LOVING THIS PLACE. I've only had 3 private lessons and three group lessons so far, but I love this…read moreplace. The hubby and I came in with zero experience and are having a great time! We're getting better and better, and dance moves are starting to feel more natural. The place is very inclusive, body positive, super friendly, nonjudgmental...all of the things you need. And it does work! I am learning how to dance. When I mess up, they don't care, when I nail a move, everyone cheers. This is the place for positive-reinforcement, for shy folks to come out of their shells! In addition to group and private lessons, there's also plenty of parties they host on site for you to practice what you've learned. My hustle and waltz skills aren't yet what I'd want to do out and about, so it's great to have a safe space to practice and enjoy myself!

Our experience here was a mixed bag - everybody was great with one exception…read more Everything went pretty well except for the exception. It ended due to that exception in an rather awkward manner that could have gone down hill pretty fast.

First timer. Great introductory hour long dance class to master the basics. Second hour was a party.read more

This is a review for the lessons, not the Sunday swing. We…read morewent to a "Lindy 101" lesson from stumptown that was $25 each and two hours long and barely even danced the basic to music by the end. It was painfully slow, way over explained and allowed almost no practice-just a lot of the instructor talking. I don't feel like anyone there who didn't walk in already knowing how to do Lindy left with the ability to try Lindy outside of a classroom setting. It felt like a swindle honestly. I've been to a lot of lessons from many teachers and this was by far the least useful. Mindy is really nice and she knows her stuff in how to dance but, she is not a great teacher (at least not in large group setting) and the lesson was way overpriced for what it was. Everything taught in that lesson could have been covered in about 20mins. Just go to the pre dance lessons on Sunday and you'll be better off, or look on YouTube and then just go dance!

We love it here. We look forward to continuing our dance studies here. I'm sure other ballet…read moreschools in the city are great. We will stay with our fav. =)

This is my daughters 4 year of ballet and we love this studio! This studio is a body positive,…read morehappy place to be. They are really great at slowly introducing the classical ballet style to young kids. Each year there are more expectations and rules for them follow, but they do it in a loving way. We will stay here as long as Josie loves ballet.

BIPOC PROGRAM... WHAT THEY WON'T TELL YOU: Months ago after watching their Nightmare Before…read moreChristmas event, I looked into their dance studio and learned about a BIPOC Program they offer. All I knew about it was there was a waitlist. So when over half a year goes by and we get the call that we've been asked to "audition" for their program, I had trepidations because the fact that an audition was required for my 3 year old to do a dance class meant for toddlers seemed elitist to me. If I knew there was going to be an audition for this program from the beginning I would have never waited with baited breath for them to contact me. But since it was focusing on BIPOC students and we had waited so long I figured maybe we shouldn't miss this opportunity. In the audition they are looking to see if your kid can take direction but even more they want to make sure your kiddo can be away from you. More on this topic soon... So we paid the sliding scale tuition and were ready to commit to 10 months of Sunday morning classes. Oh yea.. they never mentioned until after we were enrolled that the schedule is from 9:30-11:15 and that it's two 45 min. classes! Tap and ballet/creative movement. My daughter definitely did not want to do tap class and I would have never signed up for this class but it was part of their program and we had no choice. So day 1 of tap... was a disaster. Lots of fetal positioning, leaving the room, off to the corner, hands over her ears, looking for me, leaving the room again... yea it didn't go well. Quick 15 min. break and then my poor toddler was at it again in ballet. She was a little more energized for this class as there was less banging sounds now and the teacher incorporated some games. So I was hopeful that maybe if we toughed it through the tap and just made it to ballet we could get through 10 months of this. Well after about class 3 of her demonstrating the same behaviors, the studio sends us an email. Not only us, we learned that many parents got this same email, and when talking to the parents the wording was almost identical..."child's behavior is disrupting the flow of class...." Also, if you're sending the same email to multiple families, maybe it's your program and not the kids? All of us parents who talked about getting this email were full of anxiety and stress and were not feeling good at all about their experience with the program. The final straw for me came on the 6th dance class after talking to the families and learning that folks were getting reprimanded for walking into the room to help their kiddo who was having a mini-crisis/meltdown and then the tap teacher repeatedly yelled at my child to "shut the door behind her" as she was leaving the room due to stress. And I watched as the tap teacher told a parent to leave their child alone while they were comforting them at the door, encouraging them to enter the room. That was the last straw and we quit that day. I'm sharing this not to give StepsPDX a bad review but honestly for the families interested in this program. You have to know what's coming if you invest your time. I wish I did.

