Welcome To LDA!
We're so excited you're here!
Here's a little bit about what makes us unique...
LDA is a pre-professional dance program based in ballet that focuses on providing a technically focused dance education in ballet, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, and pointe. We also offer supplemental and seasonal classes like hip hop, turns/ leaps technique, and stretch/acro to our students as well as a fully comprehensive competitive program (LDA Elite) to students who show advanced placement within their age brackets.
Your Dancer's placement in levels and classes is based on their
age AND current technical skillset.
~ Dancers aged 3- 9 with less than 4 years experience are placed in levels Pre-1, Pre-2 and L1 (including Mini and Beginning classes) based on both age and previous experience with no placement audition necessary.
~ Dancers aged 9 - 19 with more than 4 years experience are placed in levels L2 - L7 (including classes labeled as intermediate or advanced) based on age, previous experience, and on a required placement audition. Placement auditions are typically held during a group class or may be scheduled as individual placement appointments depending on the dancer's unique experience, goals, and needs.
We believe in studio to student fit and support families in finding the program that is right for their dancer's unique goals!
Not every studio is a strong fit for every student.
We believe that parents and students should find the program that is the right fit for their child's personal dance goals.
Our program is the best fit for families and dancers who are looking for independent (no parent participation or open viewing), classically structured, and curriculum based classes that teach ballet and dance terminology and skillset from the very beginning.
Our Pre-level classes incorporate play-based elements, fun prop work, and creative movement games, while still maintaining a commitment to true dance terminology and benchmarks in all classes and levels! Pre-ballet, Pre-jazz, and Pre-lyrcial are all independent classes (no parent-participation or viewing during non Open House timeframes)
We are proud to be a small, female owned, student-centric studio!
In a world where some might believe that bigger is better
we are small... on purpose.
Why isn't every student interested in registering at LDA placed in classes?
Our mission is quality over quantity and since we are committed to an intimate studio experience we simply don't always have enough space in classes for every student who wishes to dance with us. We strive to maintain smaller class sizes whenever possible, which means we often turn away students once our classes have filled.
Our schedule and priority registration is geared towards dancers who are interested in focusing and/or specializing in the dance-arts and studying in multiple genres per week. That doesn't mean we don't love Beginners!!! 95% of our Advanced dancers began at LDA when they were in the pre-levels (3-4 year olds).
We have a highly structured and focused schedule that is built to allow our dancers to take multiple classes across multiple genres. That means fewer times and day options per level are available in order for classes and levels to not overlap. There is no way for us to add a class and/or level simply because it doesn't work with your child's' schedule in their other activities.
General Studio Policies:
~ Due to the high interest and registration rate of our studio as well as Covid protocols we are no longer offering trial classes at this time. This policy is in place to ensure that our registered students are not enduring a constant revolving door of trial students and observers interrupting the class flow and curriculum, which in turn pulls time and focus from our paid student's needs. If for any reason your dancer needs to be moved up or down in leveling after the start of the session we will work with you personally to go over their options!
~ We are a closed viewing studio to allow the space needed for our students to focus on the teacher and the curriculum free from distraction. We do not allow parents to view active classes except during our Open House. Open House weeks occur twice per year! All new families are welcome to come take a studio tour before your dancer's first class!
~ Our lobby is closed for dancer and faculty use only at this time. Parents and siblings may not wait in-studio unless they have an appointment for an in-person meeting. You may schedule one at any time by e-mailing us. We are closely located to multiple shopping centers in Belmont/San Carlos and the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo for parents who are looking to fill time during their dancer's classes or run errands/ relax with a cup of coffee before pick-up!
~ LDA Faculty is 100% boosted and vaccinated for Covid-19 and the vast majority of our eligible student body has registered their vaccination status with us at this time. Vaccinated dancers may dance mask free as long as county regulations allow.
Registration Policies
There is an annual Family Registration Fee of $50 charged during the Fall Session for renewing families that covers each family for Fall, Spring and Summer Sessions. If you are a new family to LDA you will pay your first annual registration fee upon registration.
A Multi-Class discount is automatically built into our tuition structure for dancers taking more than one class per week. An automatic discount is applied per class for all students registered in any intensive. Email us for tuition info!
LDA HAS A STRICT NO REFUND POLICY. Please do not register until you are READY TO COMMIT TO CLASSES. Once your registration form is submitted you will be charged for registration if applicable and tuition with no refunds.
Make-Up Policy:
Single Class Students may be take make-up classes for absences and illness within one week of the missed class (or during a previously scheduled timeframe that can be scheduled in advanced of a planned absence). Make-up classes can be taken in any genre of the same level or age group. It is the parent's responsibility to notify the studio of the desired make-up time and date. Intensive students may not make-up for missed classes during the sessions as they've already received registration and multi-class discounts and may pro-rate for longer than 1 week's worth of absences.
Studio To Family Fit Policy:
We require all registering families to read and acknowledge all of our studio and registration policies in order to confirm dancers into classes. These are all important policies to take into consideration before choosing to dance with LDA! We truly believe in the importance of studio to family fit and we are dedicated to finding families and dancers that we can cultivate life-long relationships with. The majority of our dancers spend 10+ years under our instruction, so it's worth taking the time to find the right studio for your family's unique needs and dance goals!
Not every studio is a good fit for every family and LDA reserves the right to determine if there is an appropriate fit with each family and dancer prior to inviting them to register or re-register their dancer. Families or dancers who are unable to adhere to our studio policies or dance and/or behave in a manor that is inappropriate amongst our diverse student body, families, and faculty members may be asked to find a different studio to study with.
Thank you for understanding that the purpose of our program is to celebrate and embrace the art of dance, and that following all safety rules and regulations as well as LDA policies is a firm requirement in order to dance with us.
