Colon, Michelle - Starz Studios Incorporated

If anything is pathetic it is what everyone at this studio has allowed... through participation... to get to this point. It should be obvious to anyone reading these entries that this is not a place you'd want to be. While it is correct that no one should ever be posting names, it is also incorrect for a student to stand in judgment of the adult views. Whether you agree with posts or not, it is the experience of the writer that is being stated. State yours as it applies from your experience and leave it at that. No amount of condemnation or scorn will change the feelings or facts as someone else lived them. Belittling someone else and their words only makes you look worse and taken less seriously. There will always be some who are satisfied with the studio, but many people have been affected negatively from their time at Starz . You become a reflection of the environment which surrounds you, and clearly the environment at starz produces much hostility and ill will. This is dance, that's all it is, an extracuricular activity shared by many. Yet it is increasingly becoming a battle of not just money, but the loss of values that were once the priority to instill. Just as everyone reaches a point where enough is enough, and only each individual can decide where that point is, my family reached ours. When it became more important to devise ways of harrassing another studio (putting up signs, making false announcements, drive-by's and such, etc.), my conscience and my values kicked back in. Though I did not participate, I felt involved by listening to the chuckles and bragging that followed. One person's vengence should never have become a cause for anyone else to join. Where was the thought for how this might have made ourselves feel had we been on the receiving end? Despite all the other problems at starz, these were the types of issues I felt strongest about in leaving the studio. Iin my opinion, the most important lessons were lost at starz. Cons: seriously everything more

please do not put dancers names on here, that is not fair. share your experience, good or bad, but leave names out of it. that is not right, it is not the childs fault...if anything blame the studio -- please no names. more

Well were do I start, with my screen name that about sums it up. as for the persona below me, no I know who you are and no one here was pathetic, the are being truthful. The only pathetic persona here is MICHELLE ! one day girl you will wake up & realize what she has done. no one here will ever make it in the proffessional dance world, not even kelly or brittany, why you ask, because they need a real teacher which michelle is not. you want a real teacher go to DDK Debra Barnes. The BS Stops at her door, she is about DANCE not Drama, Not Favortism, Not Money Hungry, Not BS, not lying to people about how good our kid is just to keep charging them up the kazzo. She was Michelles dance teacher when michelle was younger. Several of my dance friends are now at DDK and guess what. They win real competitions, They only go to competitions that good studios go to , not the lame one michelle makes us do. think about it who are we competing against, crappy dancers, oh maybe we are all just the best of the crappy dancers. WOw thats touching! worth the $10,000 my mom spent this year. Well I am though wasting my life at starz. it is ashame I can not get my childhood back that was wasted at starz. I HATE DANCE NOW BECAUSE OF MICHELLE !! I Loved dance but I saw the other side when no one else there pays attention.\r Ask Yourself this question. Why don't we go to competitions where good studios go to. Answer she knows we will leave to go to a real studio that teachs dance, not to hers. She has to steal chorograph material or we have to pay an outragous amount of $ to hire outsiders. WHY ? That is messed up.\r I am glad I am through being belitttled, humiliated and insulted by you Michelle. I Hope you read this michelle cause I want you to know I HATE YOU. You make me sick! Grow up I am a teenager but a far better human being then you will ever be, no thanks to you Good bye everyone I will miss a few of you. Little kids GET OUT NOW !! Cons: everything more

first and foremost im a dancer at starz and im not gonna come on here and say oh starz is great and perfect. i've talked to several people from other studios and they say they have their share of drama and have hard time with money due to bills. im not saying that everything you all complain about isnt true but to be honest you all are pathetic. What better to do than spend your time on a tuesday evening writing paragraphs and paragraphs of complaints..whining and bitching. its one thing to write a simple review saying i wouldnt recomend this studio because it is not affordable and the owner isnt nice but GEEZ. referring to cults and using peoples names. go to a psychologist or something because you all apparently have a lot to say and rather be immature and aim it at a web sight. there are a lot of good things about starz. but you dont care about mentioning that we are kind to other studios and we are award and national winning.. that we award money and scholarships at the end of the year to small and tall dancers. NOOO. god forbid a good comment fall out of your mouths. you are too concerned with telling random people online YOUR side of the story. again i am not saying you arent saying correct information...its the depths that you all go to make starz look like a complete mess because you had a bad experience. You all call yourselves parents and grown people. GROW UP and stop acting 2!!! more

