River Ridge School of Music & Dance
2020 Dickory Ave #200
Harahan, LA 70123
Our River Ridge campus in Elmwood/Harahan has brought the joy of music and dance into the lives of thousands of families in the Greater New Orleans area.
About Our Music Academy and Dance Studio
Located minutes to the west of New Orleans, LAAPA's River Ridge location is centrally located in the Jefferson Parish suburb of Harahan, LA.
Our school serves over 500 students and families from all over the metropolitan New Orleans, LA area including Kenner, Metairie, Elmwood, Lakeview, Waggaman, Avondale, and Westwego.
Learn More
Researching Music Schools and Dance Schools in the Neighborhood?
There is certainly no shortage of well qualified instructors and studios in our area - more today than ever before! So what makes our school stand out among the crowd?
With our roots planted in the River Ridge community since 1978, our studio has been entrusted with enriching the lives of so many local families in Jefferson Parish because of our comprehensive educational curriculum, diverse faculty, and modern facilities. One of our greatest joys is being given the opportunity to instill a love of music and dance within multiple generations of families as we are now teaching the children and grand children of some of our original students from the early 80's!
Getting started in the performing arts can sometimes feel intimidating. You may wonder:
No experience is required! We accept students from brand new beginners to advanced/pre-professional students. In short, you don't need to worry about fitting in or not knowing anything because we have a very diverse student body here with everyone in different phases of their journey.
Our beginning level classes don't require any auditions. Students transferring from another school or enrolling in an upper level class may be asked to meet with the dance department chair for an evaluation. Music students do not require any auditions with the exception of our upper level bands/ensembles. In short, just come as you are and we'll match you up with the best teacher or class for your needs!
Just try to remember that everyone was once a beginner! Our faculty members are all wonderful people with welcoming and humble personalities who will take the time to get to know you and set reasonable goals and expectations. There are no silly questions because chances are many people have asked the same questions at some point! Our entire community is welcoming and you're bound to make some new friends here!
All of our faculty members are University Trained professionals in their fields and have a true love of working with students of all ages and levels. Whether you're brand new to music and/or dance or have already had some training or even just a few lessons, we guarantee that you will feel right at home here. The lessons you may have experienced as a child with the piano teacher down the street who would only teach you classical music will be somewhat different than our philosophy of teaching. We are completely open to helping students focus on exactly the styles of music and dance that they are interested in. While there will be a great deal of focus on universal fundamentals, we feel that ensuring students are given the knowledge and inspiration to work on songs that they love is paramount to their success.
By taking some time to browse though our website, we hope that you'll be able to get a sense of our mission and dedication to providing our students and community with only the finest instruction in the area.
We strongly suggest that brand new beginning students begin their research by visiting the "Explore Music" and/or "Explore Dance" links below as we've been told by our new parents that these were instrumental (no pun intended) in helping them get started!
If you have already narrowed down your program(s) of interest, feel free to scroll down below to read more about all of our offerings!
In-Studio or Live Online Lessons
Online lessons continue to grow in popularity with our students! While many still prefer to attend in person, one of the many benefits that our students enjoy is the opportunity to choose how they'd like to attend their weekly lessons. At LAAPA, we've taught thousands of kids, teens, and adults both online remotely as well as in person, and our teachers are very comfortable with both methods.
Students are also able to change how they attend week by week. For example, one week perhaps a soccer game is running late and you realize last minute that you can't make it out to the studio on time - no problem, just send us a quick text or call us and we'll notify your teacher to meet you online instead.
Perhaps you'll be attending the majority of your lessons online the majority of the time and would like to come in once a month for the in person experience? Perfectly fine as well!
While there are many out of state corporations and private music and dance teachers offering online lessons, the majority of them don't actually have a commercial facility that offers local, in person lessons as well as on site customer service. Learn more about getting started in online lessons!
Student and Parent Success Stories
Why Enroll with the River Ridge School of Music & Dance?
Upcoming Events
Questions? Click below to check out our list of Frequently Asked Questions.
Can't find the answers you're looking for? Call, text or email - we're here to help Monday-Thursday 8 AM - 9 PM, Friday 8 AM - 7:30 PM, and Saturday 8 AM - 3 PM.
Please note that during holiday breaks, the office will be open between 9 AM and 5 PM. It is always best to call the office before dropping by the Academy in person during holiday breaks.
Come and see why our students can't wait for their lessons each week! It's Quick and Easy to Get Started in Classes this !
Arrange your first class by contacting us today or click below to enroll online.