Groove Nation is such a hidden gem in this town- from the performances that never cease to impress,…read morethe obvious bonded relationships & close community built, the leadership skills, confidence, & worth built into each participant, to the skills acquired from their warm & professional staff. It's clear they truly care; not just about making each participant, team & show or competition *look* good, but also feel good about themselves in the ways that truly matter. If you're looking for family, for fun, & growth, you'll find it here!

Looking for your kiddo to make friends? Socialize? Gain trust with other amazing adults? Learn new…read moreskills, flexibility, and exercise? Look no further!! Groove nation is all of that and more. My daughter has blossomed at groove nation. She's taken skills such as team work, communication home with her. She's gained confidence, made friendships, & we've gained a village here of new friends! We're so beyond grateful to be apart of groove nation.

We've been involved with Shoestring for 2 years now and are very thankful to have a local community…read moretheater group. My oldest daughter was in The Sound of Music the summer before last and both my daughters were in Willy Wonka this past summer. What a great local resource that, for some unknown reason took me too long to discover after moving here 6 years ago! I've met some really nice and talented people from the local community and beyond. Shoestring doesn't have it's own facility so it can be a bit costly to put on performances, but they do a nice job at the St. Helens HS and, more recently, at the new Scappoose HS auditorium. I recently volunteered and was elected to serve as the Secretary on the Board and am hoping to see some more community support for this group and the arts in this community in general so I don't have to always go to Portland to scratch that itch. While my talents don't lie in acting, dancing, doing anything backstage, etc, I love watching! Through my kids' involvement with Shoestring, I also found that I enjoy taking tickets and manning concessions, probably because I enjoy meeting and talking to people. We are lucky to have this in our area!

From the owner: The ShoeString Community Players has been producing plays and other performances in Columbia County…read morefor over 30 years. Formed from a dedicated group of "Reader's Theater" performers, SSCP was officially founded in 1982. The first production was Brigadoon, performed at the St. Helens High School Olmscheid Auditorium. SSCP has consistently produced productions and performances since that time, tapping into the rich and "undiscovered" talent Columbia County and its surrounding areas have to offer. We perform Revues, Musicals, Dramas, Comedies, Children's Theater, and any other type of production that captures the attention of the community.

My daughter is a student at Evergreen Dance Academy for eight years and she has loved every minute…read moreof it. They have great teachers that care about the kids, and the environment is amazing. You won't regret choosing this dance studio.

Amazing little dance school! My 9 year old took a 6 week session in ballet, and loved every minute…read more She loved Mrs. Jana her teacher. I got a chance to meet the owner, she was so nice and seems to have big plans for the school.

We enjoy it and have loved this place for years. Wifi for parents. Kids love it. Snack Bar is…read morereasonable. Daughter did gymnastics here for several years and loved that experience. I wish the pool was more accessible, useable for free swims (likely keeps maintenance down and expensive draining session when an errant turd slips out?), but other than that the recent upgrades on the jungle/playground make it still a fun spot for my daughter. Also, I like the bathrooms - they seem safe, great design for people of all heights, UV drying blowers, and it feels safe... like no creepy creepers are slipping in there unnoticed. All in all - we prefer this to other locations in the region/area

So far this place is great!…read more Signed my 4 year old up for swimming classes. The pool is heated and the room is warm. My son loved it and enjoyed the class so much. After his class they gave him ribbons that said he was ready for the next class and one for completing his 1st swim class. He was so thrilled! They have so much to offer. Swimming, gymnastics is, preschool, huge indoor climbing gym for rainy days and holiday themed events. They have easy sign ups online as well. This place is AWESOME! I'm signing up my other 2 kids for swimming classes too. *** wish they would consider sibling discount, even 5%-10% would be nice Check them out!

My two daughters take hip hop and ballet here. They are four and five years old. We are just about…read moreto finish up our first month of classes and love it!! This studio is family ran and you can tell. It's super welcoming here! Every staff member, from the instructors to the parents in the waiting room are really friendly!! What I'm mostly impressed with is the love, the connection and the passion, each staff member has for every single students. All while maintaining structure and control of the class. There's so many students and it's very impressive to see them connect to each and every dancer. They are super organized, have great communication and always send out emails on updates. I called 4-5 different studios, before I found Encore, with no call backs from my voicemails, no reply to my emails at all and the one studio that we did a trial class with was a a total fail. They put my girls in the totally wrong level class and the instructor was completely unprofessional. Encore replied immediately and got us right in.!! So, don't settle for just any studio they are not all the same. I have a 19 year old daughter and have been through this industry before. I'm a dancer myself, (well I'm only dancing in the kitchen these days lol) but let me tell you, sometimes it is like an episode of dance moms and it's important to find the right fit if your trying to build your child's confidence in dance and plan on having them dance long term. Check Encore out!! They are amazing!!! They really care about their dancers!! I'm very happy to become part of the family!!!!

