Gotta Dance

I was lucky to get to see the year end Dance Recital by all classes at Gotta Dance. I came to see only my granddaughter and wound up being completely captivated by all the performances. The Grand Finale was a professional as it gets. The coordination in having all students involved was first class and the final number had me on my feet! Kudos for a brilliant performance — the care and discipline is very obvious as is the comradery of all the students. Very impressive. A great — safe and positive environment for children. (Nice to see all the young men as well)

They have great hands on instructors who are more than capable of dealing with a class of 4 – 6 year old! Very happy!!!

My kids like going to dance classes here!

This place does not deserve even one star. My daughter is enrolled In a class there and the 16 year old assistant constantly makes disparaging remarks and comments about the girls. Last week my daughter overheard her saying that she had forgotten to take her 10 patience pills. Why is someone like this allowed to assist the classes. The girls should be leaving the class feeling strong and empowered, not in tears because of some thoughtless and hurtful comments made by someone who has no business being around young girls. These girls are 10 – 14 and in a crucial stage of their development. Words and comments like these scar. I would never recommend this studio. Additionally, the choreography, music, performance venue is mediocre at best.

Terrible school — teachers are decent but the management is money hungry. Impersonal, large warehouse feel — like the dancers are cattle, herded from cheesy recital to cheesy recital.
The method here is to teach to show (twice a year) instead of teaching actual skill. After 3 different classes with this school, my daughter could perform 3 dances… if the music was on. But ask her to do an impromptu plié… well, that’s not what they do. We pulled my daughter out — and would advise people who actually want their kids to have fun in class and to maybe learn a move or two to consider a better school, one that actually sees the kids — not the dollar signs.

I’ve been at this studio for 15 years and have been impressed time and again with the quality of the programs and the instructors.

As a recent alumna of Gotta Dance, I cannot emphasize how much the Gotta Dance community has shaped my life. The inclusive, caring, dedicated, and encouraging environment made my 15 years at the studio nothing less than a blessing. The instructors’ passion and dedication to the art form allowed me to not only receive some of the best training in Washington, but also prepared me to succeed at dance competitions, conventions, and auditions. The instructors dedicate their time to technique as well as the well-​being of the dancer. They are not only interested in how much a dancer grows technically, but also how the dancer grows to become more confident in themselves. The entire studio emphasizes the importance of self-​esteem not only in dance, but in life beyond the studio.
I am eternally grateful for my years as a member of the Gotta Dance Performing Team. Each year, I was exposed to new and fantastic choreography from both guest and resident choreographers. I was able to work with renowned choreographers, some of which repeatedly, and was able to broaden my technique and exposure to different styles. In addition to competing several team routines each year, several students like myself were given the opportunity to compete specialty routines, such as small groups, duos, and solos.
As a team member I always admired how much work ethic and dedication was recognized at the studio. As dancers became more dedicated and passionate about the art form, so did other team members. At Gotta Dance, dancers are encouraged to dance to express, and not to impress. Too often in the competition world dancers are encouraged to rely solely on their «tricks» in order to impress the judges. At Gotta Dance, dancers are encouraged to dance from their souls. It may sound cliché, but our instructors are just as invested in our personal growth as they are in our technical growth. Overall, an education at Gotta Dance is not just a fantastic education for dance but a fantastic education for life itself.

I have danced at Gotta Dance for 10 years and the studio became my second home. Everyone there is very welcoming and willing to help with any questions or concerns. There is a large variety of recreational classes and levels to choose from. Within the building there are 5 spacious studios with nice flooring and viewing windows.
As for the performing team; I have been on the performing team for about seven years. I would highly encourage it! My team is like a family! All 9 performing team groups are inclusive of each other regardless of level and age. The teachers teach us that we should dance because we love it, and not just to win a plastic trophy. That being said, they also teach us proper warm ups/​stretches, technique, and skills needed to be a great dancer. The two highest teams have the honor of taking a monthly masterclass from a guest teacher, which exposes us to different teaching styles and dance styles such as Tahitian and ballroom. The teams also get to work with choreographers such as Alex Little and Eddie Strachan for their dances that they perform all year.
I highly recommend this studio! The teachers/​staff thoroughly enjoy what they do which makes for a very inviting, positive, and friendly environment!

