River City Dance Academy

We LOVE taking class at River City Dance Academy! It's a great family established studio, the teachers are so nice and love teaching their students. I love taking their adult tap class, we call it "tappy hour" Tuesdays! I started with ZERO experience with dance let alone tap and I can now confidently say I am a tap dancer! I could even teach, that's how much I've learned to tap. Come join us at River City Dance Academy! They have all sorts of dance styles for any age group, can't wait for my nieces to take when they turn 3.

My child danced here for 4 years after moving to Sacramento, 3 of which were on the company team.Initially, she and I loved it. We felt like the teachers cared about her growth as a dancer. There are always teachers who play "favorites" but I've yet to come across a studio that truly doesn't. But after covid, things felt different. My child suffered her final year...with extreme favoritism, yelling teachers (even for asking questions during classes?!), teachers who couldn't be bothered to show up and cheer them on at competitions (even the local ones), and expectations mentally for my child and financially beyond what our family was willing to continue to meet. My daughters growth plateaued as a dancer because there is no true technique taught past a certain age/level. The owner tried berating us for taking a last minute very serious mental health day when she was supposed to be a TA that night. No ma'am.And oh, the parent/company meeting where the dancers were told to leave their drama at the door? But boy did the teachers bring their own to class. Exclusion even written into their own competition contract about dancers not allowed to date each other (good luck with that!). The past 3 years' recitals were at the teen center for overpriced recital tickets and terrible seating unless you paid even more money for the front row. It was laughable. I debated writing a review, to wipe my hands of the studio. But people should know before they invest way too much $ and time. The only reason they received 2 stars was because of the wonderful ballet teacher, Ms Natalia. That's it.

I highly recommend RiverCityDance.net if you're looking for dance classes in Sacramento. They reopen in studio July 2020 for the next season! No one could have predicted COVID-19 and a global pandemic would have us all sheltering in place but we were so impressed with how River City Dance Academy handled everything and decided 'the show must go on.' They had a very robust virtual dance class program that included updated content weekly with full warm ups, focus work on specific dance technique, and practice with the recital choreography. And although recital had to be pushed back a week or so, and the venue changed, they committed to pulling off a recital that would give the kids a chance to show off their hard work all year. Routines had to be adjusted to eliminate some formations, touching, or shared props. They taped big squares on the dance floor to tell kids what box to stay in so they could maintain distance throughout the dance even as they moved around. Finally when they were able to reopen the studio one week before the recital for in person practice, everything was marked off and the kids got a squirt of hand sanitizer on the way in to class and the way out. Everyone wore a mask except to perform. The audience for recital was limited and chairs very spaced out. They had very clear and very decisive communication with parents the entire time. VERY WELL DONE. I've been impressed with this dance studio since we joined in Jan 2019 for last year's season. They really have top notch management, communication with parents and fun, engaging classes that teach actual dance technique. Their recital shows are literally the best full out performances I've seen for a kids program. Thoroughly entertaining! While it obviously had to be pared way down this year, it was still very thoughtfully produced and my 5-year-old walked away with an invaluable moment of joy and satisfaction after months of dealing with the unknowns and disappointments of pandemic life. You will not be disappointed if you join the RCDA dance family.

And here we are. It's been over a year. This is my 13 year olds 2 season on the RCDA company team. My daughter has danced for the past 8 years and I've seen more growth in her the past year than any studio she's been to. She has grown not just in dance but emotional, mentally and socially. They are all like family. Tirza the owner is amazing. Miss Maddie is excellent with my daughter especially when she's really hard on herself. They are organized and efficient. My questions are answered right away. The dancers are respectful and all the moms are great! Oh and the most amazing part is the recital! Its amazing!! I recommend everyone to RCDA.

I'm beyond disappointed in the fact that for my daughters first year in dance, she won't have a picture to look back on because her costume wasn't there in time for picture day. My order was placed by the deadline stated on their website and in the studio. We paid close to a hundred dollars for it and placed the order over two months prior to picture day. Also, disappointed that the lowest costing ticket for the recital was $20/ticket. Our family and friends were totally looking forward to coming, but I was embarrassed to even ask them to pay $20 for a ticket. She's four- put the four year olds in a separate recital so that the parents and people who want to watch their baby's One dance (that is probably going to be led by their teacher despite being a performance) can attend without paying the costly ticket price to watch the entire show. The online website subscription was a complete waste of the subscription fee. I thought paying it would help me understand the online space more- or that I'd have access to more.. not the case. I did enjoy her teacher, but besides that the whole experience seemed expensive and impersonal.

My daughter has been dancing here since she was 2 1/2 years old and I have been tapping for over 8 years. I absolutely love this dance studio. The recitals are so professional and fun. It's like family at RCDA. We love all of the dance instructors and wouldn't change a thing!

I took dance here the past two years, and I have enjoyed what I learned there. The teachers are friendly and kind and the dancing is pretty good. However, it's mostly for younger kids. If a dancer is first starting, and wants to learn what competitions are like and join the dance world, then it's a good studio for that, but once they get older and want to start getting serious about dance, I recommend looking somewhere else, because it only goes up to a certain level.

I can't say enough about how awesome the teachers and classes are! My daughter has been living and breathing dance ever since she started. This will be her 4th year. Their prices are reasonable, and I love that they offer dance attire and accessories on-site. The owner, Tirza, will ALWAYS return my calls, ALWAYS has a smile on her face, and will ALWAYS go above and beyond to make her dance families happy!! She takes immense pride in the studio, staff, performances and ALL dancer. This is evident everywhere I look! The recitals are well organized, extremely professional, and enduring, thanks to the DVD's they offer for purchase. Worth every penny!! I struggle with anxiety disorder and OCD, so I do find myself easily agitated by the loud music (oftentimes unnecessarily loud, in my opinion, and I fear for the dancer's tiny ear drums). Dance on!! :-)

My daughters have been attending RCDA the last 2 years and absolutely LOVE it! Many classes are offered and class times can work for anyone's busy schedule. Ms Norine and Ms Shelly are very patient and my daughters come home every evening showing me new dance moves. Ms. Tirza runs a great dance studio and their yearly recitals are always fun.

I absolutely "LOVE" River City Dance Academy. My daughter has been dancing here for the past 2 and half years. All of the teachers are great here. I will contiunue to have my daughter dance at this studio as long as we live in the area and I don't plan on leaving any time soon. I recommend girls and boys that are interested in dancing to come check out this place.