After a fifteen year hiatus I'm finally back in the dance studio, thanks to The Hive! I've had the…read moreitch to take a ballet class again for a while, and The Hive is in the neighborhood and offers classes, so I decided to give it a go. I was nervous going into it, but our instructor Tiffany had such a fun and easy going demeanor that she eased any nerves right away. The class was beginner ballet, and I think for someone with no prior experience it can be a little tricky. With that said, Tiffany did a great job going over all the movements and combinations. There were dancers of all skill levels which made it a really welcoming environment too! The class was an hour and started with barre and then went into some floor combinations. I had so much fun and reminded me why I love dance so much! I hope to come back soon for more classes. Thank you so much Tiffany + The Hive!!

I've been enjoying the different class offerings at the Hive. The instructors are friendly and take…read morethe time to go over more complicated moves. Happy I found this space and looking forward to trying new styles of dance!

It's a great spot to learn dance. There's a main open large room for the bigger classes, and a…read morefew side rooms for smaller classes as well. There's 1 right across from the entrance, 3 in a hallway offset from the main open room, and then 1 more in the back, past the hallway and across from the bathrooms. As I was attending this venue as a rented space for a Brazilian Zouk weekender event, I didn't interact with any of the Dance Center Chicago staff-- but they have a great space!

I am not a dancer, never learned then kinda gave up on the idea, destined to be a wall flower or…read morethat guy dancing like Elaine. With a wedding on the horizon my father thought a nice gift would be a 4 week Wedding Prep group lesson for the lady, who can dance, and me. We learned a fun first dance routine, including a dip at the end, and had a gas. We laughed so hard during our lessons and first dance. I am not Fred Astaire by any means now but thanks to Alisa, our instructor, I now have some moves and confidence that will let me enjoy time on the dance floor. Thanks!

LOVE this neighborhood studio. What a refreshing change from a stuffy gym to get in a variety of…read morefun and challenging workouts. The space is beautiful and the staff is friendly and personable. The owners get to know you by first name which puts such a nice personal touch on a workout place. My favorite is 'kickin it cardio' at 6:15 am with Kate. She truly gets you sweating before seven and you just feel great and toned. I also like barre fit on Monday night, it is a great change to my typical workouts. I highly recommend checking out this place!

Literally the only part of my kids' childhoods I wanted to fast forward through was their time at…read moreDovetail over the last year, previously in classes there it was better tho!. The teacher had the kids sign a contract about commitment, teamwork etc (cool!) my daughter took it super seriously bc she's like that. The teacher himself then proceeded to come late or not show up at class at all (no notice or group txt would even come from dovetail after the fact- we just show up and it would empty the majority of times. After months of this they gave us a $100 credit and 1 email about it. They transitioned it to a new teacher who was really dependable. They told my daughter they "thought we would place in top 10, like 6 or Better." My daughter is type of person who latches onto that so when they didn't place, she felt it more Than needed. It was clear her time at park district (McFeteridge) brought out waaaaay more talent and she grew waaaay more there and with very strong routines. Great artistry from Dovetail tho. Teachers were nice. They txtd us during paid sessions they wanted to walk the kids to 7-11 instead of class time. The other families were nice and we vibed with them- not competitive etc. did pizza with them couple times over year. my wife took a class at dovetail for adults and loved it. My daughter had classes (not completion) that went well and she really loved all the teachers.

LBP is a wonderful dance studio with amazing teachers. My daughter has danced there for 6 years…read moreand they are so welcoming to all dancers and offer a wide variety of classes from ballet, jazz, acro and hiphop.

My children LOVE LBP School of dance! An incredible studio that truly serves dance families of all…read morekinds. While ballet is offered, they also have deep and robust offerings in acro, jazz, tap, lyrical and more. In addition to a wide variety of classes, LBP offers performance opportunities through theatrical performance (Nutcracker every winter, and a Spring Ballet production), and a competitive team (Living By Performing Dance Company) for those that wish to perform more frequently. It's truly the most comprehensive offering available all from one studio. Every level, every age, and full of some of the most remarkable families that build community. And all of this is offered at a fraction of the cost of most other studios because of LBP's nonprofit status and commitment to the mission that EVERYONE can dance. We are so happy we found LBP, and cannot recommend it highly enough.

