Dance Studio No 1

I have been taking Align Ballet Method workshops and the classes take place at this studio on Monday evenings. This past Monday, we had a sub teacher and class went over by a few minutes. Receptionist at Dance Studio No 1 knocked open the door and said «I just wanted to let you guys know you guys are over by a few» The teacher (he was subbing) said, «oh sorry, I thought the wall clock wasn’t accurate» then the girl goes «It is– and you guys are 5 minutes over.» She stood there and waited until the students left… Who does that? I get that we are just renting the room once a week, but you don’t disturb a class and kick out your clients (students are clients!). If you think it’s become a pattern and we always go over, you should talk to the instructor when the class is not in session. If you had to interrupt, maybe give a warning and let the instructor finish his class instead of standing and watching people leave. How unprofessional.

This studio was like «home» for us for many years. My daughter spent 8 years taking ballet and jazz classes. She took the Royal Academy of Dance exams, and became more attentive and disciplined, due to the dance classes. They also had musical theater classes at one point, which helped bring out the budding performer in my daughter. I do wish they had incorporated a little more stretching into their classes, but other than that, it was pretty much perfect.

My daughter started at the studio when she was 3. (Now 11) We are not a dance family. We don’t want (or expect) our daughter to be a ballerina. We signed up as a creative and physical activity. In the beginning, most your interactions are with the teachers. The teachers are great from a teaching, inspiring and challenging point of view. As you move forward, it becomes more intensive and the owner gets more involved. The owner is bizarre and my husband has disliked her from the beginning. I tried my best to ignore her attitude because my daughter liked it and the teachers are great. The last year my daughter’s self esteem started being impacted. She no longer wanted to go. She always felt criticized and it was not fun. (I am not one of those parents who think every kid needs positive experiences every minute. I worked very hard to become who I am and expect the same from my kid). The owner yelled at her and showed no compassion. My daughter does more than ballet including soccer and Girl Scouts and we travel when we can. The owner only cares about her exam scores. She doesn’t encourage kids to challenge themselves in a healthy way. She tells them it should hurt. I pulled my daughter from the studio. I was spending $ 4,000 plus a year. Instead of building self esteem, passion for dance, and an achievement attitude, she was feeling defeated, picked on and now has no interest in ballet. I should have pulled her earlier but didn’t want to encourage quitting. It got to a point that the bigger lesson was live your values and this is not effective or inspiring teaching.

My daughter has been at Dance Studio No 1 for nine years. The teachers are fantastic and the other students and parents are a delight! Each year they add more and more classes, camps, and summer programs. We highly recommend the Disney Dance Camp and Summer Intensives for any child who love dances and wants to learn.

My daughter absolutely love this studio. We have been coming here for years for ballet and pointe classes. Elizabeth the studio owner is warm and loving and really cares for her students. The other teachers are also great, very well educated and knows what they are talking about. My daughters personal favorite is Ms Annalie (was very chocked/​confused to read her other review further down) They also always have very well put together and cool recitals. Dance Studio No1 is great value for your money, recommended!

Love this studio. Makela offers the best Tango classes in Los Angeles, she is amazing! I also have nothing but praise for Carly at the front desk, she was very kind and helpful when I needed help renting a room. Plentiful parking, a great Westside location and excellent staff. Thank you DSN1!

Great studio! I go there on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Sunday for Tango and Milonga with Makela (she is the Tango instructor there).
The studio is clean and has a great vibe. I can’t really speak for the other classes such as ballet, jazz, or modern dance but from what I can see the students always seem to be very happy and very well taught.
Parking is easy to find. The building has underground parking and a lot in the back.

