My son was attending a prestigious ballet school for two years, but found it lacking a certain amount of excitement and freedom in how much he felt he could express himself so I found myself searching for different options. I enrolled him in a 5+ Hip Hop class taught by Ms. Chi Pham at DF Dance and I could tell right away how transformative it was for his mood and self-esteem. The way the class was run had a lot to do with that. They taught him how to dance, obviously, with as much grace, enthusiasm and discipline to move memorization as a 5 year old could muster. But as a parent watching in on his lessons, I saw a lot of character being developed when the kids weren't dancing. These classes would allow, "game breaks," to allow the small dancers some relief and fatigue reset time. I saw opportunities for these children to develop some leadership skills in running these games, while also learning pro-social behaviors like fairness, turn-taking, cooperation and inclusion. This is where friendships formed, over Animal Charades games where creativity in silly self-expression was encouraged. The teacher herself, Ms. Pham, was incredibly patient and empathetic towards students who were having difficulty in class and I think this very nature empowered them to come out of their shells, trust in their own abilities and make the most of the experience. She was able to inspire enthusiasm to dance in even the most helplessly morose children (including mine). It made me laugh. The final showcase was spectacular. The kids are set up to be a success, guided pretty effectively on how to perform in a way that was just the right amount of complexity and challenging for their age range, where it was still fun, thrilling and instilled them with pride in being able to accomplish. Yeah, great experience, five stars, would recommend. read more