Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy

I do not write Unilocal reviews that often, may be once a year but I had to write one for this school. I recently visited it for my 7 years old daughter and I sort of felt ashamed of myself because I was not a good enough mom to have discovered this incredible artistic environment before. If you are looking for once or twice a week, hanging around classes for your kid then this is definitely the wrong one for you but if you want to give your child a sports way of life that he/​she can hang on to during his/​her troublesome teenage years instead of drugs, alcohol etc. then that is the place. Your child can choose to be a dancer or not in the future but for sure dance and sports will be part of his/​her whole life after an experience in such a school. Also the discipline, humility, and friendship. I was so impressed with the welcoming and humble owners who seem to be doing an excellent job as well as the disciplined and friendly teachers, mature but at the same time fun (! I still laugh at one of the smart and funny comments made by the blonde lady!) reception staff. The facilities are very nice, clean, more than enough for all needs and there is a spirit all around the school that you can easily feel. I have no doubt that I made a big difference in my daughter’s life by visiting this school and deciding to join. Just come and visit to feel the environment yourself.
P.S I met a mom who is driving her teenage daughter all the way from north of LA couple of times a week just to attend this school! We are so lucky to have these people just next door :)

This video speaks for itself.
My daughter has been coming here for over 3 years and each year her hours per week of dance classes increase. Training is firm, but she LOVES it and believes that she is getting the best instruction.

My 7-​year-​old daughter has been taking classes at DKCBA for about 9 months. The longer we are at the studio, the more classes she wants to take– she loves the instructors and other dancers just as much as she loves to dance. I am thrilled by how much she has improved in 9 months, and was very impressed by the level of dancing showcased at the spring recital.
The main focus at DKCBA is ballet; however, they have recently added even more commercial dance classes as well as competition team opportunities. The quality of instruction at the studio is top-​notch. I agree with previous reviewers who stated DKCBA is geared more toward serious dancers than those who want to dance recreationally– after all, it is a pre-​professional studio whose owner/​instructors and other instructors have danced professionally and obtained extensive training and education in a variety of dance styles.
I have always found the front desk staff to be welcoming and helpful, although it is important to remember that the studio isn’t open during what would be considered regular business hours and the staff is usually pretty busy during the afternoon and evening helping the families of the 100+ dancers who take classes there. I have also enjoyed how friendly the other parents are and have valued being a part of what feels like a family of dancers in a wholesome, mellow, supportive atmosphere.

I spent some time at the studio and did not have a positive experience with the teachers and the owners. I would not recommend this studio.

Jiu Jitsu and ballet? You would never think those 2 things would mix, but they do!
They have Jiu Jitsu classes every Wednesday at 7:30 pm here. What makes this place so great is the fact that for the first month, you get to come here for FREE! Yes, free! After that, you will only need to pay $ 50 per month to get lessons.
WHO I WOULD RECOMMEND THIS CLASS FOR:
I recommend this class for any girl or guy looking to learn some great defense moves. I love strong women and strongly encourage girls to at least come and check it out at least once to gain some basic skills. You are taught by Steven Kim. Class size currently is small, so you will get more of like a private lesson. He is also patient and shows you how to defend yourself in real life situations.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
At first, I was super intimidated walking into the classroom! But the instructors here are so so supportive and just encourage you to try as much as you can, and if you feel uncomfortable, you can sit out. However, don’t be shy! It’s free and you will learn a lot within 1.5 hours! When you come, just show up in anything comfortable. I wore sweatpants and a long sleeve shirt and was good for the whole lesson.
Love the FREE factor and loved learning new defense moves!

