My daughter took the trails lessons here recently and she loves it! Miss Claire and Miss Michael…read morewho are teaching ballet class are both really professional and deliciated themself to teach. The dancers in the class are really sweet and friendly to new student. Miss Brook and Miss Bethany are very nice too. Unfortunately we can not join this year due to calendar conflict, but I want to share the great experience with people who don't know this place.

My daughter attended ballet classes here for 3 semesters, from summer 2019 to winter 2020. We had…read morethe best experience. Everything is managed well. The classes were great fun. Especially in winter 2020, when classes went online, they tried to make it the smoothest transition. They went above and beyond in still working on an year-end performance and giving kids a chance to have a red carpet experience still, one kid at a time, in a totally socially distanced manner. I was very touched by their efforts.

Leilani has been INCREDIBLE! We have been working with her on the first dance for me and my fiancé…read moreand the father daughter dance. We decided to go with the 7 dance package which seems like a great amount. My fiancé and I did 4 classes while my dad and I took 3. Leilani is giving us some great tips and tricks to make our dances look amazing. She is so encouraging with me and my fiancé and is also very encouraging and patient with my dad who does not have much past dance experience. I think 4 lessons is a great amount for a first dance since we are doing a minute and a half and we have a relatively good sense of rhythm. This will definitely be dependent on how quickly you can learn though (my dad and I covered in 3 lessons what my fiancé and I covered in 1). We had such a wonderful time learning from Leilani and now that our wedding has happened my husband and I have gotten so many compliments on how lovely our dance was. TLDR: patient and encouraging instructor, worth the investment

Going to a ton of weddings recently, I realized for my own wedding I didn't want to high school…read moreslow dance in front of all my friends and family for 5 minutes to start off the reception. Instead, I wanted something "cool". I don't know how to dance. My wife does a bit... but I move like a rock... We hired Leilani to help choreograph our first wedding waltz for our wedding. The classes were about once a week for about 8 weeks. Each lesson was 45 minutes and at the end we had a beautiful waltz which we presented at our wedding. Things I really liked: Leilani was super easy to work with. We basically told her what we wanted, and she built a dance routine exactly to what we were envisioning. She is also nice to a fault. Sometimes I messed up so badly, but instead of reprimand she always had something nice to say. I've never failed so badly yet have someone complement the gracefulness of the way I failed. She recorded the dance steps each weekly so we could study and emailed us the queues. I think the most impressive thing to me was none of the routine was recycled. We constantly moved across the room throwing in different movements. We got in a lift, a drop, and a really nice ending pose. The final result was a gorgeous routine. Everyone at the wedding raved about how awesome it was. Definitely money and time well spent.

All classes are very advanced and very cis white female. I wish there was more inclusion and…read moreinformation before signing up.

ETA - In response to Tasha S's review below. First and foremost, NONE OF THE WOMEN pictured are the…read moreowner. In fact, the owner is a single woman with no human child of her own. In addition on the day of the encounter, the owner was busy at the studio all day with auditions. The studio should not be held accountable for an alleged interaction with the studio's customers. That review has nothing to do with the studio or the owner. In addition, as a fellow fat dance mom I can confirm that every one of those women has been welcoming to me and my daughter. I have never felt a speck of judgment for my weight or body. These women and their daughters have always been kind and respectful. My daughter left her studio of 6 years in her junior year just for the opportunity to train with the staff at Elevate. We were extremely nervous about making such a significant decision so far into her dance training but to say that we are thrilled with the results is an understatement! Not only is the staff at Elevate top-notch but the dancers welcomed my daughter and made her feel like she had always been a part of their company. I highly recommend this studio!

