The Adult Ballet class taught by Rita Ockrim is absolutely wonderful!…read more The class is essentially all about you, about really warming up and strengthening all of your muscles, and you will leave having worked your entire body! Since Rita generally does the class with you, she can tell which muscles have been properly warmed up for subsequent combinations, ensuring that you feel safe and comfortable as you progress through the class. Rita has an immense knowledge and passion for ballet that she would like to share with you. She will take time to explain and to help you feel how to properly execute different movements - which muscles to engage, how to position your head, where to apply pressure to the floor, etc. - all of the details that are generally left out of adult ballet classes, but that make the class much more interesting and valuable whether this information is just a refresher, or if you are hearing these insights for the first time. It shows that Rita genuinely cares about her students and strives to provide whatever it is you are looking to get out of the class. She makes the class as fun and enjoyable as possible, and definitely puts a lot of thought into her music selection. Anyone that has taken ballet knows that there is quite a plethora of cut and dry ballet music out there, or that it can become that way when it's played repeatedly. Rita makes sure to play new music essentially every class, and only recycles the best pieces that you probably wouldn't mind hearing again. If nothing else, you could come to class just for the beautiful and varied music selection! If you haven't danced in a while, don't be intimidated that the class is taught at an intermediate level. Rita will go over and do the combinations with you, so there is no stress in memorizing combinations, instead, you can really focus on what your body is doing. If need be, you can always simplify the combinations, but it is nice to have the option of a more advanced alternative, and to see how it looks when executed properly. This may seem like a lot of praise, but all of it is well deserved. I have been quite frustrated with many of the adult ballet classes I have taken, and I have finally stumbled on a gem that I believe deserves more attention!

Rita Okrim is a superb ballet instructor! Her technique at the barre is outstanding with so much…read morevariety. Her center is so creative and original. A wonderful workout. The studio is enchanting, making you feel like you are on stage dancing. Very inspiring- I highly recommend classes from Rita! - Susan Wright

The first week we all were quarantined for Covid-19 my kids were bummed to miss their favorite…read moreclasses. Then the realization hit that we would be stuck at home for weeks (maybe even months...fingers crossed not the case) local businesses got creative. Since then I've been a bit overwhelmed with my kids virtual schedules and would do anything to drop off one of my kids somewhere...and even drive a carpool. Some virtual classes have been better than others. Yesterday we had a music teacher (not at Rootz) send out the wrong zoom passcode and teach the entire class without realizing any kids were on there. But today we had my one of son's favorite classes, Super Hero Boot Camp, here at Rootz take place on zoom and it was the best virtual class I saw yet. Mr. David was well prepared by sending us parents some worksheets (scavenger hunt and coloring page) ahead of time. He had a fun superhero background on zoom and engaged the kids for 40 minutes with super hero activities. Since they are so young it did require a parent to be present and think my husband had so much fun that I may have to sign him up for the class in the future. Are 43 year olds allowed? My son did get distracted a few times, which probably also happens in class, but overall he had so much fun. While he wishes he could see all his fellow superheroes in person, this is a great plan b.

So fortunate to find Ninja class for my two sons. Maidson leads their class and she is simply life…read morechanging and cares deeply about the kids in the class. My oldest son is Autistic and Madison is wonderfully focused on inclusion which leaves us looking forward to every Saturday morning. We are raving fans!

Kim is an amazing dancer with passion for both improving and helping others improve to their…read moreabilities. She provides a great climate, has challenging and fun choreography, and brings out the best in both me and my child!

From the owner: We offer classes for students ages 3 and up in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip hop, and acro along…read morewith monthly live interactive classes with LA's top choreographers. We cater to the 3-year-old looking to take their first dance class, to the dancer looking to perform and compete. Our studio boasts a state of the art Harlequin, us.harlequinfloors.com, sprung dance floor.

Wonderful dance studio and teachers. As a super bonus- the kids get to have their dance recital at…read moreThe Skokie Performing Arts Center. Also, Miss Kate is the best!

