Dance is great for fitness, coordination, and fun! Whether your family has an aspiring breakdancer or a ballerina (or both), the suburbs of Chicago are full of awesome options. Many of the studios listed below offer the typical ballet and tap, but also hip hop, instruction for boys, and classic cultural dance styles. Check them out and bust a move to a studio near you, then check out our guide to kids classes and teams for more options.
Know of a studio to add? We would love to hear about it! Email annie@mykidlist.com.
This article is sponsored by Jo’s Footwork Studio and Artistic Pursuit.
Dance Classes at Jo's Footwork Studio
Jo’s is celebrating 43 years of dance in the community! They offer many types of dance, from Shining Stars for preschoolers and kindergarteners to ballet, tap, pointe, jazz, lyrical, modern, hip hop, performance companies, and more for all age groups, which are all taught by master instructors, professional performers, certified and/or degreed teachers. Jo’s mission is simple: to provide a creative environment for all ages that allows dancers to excel and enjoy forever memories.
Artistic Pursuit
The home of dance, fitness and movement classes for ages 18 months- 18 years. We promise to be a safe space for dancers, artists and people to grow, mentally and physically. To encourage and support growth on individual levels. To foster a community of positivity, education and creativity.
Kids Dance Classes in Chicago’s Suburbs
How to Choose the Right Dance Studio for Your Child
We often hear parents asking a lot of questions about dance classes, such as “My preschooler has so much energy, where should I take them?” or “My daughter has a great sense of rhythm, where can I get her in a dance class?” or “Why should boys take dance, too?”
Parents also make comments like, “I feel like my dancer is having a lot of fun, but not learning anything.” or “I don’t want a studio that does competitions.” or “The dance studio we go to right now is conveniently located, but my dancer is just not progressing.”
When you are looking into signing your child up for dance classes, how do you know what to look for? We recommend that you ask the owner or director some questions, see the facility and how the classes are conducted, and understand what type of instructors are on staff.
Questions to Ask
- Are the instructors on staff Professionals, Master Instructors, Certified, or Degreed?
- When you call to ask questions, how was the phone answered? Was your call returned within the next day? Was the person polite? Did they answer all of your questions?
- What does the facility look like? Is it clean and presentable?
- Did your contact person show you around? Did they seem to know what they were talking about?
- Were you able to see classes in session?
Asking these questions and visiting a dance studio is just as important, if not more so, than the cost. As the saying goes, you get what you pay for, so know what you’re getting before you make your commitment.
Why Boys Should Take Dance, Too
The true answer is all of us should be taking dance class for the purpose of flexibility, stretching, warming up, cooling down, learning how to move, how to center our bodies to maintain our balance and postures. It’s true that most males can a lot of weight but can’t move left or right. Also, it’s a known fact that major motor skills and movement are fully developed before a child is 12 years old. The key time to truly work on those elements, in a dance-movement environment is to start the boys as soon as one would start girls in order to have the opportunity to develop. And, it will give the boys a competitive edge in sports!
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LOVE this post! My daughter is 2 and I am super excited to enroll her in dance. Thanks for all the details on so many studios.