Kids 'N Dance 'N Theater Arts

Our granddaughter loves the class for kids under 5. The teacher is great with the littledancers. What a great business to have in the Laurel!

This review is for their After School program (on your kid's school campus): My daughter has participated in 2 productions this year and has loved every minute of it. The class takes place after school, on the school's campus, for just over an hour every Tuesday. Kids from 1st-5th grade can participate, and is comprised solely of kids from the school. This really helps bond the cast from the start, and it's a great way to make friends with kids you don't yet know from the school. Because the class meets once a week over a period of a few months, there is a lot of time for the kids to get their parts memorized and perfected. Makes for a really fun show (ultimately performed on Sunday, which is the only weekend commitment the family needs to make). Would love it if the cast could also do one after school show on campus. Kris was our director for this latest show and she is gold; she does exactly what you want your child's director to do: she motivates, she's positive, she gives good encouraging feedback for the cast members, and she casts the kids really well. Ultimately I want my kid to walk away feeling confident and that she's learned a few new skills. If Kris continues with the school program, we will too.

Enrollment is quick and fairly priced, and it's easy to access classes in person (pre-Covid) or on Zoom (post-Covid). Teachers are engaging and class material is varied and fun based on 3/4 year old class sessions with Ariel, Stephanie and Maitland. The menu of classes is broad and I appreciate the care in scheduling that tries to fit busy families' schedules. We've been going for about a year and have tried preballet/gym, musicals, beginning ballet and tap, and we've been to a birthday party here that was also really fun and easy. The store also is a great resource with everything needed for dance or the next kid's toy/gift we need. I emailed them two weeks ago to buy tap shoes and one of the owners brought four pairs to our house to try on. Excellent service and wonderful all around, KnD fits our needs perfectly.

With studios located in Oakland and Lafayette, Kid 'n dance is a must know place for East Bay parents who want to introduce dance and music to their young children. I have taken my daughter to the Oakland studio for mommy & me creative movement classes and more recently to pre-ballet classes (ages 4-6) and I have been very impressed with their classes, teachers, staff and the owner, Kris. But more importantly, the kids seem to LOVE it there. The Oakland studio is extremely cute with a wonderful community feel. For an hour, my world stops and my head clears as I watch from behind the curtains my daughter dance and interact with her teacher and classmates. After wards, the two of us will bond over coffee and juice at a cafe across the street - we both love mommy & daughter Sunday mornings!Given the demographics of Yelp, I know that this review may be lost on most Yelpers but I felt strongly about adding this business because when I was looking for a dance studio for my daughter just three years ago, the process was so much more difficult than I expected. I want to do my little part to help other parents find this little gem - now isn't that what Yelp is all about?

