Getting Started in Dance Classes
1.) What Type of Dance Floor is Used in the Studio?
Due to the physical nature of dance, it is important to ensure that the studio you choose holds all classes on a professional floating dance floor. Floating floors, whether they be hardwood or marley use special subflooring with special foam to allow the floor to aborb much of the shock that would otherwise be absorbed by the feet, knees, and lower body of the dancer. Floating floors allow dancers to dance longer and provide a safe environment for classes. Our studio uses a custom built maple hardwood floating dance floor.
2.) How Large are the Classes?
The fewer the number of students in a class, the more individual attention each student receives. At LAAPA, our school limits each preschool class to a maximum of 8 students, and each regular class (for ages 6-older) to a maximum of 12 students. This ensures that each student receives the attention he/she deserves which in turn means they learn more and enjoy the classes more!
3.) Are Recitals and/or Competitions Mandatory?
Most dance schools and instructors will have an "end of year" performance. Performing on stage is a wonderful opportunity for personal growth of the student in so many ways, yet some students may not be ready to jump right in for a recital performance. At LAAPA, we allow all dance students the option to choose whether or not they'd like to perform in our Spring Recital.
Many dance schools and instructors also choose to focus on heavy competition schedules requiring students and parents to regularly travel out of state several weekends of the year. Our focus within the dance program at LAAPA is exclusively on the education of students in a fun and low pressure environment. Our students are not required to participate and/or attend dance competitions.
4.) Who Do I Contact For Customer Service?
Many times, the studio owner wears a variety of hats by performing numerous services as a teacher, employer, staff associate, customer service representative, and the list goes on. Usually studio owners in these situations can not effectively perform all of these jobs at once which means that the quality of one or more of these services will continually or eventually suffer. At LAAPA, our dance teachers focus 100% on teaching classes each week. We have staff members at the front desk during all classes ready to assist you with any administrative questions or concerns.