I wanted to take classes here. I signed up and was required to pay $165 to register, pay for a…read moremonth of classes, and buy a uniform t-shit. After paying I was sent a packet of materials which included a list of this woman's rules. A couple of the more egregious ones follow: - your cell phone must be off but making audio recordings of class are encouraged for home practice. (I would normally use my cell phone for this task ) - you are enjoined from studying hula elsewhere. If you wish to leave this facility and join another you are required to ASK PERMISSION from the director of this facility to do so, and you are REQUIRED to wait A YEAR before resuming the dance. If you do not come to an in-person class when you were expected and do not let the director know in advance, you are not ever allowed to attend an in person class again. I ran afoul of this as in spite of leaving 2 hours prior to class as I was not able to find the studio in time. I don't blame them for my crappy navigation software, but I had no way to let the director know that I wouldn't make it because I was driving and trying to get there so I ran afoul of the rule against in person class attendance. I did not think I would be allowed to return and ask for a partial refund of the monies I paid. Her response was crickets. I have been in numerous dance classes over my life and have studied ballet, jazz, modern, middle eastern, Irish step dance, ballroom and Scottish country dance. Not once ever have I run across a list of (insane) rules or such harsh, inhumane punishments for human failings. There are abundant on line resources for learning hula and another school closer to me which I may check out but to be honest I'm feeling a little gun shy. Despite not being able to experience this school, the red flags in the packet leave me quite confident in suggesting you look elsewhere for training of this sort.

Hello, Since we last…read morespoke I requested a refund for my costume, uniform, and slides. Can you at least send my uniform first? I will send you the rest the amount after I receive my uniform. I need proof that I am not being scammed before I send you more money. I've been deceived. I was told I was going to get these items and I'm confused because everyone in class had received their items and they did not finish paying. Instead of receiving any of my items I was told to pay more. I felt left out as apart of your halau from the beginning. It's not fair or just for me to send you hundreds of dollars and not receive anything. I payed you my tuition diligently there is no reason for me to be treated as an outcast. Especially when we were told that the remaining of the balance would not be due until after I received the package from you. Even after you continued to reassure me that it was coming, I trusted you and continued paying your class fees on time and participating. Regards I've messaged you privately as well by email and text. I look forward to your response either by email or phone as you have not responded to my previous requests for a refund with a denial or approval. I will take this down if not this will stay posted. As for the public I felt completely left out by the entire school. No one helped me take care of this and get my uniform. I watch new students come in and receive their uniforms and costumes and had not paid fully and I never received mine. My review is to not attend virtually at all. The experience was different for those that are in person obviously. I had friends and family chip in and help me attend this school and they looked forward to seeing me in my uniform and kept asking about it and never saw me in my uniform. I attended virtual private classes and group classes and paid for essentials to be a part of the team. Hula classes are expensive. I do not recommend this school. If you are looking for a virtual halau look elsewhere.

I tried salsa over 10 years ago in a club setting (2 hour class before the party starts) and it…read moredidn't click. I wasn't progressing. Fast forward to 2013 and I decided this was the year for me to learn salsa. Enough with the class here, class there adding up to just knowing the basic step. I found Miguel's class via Yelp and went almost every week for almost 2 years. I went from basic step to club dancing to performing at a festival to boogieing in Cuba. Miguel is an incredible dancer, an attentive teacher and a generous human being. I've been to several other teachers and he's the only one that focuses as much on how women should move as the men. His hip movements put us ladies to shame! Portland is very lucky to have him teaching there. Go. Take his class, keep coming, it will be worth it.

What a great atmosphere! No pressure, just fun and dancing all evening. Definitely will be…read morereturning!

child has A.d.h.d and certain delays, has been to physical, speech therapy and has an IEP…read more We were invited to join some of the Ballet classes by a friend of ours who has used this dance studio in the past. We were informed we could try out the classes once before deciding if we would be joining the studio. My friend was the one who brought my daughter to the first class which she got the times mixed up and my daughter and her friend ended up in the level three ballet class on Tuesday at 5:00 pm. In class my daughter was concerned about another student, and decided to ask the teacher about the other student who was sitting out at the time. The teacher in an unprofessional and snappy manner instructed my daughter to mind her own business. This is a Grown adult talking to a child, and very unprofessional. We let it slide thinking everyone has a bad day, and decided we would try again ,we ended up coming back this week for the level 2 ballet at 4. From what I was told, is the Teacher who does the level 3 class also runs the level 2 class. From what the front desk told me, was my child was disruptive in the classroom, and the teacher was having trouble keeping her on track, instead of excusing my daughter from the classroom , saying this level was not for her , the teacher proceeded to ask my child with disabilities how old she was in front of the other students and when she answered 10, the teacher asked other students to participate in raising their hand if they were also 10 , and when the class did she publicly bullied and embarrassed my daughter by telling her she should act more like them. My child and her friend exited out into the bathroom and my child cried and wanted to leave ,They left the studio shortly after. This is grown adult, talking to and teaching children, including ones with disabilities .The teacher should have professionally excused Ashley from the classroom, It is unacceptable for a teacher to behave in a unprofessional manner towards anyone let alone children. I emailed the director , and never received anything back , it's been over a week. So if you would like your children with or without disability be bullied by a teacher and humiliated , while being ignored by the director herself , this is the place for you and your child. Please do better

My daughter has been dancing at Element for 6 years. Element has a team of professionals who truly…read morecare about each and every dancer in their program. My daughter has her sights on a dance career and I trust the staff at Element to help her realize her goals!

