Swing City Dance Studio

My fiancé and I took private dance lessons in order to look composed during our first dance at Swing City studios and we couldn’t have been happier! We head fun, learned basic steps to multiple dances, jazzy moves to basic steps which made us look like we actually knew what we were doing, and then our instructor laid out an outline for our first dance set to our song — which in and of itself was quite a challenge! (Who picks Talking Head’s Naïve Melody as a first dance?!) In the end we had a blast during our first dance because, with just a little practice, we put on a show and our guests loved it. Honestly, I hate the spotlight, and the instruction gave me the opportunity to dance in front of all of our family and friends with confidence.
I was completely taken aback by how personalized our instruction was, and the amount of thought our instructor put into our dance — even after we had left! We only took 2 classes, didn’t even practice like we swore we would, and it still went smoothly. I highly recommend Swing City, and hope you have just as good of an experience as my husband and I did.

I absolutely love Susan, her techniques, her experience, all of it. I was cast in a musical and she choreographed a tap number. I had almost zero tap experience, as did a large percentage of the cast — and we ended up with a showstopper. As an adult it can be difficult to acknowledge a lack of expertise — i.e. it is tempting to jump right in and «fake it.» With Susan’s kind yet firm guidance, though, we learned the basics CORRECTLY. Now I’m taking a class and I appreciate the specific instruction — other classes I’ve taken as an adult seem to be more for people who already have skills, that maybe want to do some combinations with other people and stay in shape. In this class, we are taught. I feel confident that when I am ready to move on to more challenging steps, Susan will let me know and encourage me to continue study.
This studio has classes for various types of dance — ballet, ballroom, jazz, etc. — but the specialty is tap — «Hoofer Style.» I have seen Susan work with young students, and she takes a multifaceted approach — training both the feet and the brain. She is very patient and effective.

My daughter has just completed a year cycle of the (Kindergarten & 1^st Grade) basic skills class — a mix of ballet, tap, and jazz fundamentals. She has really very much enjoyed herself, and I’ve sat in on every one of the classes. Teacher and owner Susan does a great job engaging the students at a level natural to them. She was always positive, always encouraging, and even very gentle when bringing students ‘back into line’.
The best part is that while a year-​end recital is the culmination of the class, the recital is scaled appropriately. The costumes were less than $ 10(!), the admission was free with an option to make a donation to Alpha House (a local homeless shelter). The production was great but not overly theatrical — at no level, from preschool to the high schoolers did there appear to be any undue stress or pressure for the students to be ‘perfect’.
Not that it has weight here, but other parents who have had kids at the studio for five or ten years have also observed that the ‘feel’ is right; that is, the level of pressure is low, and the kids are having fun. At the same time, there are apparently a few alums who have gone on to professional dance careers.
As a footnote, the studio is located in a sorta grungy storefront plaza between Colonial Lanes and Mr. Stadium laundry. Not glamorous.
If you are looking for a dance studio to transform your sweet princess into the next star and are hoping to live vicariously through her experience of fame and glory, go elsewhere. If you want a studio where she can have fun and learn skills, take a closer look.