I go to Center Space every Friday I'm not out of town, sick, or being forced to do something else…read morethat invariably is way less fun than going to Center Space. I go for the most fun, wonderful, queer-friendly hip-hop dance class in the entire world, Swagger. The teacher is probably the most patient, upbeat dance teacher I've ever encountered - you can tell she really loves what she does and so do her students. I recommend it, and any other class at Center Space, to beginning dancers and more advanced dancers of all stripes!

Mariecella Devine, the dancer behind Devine Funk, has been holding down some of the best Hip Hop…read moreclasses in the Pacific Northwest for quite a while now. She's not only an incredible dancer but also a fantastic and confident teacher--a rare combination in the dance world. Having tried many dance classes over the last 3 years in NYC, DC, San Fran, and Seattle, I can now declare that hers is among the very best out there. Dance has long been one of the less appreciated/understood arts in Portland, which maybe is why Mariecella has flown largely under the radar for much of her career. But anyone of any level looking for a fun Hip-Hop dance class would do well to jump into one of hers. Hot beats and plenty of space to make the dance your own.

So fun! A little intimidating when going alone as many have their groups or friends established…read more Advice is go with a friend.

After taking loads of classes here, and even taking triple back-to-back classes sometimes, I…read moretemporarily have stopped coming here because I don't have the flexibility in my schedule to come. It really is mostly a location thing and I had to prioritize another (also great) workout studio near my home that I could walk to in a shorter time that it took me to drive or ride my bike to Pulse. But about this place: I love that you can take classes back to back so you can get both strength training and cardio out of the way. And they even have wonderful recovery/muscle-repair type classes as well. Anyway, I miss Pulse! I hope their schedule and my schedule align sooner than later because I would love to go back and dance my butt off!

I've been taking absolute beginner ballet for adults on Sundays for several weeks and I love it! I…read moretruly am an absolute beginner. I have done absolutely zero ballet before, but after a couple weeks of classes and a couple YouTube videos to brush up on the terminology, I feel like I'm getting the hang of it. I like that you don't have to commit to a series of classes and can just pay for single drop in classes. I needed that freedom to be brave enough to try it. The instructor is great, kind and encouraging and clear. Come join, it's fun!

Nice studio! we went here during covid. All the staff were very safe about it all and made sure…read moreeveryone wore a mask and used hand sanitizer when entering the building. they ran it so well! the teachers were all very kind and they helped train even in crazy times! great!

Don't waste your time. I made the drive twice, planning to attend one of the classes on their…read moreschedule, but both times the studio was locked and dark, and the instructor never showed up. I'm done.

Wonderful teachers with easy-to-follow instructions and demonstrations. Great class variety also.read more

Our son goes to Dance with Joy's summer camp (they have camps for most school breaks) and I can't…read morerave enough about how much he and we love it! Everyone is so sweet and thoughtful. My son has been to several other camps and he is adamant that he only wants to go to Dance with Joy! He's as sensitive soul and feels right at home there. Best kids camp ever!

I took one of my first dance classes with Rachel 18 years ago. She sparked my interest in tango and…read moreI haven't stopped dancing since. In addition to being accomplished in many forms of dance, she goes above and beyond to foster community and make sure everyone feels welcome.

I haven't been into a dance class in about 10 years but I used to go to Vega and was a collegiate…read moredancer before that and let me tell you the experience I had at Vega was so great! Everyone is so supportive and lovely and the studio looks incredible. I highly recommend they have so many different types of classes for everyone. I love that it's an adult setting. And they have air-conditioning! Yay!

I have tried many classes so far and the teachers I liked the best are Nikki, Jeanine, Evie and…read moreTara. I am basically an absolute beginner and I found their classes easier to keep up with. If you are a beginner I would suggest a class that is labeled more workout than choreo because they do choreography in all I have been to. The owners are very nice people and the people who go there are also nice and approachable.

