This year's RAD Fest -- the 10th annual -- was phenomenal! My family hosted two dancers from…read moreDetroit, the duo known as Thank You for Coming, and as hosts were invited to grab tickets for any shows we would like to attend so I had the good fortune to enjoy much of this year's festival. There was such a wide breadth of performances, ranging comical to heartbreaking, musical to musicless (and even Saturday evening's final performance in which the audience was enlisted to provide some of the music themselves in a call and response). A few of the pieces left me goosepimply and gutted, while others stirred belly laughs. Kalamazoo is so fortunate to have a festival of this caliber in our backyard on a yearly basis.

Absolutely stunning…read more I have no shortage of good things to say about this company. I just got a sneak peek of their performance debuting next week and wow.. so eloquent, dazzling and heartfelt. I was welcomed with open arms and my experience here was so pleasant. I would love to actually take dance classes here (which they offer) so cool! The atmosphere is warm and cozy and the dancers are so talented and passionate. The event was absolutely amazing per usual and I really appreciated the time and effort they put in to let us get a peek of the full show which I am sure will be amazing. If you're considering, definitely come see a show here! The percussion to accompany their upcoming show is so unique and I left in awe. I brought my mom this time around and she was talking about it the whole way home! haha she's a big nerd and this was SO up her alley, mine too! You definitely wont regret coming to see a show here and I know I will be back! :D

Lakeshore school of performing arts is a fantastic local school for dance and music. The owner is…read moreextremely knowledgeable and talented instructing youth music and the dance instructors there are equally yoked! One of my daughters excelled in Hip Hop during her time there and my other daughter enhanced her skillset in the piano. I am thankful this city has a great place like this to learn and grow.

From the owner: We offer a personalized approach to learning that allows each student to learn according to their…read morespecific learning style in music, dance, and theater/acting. Acting class are provided in a fun, group setting for students of all ages. Dance includes: ballet/contemporary, hip hop, jazz, tap, preschool ballet and hip hop, and Christian hip hop and praise dance. Music classes focus ear training and improvisation, jazz and classical music while utilizing visual, auditory, and kinesthetic styles of learning. Classes are offered in music (piano, voice, ukulele, drums, violin, bass, electric, and acoustic guitar; and dance (ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, and hip hop) and theater classes. Various student showcases and recitals are also performed throughout the year..

Ballet Arts Ensemble, founded in 1982, offers dance education and performance opportunities in…read moreballet in Kalamazoo. They perform "The Nutcracker" yearly at Chenery Auditorium around the Christmas holiday as well as other productions throughout the community.

From the owner: BALLET ARTS believes that a solid background in ballet provides dancers with the foundation for all…read moreother forms of dance. Along with ballet, BA offers classes in pointe, contemporary, character ballet, jazz, tap and conditioning classes for all ages and ability levels. See our website for current offerings .

Dancing here has brought incredible richness to my life in the last several months. I wanted to…read morefind a place where, as an adult, I could still receive the kind of dance training I could find as a teenager--and this was everything I was looking for. I have *never* felt less than fully accepted here, and am overwhelmed by the kindness of others involved. I've since joined C.Glass Dance Company here, and it fills me with joy to be a part of that group. I recommend this studio to everyone who dances or is interested in it!

My daughter dances at balletmore and absolutely loves it! She has been dancing there since she was…read more4 and now she's 11. She loves how she gets very hands-on feedback and loves all the instructors. I love how this studio is very dancer focused and all the teachers work very hard to prevent the dancers from getting injured. Recently my daughter tried out for "Moana" and loved it. The audition was not stressful and was very comforting. No numbers or anything! We love this studio and I definitely recommend it!!

I love David Mathew studios when I joined everyone was so kind helpful and sweet. Over the years I…read morehave made many friends and memories! They also have all sorts of different dances classes to take like ballet,hip hop,jazz,musical theater, and more! Most importantly all the teachers are nice, funny, and sweet! Definitely recommend taking classes here

My daughter has just finished her 3rd year with DMS. We love everything about the studio - from…read morethe teachers and choreography to the discipline and structure that you would expect from a ballet studio. My daughter cannot wait to continue dancing throughout the summer and trying new classes!

I will start by saying this is based on my personal experience as an adult student. An acquaintance…read morewas teaching a class at this studio this summer, and I decided to take her class alongside a few friends. The class was fun, gave us a great workout, and was an overall extremely enjoyable experience. The studio is smaller, but adequate - I do not have a dance background but took the class to stay active in a fun way. Because of this, I will not rank the studio at a 1 star because of that experience. Things changed this fall, when there was disagreement between the studio and our instructor, and she was no longer with the studio with a few weeks left into the class. The studio did not reach out to me to inform me of the change by the morning of the class, and when I received the information through a mutual friend, I emailed the studio asking for a refund as I was taking the class only for the specific instructor. The owner was extremely prompt in responding - with some major attitude, she informed me she would refund me for the class. Great, she didn't have to do that, but every time we would come to class, whenever we saw her at the studio she seemed extremely cold to us, and now she was extremely rude when I did my best to send a professional email when I was already irritated at the situation. Finally, I get my check refund in the mail extremely promptly - again I will credit her with that. However, attached to the note is a sticky note informing me I "hadn't paid the registration fee for the year" and subtracted over half of my refund. I wouldn't have had an issue with this, except for the fact that I paid the registration fee during the summer session and was informed that I only had to pay the fee once a year (so when I paid it for the summer, I did not have to pay again for the fall). It strikes me as extremely unprofessional to not communicate this with me prior to sending the check, and feels like an immature response to my not continuing the class, especially after the tone of our communications. I didn't bother reaching out to debate this point, as communicating with the owner was more trouble than $20 is worth. Overall, I cannot speak for the quality of the remaining instructors there, but the toxic attitude of the owner really says a lot to me about the company. It may be a different experience taking classes as a "real dancer", but for a studio who holds introductory/armature classes for adults, they should hold more adult and professional conduct.

I feel compelled to rate Danceworks due to some of the negative reviews. Our daughter has taken…read moremany, many classes for 13 years at Danceworks. Bridgette has always allowed our daughter to make-up classes she has missed due to sports, school functions, injury or illness without question. She has also personally paid for classes for students that did not have the means to pay and is truly passionate about dance and teaching. A studio is no different than a gym membership or exercise class one might enroll in. They are all businesses with bills to pay. If I join an exercise class, or buy a membership to a gym, I do not expect to be reimbursed if I am unable to workout. The fact that she allows the kids to make up classes proves she is not unreasonable. Lastly, the size of her summer recital speaks for itself. The number of students performing is very large and I don't believe Danceworks would have that kind of attendance/loyalty if it weren't a great place to learn, dance and have fun.