City Dance

[Anonymous]

Joy of Motion closed in Bethesda and Friendship Heights. Only have the studio in Atlas. Ballet there is terrible. Sloppy technique.

Washington Ballet does not seem it is what it once was in the training of young local dancers.

MYB has always been good. No experience with the new director so can’t comment on how it works now. The last Nutcracker, in 2019, noticed all the dancers looked heavier and more bulk in the legs, not sure if there have been changes in the female training.

Not sure on any of the other newer places.

So many places, yet they are all falling apart.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does Washington school of ballet compare?

OP here. That's where we are now. I'm really not happy with the level of difficulty. They stand at the barre and receive corrections. Very little center work. Dd can't do basic combinations, turns, or leaps.

Citydance does more center work than that, but still slower to progress than I think some other studios (learned turns fairly late I think). I have wished they got more corrections, but it also varies by teacher. Some classes were virtual last year, so that was clearly more difficult. I agree that certain dancers get more attention than others. From reading on here, I'm not sure which studios would be better though? Any feedback on Maryland School of Dance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Same here (another PP). Which level is your daughter?

I have noticed though, even to my untrained eyes, that many citydance dancers have very sloppy technique. TWSB overdoes the precision part at the expense of center turns, but at citydance really only their yagp dancers, who receive lots of individual coaching, are clean (for the most part). It would be nice to find a studio with a middle ground!

That's interesting. I've never seen any of the citydance kids dance.

[Anonymous]

My daughter is at CityDance and likes it. She switched from MYB a few years ago and has done a summer intensive at TWSB. Overall we’ve been very pleased with the program. There’s a lot of flux in the schedule right now and late summer/early fall always feels chaotic because kids aren’t placed en masse like in some programs. Placements are individualized and there is some trial and error to find the right fit of classes. Every year I wish this process could be smoother and faster because our family needs to plan around lots of other commitments. It’s stressful but I’ve been very happy with the quality of instruction, performance opportunities, and individualized attention. It’s a big program with lots of moving parts, and you do need to be proactive to advocate for your kid. But there’s no studio where my daughter would rather be, especially for a well rounded mix of classical and contemporary, and I’ve been impressed with her growth at CityDance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is at CityDance and likes it. She switched from MYB a few years ago and has done a summer intensive at TWSB. Overall we’ve been very pleased with the program. There’s a lot of flux in the schedule right now and late summer/early fall always feels chaotic because kids aren’t placed en masse like in some programs. Placements are individualized and there is some trial and error to find the right fit of classes. Every year I wish this process could be smoother and faster because our family needs to plan around lots of other commitments. It’s stressful but I’ve been very happy with the quality of instruction, performance opportunities, and individualized attention. It’s a big program with lots of moving parts, and you do need to be proactive to advocate for your kid. But there’s no studio where my daughter would rather be, especially for a well rounded mix of classical and contemporary, and I’ve been impressed with her growth at CityDance.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! NP here and considering CityDance for my daughters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is at CityDance and likes it. She switched from MYB a few years ago and has done a summer intensive at TWSB. Overall we’ve been very pleased with the program. There’s a lot of flux in the schedule right now and late summer/early fall always feels chaotic because kids aren’t placed en masse like in some programs. Placements are individualized and there is some trial and error to find the right fit of classes. Every year I wish this process could be smoother and faster because our family needs to plan around lots of other commitments. It’s stressful but I’ve been very happy with the quality of instruction, performance opportunities, and individualized attention. It’s a big program with lots of moving parts, and you do need to be proactive to advocate for your kid. But there’s no studio where my daughter would rather be, especially for a well rounded mix of classical and contemporary, and I’ve been impressed with her growth at CityDance.

Thank you so much for sharing your experience! NP here and considering CityDance for my daughters.

I understand why people think it’s disorganized. I’ve found other programs more rigidly structured, which was comfortable to me as a mom who wants to get things settled quickly and definitively. But that one size fits all approach was not right for my daughter who didn’t fit the mold. At CityDance, she is challenged and nurtured even though she’s not a YAGP dancer. She still gets excellent instruction and opportunities and I’ve been amazed at her progress. If you can look past the fluid scheduling process and organizational issues, it’s really a great program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nothing at all positive to say. Why don't you stay were you are? If your child did well at the audition, why not stay with the people that got them that far.

Do you have actual experience with the program? If so, please share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does Washington school of ballet compare?

OP here. That's where we are now. I'm really not happy with the level of difficulty. They stand at the barre and receive corrections. Very little center work. Dd can't do basic combinations, turns, or leaps.

It's so disappointing to hear such consistent bad reviews of Washington School of Ballet. A state's (or city's in this case) flagship ballet company's school should be better than that :/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How does Washington school of ballet compare?

OP here. That's where we are now. I'm really not happy with the level of difficulty. They stand at the barre and receive corrections. Very little center work. Dd can't do basic combinations, turns, or leaps.

It's so disappointing to hear such consistent bad reviews of Washington School of Ballet. A state's (or city's in this case) flagship ballet company's school should be better than that :/

I'm not necessarily giving a bad review of TWSB. It's just a different way of teaching. It is a very slow progression. She is en pointe off the barre she can chasse across the floor and skip. Her technique is flawless. But she's bored out of her mind.

[Anonymous]

Work colleague of mine takes her girls to Seber Method Academy all the way from Loudoun County. One DD is in preprofessional.

[Anonymous]

Seber was a longtime TWSB teacher. I hear her school is very good for serious ballet.

Lorraine, who runs City Dance, was a TWSB modern teacher. She also trained at TWSB back when Mary Day was teaching a lot.

The problem at TWSB is all the great longtime instructors left!

If you are farther out in Olney, Pat Berrend is another great long time former TWSB teacher.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone else have any positive reviews about CityDance? Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else have any positive reviews about CityDance? Thanks in advance!

See above

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone else have any positive reviews about CityDance? Thanks in advance!

If you only want to hear good things about it then why ask? Just go enroll there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Different poster here. Would you mind elaborating? My dancer is considering it but we still don’t have a placement or schedule this late into summer. I’ve just received an invoice for $1,000 to hold her spot. Really?! I’m also not thrilled with their new Badlands location, however they want to spin it. What is going on?!

I just came on to say this. My daughter auditioned and then radio silence. Next we get an invoice for $1100!! No idea what classes she would take or what level. I tried to look at the invoice amount and match it to the level. But the website says nothing about their levels. I emailed asking what is select, pre conservatory, petite? And days later I’ve heard nothing. Seems really bold of them to just say give me $1000 and we’ll let you know later. Also that is an insane registration fee! Who are these people paying that!