My 5 year old has decided she wants to pursue dance. I have been looking at the various places, and have narrowed it down to Pure Energy or Suzanne's. Does anyone have input on either of these? I really like the appeal of Pure Energy offering an all inclusive tuition that includes leotards, tight, costumes, recital fees, shoes. I feel like those are the "hidden" costs, and having that all inclusive seems smart- I just haven't heard much about them. They are also the closest to us.

I have heard great things about Suzanne's, but their schedule for 5 year olds will make it a mad dash to get there in the middle of the week from school in Normangee.

I'm not interested in Expressions or MCM. I know they are both great, they just aren't for us.

Any others that I'm missing that are good?

Posting to watch this thread.

Should we be ever able to find jobs in the BCS area (currently looking on the side while working job in Houston area) my 3 year old would want to find a dance class like this too.

PS- If anyone is hiring, let me know lol

What kind of work are you looking for?

My husband's company (roofing) will be looking to hire in the BCS area, but it will require work in Houston as well, and is 100% commission (1099 employee).

Thanks . But I am looking (and my degree is) in the Supply Chain / Procurement / Inventory Mgmt / Operations realm.

His degree is RPTS. Some people take weird career paths after college.

Best of luck in your job search.

FWIW, we left Suzanne's to go with Expressions and have been happy.

No doubt! You never know where things will go sometimes. And thanks!

I don't think 5 year olds should be allowed to post on Texags....

CS78 said:

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FWIW, we left Suzanne's to go with Expressions and have been happy.

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Thank you. That is helpful. I have no issue with expressions, I just know a handful of people that go there. Some of them I would prefer to not run into that often lol.

As an option, I can't recommend Wranglers enough. My girls went through the gauntlet of competitive cheer, dance, gymnastics, etc.

This is the best thing we've done. Learn a. FUN skill for life. Learn how young ladies and gentlemen should act and treat each other. Not an overwhelming time or money commitment (comparatively).

Also offered in North Houston and DFW area.

Thank you for the suggestion. We know some people that do Lil wranglers, and they love it.

I wish she was interested in it, maybe when she is older. Right now, she is 100% focused on wanting ballet.

Elements Academy of Dance (EAD)

4 year old is in Suzanne's school of dance and has Ms. Sylva and absolutely loves her and ballet.

And she dances beautifully

We started at Pure Energy for a couple years and then moved to Expressions.

I don't have anything "bad" to say about either, but I felt like Pure Energy cost quite a bit more for a much smaller facility and there were some extra fees at the time that seemed to always pop up. But neither of these things have anything to do with the quality of instruction or staff and I haven't been there in a few years. We had good experiences at both.

Thank yall! This is all very helpful!

Independence H-D said:

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As an option, I can't recommend Wranglers enough. My girls went through the gauntlet of competitive cheer, dance, gymnastics, etc.

This is the best thing we've done. Learn a. FUN skill for life. Learn how young ladies and gentlemen should act and treat each other. Not an overwhelming time or money commitment (comparatively).

Also offered in North Houston and DFW area.

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I second this. They take some awesome trips too which provide the kids with some really cool experiences/places to perform around the State & country

Also, Expressions is awesome. Highly recommend for dance

We have been at Suzanne's for a long time and my girls have enjoyed all of their classes there!

Keep in mind that most of these places will let you try a class for free! You can call ahead, then show up and ask questions, talk to other parents waiting around and get a feel for the studio. Or try a class over the summer (less commitment, no recital fees, etc) At 5, you probably just want to find what works for your schedule and budget that won't result in extra stress! And as she grows, you can decide how serious you want to pursue more rigorous ballet programs, like The Ballet Academy at Suzanne's.

Also, if you haven't taken her to see the Nutcracker at Rudder in December - I highly recommend! You will get to see the best of the ballet talent from studios across the Brazos Valley, it's really inspiring for little ballerinas!

She did get to see the Nutcracker at Rudder Theater this past December. She loved it- so much so that we had to buy the audio book with music for her to listen to before bed. She also loves to "practice" her ballet moves that she learned watching it (it's kind of funny). The Nutcracker was one of the things that really pushed her to want to do dance.

With Suzanne's having the short Summer programs for a decent price, we may just try both places and give her an immersion summer in dance to catch up (i know plenty of people that would argue that 5 is a late start)

I understand- but again, we aren't interested in Expressions at this time for personal reasons.

5 is absolutely not a late start! I hope she has an amazing summer! Good luck!

I've had one or more of the water chicklets at Pure Energy, Suzanne's, and Expressions over the years with good experiences at all three.

I have some friends with older dancers at Elements. There is also a new studio, Fox Dance Academy, that is on Villa Maria at Briarcrest.

I'm delighted your dancer enjoyed the Nutcracker. I've gone to every show and I've seen little kids go from watching in the audience to dancing on stage.

I am the father of four girls that have danced in a number of the studios in town. My girls are currently 16, 14, 12, and 8 and we have taken dance at Suzanne's, Expressions, Elements, On Our Toes, and some summer things at Pure Energy.

The first thing I would say is that no studio is perfect. All have their pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses and their niches where they excel. It depends on what you are after.

My quick answer to your question for a 5 year old trying out dance, I think Suzanne's and Pure Energy are good options. I would try out classes there and get a feel for it and see what fits best for you.

For others reading this later, whose dancers may be further along or have different goals, I would offer further advice. Because there has been some drama between some studios that divided the dancer community, I would recommend to anyone looking for a studio to take recommendations against a studio with some skepticism, particularly if there are no details offered and they have not had a dancer at the studio in question.

For us, we have had only one studio where our experience was truly negative. I say this because the impact to my daughters' self image, confidence and feelings of worth were very negative. This was not everyone's experience at that studio. However, many dancers did leave with my own so our experience was not unique. All that being said, I would still say that studio has some positives that may be right for your dancer.

Since Elements was called out as not being recommended, I will address our experience there as I would strongly disagree. In Elements my daughters have found a second home outside of our own. They are supported, challenged, and seen as individuals. My daughter's skills have vastly improved, their self image has recovered, and, most of all, they are happy. They will stop by the studio even when they are not in class just to say hello to everyone. I will forever be thankful to John and Aya for the impact they have had on our 2 oldest girls. They have shown our girls what it means to have someone other than their parents believe in them and cheer them on and that is priceless.

I could go on and on. Please feel free to private message me and I'm always happy to share our experiences.

My daughter didn't start dance until she was 10, much later than most girls start. Suzanne's had a great class for her and she has been there ever since. They were fantastic about making sure she was able to dance with girls her age and not feel completely behind. I cannot say enough wonderful things about SSD. They truly do have a family atmosphere where you know they care about all of their dancers. The older dancers, in my experience, are great with the younger girls as far as getting to know and encourage them. I would 100% choose them again, if I had it to do all over.

We love Suzanne's