Dance Gallery Melrose - Melrose, Massachusetts

Erin Bell

We have been with Dance Gallery Melrose for 2 years, and highly recommend Miss Susan and her team to anyone looking for dance training in the Melrose area. Miss Susan has the patience of a saint working with children, and she makes learning dance technique fun without undermining the discipline that it involves. We’ve been to other studios where there’s so much fun that it just feels a bit silly and like they’re not really learning anything, or studios where adult teachers are yelling at 5-year olds about a toe that’s a millimeter out of place (literally). Miss Susan strikes the right balance. The first half of each class is spent training on the barre and stretching while the second half is spent preparing a dance piece for the end-of-year recital. It always gives the kids something to look forward to. Susan teaches her students that the older dancers have a responsibility to help teach the younger ones, so there usually is a “big girl” helper in the younger classes – which is great because, at least for my daughter, she is ALWAYS motivated by trying to impress the older girls. And I know all this because parents are welcome to watch from the sidelines; many other studios don’t offer that kind of transparency.

Susan connects with these children, and the kids are all so, so kind. I’ve never seen animosity or competitiveness between them; everyone is always so encouraging. It’s a big, open family, and when people start dancing with Miss Susan, they usually don’t stop. There are classes of dancers here who have been training together since they were 2 years old and whose parents trained with Miss Susan when they were little, too. There’s a reason for that loyalty. You may find better sound systems or fancier facilities elsewhere, it’s true. But you will not find a studio with more heart than this one. And GREAT dancers to boot.

David Bonner