I wanted to love this so bad, but it just wasn't it. Mind you, this is my first American dance…read moreclass. I just spent a month in Colombia taking 4 hours of bachata a week with a 1:1 teacher for 20$ an hour. I learned so fast because I was learning one to one with a professional competitive dancer. Learning bachata with a strong experienced lead makes a huge difference as being the woman, I'm supposed to follow. If the lead doesn't know what they're doing, as in the classes here, you not only learn a lot slower, but often learn incorrectly. I signed up for a full month of lessons here however, my first class was a turn off. The classes are extremely full. There might be 30 to 50 people in the room. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe 15 or 20 equal men and women that you would get to know each other over the course of the month. Just something more intimate. I also thought you would also dance with the teacher kind of get the feeling physically of what the correct dance looks like, however, this is not the case, you're just watching. It is also very fast-paced, so if you're neurodivergent or take a little bit to get the hang of things, it's probably not for you. Especially since the class is only an hour you only learn a little bit at a time, once a week in class. There's also really no time for you to like invest in learning a specific step, the 30-50 or whatever people in the room are all on the same clock, and one step is rushed to the next. After my first class I was looking into the cost of individual dance lessons here however they are ridiculously expensive at $100 an hour. I have a decent job, but still cannot afford that. The location is also not that convenient unless you live in the general area and can walk. Parking is really difficult, it's not right off the freeway or anything so if you live in another part of town, give yourself at least an extra 15 minutes to park and walk to the location. I guess I will be back in Latin America soon to learn more one-to-one! Or maybe at a bar in Portland they'll teach us some steps

This place is run by amazing humans and the teachers are great. I really enjoyed their practicas…read moreand other socials. I also love how they put teh class videos online. As a background, I have done 20 years of partner dancing. I am physically fit and able. The classes usually start with a warm up for about 10 minutes. Tl;Dr version: you will not be able to learn salsa here unless you really really stick with it, have some innate ability and previous dance experience, have a good musical ear etc because salsa 1 is too crowded to learn anything and step up to salsa 2 is way way too fast and do not teach much things you can use in social dancing. More info: My issue with VMAC is that their classes are insanely crowded at level 1 (this was salsa). And I mean insanely crowded. Probably because they are also on PCC curriculum so there are lots of PCC people there. The only reason I was able to pick up things was because I knew a bit of salsa and a lot of lead/follow/frame. But I can't see the instructors half of the time (the class had I think 75 or so people!!!!). I went to practicas which means another extra hour which is also why I was able to do ok. But moving to salsa 2 was horrible. It is not because I am not a good dancer. I think I was one of hte better ones in salsa 1. But salsa 2 is 3x the speed and 3x the number of moves. They show 4 "shines" / solo steps but they do not really break it down, they just do it quickly, and then almost within minutes increase the speed again. And since these steps are done in succession throughout the class, if you do not get one, and mind you, you will not esp. moving from salsa 1, you are now trying to find a way to do the ones you can. And salsa 2 can be busy as well, at least the first two weeks of the session so these super fast teaching/immediate application can be frustrating because you might not be able to see it. I am not surprised the later weeks got busier as people dropped out, probably because of this. Then they will teach you a move. Usually it is complicated and involves swapping places with your partner which means you can't see the move very well half of the time. So now you are stuck with frustration of not being able to do the shines they show, and then you can't see half of the steps. Salsa 2 is a HUGE step up, and also is 6 months so now you are in a class with people who have 5 more months of experience (in contrast, salsa 1 is 3 months). And since you do not know many moves, going to a social sucks. My friend is a lead and he had very few things he could do and his follows would get bored. Shines are great if you already have the beats, the fundamentals, but I think the teachers have not been beginners in a long time and do not udnerstand, esp. for leads from what I have seen, that they will not do any of those 4 insanely fast taught shine steps since they do not have much other things to do at a social. Hard to do steps that you can do alone when you are doing a partner dance you are just learning. I do not know where else they teach salsa in Portland, but this is not a good place to take salsa classes IMHO. They are too focused on number of attendees and showing you things that you can't use and not showing enough of things you can. Stepping from salsa 1 to salsa 2 is just a huge step up, and with the way/speed it is taught, you have very little chance of picking up things. Pick a place that teaches in smaller groups. I also took bachata and it was a slightly smaller class and though they do also show things that you have not learned already at the warm up, it is a slower pace and they do go over it in other weeks. Sorry to be a downer, but this was a very frustrating experience and it can be better if they focused on things we can actually use on the dance floor to get more of a feel as relatively new dancers instead of this obsession with teaching us 4 different shines every class in a rapid way that is not being broken down and then we have to put them together, in the same class, at an even faster tempo. Also in practica one of the teachers would just chat with her friend the other ambassador instead of dancing with one of the leads who didn't have a partner and had to wait (I looked) 5 minutes for them to remember to rotate by which time they moved to another thing. John and Sophia are very fun to learn from in practica.