As a professional dancer and dance teacher, I have been to many prestigious dance studios, school, and colleges. I have to say Dmitri and Jennifer Kulev are one of the best ballet teachers I’ve seen. I’ve worked with a lot of ballet schools in the orange country area, I would highly recommend their school without any reservation.
The space is quite nice. One large studio, one medium sized, and 2 small ones. I can understand why a parent would want a viewing window to see his/​her kid dance in a class. But, many serious dance schools only allow viewings once a month. As a teacher, I prefer to work with young dancers with a covered viewing windows. Their attention span is very short. A viewing window can be a distraction for them.
The studios are kept cleaned and the sound system are better than most studios or even colleges in the area. Each studios are equipped with a temperature control, which is a luxury for most dance studios.
Dmitri and Jennifer have an extensive credit as professional dancers. As far as I know, they are quite picky when it comes to their staff and faculty. I’ve watched their students perform at Youth America Grand Prix (a quite prestigious international ballet competition) and I can see how they are trained very well.
If what you’re looking for is a recreational dance classes, Dmitri’s school may not be the right one. There are plenty of fun jazz competition studios around in OC. But if you’re looking for a good, serious (and still fun) dance training, I highly recommend this school.
I got my degree in dance and went to college with a dance scholarship, so I know how valuable a good training is. There are many unqualified ballet teachers everywhere. One way to check a good training of a school is to look at their students when they are in class. Also look at their legs. If the majority of the dancers have big thighs/​quads for a ballet class, the chance is… the training is bad. there’s a difference between genetically big thighs/​quadriceps and over developed quadriceps because of bad BALLET trainings.

I wouldn’t let a typical stage mom, whose only concern with this school was whether SHE could see her kid in class (newsflash: most schools don’t allow parents to watch at all as it is distracting for the children) and not whether the child actually liked the school, deter me from checking this awesome Vaganova method school out. Her kid loved the school, but she pulled her out anyway, just because the window wasn’t big enough for her (there is enough room for at least 3 people to watch through the window at a time, for the record) to watch her kid as though the class was supposed to be for her enjoyment in the first place. Class is time for your kid to learn things, not for you to watch her and go «aww». Do that at home, after class.
This is a good, serious and solid ballet school. The classes are very hard, the kids are friendly, and the teachers expect the best. It is probably not a good school for people looking to dance recreationally, unless you take the Teen Ballet or Adult Ballet classes. The pre-​professional program is very serious and demanding, and should only be considered by children who are serious about dancing. The studios are large, clean and well ventilated/​air-​conditioned (most studios I’ve been to are sweltering hot and humid). The waiting area is, unlike stage mom above said, GIGANTIC, and there are many places to wait/​sit/​read a book (and not stalk your kid.). There are two huge, clean bathrooms, and a room for kids to do their homework, with a large table and chairs. There is a water cooler for free, clean water. This is basically the best school I’ve visited in my search for a good serious pre-​professional school, and I’ve visited a lot from Los Angeles to Mission Viejo, with everything in between. There is good information about SIs (summer intensive programs) here, and people from this studio audition for many prestigious Russian (and non-​Russian) intensives. All of the kids are very self-​motivated and it’s a great learning atmosphere.
If you look at the other reviews left by the person who had negative things to say about this school, she also pulled her kid out of an academic program because she kept spying on her kid’s teacher and apparently didn’t like that her kid was using the water fountain by herself. Now exactly what was going to happen? Was the kid going to drown?! I would seriously take her review here with a grain of salt due to the nature of her other reviews, as well as the reasons she gave for giving this school such a low rating in the first place– I’m sorry, but mommy viewing space is NOT how you rate a ballet school. I’m a dancer whose actually taken classes at this school, and they are top notch in every way that actually matters to ballet education.
That large viewing window is more than MOST studios offer, because most studios have zero viewing space and closed doors to boot. Doubt that woman’s poor kid is still enjoying ballet anywhere due to the fact that no school runs a creative movement class for 3 year-​olds (they don’t learn ballet at 3…) in a large auditorium with spotlights. How sad that a kid isn’t even allowed to enjoy herself and that she has to say goodbye to a school she admits to loving, just because mommy couldn’t watch class. Selfish much?

I should’ve listened to my gut feeling and avoided this place after I got no response when I called (left a message) & emailed them!
I was very excited about enrolling my 3 year old in her first ever «dance/​ballet» class. The 1^st day of class went fine (she loved, still does) but I wasn’t able to enjoy it myself because I couldn’t see her! The room is so small, you can barely fit all the parents that are waiting for their kids. There is a tiny «viewing» window in the corner of the room that only one person can «view» at a time. You have to get there early to be sure you get to sit in front of that window.
They cater to the older kids (I guess you have to since that’s their main business).
They don’t keep their website updated so you have to physically go in and look at the board to know what is going on and even then half the time not all of the information is on there (it’s like pulling teeth to get information).
The owner cancelled a class the week before a recital and didn’t even tell the parents (after the teacher confirmed the week before that they WERE going to hold a class).
It’s just not what I expected. I was very disappointed. I am going to take my daughter out as soon as The Nutcracker is over and she does her recital.