After being away from ballet for over a decade, I was nervous to step back into a studio--but this place completely changed that. Anastasia is an incredibly skilled, patient, and supportive teacher who gives attention to every student, no matter their level. The small class size makes it easy to get personal feedback and truly improve. I've been attending for several months now, and every class leaves me feeling calm, inspired, and more confident. The atmosphere is so kind and encouraging--it's become one of my favorite parts of the week. Highly recommend! read more

A Truly Exceptional Ballet Teacher! I cannot say enough wonderful things about Anastasia. She is extremely passionate for ballet and dedicated to her students. Her class is perfect balance between discipline and encouragement, which helps dancers reach their full potential while nurturing a genuine love for the art. What sets Anastasia apart is her incredible attention to detail and ability to explain technique in a way that truly makes sense. Whether working with beginners or advanced dancers, she creates an environment that feels both challenging and supportive. Every correction comes from a place of care, and every accomplishment--big or small--is celebrated. And a great plus is an opportunity to perform in the recital! read more

Extra Pirouette - Extra piroutte recital - Opera & Ballet Near Me - Manhattan, New York

Anastasia is a decent ballet teacher but terrible business operator. No concrete schedule. No contract. Nothing in writing. Very disorganized with the schedule and all over the place. She's rude and abrupt with her students and parents. She only accepts Venmo as payment so basically cash which I find questionable. Studio is dirty and smells like mildew. She may be a good dancer but she is extremely unprofessional and needs to work on her business operation. read more

Anastasia is awesome!! She's very attentive to fixing your basic techniques and help you build up techniques gradually as you fix and work on her corrections. She also identifies your areas of weaknesses and shows you exercises you can do in your own time to strengthen those particular areas and has a lot of solutions for different technical difficulties you may have. I'm in better shape than I've ever been and always feel energized and refreshed after class. read more

Anastasia is by far the best ballet instructor that I have ever had. I have been taking 3 private lessons a week for the last 3 years and have taken my abilities to the next level thanks to her attentive teaching and her constant encouragement. If you are an adult dancer at any level that wants to improve look no further. Nothing is impossible, especially when working with Anastasia, as she wholeheartedly invests in her students and ensures greatness. read more

I was hoping for a great experience after all the positive reviews, but didn't receive one. The teacher got there late, the room was very crowded and i was told to just follow someone in front of me since i didn't know the drill. Maybe this is the Vaganova method, but doesn't sit well in the US. Also very expensive ay $35. Instead found a great teacher at Steps, Linda Gelinas. Excellent advanced beginner adult teacher. read more

I have danced with Anastasia for a month. I learned ballet when I was young for more than 3 years and stopped for a while and restarted it when I became adult. I tried several studios in NYC but most of the classes are big (30-40 people) so it was hard to get personal feedback. Anastasia is really good at pointing out the subtle points and she lets me know how I can improve those points. It's just a month but I can feel that my ballet muscles start to revive. So happy for that! She is a patient teacher and knows the important little points. I guess that's because she got strict Russian training and has lots of teaching experiences. I enjoy the class very much! read more

