Rock City Dance Studio

★Reggie 04

Thank you for taking the time to call and apologize following the incident mentioned below. During our conversation, you acknowledged that the situation could have been handled differently, which I appreciated. However, I am disappointed to see your public response now places responsibility on myself and my daughter’s mother for not informing your staff that she is autistic. At no point during registration, enrollment, or prior to class were we asked whether our child had a diagnosis, special needs, or required accommodations. It is difficult to understand how we can be faulted for not providing information that was never requested. ((Not to mention you left a response on my fiances post earlier that felt like a sincere apology but was deleted shortly after and a new response has not been left. I am the parent that was present and at no point while I was at the class was I told my daughter could return to class.)) More importantly, the issue was never my daughter’s diagnosis. The issue was how a three-year-old child was removed from class after approximately 20 minutes, in front of other children and families, and told she could not continue participating. Whether a child is autistic or neurotypical, three-year-olds are still learning how to follow directions, participate in group activities, and adjust to new environments. You also stated that another class was offered as a courtesy. What was not mentioned is that we were informed she would again be removed if she was unable to remain in her assigned spot or follow directions exactly as expected. That does not address the concern that led to this situation in the first place. As a parent, what hurt most was watching my daughter excitedly prepare for dance class, only to leave feeling excluded. The following morning she put on a dress and continued practicing dance moves at home because she loved the experience dancing with other little girls despite what happened. I am sharing our experience honestly so other parents can make informed decisions. I accepted your initial apology because I believed it was sincere. Unfortunately, your public response contradicts that apology by shifting blame onto our family rather than acknowledging how the situation was handled.

★Raquel Converse

Traumatizing experience. I signed my 3 year old daughter up for a free trial kpop class at this studio. When she arrived the lady at the desk said she would be in a ballet class. My fiance mentioned to her that she was signed up to attend kpop and rather than stating there was an error in communication and providing him with the correct time she had my daughter attend the ballet class for her free trial class. While my daughter is on the spectrum she is able to follow basic commands and get very excited when getting opportunities to interact with other little girls. After 20 minutes of her free trial class the instructor removed her infront of all the other girls and parents and told my fiance she is no longer allowed to stay in the class because she isnt following directions to her liking. Keep in mind this is a TRIAL class, these are THREE Year olds, she is in a room with a lady she has only known for minutes, and its the first class we have ever attempted to attend and she was just excited. The instructor wanted her to stand on a red circle which my daughter struggled with complying. However, she did everything else that the instructor was teaching, she was just high energy and changing spots inbetween. The instructor had zero patience with my daughter, did not try to work with her at all, and instead had her removed and made her cry infront of everyone as she didnt understand why she was removed from the room by this woman. After hearing my baby cry on the phone I called up and spoke with the woman who ran the class. She was dishonest on the phone when trying to tell me how my daughter behaved -I have videos of the class to prove this- and she was very unapologetic about how she reacted and made my daughter feel. This was supoosed to be an exciting day she was looking forward to her first dance class and my son was excited for us to sign him up for one as well. While ken did call and he was very kind on the phone he tried to reverse the blame back to me by stating I never warned them that my daughter was autistic. not once in the process of making the appointment was I asked if there is anything they should know or any special needs for the child signing up, and no where did it mention high energy autistic children are not welcomed in class due to needing constant movement. The point of signing my daughter up for this class was because she loves to move and needs positive ways to release her energy through out the day. I am disgusted with how this woman has treated her and I am beyond hurt that this is how her very first experience resulted. Had this been for an older group of children I would have been more understanding. However this was for three year olds and ultimately the only issue was my daughter couldnt stand in the same spot for the duration of the entire class and unfortunately was not even given the opportunity to finish the class and learn how to adjust to their "rules". If your child is autistic or high energy I do not recommend sending your child to this studio. My daughter was offered another free class but I was told I needed to understand the expectation is for my child to follow every instruction given or she would not be wolcome to return. 0/10 stars. What was supossed to be an exciting day turned into tears.

★★★★★Kelley M Atkins

Purchased the dance package for our Grandson for Christmas and he absolutely loved it. Plan on signing him up for classes this summer and fall. Great program to be involved in, highly recommended!

★★★★★Haley Betts

We’ve been with Rock City for the past 15 years through ballet, contemporary, hip hop, jazz and competition. We found a home and had the pleasure of finding one of our favorite teachers, Miss Melaina. All three of my kids have been there in some capacity and our oldest just graduated. Ken and Shari do an amazing job of recognizing those seniors and made their final recital so memorable. Thank you for all you do!

★★★★★DEBBIE KEENER

We absolutely love Rock City Dance. Ken and all of the staff are remarkable. Very helpful and professional. This is not only a fun dance class for the children but also helps them learn responsibility, accountability and helps instill confidence and pride for them. I highly recommend them. Come join the group.