I had a brief visit to Portland about a year or so ago, and one of the top must see's on my list…read morewas Datura! It was my dance Mecca and luckily I was in the area. I decided to try a drop in class with my cousin while I was there, just to get the full experience. The Studio is a small space but it's immediately recognizable on the street due to the cute window decorations and signage. Inside it's amazing, and has a bazaar like feel to it. You almost feel like you're being transported into a studio set off the beaten path in the Middle East. My dance teacher for the evening was very welcoming and made us feel at home immediately. The actual dance space is very spacious and beautifully adorned with a hanging carpet/tapestry and perfectly lit with ample space to move. The class flew by quickly and I was sad to have to leave. I again thanked all the students and instructor again for taking us in only for the evening. I left with a cool new T-shirt (yay shopping!) and a big grin on my face. If it wasn't for my real life I would move to Portland and start classes right away. What's not to love about this place? For anyone in the area interested in belly dance, this is the cream of the crop!

One of the most authentic and wonderful dance studios Iv been too. Warm warm people and the dancing…read morewill pretty much knock your socks off in the best possible way. Love this place!

I went to a Sunday drop-in hip hop class with my friends. The class was quite popular. I'm not sure…read moreif there's a limit on the number of students for drop in sessions. It was labeled as all-level and the choreography was fun to follow. It wasn't too hard or too easy because the instructor offered different options for the moves, which made it accessible for everyone. All of my friends really enjoyed the class. The price was very reasonable compared to other drop-in classes in downtown. However, the check-in and payment process felt a bit confusing as a first timer since the instructor was just wrapping up the previous class at the time. It seems like they also offer more skill-focused classes that concentrate on specific hip hop techniques or moves, but I couldn't easily find detailed information about them. The studio itself is spacious and very clean and comfortable. Even after we worked up a serious sweat, it didn't feel stuffy or smell bad. Overall, I highly recommend the drop-in class if you're looking for a fun experience to express yourself with hip hop that also works as a great workout.

Awesome dance classes with great dance community vibes. Welcoming to all and breaking it down and…read moreteaching it in a way that makes it accessible to everyone! Even if you aren't sure you can dance... Mariecellla makes it fun and easy! And great workouts to get your heart pumping.

By far my favorite studio in Portland. The place is clean and has such a nice, welcoming…read moreatmosphere. The instructors are fantastic, every one of them. I appreciate the variety of classes offered and the times are good too. The complimentary tea is lovely and the cafe next door is great too (although the people/vibe isn't as lovely there). I will always remember Jenn Reed from the first time I went there years ago. Much like the other instructors, so personable and kind. It's not about your money and they all seem genuinely so happy you are there. GET OVER TO THE WEST SIDE ALREADY!! :)

The vibe here is everything!!…read more I was 5 min late coming to my first class that I had booked and I found the door locked! I was able to get in through the coffee shop O'vive as they share the space. There was a wonderful and very kind person that worked there named Grey and even though I dropped in on what I believe was his break, he rebooked me for their next class and explained the classes to me. He hooked me up with a mat which is free ( I think for your first time) and a locker key (in exchange for my I.D.) and let me know about the various lockers. Gendered and all inclusive! I was so stressed with being late and his vibe and the vibe of the studio calmed me down. The place was beautiful, squeeky clean and had pretty small light hanging like curtains on the windows that face Grand. There was some relaxing music playing from the cafe and it smelled amazing. It may have been the tea, the food or whatever else they were making there but it had a nice fragrance. I was able to chill on this beautiful blue sofa snd drink tea and write this review while I was waiting for the next class. The lockers and showere were also nice!! Photos included. I did the Power Flow Class with Eila and it was amazing! It was my first time and it was relaxing yet challenging. I didn't know it was more of an advanced class but I was ablebto keep it (mostly) I will definitely be coming back to do more of their class!