We've been to the Old Town School many times, but not for several years now. A close cousin was…read moreplaying, who teaches at the school. We had tickets to see him play. Not reviewing his music (which was fantastic), but the venue. The room we were in was like a black box theater. The room was fairly small and intimate. It was open seating and when we arrived it was pretty full. We were very fortunate that there were two seats open in the third row. The room is acoustically sound (pun intended)... Seriously, being small, they really don't need to amplify the sound, even though they did have a microphone set up. As we were leaving, we got to roam the halls around the school. There were a lot of fun, vintage posters that were a lot of fun to look at. We met quite a few people who either had been students there, or were current students who had nothing but good things to say about the caliber of the educators and the Old Town School. Based on the performances we've seen there of students and faculty, I'd say we agree.

This update is regarding a visit to OSF was to attend their Wiggleworms open house. I've left the…read moreoverall rating the same because OTSFM is still great for a lot of reasons, but the Wiggleworms class isn't one of them. I've heard of the class before and always thought if I had a kid I'd take them, but I think the age range starts at 6 months so we started with a class with a different provider, Music Playhouse of Chicago. I'm glad we came to this one to try it out. While the kids seemed to be having fun, I didn't like it as much as the Music Playhouse class. Wiggleworms doesn't seem to have a developed curriculum. This was just an activity where the kids can grab shakers and toys, and the leader will sing what they want or take requests from the kids, but not a class that has any kind of particular learning outcomes upon which children build. Maybe it was different because it was an open house but I'd have expected they would showcase what an actual class was, and I think it's just not what I prefer. There are some pluses, though. They have weekend classes, which can be hard to find with other music classes for kids. I think it may also be significantly less expensive than the one I take my kiddo to. And they may have a few more babies-only classes than where we go now, which usually has only one of any (depending upon enrollment). I didn't realize before I had a child but there's a huge difference between children of 0-18 months and those beyond, so mixed age classes wasn't my thing at the time. So Wiggleworms has its pros, but overall I'd visit Old Town SFM for the classes and concerts but choose another children's music class.

My 16 year old son visited from NY for their summer jazz intensive, and it was the most incredible…read moreexperience for him! He was challenged with working with the best choreographers, and can't stop talking about it. He really felt like he was part of a family after the first day! He's already looking forward to next summer!!

My girls (now 8 and 4) absolutely LOVE dancing at Gus! They both started a little over a year ago…read moreand have learned so much and have so much fun in class. They like to have their own dance classes at home where they put on their shoes and practice what they learned in class with each other. My older daughter is now a company dancer and is there twice a week. The teachers are wonderful with the little kids and keeping their attention, which I just got to see first hand during parent observation week. I also like that Gus gives back to the community and puts on so many free performances for families and other members of the community throughout the year. They are family owned which you can truly feel in all aspects of their interactions and communication with the children and parents. Highly recommend!

Nice teachers, welcoming environment clean space i've gone several times for different classes all…read moreof them good.

Super posh dance center. Came for a 90's/00's dance class with Dre. It was a high energy but low…read morepressure class. I really enjoyed the class and the studio that the class was held in. Our class was in studio #5. The sound system was good. Unsure if I loved the floors, but they worked good for this class. Ample spacing for our class which had nearly 2 dozen participants. The space it self is really comprehensive. I saw multiple bathrooms and a gender-neutral bathroom. There is at least 5 separate dance spaces. Each space was arranged depending on dance style. I saw a room with several barre. The general area also boosted several areas to just chill while waiting on a loved to finish a class. On this day...all the kiddos were taking classes. So many little one excited to take their dance classes. It was cute because this little girl kep staring at our class through the window. Highly recommend seeing all the offerings at this dance center. I was surprised by the many offerings they have. I want to try a beginner hip-hop but we will see. Tip: Parking is located around the building on street. Mostly free but get there with time to look. I found it easier to just park off Belmont and walk.

