Travis Parrott

verified Jun 21, 2024

Overpriced and rude. This academy charges top dollar for lackluster quality instruction. Once you decide you don’t want to participate anymore, she’ll still charge you. We notified her we would not be participating anymore in May, she proceeded to charge us a “winter registration fee”. when contacted, she refused to refund us our money. Be careful giving your credit card information to this academy. Lots of better options out there, recommend you stay away from this academy.

Business Response: Jun 21, 2024

As customers wish to give a voiced opinion on a business I also feel that the business has a right to defend their rules and regulations and have a voice as well. This will allow future customers to make their own decision on whether considering my program from reviews, First my pricing is not over priced it is comparable with all other programs in our community. I am sorry you felt I was rude but rules and regulations are set up for businesses for many reasons. Stating that my quality of instruction is lackluster is just a way to show anger that you did not receive a refund on the registration fee which stated was non refundable. The only time refunds are given is when Dr's notes are provided due to a dancer being injured. This is not the case for this family. The family did not notify me in May to withdraw, in fact the opposite. I have every email that shows their requests to register for the 24/25 season. Emails are sent out in March letting families know that pre registration is open which then in return holds the spot for the dancer for each class they register for. Further more tuition rates are provided that states all the facts when choosing to register. Waivers are also signed online stating no refunds are provided. This encourages families to read the information to its fullest. This family inquired about my program in Sept 10th of 2023. All the information about my training program was given up front not only by phone conversation but then again by email. If a family chooses not to read the information to its in entirety to understand all the details that is their choice. I am always willing to answer questions and help families understand how the process works. After their trial class I followed up and did not hear back from them again until 9/27. I contacted them again on 10/16 to get an updat on whether they were fully registering as the season had already was now 2 months into the session. On 10/19 the mother finally responded stating they were trying other places and wished to continue with my program. These are the words from an email mother sent. Good morning Megan. It was lovely meeting you and your dancers as well, you have such a beautiful community. A.... really loved your school and wants to continue of course! The family finally began classes at the end of Oct. There was no consistency of attending the one class they were registered for. After gentle reminding that it is recommended that parents contact the academy to let us know their student would be absent the mother began to let me know when she would or would not be in class. However the inconsistency of attending class continued. As the father stated that they never registered for the next season is not the truth and here is the words copied from the mother that emailed to enroll her in the next season. Hi Megan, I want to set my daughter A. Parrott up for the next session. On your website I didn't see the ballet class or cecchetti listed for summer or fall. I would like to waitlist her for the ballet or cecchetti as you recommend. Please let me know if I need to do this on the website. Thank you, H. Padilla This family did in deed register for the upcoming 24/25 Season. When registering it is required to pay the registration fee upfront which again is stating on all the information given to the families. On June 5th the mother responded to a general email that was sent out to my whole academy reminding families if they have not registered for next season to please do so.... Good afternoon Megan, I just received an email from you asking of A. is registered for the Fall 2024/2025. I thought you confirmed you added her to waitlist for Monday and registered her for the Friday Class? H. Padilla Again reminding the mother that yes her daughter was fully registered and the email was a general email. All info was provided for this family and they were treated with the utmost respect.

Homer Greer

verified Jun 11, 2024

Reviewer Did Not Provide A Comment

Business Response: Jun 11, 2024

Thank you so much for your review we love having your family at SiSu and love watching the growth of your dancer! It has been wonderful teaching her and her seeing commitment to dancing!

Dakota Shear

verified Jun 03, 2024

I looked into this studio, through reviews, and talk around the dance community, and I WOULD BELIEVE EVERY ONE STAR REVIEW! I don't believe one teacher should teach ALL classes or have children teaching children as I want my children to be well rounded and taught by experienced staff.. I was told about this studio from a friend and wanted to avoid other specific studios due to personal reasons, I want a Christian forward teaching. Based on the studion owner's reply, that is far from this place. I'll be adding this studio to my list of avoiding. The most recent review by Sara is 100! For an owner to offer to share private messages or conversations she has with parents in private with anyone who asks is disgusting and unprofessional. Very un Christian and beyond disgusting, childish behavior. Just take criticism with grace and allow people to express their own experience. As a business you won't make everyone happy, it's the way you handle yourself and the way you handle yourself I would be ashamed. Your reply are disgraceful and show your character. You even attacked me. All 1 star reviews are legitimate. Many of the 5 star reviews are the same people, just different accounts to get her count up. Don't fall for it! FYI: it's not sabotaging if the reviews are from each individual family member (i.e. father and mother from what i can see are the ONLY negative from the SAME family you must be speaking of, and if that's not right, how is it ok that the Zimmer family can create multiple to give you positive reviews? It's OK if it's positive but not negative? Are you the pot or the kettle?) that's not creating emails. It's false if you have current customers creating extra emails to give you better reviews. Such as a person SAME NAME with multiple. Not hard to see how you run your business and the type of person you are just from this encounter alone.

