January 2016 by Sarah K.
My 3 year old daughter started taking classes here in September 2015. She absolutely loves it! We are fairly new to the Pittsburgh area (we live in Carnegie), so I sought out advice on Facebook as to where to send her. There were 3 dance studios that were highly recommended by almost everyone I asked. I can't remember the other two at the moment, but I'll tell you why we chose Borellis. One of the recommended places was more of a theatrical studio, with an equal emphasis on dancing, singing and acting. That's not what we were interested in, so we were able to immediately eliminate that one. Between Borellis and the other one (I'm thinking it was Tony something, but I'm not sure), they both seemed pretty equal. I was able to find videos on YouTube of both places and they both were pretty impressive; their facilities were up-to-date, instructors had extensive experience, and both had opportunities to compete when our daughter is older. The other place was about 15 minutes closer to our house, but it came down to price. Borellis was over $20 cheaper than the other one. We currently pay $42/month for a 1 hour combo class (tap, ballet, and gymnastics). You pay per hour of instruction/wk. The more hours of class you have each week, the less the cost per hour is. So if you have more than one child you won't have to pay $42/mo for each kid, and if your child takes more than one class each week the cost per hour goes down. Her instructor (Missy) is wonderful with the little girls. She leaves the door open so parents can peak in anytime, and invites us in occasionally to record the dance recital routine so we can help our children practice for the show. The lady who works the front desk while we are there is great too. She keeps us informed in regards to what's going on and is very personable. There are always fundraisers available to help with the cost of classes and recital costumes (Sarris, Pittsburgh coupon books, ect). Her combo class is small and Missy spends time helping the girls individually so they can be their best. Our daughters confidence has soared ever since she started taking dance lessons. Like I said, we have only been going there for about 4 months now but I love it here and I know our little girl will be dancing her heart out at Borellis for many years to come!
