My two girls have been dancing here since they were two (in Mommy & Me class). I was careful about…read morechoosing a studio, as I come from a performance background and I know how cutthroat the dance world can be. I was looking for a few things in particular and have been extremely pleased with HDA. Specifically, I was looking for: 1) Choreography and costumes that are age-appropriate. I have a huge problem with the sexualization of young children and I'm happy to say that I have never seen a child at HDA in anything that made me uncomfortable. (So, no five-year-olds twerking in bikinis.) 2) Promoting healthy body image. The dance world (ballet in particular) notoriously pushes dancers to be unhealthily thin. I have never heard of a dancer at HDA being told that they needed to look a certain way in order to dance and I've been happy to see dancers of all sizes and shapes in lead roles over the past several years. 3) Camaraderie among dancers. I have no patience for petty, backstabbing meanness. Dance does have a competitive element to it when it comes to coveted roles and I know how ugly behavior can stem from jealousy. I'm not quite sure how she's done it, but Jennifer has managed to create an environment where the students all genuinely cheer for each other, the older students nurture the younger students, and the younger students admire their leaders. 4) Performance opportunities. I think that publicly putting yourself out there -- in any way, on stage or in a business presentation -- is one of the most terrifyingly vulnerable things someone can do, which is why it's a skill that is good to develop at a young age. HDA finds a way to include even their youngest dancers in their productions (e.g., Reindeer in "The Nutcracker," mice in "Cinderella," guppies in "The Little Mermaid," etc.), which is not true of some other studios in the area. 5) Excellent training. Finding a studio that emphasizes good technique is extremely important, as ballet is the foundation for so many other kinds of dance. My oldest daughter (11) started en pointe this year and I will say that the evaluation to see if she was physically ready was excellent. The studio also encouraged us to see a doctor if we were hesitant, who also gave the green light. And quick note: starting en pointe doesn't mean immediately doing pirouettes in the center. The class moves slowly to properly develop the technique. On the other side of this, both of my girls have repeated dance levels in the past because the instructors didn't feel that they were physically ready to move up. I appreciated that they were looking out for their development and, while my daughters were disappointed, it gave them extra incentive to work toward improving in certain areas so that they would be ready to move up the following year. 6) Nurturing teachers. The fastest way to burn out is to hate going to class. That's never been the case for my daughters at HDA. Starting in the Young Children's Program, the classes are so much fun and so joyful. It really did instill a love of dance early on. Moving into the upper level classes, I see the instructors correcting and challenging the dancers, but never with a hardened rigidity that I've observed elsewhere. Each instructor has their own style, but the constant is the care that they show each dancer as a human being -- and how much they love to teach. I found one studio that had everything on my list: Hinsdale Dance Academy. I haven't been disappointed. Dance at HDA has given my girls confidence, a strong work ethic, opportunities for leadership, and a spirit of sisterhood. They have learned to overcome obstacles, to deal with disappointment gracefully, and the exhilaration that comes with obtaining a long-term goal. I highly recommend it.

Wow this is an AMAZING dance school! My child started taking classes at a very young age and loves…read moreit so much. My daughter comes home from dance and always has a joyful smile on her face. The studio is VERY clean and sanitized. Faculty is great, understanding, and kind. Everyone treats each other with respect and no judgment is made. I have taken my daughter to previous dance studios and she did not love it as much. Hinsdale Dance Academy is amazing. 1000% recommend taking your kid here. Also, I saw a couple of boys taking the class as well and they were treated the same way. Love HDA!

Great studio!! The others I looked into were to advanced and to large for my girls. This place is…read moreperfect! Their Christmas recital was perfect just their studio and the dance had a story to it. I have been to my other granddaughter's recitals and I sit there for hours watching a bunch more dancers no story to it and my granddaughter for 3 minutes..

Impact is a pretty good studio, but isn't my favorite. The company is great and their dances are…read moreamazing. Although, my daughter recently took classes that are open to anyone and was not a fan. She also was on show stars for a little while but then left the year later. My daughter would come home with a pout face because teachers would yell or talk to her with dis respect. She also said that some teachers would comment on her technique constantly, even though my daughter was 6. I understand technique is a huge part in competitive dance, but this was not ok. My daughter would try to fix it, which I am unsure if she did correctly, but the teachers would not help with her mistakes and would instead embarrass her in front of the group of other girls and boys. Overall , not taking my child back. - Christy J.

After moving from the city a friend recommended this dance studio. My daughter had tried another…read moreplace in Chicago when she was two and she seemed much more comfortable at the Dance Center of La Grange. She began pre-ballet classes when she was three and now she is four and in the tap and ballet class. There is always more than one teacher and in the afternoon classes we had three teachers (which was great). The recital did not require overpriced costumes and it was broken into different age groups (3 recitals rather than one super long recital). We have had a very positive experience at this dance studio. Honestly any sport or activity before the age of four can be challenging for everyone and Miss Robin works hard to help the children and parents.