I absolutely love Lincoln Square Athletic Club. I have been a member for about two months now, this…read moreis my home gym, and I have made great use of the multi-gym membership to workout all over the city with trainers and friends. Lincoln Square in particular I love because of the amenities and staff. The sauna and steam room have become a regular part of my routine, especially after a rowdy weekend when I am looking to get back to baseline faster. The equipment at LSAC is solid, with a heavy focus on free weights, cables, and cardio. Like any of the CAC locations, if you are looking to throw out gnarly 200lb vanity lifts on machines, just get a membership at Planet Fitness and save yourself the trouble, you might even find folks at the big box gyms to cheer you on! The staff is friendly and accommodating, and given that I am a visibly queer/trans person, I have never had issues using the locker room I am most comfortable in. Staff and members alike never look twice at me post-top surgery, something that genuinely wasn't true at places like PF or LA Fitness. If you're looking for a well rounded gym to truly work on your health and physique, you probably won't find one at a better price point. Like all gyms, be wary of cancellation policies and just pay the extra $5 a month to be month to month rather than locking yourself into annual contracts. If you think CAC is hard to get out of, I encourage you to try to get out of PF membership that you opened before moving to another state (hint: I literally had to close my bank account and open a new one because THAT was easier). Happy lifting, and be reasonable in your expectations of a gym, there really aren't a ton of good ones out there, but CAC is an outlier.

The gym itself is great. My one star review is for the employees. My gym membership was randomly…read morecanceled by an employee named Heather. Called the gym to find out what the issue was. Another employee named Connor said he would investigate and talk to Heather. Well that investigation was fairly quick. Connor emailed me back immediately stating that my membership was "mistakenly" canceled by Heather. Who mistakenly cancels a gym membership?? What a poor excuse, Connor. And supposedly my card on file was not valid for the month of January 2026. But the same card was valid all of 2024 and 2025 and they sure took my money. I decided to spend my money else where. Do better guys, your poor excuses can lose a lot of customers.

Been going for about a month which is the longest I have been able to take a fitness course. Their…read morevariety in fitness classes and the positive atmosphere keeps me pushing forward. Forteza Fitness is a supportive group who pushes you to do your best and work with whatever you can do. Taking any kind of class can be overwhelming especially when you have difficulties with the exercise. Everyone from the teachers to other students are so patient and work with my abilities and support each other as we go through the classes. I have struggled with classes because of trying to train my muscles to work a certain way or having the stamina, but the support at Forteza keeps pushing me and helping to make me stronger/heathier.

Strength and fun in a no-frills/no-fuss atmosphere…read more This is a fitness studio with two core training sets: an extensive coursework/community of historic European martial arts (swords! swords ! swords!) and a more fitness-focused schedule of classes geared around Spartan races. The space is set up mostly for the martial arts, so that it feels like a set for period movie about Queen Elizabeth. It's a very comfortable space for bookworms to come work out. The fitness classes are very fun. They tend to be small, with lots of personal, gentle attention. Trainers get to know the regulars and the regulars get to know each other, which makes each workout friendly and welcoming. And I got a great deal on personal training. The workouts themselves are usually a bit more focused on strength and flexibility over cardio/endurance. The one drawback (for those who use the space more for fitness) is that it really is more of studio than a gym. There's no showers and no treadmills. Somehow I'm far more motivated to work out here than I was at other places I tried, where I'd just end up donating my gym membership month after month. At Forteza I feel like I'm getting a personal training . . .in a class setting . . three times a week. Like it's gym class again but for fun people with nice teachers. It's a gym class that's redeemed itself. They've fixed gym class. It's glorious.

I've been going to Free Mvmt Shop since 2018 and my love for this place has only gotten stronger!…read moreAshley (the owner) is the sweetest, most hardworking person i've ever met. Her love for movement shows in every aspect of this studio. Great selection of classes with friendly instructors who welcome every type of person/body. If you're interested in changing up your fitness routine or moving your body more, I highly recommend a visit!

What an awesome studio! I came for my first class and it was free- what a great deal. I took a yoga…read moreclass on a Thursday night and it was so lovely. The studio was warm and inviting and I loved the open concept of the space. The class was a perfect mix of relaxing and challenging and April, the teacher, was amazing. Can't recommend this enough!