Just want to leave an informational review because there's a couple of important things they do not…read morestate on their website. 1. There is no where to view your dancer inside of the building. If you choose to stay to watch your dancer in class, you must view from the windows OUTSIDE of the building. (If weather permits of course. Their normal protocol is for you to just drop your dancer off.) 2. Limited parking 3. If your dancer is in a 3-6yr old class- if one dancer has to use the potty, the whole class has to go. The teacher is responsible to take the little ones to use the restroom. I enrolled my 3yr old in one of their classes and was surprised by their lack of accommodations, especially having come from another established studio out of state. I also have a 1yr old that I have to bring with me and watching my 3yr dance from the parking lot was not safe for my little one. I also thought their potty protocol was frustrating because of the time (15min) it took away from class and having a stranger tend to my daughter using the potty did not sit well with me. To each their own. Just leaving this info for other mamas who are looking to enroll their younger dancers. 2 stars because they do not reply to emails and voice mails and for the lack of info on their website. My daughter had a great time in her class but unfortunately the studios lack of accommodations lead to an unsatisfactory experience and we unenrolled immediately.

My girls dance at load and love their teaches! We look forward to going to dance every week!read more

UPDATE: Jasmin has moved out of state :( . I wish her the best of luck in her new life and…read morelocation. Thanks for everything Jasmin. I am honored to be Jasmin's first review. Although normally I would consider it premature to write a review after one experience, Jasmin's class was so fantastic in fitting my needs that I felt compelled to do so. I am at the age where I am no longer considered young, but definitely not ready to be labelled as old (44 to be exact). I took up ballet as an adult in my late thirties, and learned how to do my first split at 40. Women who are in my demographic (and younger) need to know one thing if you are seeking and craving the lines and grace of a dancer: IT'S A HARD AND FRUSTRATING PROCESS. It takes years. It takes commitment. And it takes a good instructor. That's where Jasmin comes in. She knows her stuff. I've had some great teachers, but they are all in S.F., and frankly I'm just tired of taking that nasty BART train to the city every week. That's the one thing I can now say I'm too old for. But finding Jasmin is a salvation. After trying another local dance studio for many weeks with a teacher who only cared for the clique student clientele she had already built, I almost gave up on continuing my dance education. Yes, I do take yoga, pilates, and barre classes, but none of these will make you a dancer. They are meant to be complements to your main instruction. Jasmin's class is the main instruction. She corrects your form. She will be strict about it. And if that frustrates you then she is doing her job. And don't expect to dance until you have attained some degree of competence at the basics. Which means, like me, you may be at the barre for a couple of years before you are allowed to put even one socked foot in the middle of the dance floor (actually, I don't think this is true of Jasmin's class, but no one looks to good in the center without good form). The best teachers are ones you want to punch in the face when you think you can't stretch a little more, turn out a little more, hold a position a little more...if you are really looking to improve or learn ballet for the first or second time, then you should expect this frustration when you go to class if you want to get better. Jasmin will make you better without making you want to punch her in the face (but only because it would make you feel guilty to mess with that adorable face)!

Ronny M., you captured everything I wanted to say . I…read moreseriously can't rave enough about the class but especially Jasmin. She is a true ballerina that has the passion to teach adults the beauty of this art. I had in past years attempted to take an adults class but the instructors weren't as stern in teaching the right movements and helping you correct so as a beginner I always got frustrated and never went back to them (when I use word "stern" I don't mean Jasmin gets in your face but I appreciate her seeing the potential in us enough to take the time to explain and show us correct form and technique)... But really, try the class and you will be hooked...I know I am! Is it possible to crave going to class ? I really hope you enjoy the class as much or more than I do . P.S. This is my true and honest review. No discount or free classes were provided, in case you feel it sounds too good to be true...well it is true and it's that good