This is not the place for little ones!…read more My 2 1/2 year old was in the pre-ballet summer session and on the first day she started to cry when I left the room and was trying to leave. So, I brought her back to the circle and sat down with her. Ms. Robin yelled across the studio that I couldn't sit there and this is not a mommy and me class. She said I should let her cry and leave the room. However, every time I tried my daughter followed me and was able to open the door to come out. The teachers made zero effort to engage her or keep her in the studio. At that point Ms. Robin said I could sit in the corner with her and observe quietly. We sat and watched and still the teachers made no effort to include her in the class. They acted as if we were not there. After class Ms. Robin said not to worry and that some times it can take a whole session for them to get used to the class. The 2nd week it was more of the same. My daughter didn't want to participate and didn't want me to leave so we again watched from the side and were completely ignored by the teachers. Later that night Ms. Robin sent me an email saying that we can come to one more class but if my daughter cannot separate and stay in the class on her own we can't come to class and she will give me a partial refund. Never in my life have a heard of a 2 year old being kicked out of any recreational activity b/c of separation anxiety!

Great workout facility with lots of equipment! The gym is kept spotless by the employees and…read moremembers- there are ample antibacterial wipe stations for you to grab a wipe and clean the machines after use. They have decent hours to come workout. The locker room is also kept nice and clean, and has lockers that you can self-program daily so you don't need to bring a lock! I have showered there- the water is hot and the pressure was good but the curtain is way too small for the shower! There was no way to have full coverage so I ended up doing a little dance to stay hidden the whole time I showered. I don't think many use the showers so it wasn't like I was seen by anyone, thankfully. They do not offer towels, so bring your own for showering! They offer some good classes with nice variety too- arrive early to guarantee your spot! (You will get a colored ticket to claim your spot in class). The fitness studios, though, get way too cramped due to the popularity of classes. I would think they should just offer less tickets to class or try to move them to one of the park district studio areas or basketball court! It's a great place overall and a great deal on price per month too.

Beautiful facility, and my personal trainer, David, is fantastic. He has really helped me with my…read morelow back. I am so, so much better. I can't say enough about the cleanliness and helpfulness of everyone there!

For the price this place charges you would think there would be a better teacher:student ratio. It…read morewould also be nice if the mats were cleaned or updated. I cringe every month when the payment comes out because it's so overpriced and not worth it but my daughter likes going so eh. Plus enforcing rules would be cool. I always see people with shoes on in the gym.

My daughter has been taking classes at Flying High since she was 3. She is now a teenager. Flying…read moreHigh staff is so friendly. They keep us updated on skills, events going on at the gym and really make us feel like we are at home. You are not just another number here. It is a safe and clean environment where she has flourished.

My daughter has been taking lessons for a year and a half now. Elizabeth is amazing! They have been…read morevery proactive with COVID-19, and taking the dancers' health and safety seriously. I highly recommend!

Not only is a great place to learn how to dance, sing and act; the owner, Elizabeth Bender, is a…read morenatural born leader and a wonderful person.

This is The Place To Go for dance lessons! They are friendly and helpful. We have been working…read morewith Domas. He is so patient, good at teaching and he makes it fun. Formal dancing does not come easy to us, and we want to dance nicely at our wedding. Our group is the bride and groom and the parents. Domas has helped us create a beautiful waltz and we plan to keep going to learn .

From the owner: DanceDuo is the home of Ballroom dance Latin and Standard styles. We offer Pro-Am, social dance…read morenights, competitive, special occasion dances, private and group classes. There are also classes such as Ballet, Zumba, Hip Hop, Break Dance, Martial Arts, Artistic Expressions, Yoga and Indian cultural dance. Everyone from the age of 3 to 100 years young can learn, excel and enjoy the dance. Our professional instructors will take you step by step to develop your dancing skills. DanceDuo provides themed dance parties for your child's birthday! DanceDuo artistic dance entertainment could make your celebration more vibrant! Our motto: Share the POWER of DANCE!

This class is amazing. I'm so happy to see it still exist. I did ballet here in the 90s and I still…read morehave skills and techniques I remember. Mrs.Boitsov does not play she teaches you discipline, she's passionate and immaculate. If you are interested or your child is interested in ballet you will not regret enrolling in their classes.

From the owner: Ballet classes for boys and girls from age 3.5 years (toddlers) and up. Professional Ballet School…read morebased on the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre System of training. Contact us to schedule a trial class for your child. Madame Boitsov has taught ballet in Chicago since 1980.

