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

Center Space is amazing. The occasional House dance class here is SO FUN! Donna, the studio owner,…read moreis one of the best teachers in Portland. She is a devoted dancer that has trained for most of her life, and it shows. The House Dance classes she has taught have changed my life in regards to dance. Super high energy, we learn a ton of drills for footwork that you can practice at home, a true foundation class. Donna really pays attention to all the students in the class and teaches for each person at their level, and then will challenge you based on where you are at without pushing you away by forcing too much of a challenge. She teaches house dance sometimes as part of the Wednesday night street dance series, which changes the theme focus pretty much weekly right now. This is one of the only adult dance studios that I've been to that has classes focused on Technique in dance. At least, Donna's classes focus on that a lot. Maricella's Hip-hop class is also fantastic here; You get a longer class here than you would at other studios in town for your money, and you repeat the choreography a LOT, but heads up she never does it to a specific song (just ongoing to a mix of hiphop songs). It's a great practice for drilling choreography memory regardless, but you are not dancing for the emotional choreography within a specific song. It's similar to her class held at NWDP but there are much fewer teens here, if any at all. There are a diverse range of people that show up to this hiphop class which is also cool. I think it's among the easier hiphop classes in Portland for beginners, noting you would be expected to keep up with remembering a choreography, and despite being long you drill it over and over so much that you'll get it if you try. She is a great teacher too, if she notices most of the class is having trouble with a specific movement she breaks it down over again.

This company appears to be dead. The website is for sale, the facebook page is old (last post:…read more2023), and they do no appear in a google maps search by name.

Such a great space! It can be a touch challenging for parking. There is plenty, it is just that you…read moremay need to do some walking due to the entrance facing a street without parking spaces and due to it's positioning, the street parking is a blocks away with a few spaces only right in close. The space is very open for them to really arrange depending on the performance or use. I just recently saw an amazing performance there and it felt very intimate, even with the space pretty full. Keep your eye out for AWOL because the performances they produce or perform are always such a treat.

Jaw-dropping, eye-popping, spine bending --- electrifying aerial and dance performance! Feels a…read morelot like a Cirque du Soleil performance except you are seated close up --- way more intimate seating. You could rub elbows with the dancers! The aerial dancers were spinning and hanging from the rafters and or performing floor movements with a spirited and haunting musical set while interpreting the muse before sleep fading into a dream world. A superb story with balance of music, choreography and flying dancers! Wow! And what power and grace with passion and flexibility these amazing dancers displayed flying through the air. Wow again! You'll be amazed and you should definitely treat yourself to a one-of-kind AWOL performance! Go AWOL! Fly!

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.

The show that I watched was absolutely terrific, this review is for the venue. I do not recommend…read morethis venue. The program specifically encouraged attendants to arrive an hour early to enjoy drinks. Staff was incredibly awkward and passive-aggressive. I don't know where they expected people to congregate, there was hardly any room at all in the lobby, and the show is completely sold out. I left before I had a panic attack, and came back about 10 minutes before the show to find a seat, in a completely crowded and full theater, great good for them! The show itself was brilliant. But I had to endure 10 adjacent giggling wiggling man-children kicking my seat and causing the whole row to shake. Again, they're not the venue's fault, but when a show is full to capacity like this, the seats being latched together will really try your patience. I did see a woman in front of me stand up and look all around to see if she could find another empty seat, before asking the man next to her to stop leaning on her. Kudos. If I could offer any suggestions, the venue should have at least some signage telling guests where they can and cannot go in the building if the staff will not open their mouths even once. Also, if you're going to ask people to come early for drinks, don't put them in a secret cooler somewhere, have an actual bar set up. In the room where people are allowed to be. Atmosphere: 2/10

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 tried their free class and was honestly impressed with their customer service. Everyone was super…read morefriendly, they even wrote our names down on lockers with friendly notes which I thought was above and beyond. If you are into spin or want to give it a try, I think this is a great place to go.

Great music, super fun! Thought I was going to die the entire time! Definitely a workout that will…read morekick your ass