Anita's Dance Ctr

12/15/09

Never Judge a Book by it's Cover, pt. 2

by luv2dance13 at Citysearch

Dance is supposed to be fun and challanging, but most of the time it became just a chore, until you had a show to do, where you could be on stage and be free. Many of the teachers there are way too young. When I began teaching it was a rule that you had to be an assistant to an older teacher before you had the privalage to to teach. Now because of the expansive facility, anyone that can jump up and down can teach, and that is simply not fair to the students that think they are at a higher level of dance studio, and unfair to the teachers that had to put in the work to earn their right to teach...the instructors that take dance instruction seriously.

I'm writing this review not to bash on Anita or let off some steam. I've been out the studio for nearly 3 years and I am happy teaching elswhere. I just want people to know what happens behind closed doors(and sometimes out in the open) It's a great place if your child just wants to do dance for fun and doesn't want to advance, but if your child is serious about excelling in dance, then this is not the place for them.

It's a high price for a child to be made an example of for being in other extracurricular activities and be in a class when a teacher not much older than them is teaching it. If you should decide to place your child here or if you yourself plan on taking lessons at Anita's Dance Center and happen to make a name for yourself because of your gift of dance...don't plan on leaving smoothly. It's never that you wanted to move on or life was taking you in a different direction, It's always that you were a bad person and they will ruin your good reputation. I know this because I too was told about all the bad girls that went here and they did so many bad things that they had to be kicked out for their behavior. Come to find out that as soon as I left, the same lies were said about me. It wasn't until this that I learned that majority of the girls they made examples of were good, wholesome girls who desreved to leave with thier reputation in tact.

Just because it seems so magical on the outside...their is way too much shadyness going on on the inside. Please don't fall into the same trap that everyone else does.

• Pros: friends :)
• Cons: empty promises

12/15/09

Never Judge a Book by it's Cover, pt. 1

by dancedevotion at Citysearch

This review is coming from a girl that danced here all her life and went through all of the companies and beyond, and also was a teacher for nearly 8 of those years.

I will start off by saying that I had many great experiences by going to Anita's Dance Center...but at a high price. All through the years while in grade school through high school I had a blast and was in the magical Anita's land where I was at the best place for dancing and we were the best and everything was perfect. By the time I started teaching and doing a lot of work for Anita, I began to see the true colors of the place more and more. I did more than just teaching for her and I only was being paid 8 dollars and hour. Now considering that class fees were up to 7.50 per student, per hour...that is humiliating as a staff member. After doing some research, I found that the national average for a dance instructor is around 14 dollars an hour. I never got any credit for the many hours of extra work that I did for the studio, performances and recitals. Others, such has her son, who helped, but did not do nearly the amount of work that I did, did recieve credit...for my work. I did let that slide and even defended Anita when family members and people around me would shake their head in disbelief. I was told many empty promises of how I was so valuable that I would be able to make this my career, and that I was highly desired to stay and dance well beyond my highschool years, and that I would recieve financial compensation. That flew out the door.

I finally got the nerve to leave, but when you leave it's never easy, because they have a way of making you stay or giving you more false hopes of a future there. So I left abruptly because it was the only way that I could. I thought that Anita and I were close enough that she would understand and maybe even be happy that I was spreading my wings finally at 22 yrs old. That did not happen. Instead I was ridiculed and made an example of to all of the wonderful girls that looked up to me as their instructor and mentor...including relatives of mine. I was called a quitter and a failure and that I must be under the infuence of drugs and that I was in an abusive relationship. Non of this couldn't be more farther from the truth. What happened was that I finally had the wool pulled off from over my eyes and I woke up to all the lies and really poor business conduct. I realized that I along with other teachers and students deserved to be treated better. I never recieved my final paycheck, my recital DVD and I was told that I would never get a good reference from them in the future. They did keep their promise on that one, because I was out of work for nearly 6 months at one point, because every job I was considered for let me go due to the bad and untrue refference Anita gave them.

• Pros: good dance experiences
• Cons: unethical business conduct, high tuition fees, cattyness.

12/03/09

Don't Waste Your Time.

by dancegurl32 at Citysearch

I danced at Anita's for 12 years. I was in the kids company, juniors, high juniors, and then dance company. All they do is take your money. When you're younger, it's all fun and games and there's not much pressure. As you get older and higher in the companies, they definitely play favorites. If you don't possess all the skills they want, you're looked down upon and never taught how to do anything correctly by the teachers. It was less bitchy after Julie left, but then Anita majorly took over. Your life had to revolve around dance. She lies to you and your family to keep you in dance just so they can empty your wallet. Everyone talks crap about Anita and the older teachers in dance company, even the captains. Anita literally screams at us if we don't do everything perfectly; it's never good enough for her. They tell the bronze level that they're not allowed to stand in the front of the room because they're not as good as everyone else. Basically, it isn't a healthy environment for kids of any age. There's way too much drama and stress which definitely isn't worth the second mortgage.

• Pros: Meet some good people.
• Cons: Waste of money, Fake people, Hypocritical teachers.