Wow. So, I call my mom, out of state, almost in tears, and tell her how my daughter won't be able to be a in company, and they wouldn't work with me on this big payment. I am hoping she will save the day, but instead she says, ""honey...seriously...she's only 5!"" Oh my gosh! She's right. Had I had completely lost my mind?! Yes, she had perfect rhythmn at 1, yes she had been in dance since she was 2, yes she was doing perfect spot turns at 4, but was Starz the end-all, be-all of her entire dance future?? No!! \r \r \r Well, I of course wrote Michelle a long, emotional email, expressing my sadness at the prospect of quitting, and noted the high cost was only affordable to the wealthy, and breaking the backs of all others. I didn't understand why there was no attempt to work out somthing that seemed so workable. She wrote me back saying that being in company was a choice, and not a requirement, and basically, tought sh*t. I wrote 1 more email back, as tears rolled down my cheeks. I even expressed that in my email. I was crying at the thought of my daughter's clear, God-given gift, being thrown aside for the love of money. God, all I was asking for, was a week! I realize they weren't going to kick her out, if I didn't pay on time, (at least I don't think they were) but at this point, I felt so disrespected...how could I leave my most precious gift, in the care of people who clearly didn't have her best interest at heart? She never wrote me back. I never came back to the studio again. My daughter didn't dance for a year. more

I hestitated to write before since there were enough people sharing my same experience. Now that those statements have been removed, I have some comments to make. We all started out believing what we were told and letting the facility impress us enough to be fooled. The reality became something far different than anyone not involved could ever understand. Our experience has been one of limited dance instruction and multitudes of improper behavior and leadership. Students here are taught the prejudice feelings of the studio owner concerning other dance facilities, teachers and students, to serve her purpose of discrediting the competition who are beyond her capabilities. The money expected here is substantial and the owner Michelle has no regard, thought or care about her excessive demands. There is no need to finance several trips for her to go to New York to buy fabric when she could simply purchase it here, or via the internet. That very same store in New York provides fabric samples by mail (free of charge) and ships orders directly to you. If Michelle wants an all expense paid trip to New York, she should start paying for it herself, and I am certainly not ever going to ""donate"" to her weekend vacations again. I have been harrassed and perceived the tone threatening regarding the payments in ""cash"" for various fees. It is a constant and continuous billing for additional monies. I have witnessed crying fits and temper tantrums by the owner towards situations and also directed at kids. Instruction is geared to the ones Michelle favors while the others settle for very little. I could never honestly tell anyone that this is a good place for an aspiring dancer, and in fact have sent friends of mine elsewhere. There is just too much that I could list here as reasons to not join this studio but many will still be misled as I was, so my advice is to get as much information as you can about all the studios in your area and make a better choice \r \r Pros: there aren't any Cons: absolutely everything more

The last comment I left, was too deleted...how wierd? only the bad ones were deleted oh well...everyone will just come back on here and re-write everything. but i can sum up everything that everyone is going to write after me, and this is EXACTLY what is on everyones mind...4 MONTHS LEFT!!!... more

Well, my last comment was deleted and like the entry below me says, I was being honest and telling people what happens here to children, and adults as well. my daughter has a life again, she is self confident and happy NOW THAT SHE IS OUT OF THE ""CULT"". what a shame, the promise of a better dance studio for kids turned into a nightmare or long hours, overpriced everything, studio owner taking only cash on solos and other things so she doesn't have to report it. I have seen people mtg homes, lose homes, go bankrupt and God knows what we haven't seen.\r \r The instruction of dance is not Good, How can the owner that was nothing more than just a regular dance student from Showtime Dance Studio (WHICH IS AN AWESOME PLACE FOR KIDS) she was just a mere student that had an opportunity to open a studio. Where is the training ?? where is the experience ?? how can you claim to be a qualified instructor when all you do is sit in class tell people what to do and eat during classes and privates. It urks the hell out of me to have to pay you $1 an hour to have my kid watch you eat, or to talk to thea or kristin during my paid time. and God forbid I say anything then my child suffers with your childish treatment of these kids when parents aren't around. you kid is singled out, mistreated etc. I wasted to many years at starz not knowing how to get out. The kids are so brainwashed to think they can only dance at starz. and the withdrawls are just like a cult withdrawl. I noticed parents are just as effected. what a shame. it is about dance, not about how much money michelle can make. DONT DO THIS TO YOUR KIDS !!!!! Find a better place , a real place, real teachers. starz will only go to competions that have a low entry number, or lousy places just so there is no competion just so she fools people into believing they are good, when in reality her company kids are not that Good. Cons: To many to list more