:: SUMMARY ::My 3 year old daughter started taking classes here about a month ago. We haven't tried more than 1 class with any other teacher, but Ariel is wonderful - incredibly patient, engaging, and warm. My daughter is always overexcited (hoping this will wear off with time) and between the high pitched shrieks, giggles, twirling, and her laces coming undone every 15 minutes, Ariel's patience is regularly tested. We love this place so much that I am going to enroll my daughter in 3 classes for the upcoming season as well as at least 2 weeks of summer camp.:: PRICE ::The price point is relatively low for Bay Area standards. They offer one of the LOWEST PRICED summer camps I've found within 20mins of our home. My daughter is also attending gymnastics classes in Berkeley and they cost 25% more than the classes at Kids 'n Dance for, in my personal opinion, no real difference in quality for this age group. Also, that other place doesn't allow make-ups for missed classes.:: REGISTRATION ::Registration is almost seamless as it can all be done online. You can also see a full list of all the classes you've signed up for and attended through your online panel.:: POLICIES ::Kids 'n Dance has one of the most flexible make-up policies I've ever seen offered for a toddler class. (Preschoolers get sick pretty frequently, so this is important.) Miss a class, and you get an e-mail letting you know that you can reschedule your make-up at your earliest convenience. You can drop in to any other class in the same season provided it isn't full. Unused credits do expire at the end of the season.__________________:: PRO TIPS ::- Parents are NOT allowed in the class with their children. However, there is a rather small waiting area with about 8-9 chairs where parents can sit elbow-to-elbow and watch their children on a screen. If your child is uncomfortable being away from you, consider starting with a "Parent & Me" class until your child is familiar with their surroundings/teacher.- If you're not sure your child will love a particular class, ask about the 4 class promotional price so you can try any 4 classes in a 1 month period. (Extra $2 to upgrade your dance class to a circus arts class.)- Don't buy expensive tap/ballet shoes unless you're absolutely certain your child is going to love the class. They do have a variety of tap and ballet shoes (for girls) that you can borrow. Keep in mind that 1.) sizing is limited, 2.) some of the shoes run small, and 3.) some parents don't put the shoes back in the right size-labeled ziploc bags, so give your child an extra 5-10 minutes to try on different shoe sizes.- If and when you DO decide to buy tap/ballet shoes, avoid the ones with bows unless they can tie their own laces. My daughter's laces/bows are CONSTANTLY coming undone during class.- Avoid jeans and restrictive clothing. Also, no tights/socks without dance shoes - they are slippery. Being barefoot is okay for some of the classes - like Circus Arts. My daughter likes to dress up and she's also taking gymnastics class elsewhere, so she has a few biketards and leotards that she likes to choose from before class.- H&M regularly has cheap dance shoes on sale.:: CLASSES WE'VE ATTENDED ::- PREBALLET/TAP (3-5) WITH HANNAHThey spend the first half of class learning basic preballet and building up confidence through various activities. The kids generally have fun stomping around and listening to the sound that their shoes make. The second half is spent acting out different stories (Three Little Pigs, Swan Lake) that are usually familiar to the children or include popular themes in classical ballet. Sometimes, costumes or props are involved. We only attended one class with Hannah and it was at full capacity (12 students) so - take this with a grain of salt - this class seemed a touch chaotic. - PREBALLET/TAP (3-5) WITH ARIELSame general class description as above. Ariel REALLY knows how to make this class fun for the kids. Again, she is SUPER patient. This class only has 5-6 kids this season so it seems more orderly.- CIRCUS ARTS (3-5) WITH ARIELI wasn't sure what to expect with this one because I thought it would involve activities that might be a bit more boring (like juggling or learning magic tricks) for my daughter's age group. They do a variety of fun energy-driven activities in this class including jumping onto a soft/bouncy mat, swinging around on a round swing, or using the aerial silk. My daughter's favorite activity here is likely hanging upside down using the aerial silk, which she surprisingly was able to do during her first class. For those of you with less adventurous/reckless children, there's absolutely no pressure on the kids to do this, and many choose to just sit and swing around on the aerial silk.I have to also add that J'aime (the receptionist) is VERY helpful. She returns calls pretty promptly and will help you reschedule missed classes easily.

Update: The owner communicated with me to try to address the situation after I sent her emails expressing my unhappiness with the process. We were not able to attend the class as planned as it was full but I appreciated the effort to reach out and accommodate me at another time slot. I would recommend to not ask for a free trial on the weekends if you are actually interested in your child trying out the class. Hopefully owner and staff are all on the same page about what the policy is in the future.I did try a 4 week trial that was offered and about two years ago, I tried several sessions with my older daughter of varying lengths. Overall, I would say it's a good introduction to a class format for younger kids. Some teachers are better at managing the kids than others. The facility seems like it could use some renovation. I did continue to get the sense that the staff don't always know what the policies.

