Van Der Zwaan Dance Studio

My daughter started at age 5, it was fantastic, she could wear colorful leotards and tutu's, learn dance basics and experience ballet, tap and jazz! Now a few years later my daughter is about to turn 8. She's been in the summer camp program and had danced every day. I've seen her improve in her technique dramatically and she's had nothing but fun! They do princess dances which incorporate theatrics and a little acting with scripts for those kiddos at reading ages. She has experienced modern, jazz, acrobatic/gymnastics and much more with some of the older students providing peer mentoring.For a well rounded dance education I can't help but rave about Van Der Zwaan Dance Studio! Now my daughter wants to join the dance team in a couple of years.

Wonderful dance studio for children AND adults.My 1st grader is thriving in this class. Great instruction, real technique, appreciation for musicality, and tons of fun.The Adult Ballet class is impressive. The instructor tailors it for the class and is wonderful. It is never the same lesson twice - each class builds on the previous, yet keeps is manageable, fun, and challenging. Wonderful low-impact workout, with conditioning and stretching. Plus, I get to brush up on my French ;)Highly recommend!BONUS: 2nd class discounted if you sign up for more than 1 class - perfect for both you & your child.

Very impressed with the creative range emerging from second-in-command Santia Andrews. The piece performed today by teenagers that addresses self-mutilation and depression was phenomenal. I look forward to more of this transformative art that makes the shadow known and seen. Our kids must know we are ready for any amount of pain, that we can be present for anything they are going through. Today's dance was a powerful and public announcement of this level of presence.

I felt at first to give this a 3 star rating but after a few sessions I decided to hold off, and I'm glad I did. The instructor is very patient with the kids and is usually on time. She seems to always have a smile, and handles all the children well.It seems like all of the girls are getting better and better each week, and I love the fact tap and ballet are back to back in 1 hr.Only real issue now is class size. When the class is full there seems to be a lot of "traffic jams". But besides that I would definitely recommend giving this studio a try.

My daughter has had a fantastic experience at Van Der Zwaan Dance! She attended a musical theater camp last summer and it is one of the few camps she has asked to do again this summer! She has taken ballet and tap classes from Paula and Santia and adores them both! The instructors are incredibly patient and kind. I am always amazed at how they can keep so many 3-5 year olds engaged and joyous for an hour!I also really appreciate how Paula always keeps families informed about upcoming recitals, and really tries to accommodate parent requests for new class offerings and/or class time slots!I would definitely recommend giving this studio a try!

When Paula merely walks toward you, you can see immediately that she is a highly trained prima ballerina. But what's more, she is a highly experienced and sensitive teacher for young children, one who knows how to engage all temperaments, whether super-shy or impulsive. Paula makes ballet super fun for little ones while still teaching some actual fundamentals.The fact that she has a big glass window between the studio and the waiting room, so that the newest little students can get visual reassurance during class from parents was crucial for my daughter. It took my little one many weeks before she would participate in the free improv parts of the class, but Paula accepted her choices without pushing, and then it all came together in the right time. My daughter now loves dance classes. If you have a shy child who loves to dance, this is the place -- but you may want to start with Paula before moving to one of the younger teachers' classes.

So grateful we found Paula and van der zwaan studio! Our 3.5 year old had been talking about ballet so we tried it out last spring session. We're back for fall and Our little is as excited as ever about class :) Paula is a rare gem of a teacher, but from last spring recital it's clear all the staff are very inspirational, qualified, patient and engaging for children of all ages. So grateful!

We absolutely love teacher Paula! From the moment my little one met teacher Paula they had an instant connection and it became a wonderful relationship from then on! I suppose it happens with all of teacher Paula's students. What's not to love? She is patient, nurturing, loves to teach, and she is always smiling! She also provides serious instruction but makes it fun for the little ones to learn. Her studio is immaculate, warm, and inviting and her rates are beyond reasonable. The trek from SF to Cal is annoying but well worth it!

I was a student at VDZ for several years. At the beginning, I always loved going to class and participating in the recitals. It was a nice environment for younger students.However, as I got older, the environment began to shift. I noticed my technique was not improving, due to the fact that Paula would never give clear instruction on what she expected from us, or what she wanted us to specifically work on. For example, during recital season, we would do little to no warm up before running all of our dances multiple times. Although rehearsal was needed, so was normal dance class. Most studios have separate rehearsal times in addition to class, where they focus on their technique and improve on specific skills to keep up their strength. In addition, not warming up before rehearsal is not physically safe because it can lead to injuries. On many occasions, we would be asked to run our dances immediately without a warmup, and would not get clear corrections on them. Paula would foster a negative environment by favoring certain students and being unprofessional in the way she discussed other students, parents, and teachers' personal conversations in front of our class. She would often critique younger students as well as absent students from our own class in front of us, during class time. There was also a lot of disorganization, especially when it came to our shows. The scheduling was never set in stone, but students were expected to attend every rehearsal, and if we were not able to show up (due to being notified last minute), she would to complain to other students that we were not "committed". The costume situation was also very disorganized, and although there were many costumes that could easily have been reused to cut costs, there were always new costumes and props being ordered that we had to pay for. Backstage was also very disorganized until students and parents stepped in to create a functioning system. There were also a few serious incidents that were extremely mismanaged, leading to emotional harm amongst students. Although this review is just from my perspective, I have spoken to other students about these issues and they have expressed similar concerns. I still love dance, but unfortunately I cannot recommend this studio.

My daughter has been dancing at Van der Zwaan for years and she absolutely loves it !! Miss Paula is very responsive and caring , and all of the instructors are wonderful. I'm so happy to have this dance studio in our community for all of our kids !!