Royal Academy of Ballet

WE love Royal Academy of Ballet, especially because it is a dedicated, loving, and successful environment for any young ballerina. My daughter started with Ms. Vivienne at 2.5years old and just loves to go to class. I love how wonderful she is with the children, you can feel the genuine care she has for her students. There is discipline with their ballet costumes for different levels and the expectations of every detail of class. There is classic French ballet vocabulary is introduced to even the youngest class. We decided to send our daughter here because if there was a slight chance she would continue years of ballet, we wanted to start her off with the best foundation, and we believe Royal Academy of Ballet was the right choice for us.

It really dissapoints me to have to write this review, but I feel a "buyer beware" notice should be posted about this business. We enrolled our daughter in RAB when she was 5. It was great...she was excelling...and having fun. However, we soon realized that there was more to being a part of this ballet studio than just the lessons. While we understood there would be costs associated with enrolling our daughter in ballet, this particular studio is all about up charging for everything while slacking in teaching the actual curriculum that a budding ballerina should know, i.e. terminology, movements, etc. Everything is taught to a "curriculum" - which at first, we were all on board with, however, when we moved our daughter to another studio because the proprietor of this establishment neglected to get vaccinated to protect our daughter from exposure, we found that she was sorely behind in knowing these fundamental things, especially if your dancer has a true desire to move on to the next level.While I understand business is business...what really was the last straw was that we felt that this proprietor failed, failed, failed, to let parents know of her vaccine status when she was teaching, in close, enclosed, quarters, students who could not be vaccinated. She is LUCKY that she didn't pass on covid to her students...lucky...it was really irresponsible and disappointing. Our new studio has FAR superior COVID protocols and a staff who is truly responsible and mindful of the health and well-being of the students they teach.So, if you're looking for a ballet studio for your little, do your homework. Audition with other studios. Learn their curriculum (if they have any) and if you still choose RAB, be aware that you will have to buy everything from the studio at inflated prices, you'll be paying about 30% more in tuition, and you'll be asked to donate, donate, donate...We are much happier now with the new studio our daughter has signed up with...and this was made after auditioning with several reputable companies. We've seen a huge improvement in her ability, form, and style...and she knows the ballet terminology that is needed if she wants to move on to more professional endeavors.

We have enrolled both of our daughters here since they were two. They are now 7 & 9. Ms. Vivienne is amazing! I'm a dance studio owner myself teaching Ballroom and Latin, and I can't express enough how much I respect her and the way she runs her studio. She genuinely cares about every single student and personalizes to each student's ability and needs. It is such a nurturing environment! Hands down, the best ballet studio in Honolulu.

RAB is the only certified ballet dance school in Hawaii. Vivienne is not only teaching the girls how to dance, she also teach them " never give up! you are half way there!". I remembered when my daughter went for the trial class, after the class, she told me she liked to continue learning ballet from Vivienne. I strongly recommend her! If you want to learn ballet, learn from the best.

My daughter has been attending the RAB for over 3 years. She absolutely loves ballet and the biggest reason is the way she is taught. Vivian is an excellent teacher! She is able to tune into the students personality and teach in such a way that works for them. My daughter was shy and apprehensive, ballet has allowed her to build confidence and express herself in a unique way.Vivian teaches perfect practice and my daughter continues to thrive.This is an excellent school that provides so much more than the how to, it provides technique, confidence, joy and talent.

