Dance Academy of Virginia - McLean, Virginia

Sanna Ronkainen

This is my daughter’s first year with DAV and it is absolutely amazing to see how much she looks forward to ballet all week! It’s such a positive and welcoming environment for the kids. I recommend DAV highly for anyone looking for a ballet studio!

Susan Miller

I am a mom of three Dance Academy of Virginia dancers. One of my daughters dances every day(!) at DAV, including ballet, jazz, modern, tap, lyrical, hip hop, and pointe. Beyond the intensive Academy training, she loves the deep dance friendships. My second daughter takes Youth Jazz and Hip Hop (and is excited about the TikTok class!), and Academy Tap. She is looking forward to local dance competitions in DC (an optional addition) to build performance experience. My third daughter takes Kinder Jazz, Youth ballet twice a week (gearing up for Academy when she is older), and follows in her bigger sisters’ footsteps with Tap, too. I appreciate the support of dance professionals who encourage a healthy body image, safe dance practice and approach to prevent injuries, and deliver high quality training in each genre.

I also highly recommend the Adult classes. Mr. Arturo’s Saturday Ballet Barre class is 45 minutes of cardio, dance, and strength training with ballet and contemporary movements, typically in small movements and high reps. Ms. D’s Tap classes are amazing for your energy. Both are fantastic instructors for both kids and adults, making every class movement and exercise, but also learning and fun!

Katherine Horrigan, DAV’s founder, was instrumental with building Adagio’s quality dance program. She practices conservative measures with respect to Covid-19 provisions, enabling small group "pods,” tech set up for virtual classes, marking floors with boxes to keep students spread 6 feet apart, teachers and students wearing masks, cleaning between classes, temperature taking, and ventilating the classroom with direct outdoor access, etc. My hope is that this is a place where we will be at home for many years to come!

melody akhavan

My daughter was apprehensive in starting ballet at 11 yo but has loved every minute of it at DAV and was so proud of all that she learned and her performance! She is definitely coming back next season!
We have been extremely pleased with the quality of instruction which is combined with a fun and encouraging approach to dancing. We appreciate how responsive the staff is and the leadership of the studio is very organized and professional. We can't say enough great things about it!!

Lacey Obry

What I appreciate about DAV is their investment in building strong dancers. My 10 yr old daughter has finished her second year as an Academy dancer and has taken classes in jazz, contemporary and ballet. She has such an amazing group of supportive friends through the studio and teachers who aren’t critical or harsh. Dancing has helped my daughter overcome anxiety and the staff at DAV have been supportive and sensitive to her needs and I really appreciate that. I also have a 5 year old who takes ballet and adores her teacher Ms. Sarah Beth, who also happens to be a fantastic choreographer!

Karen Yang

My daughters took some classes over the summer and loved them! It was nice for them to attend a live class again after being on zoom for some many months. The classes were very small and the kids were 6 feet apart, and students/teachers wore masks. I've signed them up for classes for the upcoming year and will supplement with private classes to advance their technique since half of last year was a wash at their old studio. The feedback they receive has been very helpful and constructive since all the teachers have been professional dancers.

Lauren Buckley

We have been extremely pleased with our experience at DAV in McLean. The quality of instruction is combined with a fun and healthy approach to dancing. The studio has been a bright spot for us and the community this year. We appreciate the care they have taken to enable classes to continue during the pandemic. The staff go out of their way to be responsive and everyone has been so welcoming at the studio. The leadership of the studio is very organized and professional. We can't say enough great things about it!!

Laura Kim

DAV has been a gift to my daughter and me during the pandemic. We have thoroughly enjoyed our classes via Zoom with Arturo. The studio has gone above and beyond to provide outstanding lessons in the art of movement and we are ever so grateful. To do this virtually is no easy task, and I admire the skillful instruction that goes into every lesson we receive!

I can speak personally about our dance teacher, Arturo. He is extremely intuitive and very well-versed in his teaching. He has impressed me since my daughter began working with him back in the summer of 2020 when our world was continuing to operate virtually. I began working with him in September when I took up the adult fitness classes. Arturo has a gift for kinesthetics and even through the computer screen can sense where I am having problems and gives me advice and corrections on the spot. He is very inspiring to work with and keeps me motivated. I absolutely look forward to my adult fitness classes each morning because the benefits have impacted me to my core - it feeds my mind and soul and brings me joy! I have also lost 10 pounds, beat stay-at-home fatigue, feel happy and best of all - am toned and strong, mentally and physically. Getting back to my dance roots has been the silver lining of this past year. Having danced "once upon a time" throughout childhood and college, I know what the art of dance can do for the human body and mind and I have been reawakened - and I thank Arturo for this gift. He is an amazing teacher and you will learn so much from him! I would encourage anyone who has an interest in movement to sign up and never look back! We are blessed to have DAV in our community.

Tiffany Moore

My 10 year old daughter has danced with this school since it opened after her last school closed during COVID. She loves it. The instructors are very high quality, really nice, and a lot of fun. They have several different styles and are working hard to make it a great, and safe, environment during COVID. For example, instead of in person recitals they recorded in class performances and distributed those before the holidays. These were great...our whole family gathered around to watch her show online (and we could send to family / friends not with us). The quality of the school and studios is high. They also offer adult classes, which I'm attending the Barre Fit class and really enjoy that. I do this via Zoom and it works well. I get a infusion of exercise and 're-centering', both physically and mentally! We are very grateful for this school!