Where do I even begin? Gotta dance is an unwelcoming, unreliable, and unhelpful mess. One of the worst things about this studio is the front desk. I would of loved to be welcomed in to the studio with a smile. Instead, I got a scowl every time I entered their doors. There are technically two owners and the both act like they are the Grinch. They are self absorbed and only care about money. If one of their students is unhappy, they don’t care. Another problem is that their technique sucks. BALLET IS A JOKE! The main ballet teacher that they have acts like she has never taken a ballet class. Kids can turn their feet in and bend their legs and that is okay with her. Another ballet teacher that they have is hard to understand and teaches a different type of ballet then what is normal. All she does is confuses her students! She is also very cold hearted. When a kid starts crying in her class, she does absolutely nothing about it. Jazz and lyrical are just as bad. The jazz teacher can’t even teach so she mainly uses guest choreographers and assistants. The lyrical dances they do are extremely boring because they are slow, way to easy and you see the same steps over and over again. The tap and hip hop is okay, but the tap teacher doesn’t keep her promises and underestimates her students. The hip hop teacher doesn’t try his best while choreographing and doesn’t give his students a fair chance. If you are thinking about team, don’t bother! Team members only clean their dances and never work on technique. Even though they spend so much time cleaning their dances, they still normally loose at competition. GOTTA DANCE TOTALLY HAS FAVORITES!!! If you are not a favorite then don’t waste a second of your time there. All of the «non favorites» get kicked to the side and never get any help. The teachers also make it very obvious who their favorites are. Also, Gotta dance has said so many times to me that they NEVER MAKE EXCEPTIONS, yet when a favorite asks to do something special, they are allowed to. At this studio, you can’t even pick what style of dance you want to do. If you are on team and you want to tap, then you have to do ballet, jazz and lyrical first. Lower levels aren’t even offered a technique class and the one they do for the older kids is horrendous. Work ethic is not appreciated, teachers are constantly changing their mind, and kids leave the studio fighting back tears. The bottom line is NEVER EVER GO TO THIS STUDIO!!! If you are considering it just remember that you were warned. There are even kids that are snobby and mean. If you go to this studio, be prepared to be ignored, lonely, sad, frustrated, angry, stressed out, and a bad dancer.

Excellent variety of classes! My girls have taken ballet, tap and lyrical… they enjoy the classes and recitals. Very competent teachers… monthly tuition is reasonable and you also get a discount when siblings take classes.

Maybe I’m spoiled coming from such a fantastic dance studio in Seattle but here’s what my daughter and I experienced:
1) The building and space is large but the studios lack the niceties. They have the old linoleum floors which don’t protect feet and bones. The lobby and waiting areas are dirty.
2) The teacher seemed nice but not invested in children’s dance. She just didn’t connect with them or be personable to any of the children… or the parents at drop off/​pick-​up. I had to walk into the studio to introduce myself and daughter. She acknowledged but didn’t provide a «welcome» or anything. She did help each child as they did the exercises across the floor so I’m sure they would have learned dance properly.
3) FRONT DESK IS NOT HELPFUL — I told them up front that my daughter is turning 3 yrs old in October — apparently there is a cut off date of Sept 4^th for the 3−4yr old beginning dance for the entire YEAR (meaning that we’d have to wait until she’s almost 4yrs old to join the class for 3 – 4 yr olds). We’ve done tons of Mommy and Me classes and several trial classes at studios on her own in which she’s done great. They suggested that we do a trial class today to see if she likes it and they would talk to the owner about accepting her into the class. We came directly out of class back to the front office and I left my name and number with a different lady, who told me right away that I shouldn’t bother because they NEVER make exceptions. So, why did I just waist my time and break my daughter’s excited little heart to find that out? They should be very clear about this both on their website, when I phoned in, as well as when I showed up instead of sending us into the class! I should mention that the class was not full — there were only two other girls in the class, one of which turned 3 yrs old the last week of August! I wouldn’t be so upset about the policy IF they were just up front about it.
I guess when you add all of this up, it won’t be difficult to find a better studio on the Eastside to attend!

Terrible place!
I spent my money on nothing. My little son went into a few classes and the teacher never help him to get incorporate to the group. He is shy but this teacher Amanda never even tried to get closer to him and try to make him feel more comfortable. She just ignored him.
Front desk without anybody to give information or help with anything.
No refunds if you kid doesn’t want to go to the classes.
Please go to NW Aerials in Kirkland, the place is not nice but there is a wonderful teacher that all kids love she «Kathi» just fantastic !! She loves her job and specially, she loves kids!

I’m so surprised there isn’t a review for Gotta Dance judging how packed the children’s dance classes are here on weekends. I found out about Gotta Dance from a parents board at work with many fellow mums recommending this for children’s dance classes.
We’ve had our daughter in a tap/​ballet class for the last three months and are so impressed! Our five year old loves it with a warm teacher and sweet classmates. She used to dread the ballet classes we had her in Portland before we moved (unfortunately the teacher there didn’t like kids) but eagerly gets ready on Saturday mornings for class! They offer summer camps as well (which she is looking forward to this summer).