Fancy Feet Dance & Floor

I just want to say if you are looking for a dance studio for competitive dancing or recreational this is the best studio around. Most studios in the area cater only to competition student and though FFDS competition teams are nationally ranked they are only a small part that makes up the studio. I guarantee if you go to other studio recitals you will notice the rec classes not having a clue what they are doing. Not at FFDS the recital is one of the best around because it is highly entertaining not just to watch the competition classes but also the rec classes. Sure there is a difference competitive dancers dance more hours a week so there should be but the rec classes are hands down shown just as much attention as the comp kids. Also, there is no studio around that has as much alumni returning to continue their dance life after college in the adult classes they offer. The adult class is so large they had to make it into 2 classes. Because that is another thing about FFDS you are always welcome back. Just because you leave (cause you think grass is greener somewhere else though most of time it is not) or go off to school doesn't mean your life with FFDS is over you are always welcome back into the dance family. The Mann family had a major hardship this past year with the passing of Mr Michael and though going through something so difficult they never let their passion of teaching kids and dance suffer. They used his passing as fuel to make FFDS an even better place to be cause he was one of FFDS biggest cheerleaders. I truely feel the FFDS family grew stronger then ever and the 2011-2012 dance season is going to be so awesome. I not only grew up dancing at FFDS but continue to dance there as an adult and will always be a FFDS dancer!! more

Wow! After reading so many negative posts, I am not sure I would even want to check this place out. I had heard from my neighbor who used to take her little girl there that there were lots of parents who were clicky and snobbish. This wouldn't have been enough to stop me from bringing my child there though. I'm kind of torn at this point. Almost makes me sick to my stomache reading these posts. I certainly hope that these reviews are honest and not by people who are out to destroy the reputation of this dance studio. I may decide to check them out anyway. I will write another review if I do so. more

Dance has always been an important part of my wife’s life, so when we moved to North Carolina and had our first child, finding the best dance studio for our family was a priority. We currently drive 42 miles (one way) so that we can attend classes at Fancy Feet Dance Studio. We make the drive a minimum of three days per week. My daughter is a member of the competition team, while my son, wife, and I participate in recreational classes. Our time at Fancy Feet has been purely positive. The choreography is nationally recognized, the teachers loving, supportive and dedicated to their respective tasks. The older dancers are genuinely supportive of the younger dancers (a requirement of mine). Mrs. Paula (the owner) expects a great deal of dedication and effort from her competition dancers, but does so in a loving and professional manner. I do not have a background in dance and I am certainly not in a position to rank Fancy Feet as the best studio in the greater Charlotte area, much less the United States. I will leave such judgments to those individuals and organizations that are qualified to make them. What I can say is that my family is genuinely thankful for the time that we have spent with the Fancy Feet dancers. They are truly an exceptional group of kids! We won’t be going anywhere else. Pros: Amazing choreography, caring staff, gifted students more

LET ME START BY SAYING YOU ALL SOUND LIKE CHILDREN. THIS SCHOOL HAS GOT ITS PROS AND CONS JUST LIKE ALL OTHER SCHOOLS. ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS WITH THIS SCHOOL IS TO MANY MANNS IN THE BUCKET, THIS IS NEVER GOING TO WORK. YOU HAVE GOT OWNERS/TEACHERS GOING ALL OVER THE COUNTRY TEACHING DANCES TO OTHER SCHOOLS WHEN THEY SHOULD BE SPENDING TIME AT THEIR OWN STUDIO,TEACHING THERE OWN STUDENTS. ANOTHER PROBLEM IS THE BOOK KEEPING. THIS IS LIKE A MAZE, AND FORGET ABOUT ANYTHING BEING ITEMIZED, THEY COULDN'T DO THAT FOR NOTHING. WHOEVER HANDLES THE MONEY IS TERRIBLE, THIS IS PART OF THE BUCKET THING I WAS TALKING ABOUT.THIS IS ALSO WHY THE REGIONALS AND NATIONALS ARE OUT IN THE BOONIES, ITS A MONEY THING. THEY ALSO PUT ALL THERE DUCKS IN ONE BASKET AND IF ONE OF THOSE DUCKS GOT HURT AND COULDN'T DANCE, WELL YOU KNOW THE REST, THEN ITS UP TO THE LITTLE CHICKS WHO DIDN'T GET THE LOVE AND ATTENTION AS THE OTHERS.YOU NEED TO FACE IT, THERE ARE A HAND FULL OF STUDENTS THAT KEEP THIS STUDIO A FLOAT , YOU KNOW THE ONES I'M TALKING ABOUT. NOW THAT WE HAVE MENTIONED A FEW OF THE CONS LETS TALK ABOUT THE PROS, WELL THEY HAVE GOOD TEACHERS more