This review is for the Adult Beginner Ballet class taught by Annalie on Tuesday nights.
First off, the class is improperly labelled. It’s not a beginner class. It’s more of an intermediate class. The pace is fast, and the teacher doesn’t offer any breakdown of movements which are done at lightening speed. For a beginner to ballet, this is utterly overwhelming.
Second, the students who show up to the class are of mixed levels. But the class is entirely tailored to those of a higher level. Experienced ballet teachers would be able to provide multiple versions of exercises for those of higher or lower level. Instead, Annalie simply instructed everyone to do the same movements. If you fail to keep up, she simply ignores you. I ended up injuring my ankle because I tried to do a movement without being shown how to really do it. To say the least, this is extremely discouraging for a beginner adult ballet student.
Third, the class is small. There were about 5 students the night I attended. But the small class size does NOT translate to personalized attention from the teacher. This was by far the most disappointing part of the class. I can understand if in a class of 25 – 30 students, the teacher isn’t able to give feedback to everyone, but if a teacher can’t do that in a class of 5 students, it’s because on some level, they don’t really care.
Fourth, the drop-​in rate for this class is $ 16.50, which is slightly higher than other drop-​in rates for other beginner ballet classes in the area (usually around $ 15/​class). Sadly, you don’t get what you pay for here.
On the plus side: The studio itself is nicely maintained. Paying for the class was a breeze with a credit card. Parking in the lot is free, but it can be a tight squeeze maneuvering around narrow aisles to find a parking space, so allocate some extra time for that.
In summary: I wish there had been some Unilocal reviews here to warn me of what I was walking into here. If you’re an adult looking for a beginner ballet class, I’d recommend other studios in the area. There are plenty of ballet teachers on the Westside, and you’re better off finding one who actually cares and knows how to teach beginner students.

A great studio for serious ballet students of all ages with Elizabeth, Analias, and Anne The modern classes with Mairiana are tough, and her choreography is beautiful, and unique. I love this studio and recommend it.

It’s a great place for all ages. They take pride in what they do here. Owner Elizabeth has the right philosophy for the studio.

Great place for kids and serious ballerinas. They train Pros here! Sunday classes are ridiculously crowded and busy, So avoid that day but otherwise the rest is great.

Please note that the studio moved locations in 2009 to Pico & Bundy. References to former locations will be less relevant, though the teaching remains every bit as fine — in fact I think it has improved, if possible, from its former incarnations.
This studio is a happy place. Girls really learn how to dance here; they are taught and not with nastiness or too-​high expectations. They are met perfectly by their teachers and raised to a fine level of dancing too. The proof would be to attend a recital — it is an amazing exhibit of well-​learned and executed core ballet steps — choreographed and staged in absolutely delightful manner. I have enjoyed the winter recital performance every bit as much as full-​staged professional dance performances downtown. These are skillful dancers and teachers in charge here. When so well in control, you can afford to be nice.
I suspect all this excellent teaching and choreography has trickled down from the studio’s director and owner. She is a treasure — she gets so much out of every single one of her students. I imagine she must be as talented at drawing out the best from her staff as well.
What more could you want from a studio? (well, more helpful front desk personnel would be nice, but at least they are not nasty as is the case with one of this studio’s competitors!). I cannot recommend this outfit highly enough. The proof is in the quality of their graduates: really graceful, fantastic dancers are trained here.
I wish their space could be bigger. I wish there were more adult classes available. But all that cannot happen until you bring your child here to grow the program: it’s well worth it.

A really wonderful dance studio. Although they specialize in ballet, they have other types of dance such as hip hop and flamenco, which I took for years.
Their teachers are spectacular (I would still be there, if my teacher hadn’t moved to Spain :(. The place is very clean, neat, and spacious. The owner, Elizabeth is lovely as well.

Rahana teaches bellydance at this location. She has intricate choreographies and is a lovely, sweet person. Been dancing with her since early 2007 and loving every minute of it.
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One of Dance Studio No. 1’s two locations. Very large studio space with several studios for a variety of classes. It seems different studios are rented out to different programs.
So far I’ve only been here for a poi class and I was very impressed by the large studio space. More to come as I utilize the facilities and explore them some more.
The layout is a bit strange and there are studios behind studios behind studios, but this does make for a lot of different rooms.
Classes offered at this location range from ballet, poi, hoop, tango, pilates, hip hop, bellydance, staff, and some Pole classes.
Minus one star for messing up the schedule for my hula hoop class…