Orange County Performing Arts Academy

My 3 year-​old daughter and I stopped in here on Saturday, March 19^th to check out the studio and see if she is interested in starting dance. We get there and no one is at the front office window, no one says hi, nothing. So we start wondering through the worn down hallways, and find the room for the 3 year-​olds and start watching the class that has started through the window.
My daughter very calmly and quietly starts to say «Mommy I want to dance», and according to this places website their trial class is free. I figured they needed some kind of medical release or something signed before she could participate. So we make our way back to the front and see that a woman is now in the office. So I start inquiring about the classes and our joining; she hands me a registration form and a schedule and said that we could come next week (Saturday, March 26^th) and she can participate for free then. I was a little dissatisfied with the fact that the woman didn’t recommend my daughter join the remaining portion of the class… and I understand that it can be disruptive, and that we need to teach our children the importance of punctuality. However, explaining to a 3 year old that they can’t participate and have to wait until next week is no easy task. So, I finally get my daughter to understand that we can only watch and that we’ll come back to dance, and surprisingly she gets it and accepts it.
We wonder back to watch the last half hour of the class and by this time the two girls who had been in the class came running out to change into their other dance shoes; perfect timing! So I gently walk into the room and ask the teacher, Miss Megan if it would be ok for my daughter to jump in for the class and I apologize that we were not there on time for the start of the class. She actually was kind enough (you could tell she was a little hesitant) to let my daughter join and was amazingly patient with the 3 girls. Needless to say, my daughter left on cloud 9 and we were excited all week to come back. We ordered her ballet and tap shoes that week!
Saturday, March 26^th (this morning) comes and I get my daughter into her pink tights and black leotard (per the dress code), get her out the house all excited and we’re on our way to her first «official» dance class! I’m a proud and happy momma!
We get there a little too early (feared being late), and we wait patiently. As the time gets closer to 9 am (class start time), I start noticing that there are no other cars arriving. So I get out thinking that there might be a note on the door to the fact that they’re closed for Easter weekend… nope, no note. Nothing on their website, nothing on their phone recording, nobody the week before had mentioned a thing about there not being classes! So now I’m putting my daughter back into her car seat, who is in complete tears and heart broken because all she wanted to do was dance!

Best teachers, best dancers, & kids make great friends! My kids have been here for 10+ years and couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

Daughter loves this place and the prices are very reasonable. Teachers are well trained and seem to care about the students.

Was there with a friend who has kids, looks like a great place.

My daughter has been taking dance classes here since she was about 2 years old. We started in the mommy and me. She has since moved on to take tap, ballet, jazz, and musical theater classes. She enjoys them all. The teachers know their skill and appear to enjoy working with the young children. The school puts on two recitals a year along with numerous competitions that the companies are in.

Lots of fun classes for all ages and interests. Kids can start at 18-​months. Their company dancers do really well in competitions.