The studio has high quality dance instruction and puts on great shows. Praise is earned and not automatically given which is also a good lesson for children. The children are told when they are doing well and also when they need to improve. There are rules and dress codes, all good things to prepare children for the real world.
Children as young as age 6 are expected to eat lunch outdoors right next to a busy freeway even when spending hours at the studio without parents. There is supervision but the air and noise pollution from the freeway are horrible. I tried it once myself and would not voluntarily do it again. Several parents are concerned about this but since it had been done for 5 years without being brought up as an issue it cannot be changed per the owner. She will not allow children a place inside during the summer heat and smog to eat lunch despite spending hours at her studio while the parents are at work.
The customer service toward parents also is poor. The owner Tracy Vonderhaar at times deals with us parents as if we were her students and not as her customers. She assumes we are mind readers and easily gets irritated by questions, concerns and especially parents mistakes. She definitely could use some training in customer service.
Why do we come back? -It's the high quality dance instruction.
I also learned my lessons as a parent over the years and will reduce our involvement at the studio to the 1x/week dance class. I will simply sign my daughter up for less shows and no more 5-6 hour summer training programs. That should reduce my questions, concerns, mistakes to zero and minimize my interaction with the owner/studio as a parent.
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