The Dance Affair

My fiancé and I came to Erica to learn our first dance for the wedding. Erica was fantastic! She was so kind, patient and helpful! She helped us put together the music (we did a combination of slow and fast songs) and created an easy & fun routine for our first dance. The dance was a big success on the wedding day! Her price is also very reasonable for her qualify work. Thank you so much Erica!

My Daughter took classes and had birthday parties here. She had a great time and I could tell that Erica and her crew really cared about the students.

My daughter has been dancing here for 3 years. She LOVES it! She has learned so much, and the recitals are absolutely wonderful. You can tell that the teachers are passionate about dance as it shows through their teaching. I would definitely recommend this dance studio.

My daughter wanted a hip-​hop theme dance party and Erica made sure we had the best party ever! I was looking for an instructor to come to our home. Erica returned my call immediately and sent a wonderful instructor, Christine, to our home. The party was a great success, the children had an amazing time and Erica was extremely professional, reliable, helpful and attentive. Thank you, Dance Affair!

I had both my daughters in classes at Dance Affair last year (2012 — 2013). Their teachers were really nice, and both my girls liked taking the classes and seemed to have fun in them.
The reason for the low rating was the recital experience at the end of the year.
First of all, the studio practically demanded that every family buy a certain number of tickets (10 I think), even if they didn’t need that many. And that was just to sit in the auditorium at all… in order to get seats in the front half, you had to upgrade some of your tickets by like $ 5 each — and yes, you still had to buy the required number. Some families would offer to sell their extra tickets, but only to families who had already bought the minimum required by the studio, because of studio policies. Well, we only needed two tickets since we don’t have any family in the area, and it seems crazy to me that we’d have to pay over $ 200 just to get two seats towards the front. I have never experienced a studio that takes this approach to their year-​end recital, and I still can’t believe it. If I had known about it in advance, I probably would have skipped this studio on that policy alone.
Edited update: Yes they do have 2 and 4 ticket package options… both only give you the choice of sitting further away than the 21^st row, and both require you pay more per seat than its value (for example $ 80 for two tickets, to sit in seats that are actually valued at $ 21 each.) We felt stuck between shelling out $ 200+ to get two good seats (and 8 extra tickets), or being ridiculously overcharged for two crappy ones. Seriously, if they had been charging $ 50 a pop to sit in the first five rows, we would’ve HAPPILY shelled out $ 100 for our two tickets.
The other issue I had was that there didn’t seem to have been much focus on connecting the music with the choreography, or stage presence instruction like smiling and looking like you’re having fun during your performance. To me, those are important aspects of any performance art.
Edited update: I will say that it can be very difficult to swallow a negative review, and kudos to Miss Erica the owner for her kind and professional response. Like I said, the teachers are really nice and kind to the kids as well as the parents. I just can’t take the recital ticketing policy and some lacking aspects that showed up at the year end performance.
(Edited in light of the owner’s response.)

My daughter has been doing «Mommy & Me» dance class with Erica for about 8 months now. She loves it and asks for ballet class almost every other day. Erica is so patient and great with kids. We are looking forward to Kiddie Kombo class this summer.

Wow. What a find. We hosted our 6 year old daughter’s birthday party at Dance Affair. The owner, Erica Fairfield, is a fantastic person — very nice and courteous. We went with the package where they took care of everything — decorations, cake, snack, goodie bags, a craft activity for the kids, and of course, the dancing. All arrangements were done very nicely, and it was obvious that Erica had paid attention to all details. The kids had a blast, and the adults had a nice relaxing time. Highly recommended for a hassle free party that kids will love. Great value for money!

I talked to a few of the girls here via phone. They sound super nice!

My child has been a part of the Dance Affair family for the past 10 years. She has learned a variety of dance styles that include Hip Hop, Lyrical, Jazz, Tap, and Contemporary to name a few. Ms. Erica, Ms. Indie and their staff are AMAZING! They not only take the time to teach dance styles but they also put on an extremely entertaining recital at the Center of Performing Arts every year. It is on this stage that my daughter and the rest of the students realize their confidence as they perform for a sold out crowd. My daughter has taken her years of dance experience at the Dance Affair and easily transferred it to a successful run in musical theater. Keep up the great work Ms. Erica and staff!!!

My two daughters and now my son dance at the dance affair. We have been dancing here for six years now. Every year seems to be more fun than the last! The owner is always working her best to be active with the community. This past year we participated in a Fourth of July Parade and this Winter season my kids will be participating in a first annual Winter Dance performance. Thank you for making dance fun!

My 3 year old daughter is in the tap/​ballet class and she loves it. Ms. Erica and Ms. Indie are really good with the little ones they encourage them and make them feel comfortable. This is her first year round class but she started in the 6 weeks summer session which is the best thing to do as a trial if you’re not sure that the school or dance is for your child. Obviously we were satisfied with the summer session we went ahead and signed her up for the long run. Thoughout the year they perform small routines to show the parents and to get the children comfortable performing in front of an audience. The main performance is the annual end of the year recital which happens in June. Can’t wait to see it. Staff is professional and kind and really help you with all of your questions and needs.

My 11 year old daughter has been taking dance with Miss Erica since she was 3 and she love, love, loves the Dance Affair! Her goal is to get her 15 year trophy when she gradutes from high school:) The facility and staff are very professional, but also very friendly and inclusive of all levels of experience and ability. A great time is had by all at the annual recital, and there are some fun little dance outs to get everyone ready for dancing in front of an audience. Even the littlest ones do amazingly well (although so cute it wouldn’t matter) and they really enjoy it.

This weekend was the year end recital of her dance studio, The Dance Affair, in San Jose. It was a 2 hour extravaganza with varied acts featuring 3 year olds who look just adorable in their costumes to 18 year olds who are graduating and heading off to college. There were over 150 dance students and their parents with cameras ready to document their stage debuts. My daughter and her class mates were adorable (yes I am biased!). They knew their steps, were in sync and most of all were confident.
Erica Fairfield, school founder and her entire staff (including her daughter, Indie) are excellent. They are the epitome of patient. Like pied pipers, they magically lead all these energetic kids into learning tap, jazz and ballet while having fun. My daughter simply loves her class and wishes she could spend every free moment there. I remember the first day we took classes there and that I had to pry her clinging hands and feet off my leg. Now after several years, she hops up the stairs and into class without looking back. My baby is growing up. (Aw shucks!)
I can not sing their praises enough. Thanks Erica and Team!