StepUp Academy - Motor City

Fantastic experience: My daughter has attended Step Up now for almost 2 years and couldn’t be happier. She has been taught by various teachers in the team, through ballet lessons, street jazz lessons and camps, and really loves them all. Any queries have been answered by either the teacher, admin or manager Caitlin. I’ve been really happy with her progress throughout and can’t wait to experience the international dance competition with them!

Fantastic experience: My girls love dancing at SUA! They trialled classes at several studios when we moved back to Dubai but it was here they wanted to go. They love all their teachers and the entire dance school is a such a warm, welcoming and friendly environment. It is not cliquey or competitive amongst the students, everyone is just so lovely and kind. The highlight of the year is the annual show ! The camps are also great - lots of variety of activities, the girls came home exhausted! Miss Caitlin does a wonderful job at running the place and is very welcoming to parent feedback and suggestions !

Fantastic experience: My girls have been at Step up for several years. This dance school has a fabulous community friendly feel. It’s full of smiles and support from peers and teachers. Every child is made to feel important and given the opportunity to shine and perform. Caitlin the principal has put her heart into the school and it’s going from strength to strength with amazing exam results and competition routines while still maintaining the friendly and fun environment for the kids.

Negative experience: I recently enrolled my 3.5-year-old son, in the summer camp at Step Up Academy's Motor City branch, and I am extremely disappointed with the experience. My son has been attending nurseries and camps since he was 8 months old and is very comfortable in social settings. However, the experience at this camp was far from satisfactory. Firstly, my son came home telling me that not all the activities were happening and they spent good amount of time in the "jumping castle". He also mentioned that he didn’t know the names of anyone in his class. He expressed his dislike for the camp and didn’t want to return, which was a huge red flag for me. Moreover, the camp's setup follows a nursery setup vs a summer camp setup. Too many doors and rooms set up in classroom styles, which defeated the point of me choosing a summer camp vs nursery. Still I was patient and just wanted to week to get over. BUT>> The final straw was when I picked up my son on the third day and couldn't help but notice a horrible poop smell all over him. As soon as we came back home I checked him and he was filled with poop in his pants that was dry! He told me he had pooped himself and was too afraid to tell anyone. This is extremely unusual for him, as he has been out of diapers for exactly 2 years now with no accidents. When I checked him, I was shocked that none of the staff noticed or addressed this issue. I cannot but see this as neglect. Neglecting hygiene and how kids feel or inability to communicate something like this, suggests to me "neglect" and lack of enough care. As a mother, I can only view it from this angle. Due to these issues, I have pulled my son out of the camp and will not be returning. I have edited this review as per a conversation with the management where they wanted me to "pull down" this review as its "not true" - which tells me not only are they unprofessional with kids, but also with client management and crisis complaint cases. I would have been more than happy to pull it down if they handled the situation differently. They were so concerned about how their teacher felt about all this and how "damaging" this is to their business vs on how my son must be feeling after this experience and incident. If they had shown empathy and assured me this was an accident, I would have pulled the review down as my intention is not to "damage" their reputation or business, but to sincerely share our experience for another parent to learn from or watch out for. They might be a great "Dance Academy" but doesn't look like they are experienced enough with children's psychological safety, protocol procedures and surely are unorganized. As a mother, I can't help but overthink about what my son went through and what was he feeling the day he pooped his pants and stayed in his poop all day. Note to management: * Empathy is the what makes you business. Its great that you are empathetic with your staff. Try to apply the same to the kids and parents. * Your concern should be child safety and getting the parent back for another trial to your main service - DANCE or in a regular term if you aren't awesome at summer camps. Instead you LOST a client completely. Customer retention is harder than acquisition. * For a business with so many branches, I am extremely surprised with your management operations and style. I should've known months back with the way your staff handled inquiries.

Fantastic experience: Excellent!! Professional, caring, motivated, inspirational dance teachers!!! My daughter has learnt so much, made new friends outside of school, grown in confidence and can't wait until her next ballet lesson!!!

Fantastic experience: good

Fantastic experience: Step up academy has truly been a transformative experience for my daughter. When she first started, she was shy and unsure of her abilities. But thanks to the incredible instructors and the supportive environment, she has blossomed into a confident and passionate dancer , I cannot thank them enough for the positive impact they have had on our lives.