*Update 10/25/21* The owner has apparently been soliciting reviews from people in an effort to combat the poor review I left her after finding out that she was not vaccinated against COVID. Both of the recent reviewers only have 1 review each. While vivienne's school provided a good base for little ones in ballet, we have learned that she is actually far behind in many different areas compared to other schools. She is more concerned with performance-based education, and not the important curriculum that girls need to move on to the next level. From vocabulary to practicum, it is not where it should be at a certain age. In auditing other schools in Honolulu, it was apparent that she is stuck with several problems: 1. She is the only instructor for all grade levels and only utilizes other students as assistants. Regardless of the reason for this, we found it to be irresponsible as we noticed the consistency waning and she is trying to balance too many things at once as the owner. 2. It's more about profit than anything else. vivienne has numerous products for sale at her studio but, when she had a shortage of required leotards for girls moving up, she did everything she could to discourage parents from purchasing the same outfit from other sources besides her. (And they were all less expensive than her) She also had issues with consistency in the product that she was selling, and some girls ended up with 2 different kinds of leotards. She sells ballet slippers for $30 ea., and that's approx. $8 more than you can buy it for at Step N Up Hawaii, which is already a retail store. During exams for RAB, she would ask parents to donate their time and energy to picking up boxes of bulk flowers from Costco, wrapping and prepping them into single-rose bouquets, and then selling them right back to us for $5 each. When there was another performance for the girls that was separate from their exams, she asked all parents for donations of snacks. Then, she took these same snacks and sold them at the event and kept the profit for herself!! There was no altruistic use of the money from the flowers or the snacks, she was simply being shrewd. 3. Teaching is no longer her main prerogative. She verbally admitted to me that she has been actively auditioning for different parts in movies/shows. She even traveled to California to do so and canceled all classes for a weekend because of it. This made us skeptical about her true intentions and what would happen in any extended absence since she has no other instructors. 4. Cost. As one of her recent reviewers admitted, other classes have lower fees. Admittedly, there is some value in the reputation of the RAD. However, it is not on par with the value of what her classes offer. I was paying almost $700 per month, and we quickly discovered that vivienne was not focusing on very core things that girls should be learning in their formative years. The lack of this foundation will become pretty noticeable if your daughter wants anything more than a recreational ballet class. At these rates, I would have spent $70K by the time my daughter would be at an age where she could audition for a professional company, or a bigger school in NY, etc. I have no problem paying for quality education but, it was clearly apparent that this was not it. 5. Ultimately, we are happy that this change took place. The way that it happened and we discovered these things could have been better but, my main reason for writing such an involved review is that our daughter moved on to a much better school and we would hate to see other parents be fooled into spending way too much money for a sub-standard ballet education. vivienne is using the reputation of the RAD much in the same way that a Subway franchise owner uses the business name to compete against other companies that make better sandwiches. Do yourself a favor and audit other schools before committing here.

My family has been with Royal Academy of Ballet for over a decade. Eleven years ago, we found Ms. Vivienne through an advertisement and I was impressed by the structure and professionalism of this ballet studio. Our two daughters continue to be nurtured, uplifted and supported at RAB. Our family is very appreciative and pleased with the health protocols, positive learning environment and wonderful community that has been fostered by Ms. Vivienne. Thank you Royal Academy of Ballet!

Royal Academy of Ballet has been part of our Ohana since our daughter started dancing at the age of 2. It's been over 10 years and she still continues to dance for RAB Hawaii. She has participated in yearly recitals and examinations. Ms. Vivienne has built a long and lasting relationship with our daughter that we have observed first hand. We highly recommend RAB Hawaii to families looking at starting their daughter(s) in this beautiful and graceful art of dance.

We tried several ballet studios and Ms Vivienne's was an extension of our parenting. She really helped my daughter gain confidence through the use of ballet. My daughter loved Ms Vivienne so much that she couldn't miss a single practice - it's been almost 10 years! Ms Vivienne is certified teacher from the Royal Academy of Dance and is the only dance studio that certifies its dancers which can be used as part of my daughter's resume when she is applies for college. Best ballet studio in Hawaii bar none - BRAVO Ms Vivienne!

We love this studio. It is a great place for our two girls and they enjoy the classes and have made good friends in the process. This is ballet studio only and for some parents they want the all forms of dance classes (teaching ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, etc.). However, we like the focus and attention the Ms. Vivienne gives to the students and the art. There is a structured syllabus of material to learn, including the traditional French pronunciation of the moves they do. Ms. Vivienne is also very disciplined with the kids but not the yelling and attitude we saw at a couple of other studios we saw before coming here. We see that the kids respond well to her teaching style and want to learn.We also like that the studio is accredited by a worldwide standard for excellence that is transferred to any other studio that abides by the same standards. There is yearly grade level testing if desired and annual recitals, performances and private lessons if requested. There are multiple classes during the week and on weekend to support the various grade levels. I think by far the largest group is the pre-K group which is pretty much full each year and has a wait list.The studio itself looks like what you would expect to see in the movies; nice clean wood paneled floors with mirrored walls and stretching bars (not sure what to call them). The outfits (leggings, ballet tights, shoes, belts, etc.) are all what you would expect when you see ballerinas. The seating area is well kept, air conditioned, looks very modern and has an inviting feel to it. Parking is ample in the large open lot. There is elevator and staircase access.I can best sum it up by saying that our kids look forward to going to ballet and having fun each week.