My kids have been taking classes from Encore since 2013. My…read morefavorite things about ENCORE: * High quality teachers for every age range/class level * Personalized attention to each student and their dance career * The most well developed street styles program I know of in the area * An excellent acrobatics program, with highly knowledgeable instructors * The Pre-Pro program is amazing! Geared toward kids who are working toward professional dance careers, this program prepares them in every way, physically, practically, and with the knowledge they will need. I cannot recommend Encore enough!!!

We enjoy Starr Dance Studio and most importantly, my daughter does! The teachers are great with the…read morekids!

Fabulous place for your little one to learn dance and socialize. Wonderful teachers and parents…read more All the kids are made to feel very special We love it - give it a try!

This school is honestly the best!! Teacher Sara, the owner, taught my daughter about 20 years ago…read more Now my granddaughter attends and I am just in awe of the productions they put on! I have been to many other dance school recitals over the years and they dont compare to PAPA! The Nutcracker performance they did at Elsinore was absolutely unbelievable! Very professional and beautifully done! Tonight was their annual Dance Recital also at Elsinore, and it also was so impressive!! Sara hasn't aged in 20 years, & is still SO sweet to the children. I highly recommend this school to anyone in search of the BEST Dance school around!!!

Went to support a dancer tonight at the PAPAS Halloween show and- wow! The dancers were incredible…read more The whole show was so moving! A rollercoaster of emotion, entertainment and surprises. So much talent! I am in awe of the director's vision and creativity. Haven't seen a show this incredible in many, many years. Will be following this studio as a fan. Way to go dancers and way to go Director!! A very memorable night.

I'm so furious that I'm shaking…read more My daughter has been placed in pointe levels at Northwest Dance Project and Oregon Ballet Theatre, both with professional companies. She was placed in pointe this past spring at a dance school in Paris with instructors from the Paris Opera Ballet. The Paris Opera Ballet is one of the best dance companies in the ENTIRE WORLD. So obviously she's at the level of pointe. Last night, my daughter had a placement class with DanceWorks Performing Arts. They said that level 3 is the best level to assess new dancers. Shortly in, her asthma started acting up, and she ignored it. She ignored it so long that she nearly reached a point of passing out and had to step out. If her father and I weren't already there, it would have been a situation to call 911. That's how severe it was. She ignored it because she wanted to impress the instructor, Savannah. At the front desk, Karen, who I found out is the director just now, told us that our daughter could redo the assessment tomorrow night, when she's able to breathe properly. Today, I got an email. They're placing her in level 3 instead of reassessing, which is two full years away from pointe, and, no, they don't do midyear advancements. No, they don't skip levels. Karen said Savannah can tell "within the first couple exercises," which was before ny daughter couldn't breathe. You means when they're warning up?! No combinations, no floor work, nothing. Based on "the first couple exercises," they can tell a dancer's full ability? That's absolutely BULLSHIT. There's a reason assessments are an entire class rather than coming in for the first 15 minutes. Karen said this is an absolute, that she has to take at least two more years before pointe there, which is so wildly inappropriate I'm still in disbelief to some extent. So...are they REALLY trying to effectively say that other dance schools, with professional company, and Paris Opera Ballet instructors themselves, were all wrong in their assessments? Really? REALLY?!! REALLY!!! We could understand a few weeks of 3 to warm her up to this school, then 4 for a few weeks, then 5, which is the first pointe level. We could maybe accept a full term of 3 and then a term of 4 with 5 next year, or 4, which is a year before pointe, this year. But no. Even that's not considerable. They want her in a class level with 10-12-year-olds who are two years, minimum, away from pointe, with no exceptions at all, ever, whatsoever. There's no way their instruction is so much better that a pointe dancer with my child's experience would only be at a level 3. If the dancers there were that much better, this school would be world-famous. But since they're not, there's got to be another reason they don't want her in pointe, or even in a pre-pointe level. I suspect, strongly, that, since this school also has competition teams (which is optional and NOT something my daughter has interest in doing), they don't want her in pointe with their pointe dancers who are all the stereotypical twigs. It's the ONLY thing that makes sense. Knocking her down two levels from pointe would age her out of competition, which, again, she had no interest in doing. So basically this would mean she's too fat for pointe. Since my child is absolutely a pointe-level dancer, this is the only thing that makes sense. There's literally no way two schools with professional companies AND Paris Opera Ballet instructors are the wrong ones. None. All that's left is there much be another reason, and what else is left other than my daughter isn't emaciated? That's actually part of what makes her so beautiful to watch on stage, and it's not just me saying that, but people who didn't know which one is mine. Look at the pics from Paris below and tell me if you think that. Tell me if she looks like she needs two more years, minimum, before pointe.

So grateful we found this studio. Our daughter has been begging to take Hip Hop dance classes. We…read moretook her to another studio and were immediately concerned about their lack of awareness/acknowledgement that we are in the midst of a pandemic- wearing no masks indoors with the omicron variant wreaking havoc. This studio is clean, the staff and dance teachers are extremely friendly and everyone is wearing a mask. We feel like our daughter can enjoy learning and having fun while we feel safe in an environment and business that is doing it's job to prevent spread of COVID. The hip hop class she is in is for 6-8 year olds. The teacher is super energetic, the studios are lit up with colorful lights, and the music and routines are on point! Thanks DanceWorks!