do dance lessons at Bella Ballroom, and I cannot recommend them enough! They are all so friendly, professional, and encouraging, and our results were absolutely top notch! And honestly, it was just so fun to dance every week amidst all the stress of wedding planning... I'd recommend dance lessons for that reason alone! Seriously, make an appointment with Bella Ballroom and start dancing the way to your wedding!!!

    If you're on the fence about taking dance lessons for your wedding, this is your sign. And if…read moreyou're choosing an instructor, choose Mallory. From our very first lesson, she made us feel comfortable, confident, and excited to learn. We love to dance, but let's just say... natural talent wasn't exactly on our side. Somehow, Mallory turned two people with enthusiasm but questionable coordination into a couple who had guests talking about our first dance all night. She is incredibly talented, endlessly patient, and somehow managed to put up with all of our shenanigans every single week. She laughed with us (and occasionally at us), kept every lesson fun, and never made us feel discouraged. Thank you for giving us more than just choreography, you gave us one of our favorite memories from our wedding. We genuinely looked forward to every lesson. She is beauty. She is grace. She is MALLORY.

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    West Coast School Of The Arts

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    4.9
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    This is my daughter's second season at West Coast. We are so incredibly glad we made the switch…read more The environment is so welcoming. Which is difficult to find in competitive dance. The families welcomed us in with open arms, the dancers support each other and the teachers support each other. I believe this starts from the top down with the ownership and management. Paula is extremely hands on with the teachers, students and families. And it shows. She doesn't care just about their dancing but cares about their character as an individual. The quality of the teaching staff is exceptional; with the primary focus on technique. But they continue to grow and expand their teaching and choreography styles.They treat the kids as the individuals they are and unify them as a team as well. In the current COVID-19 environment everything has been moved online. The entire staff has been energetic and motivating. They have provided a sense of stability in an unstable environment for our kids. Every week the teachers take time with each kid just to check in and see how they are doing. If you want a positive, creative and safe environment for your child to experience dance than I would recommend West Coast.

    Our daughter has been a part of the West Coast family for the past 7 years and it has meant so much…read moremore than dance to our family! The culture at WC is amazing. The dancers support and encourage each other and the parents are kind and helpful. These are competitive dancers who strive for excellence but never at the cost of character or class. The tone is set from the leadership of Miss Paula who runs the studio like a in impressive CEO that can also wear the hat of mentor, artist, and friend. I am constantly blown away by the talent and reach of the staff who is well rounded on style, technique, and has a proven track record of developing dancers to the highest levels. They take an interest in the dancers personally and have created a community our whole family enjoys being a part of. They way that the business pivoted during the Covid-19 shutdown is remarkable! They quickly acclimated to virtual while keeping the positive attitude and commitment to excellence we've come to expect from them. When we first started at WC I would not have imagined that dance would become such a high value for us, but because of our West Coast experience it is something we eagerly remain connected to and proud to be a part of! I could go on and on about the costumes, the wins, the opportunities, the conditioning that keeps the dancers safe, the communication, etc...Even my sons have taken classes and loved it! I would give them 100 stars if I could!

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    Tutu School Irvine

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    Ms. Gabby is absolutely wonderful! My daughter looks forward to ballet class every week and truly…read moreloves learning from her. Ms. Gabby is incredibly patient, kind, and amazing with young children. She creates a fun and encouraging environment that keeps the kids engaged while also helping them learn and grow. It's clear that she genuinely cares about her students and has a special talent for making ballet enjoyable while teaching important skills and techniques. We are so grateful for the positive impact she has had!

    My 3 year old daughter has been dancing with Tutu School since May of last year. I cannot believe…read morehow much she has grown... not only as a dancer but in her confidence! Last year was the first time she ever took classes and she fell in love from the start. What I love about Tutu School Irvine is how encouraging and kind all the teachers are. I also appreciate the structure of the classes from ballet manners, to learning new techniques, to story time, to coloring. This definitely helped my baby girl feel more and more confident each week while having fun twirling and embracing the magic in the moment. The school also puts on a Bravo Bash every spring & winter where all the dancers have the opportunity to dance on stage if they want to. This is where I can really see my daughter's personality and confidence grow. She just performed in her third Bravo Bash she's already asking when she can get on stage again lol. No one would ever know that she cried the whole time during her first Bravo Bash performance. Now she's addicted! Its only been a year with Tutu School and so far it's been amazing for me and my daughter! Thank you to all the teachers and staff for the magic :)

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    Align Ballet Method Adult Ballet

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    5.0
    (10 reviews)
    2.1 mi