Marielle is wonderful with children. She is able to navigate all the drama of being a 7 year old that my child and their friends create, while keeping a compassionate and kind ear for them. Marielle is handling this generation of kids that had to endure a pandemic during their first major social development years (4-6) with such understanding and graceMy child loves the teachers who are there and talks about how much they like them. Marielle has also been supportive of any gender exploration coming from my kiddo, so this is a LGBTQ+ positive environment. Marielle knows the balance of talking to parents about what is an actual emergency vs. your child is having a hard day. Whenever she has reached out with a concern about my child, she has never casted blamed on my child or my parenting. You would think this is standard at most places, but you would be surprised. Marielle cares about kids from their emotions to their physical safety. This was the only care facility I found that kept up mask policies even when that was no longer a requirement. She only lifted the policy recently and I felt comfortable because of that. Our child has not gotten a cold or covid from Kids 'N Dance. The afterschool program has transparent pricing and I think is fair pricing for a 3rd party service for aftercare. When I got confused about a charge because of something I misread, Marielle very patiently explained the issue to me. She has always been responsive right away. My child's direct quote. "Kids N Dance is very good! Although it has some rules." Sounds like a fair assessment from a kiddo! :)

This review is for the PAKS school program, after school program, and dance / theatre classes.1) Performing Arts Kinder School is their amazing school year TK/K program. We've been incredibly happy with the offerings, a combination of a little bit of academic stuff with a lot of kinesthetic play, science, dance, and fun. There are more detailed reviews on this at the Berkeley Parents Network site, but just want to say a++2) After-school program: my kid is really happy with their craft oriented aftercare program. She always comes home with some cool art or thing that they worked on. I can see how it could get kind of chaotic with the space, the different kids, the classes coming and going. But my kid is pretty outgoing and had a perfectly great time. 3) Dance / theatre classes: we really like all the classes we've done with kids and dance. Especially teacher Ariel! Neither of my kids needs a lot of oversight, so I don't mind not being able to go in and see them. And I honestly don't watch them on zoom either.. I think there are reviews below that are disappointed about not as much parent involvement, so you might want to talk with them more closely if you have a trepidatious kiddo.Parking is hard, no doubt.Rates are fair, hours are good. Communication has been excellent.

Forget Top Gun. Forget Stranger Things. The most amazing show I saw all year was a staging of "The Little Mermaid" at Kids N Dance. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Will Ariel connect with her true love? Will she defeat Ursula? Will everyone remember their lines? One thing I did not have to wonder about was if my daughter had fun performing in the show, and whether she was supported and encouraged by a caring and engaging staff. Hats off to the creative costumes, working microphones (no struggling to hear anyone), inventive blocking, and most of all, to the adorable group of hard-working kids who tried their bestest to put on a good show. Truly, what more could you want for your entertainment dollar?

I was a Kids N Dance student, quite some time ago. I wish I could reflect positively as an adult on my time in the Oakland studio but I have to say my positive memories are very much tainted by how I was treated by the owner, Kris, and other instructors there. At 22 years old I still have vivid memories of mentioning to my mom that I was expecting to do a real musical, not just a summer camp. I know that the owner overheard and was hurt by my blunt disappointment in her program. I know it wasn't a kind thing to say. However she confronted me about it and continued to bring my comment up passive aggressively, after I already apologized and felt guilty about what I had said. I think she held me to a higher degree of responsibility than the other children because I was one of the older kids in the program, still only eleven years old. I went on to help out teaching the kids in another musical summer camp, and I had a pretty fun time up until I realized I had a conflict and wouldn't be able to attend one of the performances. Mind you, I was still only twelve years old and was helping out for fun, on a volunteer basis. Kris had a meltdown on the phone, yelling at me when I told her because I already had a part in the show which I know would have been difficult to fill at the last minute. I should have planned ahead and been more courteous, but the reaction hurt me a lot, and it was really blown out of proportion given that I was still a child and really didn't know any better. I don't think that anyone with this much of a temper is really meant to work with children. Just FYI the things you say to kids stick with them for a long time and they will remember your angry outbursts and passive aggressive comments long after you have forgotten them.