I would like to explain the experience of being here at Acacia Academy. In Acacia Academy, I've…read moreexperienced difficulty with learning while dealing with PTSD, Anxiety, Depression, and ADHD mostly. While being here, I've struggled even more. The classes with these two specific teachers have made it even more difficult for me to learn and to work. The teachers will follow me to the bathroom due to the fact I've cried in the bathroom multiple times and it has been a '"concern" to the staff members. I would also like to mention that I've gotten panic attacks in the bathroom too-because of my PTSD, and also feeling like I am not good enough for anyone in this school (staff members, teachers, and students.) It has really made me uncomfortable from the fact that the administrator has instructed the teachers to follow me to the bathroom to monitor for me crying, panicking, or talking badly about myself even when I had stopped now. I would also like to mention that the administrator assumes that every problem with a student is either stress, or anxiety. There was a time when I was on the bathroom floor from having a panic attack and I felt weak, I've told the social worker that I had a PTSD flashback, yet they had put me in a room with an administrator to just eat my lunch and apparently "give me time" is what the social worker said and put me back in class. I understand that social workers have to talk to other kids in school, but what makes these "social workers" think that putting me back in class was a fine thing to do? Every time that I've talked to these "social workers," and discuss about how this school has made my mental state worse, yet they encourage me to keep going to this school. I've never felt more disgusted, hatred, and anger in my life from how a "social worker" would convince me that it is required to keep going here while my mental state is getting worse day by day while coming to this school. Keep in mind, I am really struggling with suicidal thoughts right now at the moment and I have to do an online hospitalization program. The teachers continue to stack up on work, while knowing that I will not be able to do some of these assignments at home because I have to do an online hospitalization program. I've never felt more pressured in my life than ever when wanting to have good grades, to get my work done, while I feel that the teachers and staff have absolutely NO awareness about the fact that I won't be able to have enough time to turn in all these assignments on time because of my online hospitalization program. Dealing with my mental health and education is absolutely exhausting, but yet-the teachers continue to give me stacks of work while I'm having to do the online hospitalization program at the same time. I've tried talking to the social workers here, but I've noticed that social workers tend to go straight to the negatives when it comes to certain talks, but never find the positivity in things that could happen if I made changes for coming to this school. Another thing is that a social worker was hoping for me to go to a partial hospitalization program *in-person*, but I told her that I was doing it *online* and she gave me a disappointed look and said, "I was hoping you would go in-person." I felt that it was completely unnecessary that she had to give a comment like that for the choices my parents make to try to help me. The social workers will always tell you, "I'm glad you came today!" Sure! You're glad that I came today to this school, but do I feel that I'm glad I came today? Absolutely not, in reality, I feel like I am forced to be in this school and suffer more each day as I continue to come here. Sometimes I don't even have a choice from whether I should come to school or not, my parents mostly make the decision to whether I can stay home or not. Attendance really matters here, because if you don't come to class for a certain amount of days, you will be held back. I feel even more pressured that I am *required* to come to this school every week without being able to give myself time to stabilize myself, yet I will have to continuously live a dreadful loop for coming here to this school and suffer even more. This school needs to have more awareness on how students feel and need to know what they're struggling with. This school may seem that it's "accommodating" and "helpful," but I feel that the school has barely accommodated anything for me as a student who wants to be successful. Oh! And also, this school told me to take my other rating down because they're afraid of people seeing the truth for what it's like to come here.

When I was sitting in an IEP meeting for my child in our normal school district I was gutted when…read morethey recommended placement out of district. I mean, how could this be? His diagnosis is manageable in public school. It happens everyday. I knew the teachers didn't understand him, and didn't care to. I knew they were mean to him but I fought to keep him in regular school because I wanted him to be with friends in the neighborhood and I didn't want the stigma attached to being sent out of district. His school district turned the screws and fought harder to get him out by destroying his self esteem. Ultimately I agreed to placement out of district to save my son's sanity. Enter Acacia. I was apprehensive at first. Everyone was so nice. I didn't think this could be real after everything we'd been through. But guess what? It IS amazing! My son loves going to school here. He feels valued as a human being and an individual. They teach him at the speed he's comfortable with. Every day that I ask him how his day was he says, "GREAT". I used to be scared to ask him how his day was. My stomach would flip when I saw an email from his school. Those days are over for us. Acacia is where it's at. Everyone knows what they're doing and I regret fighting our school district. He went from someone who was being shamed daily and punished for a neurological problem to someone who has his self esteem and happiness back. He has A's and B's and they LIKE him. I highly recommend Acacia. If you're checking reviews like I was, I know you're not in a good place right now. Hang in there moms and dads. Meet with Acacia as one of your options. You may be scared but everything will be ok - especially if this is where your child ends up.