Fantastic experience: My 2 daughters have been going to Step Up Academy since they were very little and they wouldn't miss all their dance classes every week for anything in the world! (ballet, street jazz, musical theatre and lyrical). They've gained a HUGE amount of self-confidence and enjoy every single class and the dedication of the teachers towards them. Step Up is like their 2nd home, they even want to come during the holidays to the camps they organise (which are always very popular). They've made lots of friends there and enjoy the family atmosphere in the studio, which is just as demanding. A big THANK YOU to all the dedicated teachers and in particular to Mrs Laura Davies, Mrs Laura Dillon and the new manager, Mrs Caitlin (who was Head of Ballet for years before also taking on this management role) who brought a breath of fresh air and new ideas to the school!

Fantastic experience: As a dancer myself at Step up Academy, I can proudly say that the dance school is truly exceptional in every aspect. . From the dedicated and supportive teachers to the incredible opportunities it provides, this dance school sets the bar high. One of the standout features is its commitment to excellence through qualified RAD exams and other exams like IDTA, ensuring students receive top-notch training and recognition for their skills. My recent experience of representing Step Up at the IFDPA dance competition in Paris was nothing short of phenomenal. It showcased not only the talent of the individual dancers but also the cohesive teamwork and dedication instilled by the school thanks to all the teachers.

Fantastic experience: Miss Olivia is simply the best! My 5 year old son has enjoyed every minute of the Springs summer camp. He even performed a singing and dancing routine in the souk thanks to her dedicated teaching and warm encouragement. Can't wait to sign him back up to her musical theatre class for this coming term.

Fantastic experience: Ms. Olivia is an amazing singing teacher! Due to her, my child’s breath control, voice projection and overall singing of music has majorly improved and because of her friendly, fun-loving personality my child looks forward to each lesson.

Fantastic experience: I just attended Salsa class for adults at Stepup academy springs souk, This was my first lesson and It was great, the teaching was excellent as Laura the dance teacher was making sure that we all learn well the perfect steps in Cuban mannerism and Tataaaa.....i could do some good Salsa moves today, I know now that I will do more lessons after I am back from my summer vacation. Just loved it and totally recommended

Fantastic experience: Thank you so much step up academy for your continuous support and for always being inclusive and believing in us.Big thank you to Ms Vikky who always made sure that Laila’s team is included and you would give us as many classes as needed to come out with the best results. You also manage the safety and needs back stage even though you have 100’s of dancers to organise. Special Thanks to Harriet, Karisa and Rianah for supporting with the lessons and always encouraging the team. Thank you all teachers and staff of @step_up_academy I’m so proud that my daughter is part of this team. Thanks for making them shine. Most of all everything was done with so much fun and love . #dancesyndrome #inclusion #peopleofdetermination #uae #downsyndromeawareness #inclusionmatters #theatre #dance #fun #downsyndromerocks #team

Negative experience: I think they don't care about morning class. I have wanted to get a refund. They said someone will call you, but I didn't get any call during past 10days!!!!!!!! I took the class only 4times, It was so changeable!!! the first class was changed just before the 1-hour. because the teacher was sick. So the class replaced by another teacher. I couldn't take a right class. The second class was also changed 1day ago. I had to cancel another appointment. And the last class, the teacher came 30 minutes late!!!!!!! I had to keep waiting at the center!!! I booked well but even they didn't know I'm coming!!

Fantastic experience: Amazing place lovely teachers.

Negative experience: Complete disgrace! They should be ashamed of the level of control that they have on the academy. My daughter 4 yrs old went there for a year in the rhythmic gymnastics (3 semesters) without one single word of feedback or progress report at all. We gave them the feedback several times asking for a progress report or any feedback on our daughter’s performance and every time we get the same response that rhythmic gymnastics is done by a third party (du gym) and that they don’t have influence on them. complete waste of money

Negative experience: I must express my disappointment with the academy. My 8-year old daughter has been training for a whole term now leveled at (4-6) Pre-Ballet, her teacher was missing classes all the time. Although she is 8, she was registered in their system as a 5-year-old pre ballet. I believe I’ve just paid one full term when no due dilligence was done to her level or her capabilities. This indicates the academy does not abide to good sports standards and is being managed as a mediocre business setup not aimed at creating invested atheletes.

Fantastic experience: Great team of teachers, especially Ms. Catlin and the staff in the motor city!!! Thank you for making our children healthy and happy with teaching them performance

Negative experience: I tried to rate this academy as ZERO. Unfortunately, Google doesn't have such option. I have never seen such an awful academy ever. The guy who is running this is a skeptical man. You must be very cautious(especially cash) while dealing with this guy. He doesn't pay the vendors properly. He will change his words after you do the work. So, I highly advise everybody to be extra cautious while working with this academy.

Negative experience: Good

Negative experience: Awful! No clue!