This review is a advisory about jazz teacher Ed Phelan. My daughters danced at studio Ed worked for 8 years. One of my daughters was a soloist and the other was just in group dances. My daughter that had a solo was pretty good but not the best soloist in the age group. Due to this, Ed ignored her quite often after her solo's at competitions. To this day, she never forgot how Ed snubbed her after she did her solo at a competition to ask her how another dancer was feeling and not congratulating my daughter on her performance. My other daughter was basically ignored by Ed because she was not one of the ""stars"". IMO - all dancers should be given time and attention not just the studio stars. After leaving the studio, my daughter who was not a soloist blossomed with a different teacher who cared about her and thought she had some talent.\r \r Ed could be very hard on the dancers and quite often would yell at them if they were not doing things ""properly"". There were several times where I witnessed him bring a dancer to tears at competitions including Nationals..There were several dancers who left the studio because of this treatment. I hope as time has passed that he has changed but think it is helpful to inform people of these facts.\r \r Ed was quite creative with his choreography for many years but we were unaware of certain things. My wife and I were pretty happy with our daughter's solo's until we were informed by another parent that it was the exact same solo (dance and music) that he ""created"" for their daughter several years ago.. It is one thing to use a solo again but to charge a parent full amount for a choreography fee for something old is not right. I will say that Ed does have a talent at costume design, the costumes we saw him design were always very pretty and age appropiate.\r \r While most parents at the studio agreed that Ed had talent for choreography and costume design, we did not think he was a good teacher. His idea of teaching was through ""fear"". The parents would have liked it better if Ed did the choreography but left the teaching to somebody else. A example of his lack of teaching expertise was they he informed parents of his top soloists that they should get ballet/technique from another studio.\r \r Finally, this review is not from someboy holding a grudge, it is the honest truth. I hope Ed Phelan has changed his ways but parents should be aware of his past actions and hopefully they do not occur at this studio. more

This studio sounded like a great place until reading all the reviews by petty people that get online and fight it out and tell someone else that their opinions are wrong. Is a negative opinion not allowed since you don't see it or agree? Not sure that's a great environment for children if this is the residual from what goes on IN the studio...... Pros: Sounds like great instructors/studio Cons: Petty parents more

Fancy Feet is an average dance studio. They are not as good as they try to make you believe. The reason they get ""ranked"" higher than other studios in the area is the national competitions they go to. They don't attend very competitive nationals which allows them to place very high and therefore it seems as though they are better than they actually are. I was actually very suprised with the lack of technique their younger dancers have. The choreographers are good but they use the same dances and ideas over and over again. It gets frustrating. If I am paying for choreography I want something new. Not what won two years ago. Each year more and more of their dancers leave to attend other studios in the area. If it was as incredible of a studio as they lead you to believe these dancers would stay. more

We LOVE Fancy Feet! This has been such a great place to dance, and now we just heard the studio is ranked #6 in the country! How exciting! We have loved the teachers and the families and Miss Paula...and now it is great to hear that it is not just a fun place to dance, but a very talented studio, as well. Congratulations to everyone! Pros: Amazing teachers, great people Cons: Really nothing different that any other studio's tiny issues more