Came here on a Sunday for Dance Church with some friends, which might sound weird but was really…read moreamazing and fun (google it!). Class starts at 10am and online they say you should arrive 15 minutes early. We did this and no one else was there and we were told we arrived much earlier than people normally do. We got coffee around the corner and came by at 9:57am and now there were a few people present. We paid for our class (card accepted), and put things away in the cubbies. There was NO WATER available which is a big deal for a dance class. There was a water cooler but it was empty. Class was awesome, with good music and great energy. I'd highly recommend it. There were probably about 40-50 people there. It felt very freeing to be able to move however I wanted to, but also helpful to have some guidance / reminders about moving my hands or arms. Class wrapped up by 11:30am. The space is bright and open and clean. Street parking nearby was easy. I'd be happy to come back.

I wanted to take the time to praise the Oregon Ballet School for the wonderful year we've had. I…read morefound the school last year after an Internet search and a couple interviews for a new ballet situation for my daughter. We couldn't be more pleased with Leslie Baird's instruction. Her classes are rigorous, disciplined, and focused which is what my daughter wanted. Leslie uses the Royal Academy Syllabus from England, and the students are annually tested by judges. It is a demanding program, but rewarding for the serious ballet dancer. Leslie is so amazingly dedicated to her students and their progress! It is well worth the one hour drive we make to get there! Anna Marie

Teacher Leslie is a wonderful ballet teacher, her passion for ballet is infectious. She knows how…read moreto be supportive and demanding. Teacher Leslie has high standards for her students, but more importantly she knows how to raise the "bar" just enough that each lesson is a challenge and a success for her students.

We were apprehensive about moving studios after arriving in Portland from Arizona. We loved our…read moreprevious studio and worried we'd never find anything as good. We were blissfully wrong!! Both my daughters have flourished under the current instruction at Inspire! All of the instructors have provided tremendous leadership and growth for my dancers. Can there be a rough day occasionally? Sure, but that's life! 99% of the time my girls come out of class having worked hard and had fun. This is definitely a pre-professional studio, and the dancers are treated as if this can be their profession after graduation. Their competitive teams are amazing, but I adore that the focus isn't only on competition. The technique classes are FAR more important. Participation in The Nutcracker is also a must! The girls do an amazing job, rivaling the professional shows downtown We look forward to it every year.

I moved my daughter to Inspire because she was ready for a more rigorous dance education. She was…read morethere for not quite a year (one season), and overall, it was a very negative experience. The dance instruction IS rigorous, but we found it to be anything but inspiring. A harsh environment is cultivated, and it is not at all unusual for students to be humiliated in class and made to cry. There are favored dancers, who are all in the highest level, and the levels below that are generally treated pretty harshly. There is a level of controlling-ness (for example, dictating across the board that all students must wear a certain brand of pointe shoes, regardless of what may work best for each individual student) that is ridiculous. My teenage daughter's confidence was pretty much destroyed during her time at Inspire; although she was accepted into three prestigious summer intensives, she believes that she's "a bad dancer" thanks to the messages she received at Inspire. Heavy on criticism, sometimes downright mean, skimpy on encouragement. I don't typically write Yelp reviews, but I feel compelled to share our experience on this one. We are relieved to be moving on from Inspire.

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.

It's an old building and was hard to find the entrance. Once you're in, you'll need to head…read moreupstairs. That's where Lenora's room is. There's an area to put your coat in before the main room. Bathrooms are located there too. The main room is spacious and there are seats by the windows to rest your feet. There are also benches along the back wall, but they were creaky and teeter tottered. I think they could update the benches / seats sooner than later. The floor is hardy wood. Not too slick or sticky. The sound system for the holiday blues dance was loud enough that we could still talk with our dance partner and understand each other. All too often music at these types of dance don't match the acoustics of the room, but Lenora's was just right.

I'm more qualified to review "Tuesday Blues" which occurs at Lenora's room every.... well, Tuesday,…read morefrom 9pm-12:30ish. The intermediate lesson is at 7:30 and the beginning lesson follows at 8:30. $6 gets you in for the whole night-- lessons and all! But you can also come at anytime and skip the lessons if you prefer. More info at http://pdxblues.com/tuesdayblues.html. Check it out! Your next question is probably "what is blues dancing?" That's a difficult question to answer-- i suggest you you-tube it to find out. After you do that be sure and search "portland blues dancing" and "seattle blues dancing" to get the feel of the local flave. It's basically a very intimate partner dance (a lead-follow type of deal), totally improvised and no set moves. Anyway about the venue-- it is very nice-- large, spacious, open, high ceilings, windows, a couple of little side rooms for lounging and whatnot. Good acoustics. The sink in the women's bathroom has only fallen off the wall once since I've been going there, so really I can't complain. It can often be too cool or too hot, but you can't please everyone, especially when people are dancing and gettin all sweaty and stuff. It seems kind of sketch the fist time you go-- you have to go through a random unmarked door (save for the paper sign posted on it) around the corner under the Melody Club, and then go up 3 flights of stairs. But it's not sketchy once you get up there, don't worry. Like I say I've only gone to blues dancing there, but it's a nice place and would be a great venue for events or bands or parties, too.