How wierd that this site decided to delete over 20 very in depth negative comments about Starz Studio. They strategically removed only the responses that relayed the most detailed complaint, therefore effectively controlling an outcome so to speak. This is very misleading and questionable when the original positive remarks were the only comments protected and untouched. Could it be because the owner of the studio complained? What is now left here is a completely unbalanced truth of what originally existed regarding the rating of starz studio by us as parents. People may have been very descriptive and passionate with what they wrote, but when you want the truth heard, you tend to release it all. We all know that when it comes to our children, any injustice or mistreatment is intolerable, and therefore something you want to prevent happening to someone else. You will find plenty to complain about and be disqusted by if you make the poor decision of signing up your child at starz. Hopefully the people who previously wrote will take the time to do so again which will be a service to unsuspecting parents looking to place their child in dance. People are trying to give the realistic benefit of their personal experience. Hopefully it will be allowed to be heard since that is supposed to be what this site is for. Pros: not even one Cons: every single thing you could think of more

It is one thing to have an Opinion on things, but to cast Judgment on others? ..............Shame on you! more

I am a dancer at Starz Studios and I'm not going to come on here and say everyone below me is bad for speaking there mind, honestly you can all have your opinion wether it is good or bad, the same as I can have my opinion good or bad. I'm not a parent, I am a dancer in the company and I have been to other studios and Starz is the best one i have danced at. The girls in company are my second family, and I love each and everyone of my teachers. I have learned so much since i've started dancing there and I am able to share my love for dance with several other girls and I am able to enhance my love for dance thanks to the amazing teachers. I have also been given the oppurtunity to assist several classes and I am also learing so much through that. During competition season everyone students, teachers and parents alike are all stressed. And YES when competition is coming we do spend several hours at the studio but its ok because you become so close with everyone in company you make it fun.You all are more than welcome to have your own opinion and I have mine. I love dancing at Starz, i love every single person that dances there and I would recommend it to anyone whose child loves to dance. Thats my opinion (which everyone is allowed to have one) and I am so greatful to me dancing there. =) more

As a previous dancer at ""Starz"" studios, I must say that it started out as one of the best experiences of my life. But after a few years, and the loss of some of our ""core"" dancers, the pressure was on. Im talkin rehersal until 11:00pm or later if ""needed""....RIGHT BEFORE COMPETITION. As one of the elite dancers, I was treated poorly and so were many of the other girls but they werent able to realize that. My last year at Starz was my most emotionally damaging year of dance, which led me to not want to dance anymore. Your children are developing poor self-esteem and will be great dancers but for the wrong reason. Dancing is not for WINNING trophies or MONEY, as I like to say, its all about the art. Pros: nothing Cons: not learning team work more

My daughter has been dancing at Starz Studios for nearly 2 years now. She loves it. It's pretty affordable, especially when you compare it to other studios. It's EXTREMELY affordable if you compare it to other studios programs. Last year they had a ""winter showcase"" to show off what the classes had learned so far... and then the end of the year was the recital, it was nothing short of awesome. \r \r Some of the classes are large, but they make up for it by having other teachers assisting in the classroom also. (and some of the classes also allow some of the older dance students to assist also... last year my daughters class had 9 girls in it, and they had 2 teachers and a student helper - this year she's in an earlier class which only has 4 girls in it, but there are still 2 teachers)\r \r My nieces both went to different dance studios and their end of the year dance recitals were boring boring boring!! I was scared of going to my daughters first recital because I didn't want to let her see that I was bored... however, I was amazed to find that the entire recital was amazing. The props were a little bit ""cheesy"" but the dancers and the performances of all the groups was just spectacular! (even relatives who saw the DVD we purchased wanted to watch the entire show! something they didn't want to do with my nieces in their shows, they watched my nieces and that was it... they'd seen enough. I think that says something!)\r \r I am highly impressed with Starz Studios and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in signing their children (male or female!) up for dancing... in fact, I've recommended it to many many folks already!\r \r The office staff is very friendly and they know what they are doing... they are always happy to answer any questions. It's not unheard of to see the dancers hugging the office staff just as much as they hug each other!\r Pros: affordable, friendly staff (owner included) - company has many positive write-ups and reviews! Cons: recital photos were not very impressive. hopefully this year they'll use another photographer more

below average instruction and overcrowded classes. parents should consider looking into other studios which offer true committment to their child's development with qualified teachers. In my opinion, this is one of the many below average studios in our area. Do your research and by all means, attend various recitals and the difference will be inevitably seen. Why waste your time and money at a facility that is not capable of imparting excellence, and instead only views 95% of it's enrollment as a dollar sign. Pros: none, none, none Cons: inexperience, high teacher turnover, poor environment more