Business Response: Jun 02, 2024

Ms. Dakota Shea, you never contacted my academy for information. I receive every call and there has been no communication between you and myself the owner of this business. You never stepped foot in my location nor did you ever do a free trial class. To give a review on a business that you have never looked into is very un ethical. I take great pride in my program. Those families who leave and were unhappy is because they chose not to follow the rules a regulations set up of my business. All of my information is clearly stated upfront, on all tuition information given, as well as online waivers that must be accepted before even scheduling a free trial class. Those who choose not to read all the upfront information given is their choice. For your remark on having one teacher is typical through out every young dancers training if they are only taking 1 class a season. Teachers are assigned to their classes and remain the teacher through out the dance season. If a child takes more than one class than it is very possible for them to have different teachers especially if they are taking more than one genre of dance. If you had spoken to me and had concerns about whether your child would have more than one teacher I would have addressed it in our first conversation that is always done by phone before coming into my program. I employ 8 different teachers at my academy, all educated and certified in all of their genres and the children's program. If anyone would like to question our certifications as teachers it is easily found on our website. I can not say that for other programs in this community. Our training and certifications as teachers far out surpass other programs and we have the certifications to prove it. For your remark on the reviews that are the same but from different emails is actually from a family years ago that used multiple emails to try and sabotage my business by reviews. That is fine if they have the time and energy to do just this but my business is still open and I serve many happy families who abide by the rules and regulations I have set forth for my business. I can provide all documentation on the 1 star review you mentioned by Sara to show every email I responded to with the upmost timely manner, the waivers she accepted when registering for my program. To your response as well as her response I can provide you all of my certifications from accredited programs not only for myself but all of my teachers. Including continuing education that we currently do yearly. It seems that you have been avoiding many other studios in town so with all your knowledge maybe it would be best that you teach your child or open your own program yourself. Any family who is searching for correct training with certified teachers will find that my program is structured in all genres with a focus on classical ballet that follows the method of Cecchetti. If families wish to get the most out of their money that will train dancers correctly and safely will achieve this at my academy. Your 1 star review is not legitimate being that you never contacted me nor did you ever take a trial class.

Sophia Robertson

verified Jun 03, 2024

Edit to add: This is the type of person she is (her attacking reply).She doesn't alow your own feels if they don't make her look good. She claims I'm lying even though I'm not and just expressing my feelings I've been holding in. To tell a MINOR to seek professional help for speaking their feelings is disrespectful, mean, and says alot about her. I realized after look at other reviews she attacks who don't give her 5 stars. Also to attack my parents in MY review says maybe you're not over the fact we left and should take your own advice to seek professional help. We were poached by your faculty and leaving our current studio for yours was the wrong idea. I used to dance there but I left because the constant changing of expectations. The owner/director put all of the responsibility of information on us to pass on to our parents and wouldn't tell our parents herself. Gave multiple dancers eating disorders. We always had to start from square one with every new tap teacher which happened to be every year. So I never learned anything new. The directors daughter bullied me numerous times and never apologized or saw the wrong that she was doing. Expected me to come to class sick. The owner/ director never believed me when I said I was sick. The owner/director started treating me differently after I dropped a class due to lack of training and constant changing. I haven't danced there for years and I'm glad I left. I have progressed more when I left then if I stayed at Sisu.

Business Response: Jun 03, 2024

This same Robertson Family continues to write reviews on my business from different family members and email accounts. Parents were informed on updated dress attire policies and continued not to follow rules and regulations. One can not give another eating disorders that is on the student and family itself. Our encouragement is to eat healthy to fuel the body. Not one time was one dancer encouraged to be one way or another and the remark of giving eating disorders to a dancer has never and never will be part of our mentoring. We also encourage clean hygiene as well as respectful behavior which only the youngest daughter abided by. Teachers are hard to come by as most teachers now a days are and most do NOT continue education to make themselves better. Tap teachers are difficult to come by especially for a dying genre of dance. We never required a dancer to come to class while they were sick and our policy remains the same then as well as now that if you have a fever or vomiting/etc to stay home. My expectations of a dancers work ethic is the same as it has been and always will be: come to class consistently for growth and to make the most out of what your parents are paying for. This review is written by a minor and as the Director of the academy and knowing the difference in age of my daughter and Sophia there was never any bullying especially when they were in different levels. In fact the constant bullying from Sophia to her younger sister in the dressing room was reported several times from other dancers in her level and had to be addressed more than once. Leaving was the right thing for this family to do as no matter what I provided was never enough for a family who wanted their cake and eat it to. I spent many hours listening to the unsatisfaction of the studio they left to come to mine. The continued complaints about the other studio owner and how when they asked how their child could improve it was always just about holding in her core. You then leave my academy to return to the same studio you left and made constant complaints about. It has been 2 years that your family left my academy and you all continue to send reviews from different emails. If you are still having issues getting over leaving my academy I would encourage you to seek professional help.

Sara

verified May 01, 2024

Incredibly disorganized and lacking in responsiveness, this studio provides a dismal environment for classes, devoid of any natural light due to its windowless location, which contributes to a depressing atmosphere. Furthermore, they charge exorbitant prices for a level of quality that simply does not exist

Business Response: May 01, 2024

It is incredibly disappointing that you would give a review for my business when you were given all the information about my program upfront not only by phone, tuition rate sheet, as well as our online waiver that I provides us evidence of you accepting and signing the agreement. Stating that the business is unorganized and lack responsiveness is only your way of attacking a business because you wished not to be charged for the commitment you made. Any new clients are welcome to see our photos on our website or stop by to see we have plenty of windows, sky roof for natural ighting, and beautiful lighting all over the academy. Our pricing is beyond affordable compared to other programs in the community and that tops off the education all of our teachers possess. Any person who would like evidence on this review is welcome to contact the Director directly to show every email that was responded to as well as the online waiver that was signed by the customer. Further more changing your name, child's name, and emails on the parent platform for us to no longer contact you is not only childish but disrespectful. Again much evidence is on hand for those who wish to request to show that sometimes it is the customer who is at wrong, not the business.

Reviews (109)

4.6