Anna Lee School of Dance

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Reviews

1. Eden Wilson ★☆☆☆☆

   Extremely disappointed. Appalling communication standards and no gender equality in 2023... My daughter has been dancing with the school for the past year and will not be returning. During terms 1-3, things ran smoothly, and Miss Selena (teacher) was great, as there was no variation in classes or schedules which required communication from the studio. During term 4 in preparation for and during the dance recital is where everything fell to pieces. We were required to make a non-refundable payment for the recital up front at the start of the term with next to no information, which was slowly drop fed to us over the duration of the term, there were misleading statements and a general lack of information which lead to a great deal of confusion and a misunderstanding surrounding over-all costs, expected to pay costume hire fees for costumes the company already owned and rented to other studios, and parents were expected to pay for full-price tickets to see a 2-minute preschool dance despite being required to stay with the children and get them ready, and with additions and adjustments to information as little as 24 hours before the recital. Specifically, 24 hours before the recital I was informed by means of a newsletter/email that I would not be able to support my daughter and take her to the recital as I am a male and would not be allowed in the dressing area to get my 4-year-old daughter ready. I understand the need to protect our young ones, but I find it incomprehensible that the Studio put barriers in the way of me being a supportive father at 24-hours notice, when I had no other options available to me and recital and tickets were non-refundable. After numerous emails with the studio a compromise was made for me to get my daughter ready in a near-by foyer where they left her costume and were to collect my daughter when it was time to go on stage. We were given no information about when she would be going on stage, and was not called upon for 1.5 hours after we were required to be there. For 1.5 hours, we were left isolated in a 1x1m corner of a foyer with not even a seat to sit on. For certainty, there was no apparent 'story' to the recital, and was compromised of several individual, unrelated dances. I am unsure why the studio expected preschool children to wait over 1.5 hours to go on stage, when they could have just as easily been amongst the first, or be asked to come in at a later time. Further, I later discovered that there were several male dancers, whom as I understand got changed in the same area as all the female dancers. I find this lack of gender equality disgusting, especially considering that any females old enough to be embarrassed / shy etc about having dancer's fathers in the changing room would foreseeably, and as explained to me by a staff member at the time, wearing a bra/underwear & tights. I consider this no different than if they were at the beach in a bikini, it is no more revealing, and at no time should they have needed to take this off to be fully exposed. Additionally, almost all of the costumes were high-cut and could have very easily worn their usual leotards underneath to circumvent any of these issues. The studio seriously needs to consider changing with the times, improve their communication standards, and find ways to accommodate fathers who play an active role in parenting which is more and more common today. This could have been avoided by simply using a separate dressing room for younger children which require assistance, or putting up some room dividers / privacy screens as required.

   almost 2 years ago
2. Chris Drayton ★★★★★

   Well organised and friendly

   almost 4 years ago
3. Karen Drayton ★★★★★

   My 6 year old loves the classes

   almost 4 years ago

1. Family Johnston ★★★★★

   My daughter has been attending for around 6 months. Over the weekend we went to the annual Christmas recital, and were mightily impressed. There are a LOT of students that attend this school across the multiple studios, and there is also a fantastic amount of talent. I'm in no place to judge the quality of the teaching , but there are some things that I really like: * At the Sawyers Arms studio - the respect that the senior instructor asks for and is given * the way that one of the senior students, (Abby) helps with the classes and leads by example * the fantastic organisation of the Christmas Recital. Not only were there a LOT of different costumes, but the flow was absolutely flawless. There were no teachers in evidence - where the younger students needed help and guidance, this was done by the senior students. I really like that inculcation of responsibility and leadership and it speaks very well of the overall quality of the school. The choreography was flawless - and to a much higher standard that I would have expected given the age range of the students. The beginner dances were well thought through, lots of costume changes and generally just a high quality, well organised vibe throughout. With all of this in mind, I would give very definite recommendation to attend, and a huge endorsement!

   more 6 years ago

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