Arete Dance Center

Arête dance center is the best for what we were looking for — a true hobby. My favorite thing about Arête is that it is really social. It’s completely unlike the franchise studios; it’s not a factory to produce dancers as fast as possible, but more like a club in an intimate social setting where you learn the curriculum and get together to dance for fun in real life. We feel like we’ve truly joined a club where we feel welcome, encouraged and valued by both the instructors and the other long-​term customers. We look forward to every class, lesson and party.
Kris, Yuri and Marissa (the instructors we have had so far) have made learning to dance, and dancing, fun! The dance parties on Fridays are awesome because you apply the «static» skills you learn in class/​lessons to use in a real life dancing scenario– you learn to navigate the dance floor with other couples around you, there’s a nice «Friday night» ambiance, and there’s always great music (Kris is an awesome DJ).
I appreciate that they have a couple younger instructors who haven’t been dancing ballroom for long, because it gives us hope! Just a note on the format — in the intro group class you learn basic routines in order to «test» out to get into the Level 1 classes (where I hear the real fun and challenge starts!). It doesn’t really make sense to go here if you’re not going to commit to the whole program because you really can’t advance (at least not quickly) unless you are doing private lessons and attending parties on top of the group classes. Regarding cost — yes it is expensive, but personally it’s been worth every single penny. We’ve made our friends jealous with our skills :) Thank you Kris, Yuri and Marissa!!!

Rebecca and Lerey are clearly passionate about their business and the enthusiasm for their craft is reflected in everything they do. Confucius said «Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.» Rebecca and Lerey must have this quote hard-​wired into their brains! Come to Arête if you want some kind souls show you how to bust loose with your soles.

This place is an absolute gem. Owners are the instructors, and they’re super friendly and fun, and also highly professional. My fiancée and I go to group classes and private lessons too. We really like the latin dance, though learning Foxtrot, Quickstep, and ballroom have been delightful. We love learning here and HIGHLY recommend Arête Dance Studio.
If you’ve considered learning to dance, drop by for visit. You’ll be sooooo glad you did.

Such a great studio! I’ve been searching for adult beginner ballet classes and am so thrilled I found Kris at Arête Dance Center. Kris is such a talented dancer and gives serious and precise instruction without making the dancer feel intimidated or overwhelmed. She, and everyone at the studio, are extremely welcoming to dancers of ALL levels — when they say beginners welcome they really mean it! I’ve seen such progress in our class (and myself) in just the 4 months I’ve been taking classes there, you’ll be amazed how quickly you can pick things up with great instruction.

My fiancé and I were looking for a place to take dance lessons for our wedding, per his request. We contacted multiple dance studios in the area and planned on trying our two or three to see which was the best fit. Arête was the first one to get back to us and after our first lesson with Kris we knew we had found ‘the one’ and didn’t need to try out the other studios.
Kris was patient, funny and great to work with. She could teach the moves to us in different ways so that we both understood. We really enjoyed going to dance class and seeing Kris twice a week. We had no idea it would be such a fun and special experience.
Many thanks to Kris and the rest of the crew at Arête!

After moving from Dallas to the SF bay area we really missed dancing and our dance community. After some time off we were anxious to get back to our passion. After an exhaustive search I was about to sadly give up. But then came across Arête Dance Center on Unilocal.
I am super picky and was not going to just go anywhere. Plus it was important to me that a studio offered a variety of classes and at various experience levels. I needed a studio/​instructor that could teach me to be the best dancer I could be not just dump a bunch of patterns on me.
I spoke with Kris and bombarded her with all of my numerous questions. She was so patient and kind (thanks Kris). She explained the studio’s offerings, their teaching style/​philosophy, their backgrounds, etc. After discussing our previous experience, goals, etc she said we should come down and check them out. We initially signed up for a group class and I signed up for an intro private lesson.
After the first group class with Lerey and my initial private lesson with Rebecca I WAS BLOWN AWAY and knew I had found what we were looking for. I have been a student at several studios and with several instructors and never thought I would find the perfect studio. Arête is truly AS GOOD AS IT GETS.
— Beautiful new modern studio
— Variety of classes and different levels
— Technique drop in classes every Sat
— Friday night workshops
— Holiday parties that include student, instructor/​pro performances
— OUTSTANDING instruction, very clear teaching style/​method
— No attitude from instructors or students that you experience at most studios
— No pressure to buy packages or sign up for classes that you experience at most studios
— Very clear this studio knows what they are doing
— Flexible packages for private lessons
— Instructors that are dancers, not dancers trying to be teachers
— Hidden Benefit: this is couples therapy… trust me
— Amazing instructors that care about you and want you see you reach your goals
Whether you are new to dance, experienced, looking for wedding dance lessons, etc you have to try Arête Dance Center. My boyfriend thanks me after every lesson for finding them… hehehe.
We are now regular students (private and group) and have found our dancing home. Thank you Rebecca, Lerey, and Kris… much love!

My fiancé and I came here to have our first wedding dance lesson and we both absolutely loved our experience here. Our instructor is Kris, and she is patient, kind, funny and an excellent teacher.
I came into the lesson with little to no dance experience while my fiancé had more experience with formal dancing. Kris was able to work with both of our abilities making me feel comfortable and also making my fiancé feel like he was getting a lesson that was up to his pace as well.
We loved our experience so much that we have booked some more classes to ensure that our wedding dance is extra perfect. I highly recommend this dance studio to couples looking to learn how to dance for their first dance and also to people who are just looking to learn how to dance.
A fun fact is that on Friday’s they have group lessons and then a «party» afterwards where you can practice and just have fun dancing. It’s only $ 13 for those, so if you are looking for a fun date night activity, problem solved. :)

Kris is a phenomenal dancer and person. She has a huge heart, great humor, unbelievable depth of knowledge of dance and overall a deep wisdom. Because of this, she is able to connect with students of all type. In particular, she has been able to teach a person like me. I am someone who has basically hated dancing his entire life and now has found a passion for it. Kris is able to teach me in my learning style. She adapts. Instructors like this are very rare. People like Kris are rarer still. If you are looking for a teacher and want to really appreciate dance at its finest, Kris is your instructor.
Additionally, Rebecca and Lerey are fantastic perfectionists who bring dance to you in a way that is incredible. They teach you what you want to know, but in a way that creates a foundation for dance that will allow you to take your passion anywhere you want it to go. The degree to which these two attempt to perfect their teaching methods and the experience the provide for their students is really inspirational.

Nice manager, nice instructors, they all take care of your needs and help you learn dance fast