5 Rhythms is a dance movement/therapy started in America by Gabriel Roth. It's not huge here but…read morethe people that go are pretty dedicated to the practise. In essence it's about expressing the body through dance in five inherent rhythms of flow, staccato, chaos, lyrical and stillness. In practise it's a chance to let your body go for two hours. There are teachers around London mostly working together to offer a class on a different night/day of the week. They all have a different method of teaching but the one I enjoy best is in a church on a Thursday night. The high ceilings and religious aura add to the experience. £12 a time is not that cheap if you do it on a regular basis but it is a positive and wholesome way to spend a night. Contact Christian de Sousa

I did the Dance Foundation course here and was unimpressed. The teachers were nice and fun and of…read morecourse some were better than others- but I didn't feel like I learned much I could take away. Most of it was routine- in which case I could've just taken an equivalent number of dance classes. It wasn't very foundational at all. I've had about a year of dancing behind me and I've tried tons of schools and around 30 different dance teachers in London. I'm now in the dance foundation course at Ruggieri Academy and it is a million times better with a similar format. You get homework, videos, and most importantly learn technique. I think if you're a beginner, I would recommend that one instead. At least you walk away every session with key principals in mind. It may be a slower way to learn but ultimately effective. I did Dance Foundation a few months ago and have nothing to show for it. Except a hole in my bank account. Cause that's the other thing- this place is almost double the price of the other dance studios. Maybe it is more suitable to advanced dancers- I don't know.

Great place to try out some dance/performing arts classes. They have a good variety of classes…read more The intro singing and public speaking classes were good.

My daughter attended Hertsmere Academy of Dance for almost 5 years before we moved to another…read morecountry. She absolutely loved what this school offered and studied Ballet and Tap dancing. She was extremely successful in her examinations and loved doing the shows, they were great fun. Miss Chahna was such a supportive teacher and my daughter just adored her, she was so sad to leave. I would recommend this school to any parents who wants to be assured of getting a great standard of teaching.

I popped in last night for a drop in absolute beginner class with David Kierce and I had a lot of…read morefun. it really exceeded my expectations. Reading the reviews below I wasn't sure it was going to work as I was expecting it to be overcrowded, difficult to follow, etc. but given my renewed passion for ballet and the fact that I was done with work I decided to give it a try (also to feel less guilty about my lasagna at lunch). The class is the cheapest I have tried so far (£8 and no membership fee), but the level was at par. The studio is not huge and there were quite a lot of people, but we managed to fit and to do our exercises without crashing into each other. The teacher is great, really explains carefully all the steps and positions and is very funny. I would give the 5th star to this place if it had later classes (7.20 is hard to fit into a busy working schedule) and also if the changing room was a bit bigger and organised: there are a lot of stuffs from the real academy students, so there is a bit of confusion and I am sure I will leave something sooner or later (which reminds me of my ballet days when I was a kid). i'll try to put it in my weekly timetable from now on!

I took a few adult ballet lessons here a few months ago. The ballet teacher Renato Paroni was…read moregreat; seems quite passionate and have a fabulous sense of humour. However, it was overly crowded too crowded for a comfortable session to take place. I also did not get much attention from the teacher which was not really helpful. I tried the beginner's class on Tuesday and Thursday evenings ballet classes. And I think it is too easy for me who have some experience. However, the more advance classes looked really difficult. So, I stopped going to the classes and I am now looking for other better places more suitable for my level of experience.

The Place is the number one spot for contemporary dance class and shows in London…read more With no membership fees and it costing only £4 for the advanced level classes in the morning, The Place is outstanding value. All classes are taught by company members on a weekly basis. This makes Monday the best day to start so you don't get left behind in routines. Most teachers teach one routine throughout the week adding sections daily. The changing rooms and showers are very clean and tidy. The studios are large and airy with sprung floors. There really is no better place to go to learn contemporary dance anywhere in London. If you are a beginner they hold workshops and courses throughout the year. Check the website for more details.