Humm sounds like there are some unhappy parents and the studio is trying to do damage control. I wouldn't think that a staff memebr ever having alchol on there breath would be acceptable. I think I will look at another studio with less drama. more

i have been dancing at fancy feet since i was three years old and competing with them since i was five. im actually still on the competition team right now and i'd like to set everyone straight about fancy feet and assure you that ""fancyfeetsucks"" has no clue what the hell they are talking about. \r fancy feet's staff is extremely talented...have you seen justin, ed, and david's choreography? have you seen the extremely talented dancers that mrs. paula has trained for years? the teachers at fancy feet are awesome and i guarantee you that fancy feet's choreography is some of the best in charlotte. \r oh, and you claim that the teachers show up wasted to class? well fancyfeetsucks, i think you may have heard of something called libel...you know, writing knowingly false statements about a person in any sort of public forum whether it be written or on the internet...its illegal, so you better pray that you don't get your butt sent to court. \r and please don't be hypocritical...i'll be willing to bet that you were one of those classy parents doing jello shots during a competition \r the teachers never text during class. i don't think ive ever witnessed this in any of the lower level classes. i'm sure your daughter texted more during her classes than any of her teachers ever did \r and how dare you insult mrs paula like that?! that woman has gone through so much, especially in the past year, and has still managed to put on a happy face for all her students. how dare you accuse her of coming to class drunk? maybe the ""wabbaly""ness your daughter is talking about has something to do with mrs. paulas bad knee?\r definition of a gold digger: a woman who marries a rich man just for his money. If you're going to throw around ransom phrases, you should probably know what they mean first so you don't look like an idiot \r and you do NOT pay $700 for a solo entry fee...trust me, ive had 17 solos during my fancy feet career and my family has never paid $700 for an entry fee. the choreography fees aren't even $700. get your facts right.\r and how DARE you accuse the mann family of using illegal substances?! there is literally no grounds for you to make that sort of accusation. once again, it's called libel so you should probably think about what you write the next time you're accusing someone of doing something that is so obviously untrue. \r and the studio is not a safe place? what the hell does that even mean? that's not even a valid argument of why fancyfeetsucks the hallways are always clear and people put their dancebags on benches... although i'm not even sure why that would matter? weird...\r \r \r p.s.\r i have been dancing at fancy feet my whole life and pretty much all of my training can be attributed to mrs paula mann. i have also won...a lot. i have received many scholarships and monetary prizes. to say that fancy feet doesn't teach their dancers how to dance is a false statement. just count my trophies more

I'd like to start off by asking you to list some details about how fancy feet dance studio is a ""MESS!!!!"" as you failed to actually mention any instances. And to say that you didn't feel safe having your child there is an extreme accusation that has failed to be supported. \r \r ""which is prob better because your teachers come in wasted half the time.""--- This is an uneccesary hyperbolation. Even if this has happened to your child I can guarantee you it isn't half the time and I can certainly guarantee that it is not every staff member. There are teenagers under the age of 21 working at FFDS and there are mothers of young children who work as teachers also: Are you incenuating that they come to class wasted half the time?\r \r To call out the Studio Director Ms. Paula as an alcoholic may be considered ""the truth"" to you but it is also void of any tact. Please don't pretend like you know anything about Ms. Paula and what she has been through and succeeded through. For that comment I can clearly see you really have never tried to enjoy all the amazing things Ms. Paula has to offer. She makes kids realize their potential and strive for it! She's so damn passionate and that's probably what your daughter smelled! \r \r I'm going to make a jab at you now because you can clearly dish it out! I would bet my $700 solo entry fee that your daughter is the fumbling idiot in the dance that doesnt know the difference between her left foot and her right! I'm saying it because Ms. Paula never will!\r \r I'm certainly glad your so optimistic about other studios but you will find that these studios have problems of their own. I could actually list a few of them for you right now but that would be superfluous! \r Pros: People who clearly care about what they do more

Let me see...from what I have seen, the drama has been caused by two posters who have obviously taken it upon themselves to destroy an incredible place for children and adults to learn the art of dance. Have you personally ever smelled alcohol on a teacher's breath during a class? My child has not, and believe me, she has been there enough! To insinuate something like that is, as a previous poster said, libel. \r \r I have seen your posts of praise for another studio in Charlotte...one with some parents who have apparently gone out of their way to try and damage Fancy Feet this year...which leads me to believe you and the other negative poster on here have an underhanded motive for your comments. To be honest, I think throwing around negativity and lies reflects poorly on you, not Fancy Feet. Passionate parents sticking up for a place that they love is never, in my opinion, a bad thing. It only shows that Fancy Feet is loved by many people.\r \r If you don't like us, possibly because we have the best choreographers in the area or because we are talented, then do what most honest competitors do and show us in a competition by competing against us fairly. If all you can do is throw around lies and hatred, you only show how immature you are. Pros: Loved by so many families!!!! Cons: So good that it obviously attracts hatred from others more

NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO NO.NO.NO.NO.\r NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO NO.NO.NO.NO.\r NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO NO.NO.NO.NO.\r NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO NO.NO.NO.NO.\r NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO NO.NO.NO.NO.\r NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO NO.NO.NO.NO.\r NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO NO.NO.NO.NO.\r NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO NO.NO.NO.NO.\r NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO.NO NO.NO.\r THE TRUTH HURTS Pros: NONE! Cons: EVERYTHING ABOUT THEM! more

Fancy Feet Dance Studios is one of the best dance studios in the state. You can research that data for yourself! And one of the top dance schools in the country. My daughter has been dancing there for 13 years and loves it. She is on the competition team and for her it is not about getting awards it is about the dancing and having a great time. Being on the team not only teaches teamwork, but self-esteem and confidence all the qualities that any parent would want for their children. Those qualities is what the Fancy Feet Staff help to teach the children along with having fun in the process. Pros: One of the Best more

All I can say is, there is no perfect dance studio - but having experienced other studios, Fancy Feet is an amazing place. You can't find a more talented group of teachers anywhere in Charlotte, and the atmosphere is supportive and family-friendly. You will find parents at every studio who complain about one thing or another, and you will always have movement between studios when students or parents are looking for something different that what they have, but this is the most positive studio I have ever visited. Kudos to the staff for maintaining a family-friendly atmosphere and for remembering that the students are the priority. Pros: Caring staff, amazing choreography, family friendly Cons: Cost...but no different from other studios more

I have a daughter that has been dancing with this studio for 9 years. I couldnt ask for a better studio! The teachers and staff are very loving, caring and are always there for the students. \r If you are looking for a place for your child to dance, I strongly recommend Fancy Feet!!!! Pros: Best In the Charlotte Area more

We have been with the Fancy Feet Dance family since 2000. We have two dancers who dance both recreational and competition dance and we have never been with a better dance company. The quality of instruction, choreography and professionalism combined with a caring, supportive environment for both dancers and parents makes this one of the best dance studios in the area. We recently moved further away from FFDS and could easily have changed studios, but never ONCE considered changing, even though the travel would be easier. The extra drive time is more than worth it to our children and ourselves as dance parents! Pros: Best Choreography, Best Dance Environment, Professional more

Wow where to start... I guess I should start with the truth about FFDS an the Staff.true it is family owned in fact they have 3 generations of their family currently living off this 1 studio.so you can bet it is money driven. As far as ballet goes... What ballet ask any student there to show you a position by its name and you will get that far away look. They are a good tap studio and they can teach you child some tricks but make no mistake you will pay a lot and get alittle. Don't be late with one of those hough monthly payments or they will post your name on the door to try to shame you and your child. Check the turnover of students, they have rubbed soo many people wrong with there business manors and poor book keeping... But don't question them on any thing or your child will be black balled. Talk about the family oriented studio this place has sooo many that has so many clicky parents. Don't take my word for it. I just saw all the smoke and mirror reviews posted here and wanted to let families know there is another side to this studio. Talk to parents in the parking lot and ask questions before you waste your time here. more

My daughter has danced at other studios in the Charlotte area, and we can honestly say that Fancy Feet is a great place for both competition and recreational dance. The teachers are supportive and make dance class fun. The competition choreographers are nationally recognized and incredibly talented. And to top it off, if you support the studio, they support you 100%. This is a family friendly environment with appropriate costumes and choreography. We won't be going anywhere else! Pros: Excellent teachers/choreographers, family-friendly more

My daughter has danced at Fancy Feet for 5 years now, we couldn't ask for a better studio. She loves it, we love it. The instructors are fabulous, you simply won't find more talented, dedicated teachers. The overall environment is incredibly warm and friendly. Just moved into a brand new studio..4 very large and spacious studios. The competition team is one of the best in the nation...was named one of the top 25 dance studios in the United States by the FDC (Federation of Dance Competitions) for 2008. Tap program is hands down best in North Carolina. Pros: young talented teachers, family oriented, great kids, top-notch competition team more