I had been to 95% of the ballet studios and adult beginner ballet teachers in NYC, you name it, and I had given up until luck brought me to Anastasia! She honestly is the best ballet teacher one can find here! I could probably go on for 30 pages on how great a teacher she is, but to sum it up: Her class Anastasia is a former Bolshoi Ballet dancer, trained at the Vaganova school. She possesses a teaching degree from Moscow Choreography Institute, while many dance teachers in the city do not have a teaching degree. She continues to learn and invent techniques that work wonders on her adult student bodies and solve technical struggles of her pre- and former professional students, while adhering to the traditions of the beautiful Vaganova style. She is extremely intelligent, visionary, hardworking, and practical and current with today ballet companies' needs. Professional ballet schools pre-select their students based on body type, and their methods work well only on these body types. Since not everyone is blessed with a ballet body, certain old-school methods are not effective with many students. Anastasia is "The School" for these not-so-perfect-ballet-bodies. She evolves the old methods to help these bodies to achieve what the perfect ballet bodies are capable of. Her methods are so solid; she focuses so much on the fundamentals; the correct and healthy techniques; builds you from ground up--from the tip of your toes to the top of your head and helps you to connect your mind with your body. She is hands-on, attentive, patient, and loves her work: she keeps her class small so everyone receives corrections. She genuinely cares about and believes in her students' potential. Many ballet studios seem to think the open class students are not serious, have physical limitations, or are just there for "a workout." These studios structure their classes within a standard formula, giving students seemingly fancy combinations of moves so that they seem to be "dancing," but without applying the proper techniques. Anastasia's class is unconventional: her exercises are simple but muscularly challenging. They strengthen your ballet muscles, and she devises combinations and teaches variations which allow her students to apply and have the full grasp of the techniques. She demonstrates every movement cleanly with her very fit and beautiful ballet body, which is very helpful to the beginners (you don't always get that in other studios). Her students and class environment A mix of adult beginner/intermediate students, pre- and former professional ballet dancers, ballroom and jazz dancers (to supplement their training). They are all dedicated, serious students who enjoy and benefit greatly from her detailed, analytical teaching. Even though it's a diverse mix, everyone is very sweet, amicable, and look after one another--like a family! You don't get that elsewhere! My personal growth I've been studying with Anastasia for a bit over 2 years, and personally my learning curve is slow and I have a long way to go. But compared to 2 years ago when I first started studying with her after spending some time at other ballet studios, there have been great changes to my knowledge, body, mental and physical health. I had no understanding of kinesiology; had plantar fasciitis resulting from weak, flat feet; and I had an unhealthy body image and over-exercising habits. Not only did Anastasia help me to learn about my body, but my chronic injury was healed by the training. My body image and confidence have been some of the biggest struggles in my life, but Anastasia has helped me to believe I am beautiful and I am capable of achieving more in ballet--it helps a lot when the encouragement comes from an epitome of a gorgeous ballerina! She isn't just a wonderful teacher, she's a wonderful mentor. She is so personable and caring! I am in very good hands, and I thrive in such loving environment. Anastasia is a hidden gem. You can't find anyone as good as she is anywhere! read more

I am an adult beginner and started learning ballet with Anastasia since July last year. She is a very professional ballet dancer and her teaching method is very good for both adult: and kids. She will correct you in every detail. I am becoming much stronger in the last 10 months. I learnt from Anastasia not only ballet technique, but also the perseverance and concentration toward one thing. read more

I'm an adult beginner, started ballet two years ago; and have been taking group and private classes with Ms. Anastasia for about 7 months. Her classes are challenging, but too good to switch to any other teacher/school since she corrects you personally, which you don't get much attention or correction elsewhere. I would say her classes are pretty "sweaty", but you will see the result on your body very quickly! Plus, she has such a fun personality! Cannot be more grateful to have Ms. Anastasia as my ballet teacher! Millions of thanks:) read more

Anastasia was an incredibly helpful teacher and got me excited about ballet again. I had practiced ballet at a very young age ( age 6-10) and had forgotten everything I had learned 20 + years ago. For someone coming in as an adult beginner, she knew when to push me and when to be patient. Every week I felt like I was improving and progressing. She was very communicative and told me what I had to look forward to for the next session. read more

Anastasia is a wonderful teacher for ballet! I took hip hop/jazz throughout high school but always wondered if it was too late to start ballet. Without any prior lessons or knowledge of ballet, Anastasia has been able to teach me patiently with a lot of progress. With only a few lessons, I've exceeded what I thought I'd be able to do - all thanks to Anastasia! I definitely recommend her for anyone at any level. read more

Anastasia is a fantastic teacher with a lot of experience and patience. Whether you are a beginner or haven't danced in a while, I recommend taking her classes. She is a great dancer with a lot of grace and she communicates very well with her students. After 15 years without dancing I really reconnected with ballet at my own pace and I love hearing the beautiful classical playlist she plays during class.. Looking forward to my next class! read more

I am an adult beginner and Anastasia is kind and patient, but she also challenges me. I can tell that she is tailoring the lesson to me as we go through. After a lesson I always feel longer, leaner, and energetic. read more

After few years of researching and trying different dance studios, a miracle happened and finally I found, for my 14 years daughter, a ballet master from the Russian Bolshoi Theatre, who is imasing combination of talented dancer, teacher and magnificent personality - Anastasia. Being trained by best world known Russian Ballet school, Anastasia continues the tradition of high level teaching, shares her pation with her students and motivates them to be part of the beauty of ballet world. Anastasia demonstrates and in few words directs students. Her class is very intense, productive and is fun for the students. Time flying by just like one moment from begining to the end. I strongly recomend Anastasia to anyone who looking for real ballet teacher. read more