My almost 4 year old has been taking ballet (& recently hip hop) for a few years now at Starland*,…read moreBaby Take a Bow**, etc. However, this year I wanted her to find a "real" dance studio where she could continue to dance her heart out for many years to come (if she happens to love dance as much as I did/do). There's not many local studios that offer tap for 3-4 year olds so that was one of my deciding factors for DancED. When researching I also stayed up way too late one night watching video clips of their performances (like I said...I LOVE dance) and was hooked. It reminded me so much of my dance studio from South Florida. My daughter has been in Miss Erin's Creative Dance class since September now and DancED has proven to be everything (and more) I was looking for in a dance studio. At first I worried that one teacher couldn't handle a rowdy group of 10ish pre-schoolers, but after attending this week's parent watch week was in awe with the way Erin has them all under control. I really like that Erin (and it appears most of the other teachers) have a lot of experience teaching little ones. At Baby Take a Bow my daughter mostly had really young ballerinas teaching her who had absolutely no experience dealing with 2 & 3 year olds. And it's a lot more difficult to control a group of pre-schoolers than it is to do a pirouette. The class consists of 20 minutes of tap followed by 20 minutes of ballet. They are working on all the basic tap (shuffles) and ballet (first, second position) moves. My daughter seems to really enjoy it, especially the tap portion of the class. Anything really noisy makes her happy. There are typically 3 consecutive classes going on at the same time and I think she loves checking out the "big girl classes" even more than taking class herself. We're just about to order their costumes for the June recital, which I have to admit I"m excited for. I was a bit bummed to hear that the little ones have their own 45 minute version of the recital, although my husband and I'm sure other parents were thrilled to hear that news. I may just have to go on my own to watch those big kids dance. DancED also have a very busy calendar of events going on all year long. Everything from father/daughter fun nights to princess camps to circus weeks. The owner does a great job showing off pics of their fabulous dancers throughout the studio and on facebook. Speaking of which I'm a bit surprised that the owner (I believe Nancy?) hasn't come by the class to introduce herself to her newest group of dancers, but I'm sure we'll meet her in due time since I hope my daughter will be dancing her way thru DancED for many years to come. * http://www.yelp.com/biz/starland-deerfield **http://www.yelp.com/biz/baby-take-a-bow-winnetka

I cannot say enough about how great our experience was with Phillipa. My husband and I wanted to…read morelearn some moves for our wedding dance and we originally went to a community school ballroom class that ended with Tom and I thoroughly bored and angry with each other. We then luckily found JiveRoc. Phillipa came to our apartment and ended up choreographing our entire dance. Tom and I had so much fun after the first lesson we couldn't stop practicing after she left. She was wonderful. Our dance was challenging for us, but not too much that it wasn't enjoyable or hard to remember. At the wedding it was a complete success and all of our guests couldn't believe our dancing skills. Phillipa also gave us some tips for dancing with our parents that helped a lot too. I loved working with Phillipa. She was such a fantastic dance teacher. We know have moves to use when on a dance floor anywhere. We are so much more comfortable. Thank you JiveRoc!

Are you not a dancer? Do you and your future husband have no dancing experience whatsoever? Then,…read morePhillipa is for you!! Phillipa did an AMAZING job working with my husband and I on our first dance. Not only is she extremely patient, but she is VERY professional and really loves working with all levels of dancers (inexperienced dancers included). Phillipa met with my husband and I four different times. When she first told me that we would have an entire dance perfected in four sessions, I laughed. There was no way that my husband and I (two inexperienced dancers) would learn an entire routine in four sessions. She proved us wrong! Not only did we have our entire first dance perfected, but we had a blast each time we worked with her. After each session, she typed out the lyrics to our wedding song (You Are the Best Thing by Ray LaMontagne) and the dance moves that went along with each line/stanza. She doesn't charge by the hour and spent as much time as we needed perfecting a particular dance move. She is extremely affordable and is flexible about meeting you for your dance lessons. Our guests really loved our dance and could not believe how flawless our dance turned out. The first dance can be stressful, especially because you know all of the guests' eyes will be on you (not to mention the videographer and the photographers). Having met with Phillipa to teach us our first dance helped alleviate some of this stress and we had a great time dancing the night away! We would definitely recommend using Phillipa to help with your wedding dance! Meghan and Nick

My daughter and I recently took dance lessons at the Ballroom Center to prepare for our…read moreFather-Daughter dance at my daughter's wedding. We wanted to do something a little different than the ordinary, that involved a combination of slow and fast dances (e.g., a mashup). We worked with Dasha and she was both brilliant and amazing. She choreographed the whole dance with us, all the while taking into account my very limited dance skills. She made the entire process fun and memorable for my daughter and me. And she helped put together an epic dance that my daughter and I will never forget. The wedding is now 2 weeks past and we (and others) are still talking about it. Thank you Dasha and the entire staff at Ballroom Center for helping us, and for providing such a supportive and encouraging environment. We can't begin to tell you how much we appreciate it. ~Ed

Fantastic instructors! Enjoying learning better dance form. Very positive and welcoming dance…read morecenter.

If I can give 10 STARS I would!!! I had my daughter's 4th Birthday at Culture In Motion and it was…read moreAMAZING!! After we threw a fun Barbie themed event , a couple of my friends had their children's birthdays there as well!! Working with Reemlee made party planning so easy & stress free!! She made my vision come to life and all the kids had a blast!! Highly recommend having your child's birthday in the studio!! Definitely will continue to recommend to all my family and friends!!

I have been taking classes at Culture in Motion for almost two years. Reemlee is a very friendly,…read moreknowledgeable and patient teacher. She has classes for little kids and adults. She does a great job of catering choreography and teaching styles to each group's level. She was going to choreograph dances for my bridesmaids and groomsmen before we had to postpone my wedding due to the pandemic. Join Culture In Motion! You won't regret it!

Love Working out here in the a.m. when in the North Chicago Suburbs traveling for business!read more

Clean with adequate facilities. Staff is friendly and focused on keeping everyone safe as possible…read moredue Covid19. My new gym!