Chehalem Valley Dance Academy

CVDA may be a dance studio, but what it excels at most of all is being an example of what it means for a business to exhibit virtue. That's not to say they don't have excellent training, they do - the instructors are talented, patient, and dedicated, and they have the trophies to prove it. Yet when you sign up for classes at CVDA, Kristen (owner) doesn't promise awards and scholarships, she promises your child will learn the skills necessary to be a positive, productive human being. Or as she puts it, "dance skills are life skills". As one example, they model positive contribution by actively serving and fundraising for the community every year. No business is perfect, neither can it be all things for all people. We have consistently found that if we approach Kristen with concerns, she listens, attempts to respond, and when necessary, follows up to enact changes. The studio has earned our trust that everyone involved wants to do right by the kids and their families.
5 8 years ago (09-10-2017)

My daughters have been going to CVDA for two years now and we are so happy. CVDA is a family and it's a privilege to be a part of it. My girls always leave smiling and have grown immensely in their dance skills. They look forward to dance each week. Kristen is incredible. She is always making sure that everything is running as smoothly as possible, she's always available to talk through things with parents. She and all of her staff have such a wonderful, positive attitude about what they do. My youngest was very shy and not willing to cooperate very well when she first started but Miss Courtney stuck with her and she has blossomed. I'm so happy to have found CVDA. WE LOVE YOU ALL!!
5 8 years ago (09-11-2017)

Our daughter has been dancing at CVDA for a little over 2.5 years now. She started as the toddler crying before every class that had to be carried in, and has blossomed into a little girl who counts "how many sleeps until dance class". Courtney Joel was her first teacher, and the work and patience Courtney puts into these kids is incredible. We have had nothing but great experiences with the staff and instructors at CVDA. Harper has become so confident and has really embraced the "dance skills are life skills" that CVDA promotes. We can't wait for our younger daughter to turn 2 so she can join in the fun.
5 8 years ago (06-10-2017)

Horrible, parents be warned. Here is my story. We show up a bit early, my child and I are standing out the building doors waiting with a group of other parents. My child is 2 years old. One other parent had a child at the age of 2 as well. Both on their way to being completely potty trained. No diapers on, we assumed we would be able to take them to the bathroom. Finally someone came out and told us that we needed to walk to the other side of the building to enter their class room. So we all did. Next 3 minutes were horrifying. We enter the classroom and the teachers are rushing everyone to get into a circle several parents were saying I will be back at 6 to get you leaving their kids in this class room with no windows and 2 teachers. During rushing everyone to get into a circle one little girl was very upset that her mommy had left one teacher was wrestling around with her trying to get her to hold still to calm her down a very bad way of trying to get her to calm down. Then one teacher came up to me and the other parent and told us no parents allowed in literally tried to push us out of the building. As she's trying to push us out of the building the other parent with a two-year-old stopped and said wait a second who are you do you know my child which one's my child what's my phone number do you know anything about my kid the teacher proceeded to tell her we have roster sheets we know. The other parents said you do not know you know nothing about my kid meanwhile I had to squeeze my way through that teacher and the other parent to grab my child. The other parent grabbed her child and we both left.we were not about to leave our kids with strangers who obviously had no clue on how to handle a child, comfort a child, who our children were, and potty training, no clue. Horrible. I would never suggest this to anyone. And any decent parent would never ever leave their child alone like that. I'm so angry on how they went about this, they could have tried to introduce them selves, explain what was going to happen, meet our kids, talk to us about needs they have, after all they are 2. Even though it is only half an hour, lots can happen.
1 9 years ago (15-09-2016)

It's hard to put into words how amazing this dance studio is. They don't only teach dance at CVDA, Kristen and her team teach their students life skills like respect, confidence and how to give back to the community. We started our daughter in ballet when she was 5. It was amazing to watch our very timid shy daughter go into her beginners ballet class and come out with her head held high and a smile from ear to ear!
5 9 years ago (07-06-2016)