Jun Lu Performing Arts

★Lina Zhang

I am writing to express my serious concerns about the current situation in my daughter’s dance class. We have been patient for a long time, but the problems have become impossible to ignore. The school never clearly informs us who will be teaching the class or what songs the children are preparing for the year-end show. Every week feels like opening a mystery box — we never know which teacher will appear. We spoke to Teacher Lujun about the situation, but she said she didn’t know the details and that she only handles teaching. Although Principal Sam mentioned there would be new arrangements, nothing has really changed. Teachers still arrive late, and sometimes no one is present at the beginning of class. As parents, we understand that schedules can change. But this has been happening for too long. There is no consistent teacher, no clear plan, and no communication from the school unless parents keep asking. It gives the impression that no one takes responsibility. At this point, it’s hard to feel any care or sincerity from the school. If you are part of their “team,” maybe they treat you differently. But for the rest of us, our concerns are ignored. A school that cannot handle basic management and communication issues—no matter how famous it is or how well the students dance—loses its meaning. The parent group remains silent, questions go unanswered, and there is no sense of respect or professionalism. We send our children to learn more than dance steps; we want them to learn discipline, trust, and respect. But when a school fails to demonstrate these values, what kind of children will it raise in the future? Maybe if you are lucky enough to be part of their “team,” the teachers treat you differently. But for everyone else, it’s clear that we are not valued the same way.

★Barbara Peng

My daughter has been attending this dance school since she was 4.5 years old. For the first three years, she was taught by Teacher Vianna, who was responsible, caring, and truly dedicated. Those years were wonderful — my daughter learned a lot and loved going to class every week. However, starting from the fourth year, things began to change. Teacher Laura took over, and the first half of the year went well. Later, because she started teaching at other schools and managing her own studio, our class — which is regularly scheduled on Saturdays from 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm — began to have different substitute teachers almost every week. Sometimes the first 30 minutes had no teacher at all, and classes often started late. Many parents started to complain, and a few families even quit. By the end of 2024, Mrs. Laura tried to catch up on lessons and helped the kids prepare for the year-end performance, which was fine overall. But at the beginning of 2025, the same issues continued — frequent teacher changes, late starts, and unclear communication. The kids all liked Mrs. Laura very much, and even though she came only a few times, they always hoped she would return. Unfortunately, half the year passed this way. Now, in the Fall term, things got even worse. The principal said Mrs. Laura might come back, but instead, different teachers kept rotating again — one teacher for one class, then another the next week. We parents complained again, but the principal never clearly communicated with us. Eventually, he told us Mrs. Laura was not returning, and that Mr. Carlos would take over. We agreed to continue with Mr. Carlos at the same regular time — Saturdays 3:30 to 5:30 pm. There were only about 13 classes left before the Christmas performance, yet the school changed teachers and teaching styles completely. Mr. Carlos’s style was totally different — he let 8- to 9-year-olds “create their own moves,” which confused the kids. My daughter came home upset after the first class because she didn’t understand what to do. I tried to encourage her to continue, but it was disappointing to see how disorganized and unprofessional things had become. When I asked the principal what songs or choreography they were preparing for the year-end performance, he gave no response. Communication in the parent group was terrible — no one replied, not even Ms. Lu Jun, even when we tagged them directly. The only person who ever cared or responded was Teacher Vianna. Honestly, I’m very disappointed and confused why we should continue with this school. The management clearly does not care about our class. They ignore messages, fail to communicate, and show no responsibility toward students or parents. After more than a year of patience, I’ve had enough. One dance for a whole year, classes that often start late or without a teacher, and zero improvement or consistency — it really feels like they only care about collecting tuition fees. After everything we’ve experienced, I just hope the school realizes how much damage poor management can do to students and parents’ trust.

★★★★★Faye Gu

I am a dancer at Jun Lu Performing Arts, and I have been dancing there for 9 years now! When I first joined, I was a 3 year old toddler, and I have learned many great skills from then on. I loved competing amazing dances with my friends and team, and it was so fun to learn at this studio. The teachers here are nice, funny, and very helpful. They all helped me improve over the years. Even though we are in a mall, the studios here are fun and cool! Whenever we get new studios, they are all very BRIGHT and BIG (we have 5)! I really love all the teachers choreography (sequence of dance moves) to every song, as they are so fun! Right now, there are sooo many different teachers and different styles to dance. Some of us are even going to YAGP (ballet dance competition)! If you are thinking of signing your kid up, I definitely recommend! 💃 (haha i remember posting this :) I now and have been dancing there for 10 years, tysm for the likes and veiws lol)

★Wenrong Zeng

My kid has been there since she was 4. She loved it when junior teacher taught them. The teachers were patient and helpful, and my kid loved dancing so much. However, when she moved to level 4, she was asked to do moves she never learned before with literally not much instruction, and if she cannot do it, the teacher just yelled and said mean words to her. I’m not looking for teachers always being a cheerleader for kids, but if they have improvement areas, wouldn’t be the teachers’ responsibility to teach and help them improve? The worst consequence I’ve got from this place is that my kid lost her interest entirely for dancing, which I felt so bad. Wouldn’t recommend the place for any parent at all.

★★★★★Jessica

Jun Lu Performing Arts is one of the best dance studios in the bay area. Classes for dancers of all ages and levels are offered, as long with a variety of dances including Chinese, hip hop, contemporary, etc. The dance school currently has 3 studios, as the school facility has been improving overtime. The dance studio also has a growing number of competition teams which offer life-long experiences for these dancers. Many people claim how these teachers are "mean", "harsh", and rude, but honestly, it's just their teaching style may be a bit more strict, since they want to see the best out of their students (most of these claims are exaggerations and are not true at all). Overall, I find the classes very entertaining, challenging, but definitely worth it. NOTE: I did not write this because I was bribed to, but rather it was of my good intentions of sharing my opinion of this school to the public.