Danspace (Oakland, CA)
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Feb 2011
Re: Ballet class for 10 yo girl, beginner
Our family has had a great experience with ballet classes at
Danspace in Rockridge. Our older daugter is 7 and has been
attending classes for 4 years and our younger daughter is 4 and
has been attending for 1 year. We find the studio to be
supportive, nurturing, and a lot of fun for our daughters. All
the teachers we've worked with have been excellent and most have
been working there for many years. While we don't have experience
with ballet classes at the 10 year old level, I encourage you to
visit Danspace to see what they have to offer. dt
Oct 2009
Re: Berkeley area ballet school?
You didn't mention how old your child is, but either way would suggest observing
same-age class at the schools you're interested in. My now teenager started at
Danspace at age 7. Is now 14 and just finished a year at Berkeley Ballet Theater.
Danspace is very developmentally appropriate and has a variety of movement classes. My
child is not interested in pursuing ballet professionally but really liked the
technique training she received at BBT. They are very different in approach and
disciplines so I'd recommend you observe and age-appropriate class at each school
you're interested in.
Anon.
Re: Dance classes for 7-year-old BOY (Feb 2005)
Danspace in Oakland- Rockridge area definitely has ballet and
pre-ballet for boys classes.
chris
Re: Ballet for almost-3-year-old (Sept. 2003)
I recommend Danspace.
They do good creative movement w/o getting serious until 6/7
year-olds.
JB
Re: Dance class for 16-year-old novice (Aug 2002)
A while ago I posted a request concerning a ballet class for a teen
who had not danced for a long time and did not have "ballet" body. I
found one ! and wanted to share the info with anyone else who mght be
looking for same. Dancespace on Hudson St in Rockridge has a class of
ballet " for all ages and all bodies" - my daughter loved it. Suzan
July 2002
Hi! Does anyone have experience with ballet and/or pre-ballet
classes for kids at Danspace on Hudson in Rockridge? Thanks -
Judith
Danspace is very well respected in the local dance community. Beth
Hoge is very picky and only hires great instructors. They have a
philosophy that every body can dance and stress having fun rather
than hard core technique for kids. Many professional dancers
beleive that the technical aspects of dance should not be taught
until prepubescence, or later. I would keep away from both Russian
style (for technical reasons that are too complicated to get
into), and studios that are very competitive, the world of baby
ballerinas is very bitchy and tends to foster body image/self
esteem problems, so beware.
Helene
Re: Non-formal dance class for child (March 2002)
Danspace in Oakland is a ''Ballet Studio'', but they don't
introduce any formal ballet type structure until at least age
6. Our daughter's teacher, Brooke, is wonderful with the kids,
she incorporates some very basic skills but participation and
enjoyment does not depend on how skilled the kids are. Our
daughter started there at age 4 and really enjoys it, I don't
recall if they have a younger class or what age they start, but
I do know that there have been younger siblings around once or
twice the directions were often simple enough for them.
JB
Re: Non-formal dance class for child (March 2002)
Try Danspace, on Hudson St., in Oakland. Beth Hoge, the director,
always hires terrific teachers, and her philosophy for young ones
is to facilitate the love of movement and the joy of being
oneself through artistic expression.
retired professional dancer
Re: Pre_Ballet for 4.5 yr old (Dec 2002)
Our 4.5 YO daughter really enjoys the classes at Danspace on
Hudson in Oakland, near Claremont exit/onramp from Hwy 24. The
pre-ballet class is very low stress, not real ballet, which we
find appropriate for this age.
JB
Re: Adult Ballet Classes (October 2002)
I love ballet classes at Danspace in Rockridge (Hudson off
Claremont, 420-0920). I was so happy to find that ''adult'' didn't
mean 16-18 year olds exclusively! We have a big range of body
types, ages, and abilities. There are three elementary classes a
week, as well as intermediate and advanced. They call themselves
''ballet for real bodies'' which gives some indication of their
philosophy. Danspace folks have ties to the Mills College dance
program, and I believe many of the advanced students perform
outside of Danspace. You don't say your level, but I recommend
ballet at Danspace even for those who never danced before: the
atmosphere is very comfortable, the studio is very handy to hwy
24 and Rockridge BART, and the teachers are great.
Charis
Re: Dance Class for 3 Year Old (Sept. 2002)
As a former professional dancer, I would choose Danspace, on
Hudson St. in Oakland, to send my kid. At that age you want them
to experience the joy of movement, and the creative side of dance.
Helene
1999
As a retired professional dancer, I highly recommend Dancspace (on
Hudson St., Oakland) for their kid's programing. They teach creative
movement and "preballet" for the young ones and always employ great
teachers. I would steer away from studios that say they can teach a five
year old ballet, per se, and also avoid any of the Russianbased
studios. At this age dance should be fun, playbased and non technical
Helene
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