The Place is a school for dance development that is leading the way in dance training, creation and…read moreperformance. Its one of Europe's most innovative dance spaces, where artists from all over the world come to push creative boundaries, to experiment and to perform outstanding new work for audiences who expect to be surprised, inspired and delighted. The Place also has a 280 seat theatre, an extensive range of classes, courses and participatory opportunities for adults and young people, and professional development programmes for artists. The theatre holds over 200 performances a year, including festivals and special events. I went along to The Place to see the performance done by Protein "May Contain Food". This performance runs from Thu 21 Apr to Sat 7 May but touring after this. The whole performance was very interesting all about food. First of all you enter a big room full of tables around the side all decorated differently some was done up with dried pasta laying across the table, some full of vegetables, some full of feathers laying across table etc. The table I chose was full of fast food wrappers and containers I don't like fast food but it looked more colourful and fun compared to the other tables. Also the main lead was the waitor for our table as the performance is all about waitors/waitresses, family/friends and food. They dance and sing about food teaching us about where food comes from, how we should appreciate food, how are life if revolved around food etc. Throughout we got tastings like a tomato and we had to roll it across our face, feel it, look at it, hear it etc to appreciate it. This was a fun unique way though with a very artist performance played out by the cast. I particularly liked the part when they was singing about meat they acted like animals, funny. Has to be seen to understand whole concept of performance.

A lot of people don't know what this is its Stratford Circus that it is in a literal sense because…read morea lot happens here. It's a venue that can be and is hired on a regular bases for a range of events there might be performance that includes dance or the performance that could be a monologue or showcase. There are a lot short courses that are run here such as IT, Music and Poetry for young people as well as adults. They're an information shop as they provide information about on what's going on currently within Stratford Circus as well as offering other information, with receptionists to help. If they are offering dance lessons which they often do they'll often hold the auditions there (they sometimes hold auditions because they get a large number of individuals wanting to take on this particular course). It's clean and well maintained they have quite a few mini rooms on the first floor (two floors) and when your in there, there is a sense you feel you won't be disturbed while in that space. Ground floor they have two theatre halls on either side with a café that serves hot drinks in the middle which you see as soon as you enter right in front of you and chairs with tables.

This is a very nice place to go to a few times a year as there are always nice free to see shows,…read morefrom youth shows to top performers - this should be even nicer with the new Olympic renovation.

This club night is held twice a month on a Friday from 9pm to 3am…read more Around 9.30pm there is a free salsa class, then there are two rooms for dancing, one large ballroom with a guest DJ and a smaller room with a slower vibe. In the club you will find a varied mix of styles from Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico and New York. The vibe is fun but some guys on the dance floor take it very seriously. It is great just to watch. This place gets packed out as it is a good place to practice your moves out of the classroom. The look of the place isn't great and I sometimes feel like I have stepped back in time when I walk in the club but this is a functional place to meet people who like to dance salsa. If you want to venture out of the classroom then I would definitley recommend this place.

I believe this party is held twice a month. I checked it out when I was in town, and it was by far…read moremy least enjoyable London salsa experience. The party was very busy, but the level of dancing was low, the room was way too hot (this was in December), the smell of body odor was nauseating, and I didn't find people terribly friendly (I asked four women to dance, and only two accepted). I probably stayed 45 minutes before cutting my losses and heading back to the hotel.

I left the class crying and distraught because of intimidation from the staff members, and the way…read morethey made me rotate partners without asking for consent. I did a free taster session and an hour fusion class. Tsvetan shouted at me really angrily because my wristband (to show I've paid for class) was hidden in my shirt. He should have approached me and asked nicely where my wristband was. Instead he yelled at me aggressively that "I should be showing my wristband". I felt intimidated and got anxiety for the whole class, because I'm a small girl and he's a big intimidating man, which made me mess up a lot of the dance moves. I came with my friend (we're both girls). Maria and Tsvetan also weirdly sneered at us and asked if we were a couple, it came across more hostile than friendly. In the free taster class the staff let me dance with my friend but they never warned us before I paid for the next class that we were rotating partners. Then in the middle of the next class they order us around and rushed us to rotate partners without asking our consent. The rotating partners thing sucked because I came with someone so that I can have someone to dance with but I was alone a lot of the time dancing with an imaginary friends. Everytime someone writes a bad review you blame them e.g. you're late or you don't know some salsa or you accuse people of lying. Maybe take some responsibility, stop being rude and mistreating people ?!

Did the workshop on Saturday and personally found it more painful than joyous. Sydney was a little…read moretoo strict and took it too seriously. We weren't allowed to talk. Cristina was so quiet you could barely here her. The location was too small for the amount of people who were there. I'd say trainers , it wouldn't hurt to smile and have a good time !