    My husband and I just graduated from Align 3, and I will continue to attend open classes. I…read morestarted to practice ballet a couple years ago, and I always wanted to introduce this art to my husband, who is a real beginner at dancing. The basic level adult ballet classes in other dance studios are sometimes too difficult for people who have zero background, and this could often cause them feel left behind. However, the Align method avoids this problem by providing constructive classes that help my husband to systematically learn basic skills, and also help me to adjust my postures accurately. As an adult practitioner, I am amazed by the efficiency of this method. Our instructor, Miss Kiara, is the perfect teacher that I highly recommend to people who want to enjoy dancing with good music in a pleasant environment. For me, she is very artistic. Her movements and the design of combos are smooth, elegant, poetic, and match the music well. There were some moments that I felt I was too engrossed in dancing and couldn't believe that one hour just passed. Kiara is also good at using creative ways to explain techniques, which make perfect sense and at the same leave strong impressions of the correct ways of doing a specific movement. Her language can capture the "spirit" of a movement. In a nutshell, the classes that Kiara offer are energetic, enjoyable, and most importantly, her classes will lead you to see the beauty of ballet.

    Where do I even start? Align Ballet Method is the ideal program for adults who have never taken…read moreballet before and want to learn. From talking with other students in the class, there isn't any studio or program that is like this one. As a 30-something, with Kiara's instruction, I revived my childhood dream of dancing ballet. I don't have any dance experience and am oftentimes not coordinated or have musicality, but I've definitely improved so much since starting with Align Ballet Method in July 2019. I'm so, so, so happy and thankful that Kiara is able to teach down here in OC (more studios are based in LA). She is such a blessing to have as an instructor. What I always imagined how a ballet class would be like is how Kiara instructs us, her students. I feel that I'm getting professional ballet instruction with a more relaxed atmosphere where a beginner can learn more comfortably without judgment. You can advance through the different levels at the pace you feel comfortable. What makes the Newport Beach location special is definitely the great instructor of the workshops. Even if you retake a workshop for another 6 weeks, no class is ever exactly the same and you still continue to build on previous classes. I always leave each class feeling more motivated and inspired to improve my dance practice. Happy dancing!

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    Our instructor, Miss Kiara, is the perfect teacher that I highly recommend to people who want to enjoy dancing with good music.
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    Ruby Karen Project - Aerial and Performing Arts School

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    4.4
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    This is ran by a husband/wife duo. Both have very different & have strong personalities and both…read moreare very passionate about their trade. This is very rare to see at most businesses and I love it. If you or your child really want to learn discipline and to improve your aerial skills significantly and do not mind hard work then this is the place for you. But if you want to take it easy and do not commit to the art, then a different establishment would be better for you.

    I normally don't like to give bad reviews even I am not satisfied how it is. But I'm so unhappy…read morewith owners. My kid has been there twice and my kid has been struggling with Ruby Karen's anger issues. She didn't understand with Ruby Karen's accent but she keeps yelling at my girl and push her legs. And my girl was very uncomfortable. She is new for Ariel and she didn't know how to do anything but the owner has no patience and she just yelled at her while I was even there. My kid doesn't want to go there anymore. But I still had extra classes I paid. So I gave few weeks breaks and we also had vacations. After we are back from vacation, I tried to sign up for the next class but it shows that I need to pay the fee. And I called them and explained what happened and the lady said it clearly showed that it only valid for a month and it's been 5 weeks so it's been disappeared. So I said to her that it's my first time and I went to vacations for 2 weeks so I was wondering if I can take her back. And she said she can switch it to single classes but I need to pay new balances. So I asked her what does that mean and she said I purchased 4 classes before and it was cheaper than single classes. So I still have 2 more classes left and I need to pay $14 more They are too strict for the money they have No Mercy. Usually other places are less strict even they have policies and regulations. I am not the person who doesn't care their policies. The lady who even yelled to me that it shows clearly that it only valid for a month. They are not nice and helpful. I am not taking my girl anymore even I have 2 more classes to take her. I am so DISAPPOINTED

    Photos
    Check out our merchandise for all your aerial essentials
    Check out our merchandise for all your aerial essentials
    Director, Luca Cecchini conducting an aerial rigging workshop
    Director, Luca Cecchini conducting an aerial rigging workshop
    West Coast Aerial Arts Festival hosted each November at our studio. We our proud of our students who did quite well.

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    West Coast Aerial Arts Festival hosted each November at our studio. We our proud of our students who did quite well.

    ABT William J Gillespie Dance School - opera - Updated August 2026

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