Areté Dance Center

979 Fremont Ave, Los Altos, CA 94024, USA

Address:	979 Fremont Ave, Los Altos, CA 94024, USA
Phone:	+1 408-824-0074
Site:	aretedancecenter.com
Rating:	5
Working:	Closed 1–10PM 1–10PM 1–10PM 1–10PM 9:30AM–4PM Closed

Location

Photos 20

Reviews 4

John Allison

Diane Allison writes: Areté Dance Center in my mind truly exemplifies it’s name, because through the amazing dance instruction that I have gotten there, I have been transformed into a dancer. That may not sound unusual to some folks, but I grew up in a very artistic family of musicians, so I was aware from a very early age what kind of dedication and commitment it took to become “excellent” at any artistic endeavor. The Areté staff includes some of the most professional artists I know, but yet they are all extremely friendly, approachable, and they are honestly interested in the artistic development of each and every individual who walks through their doors and wants to learn to dance. I am no Spring chicken….I am now 57 years old. I have had a varied professional career as an Intensive Care Nurse for over twenty years, and then a Manager and Senior Instructor at an Equestrian Center for close to 20 years. Currently, I am retired from both of those endeavors, and now I am focusing on the “dance” portion of my life. Four and a half years ago, I walked into Areté Dance Center because they had a promotion going on, to purchase a gift for my husband of Introductory Dance lessons for us as a couple. My husband and I have been married going on 36 years now, and I was looking for something new that we could do together…..something that was out of both of our comfort zones, with which neither one of us had any prior experience. Now four and half years later, my husband and I are so ensconced in dance that we now practice every day, and we compete on a regular basis in both International Standard, and International Latin dance. Most recently, we were Bronze champions at the Berkeley Classic, winning each dance in our Bronze division. Who knew?? I LOVE dance for many reasons. It is excellent exercise. It allows you to connect with your entire body in a way that is unique to any other athletic endeavor that I have encountered. It involves not only the use of the body, but also the use of the brain and the brain/body interconnection. It is one of those things that is totally engrossing, so one is not able to think about anything else but dance when one is dancing. I LOVE that, because it allows my brain to have a vacation from all of the sometimes overwhelming day to day data that is crammed into it. AND, it is a creative outlet. Now that I have some actual skill as a dancer, I can allow my “inner dancer” to emerge, and let my creativity blossom. I love Areté Dance Center for another reason as well. ADC has created an amazing and wonderful community of people. Everyone who I have met there, whether they are a beginning dancer or more expert, is extremely welcoming and friendly. It is absolutely a place where one can learn to dance and not be judged in any way by anyone else……and that is rare indeed. I have made many new friends at Areté, and I am honored to be a part of the ADC community.

Kristina O.

I came to Arete in May 2015 after watching one too many seasons of Dancing With The Stars, complete with visions in my head of myself in a flowing gown dancing a gorgeous waltz that would bring the audience to tears of raw emotion at the beauty of my dancing. (Mind you, I had never danced a step of any dance in my life.) Well, fast forward to the Arete Christmas Show in December 2016 and Yuriy, one of the instructors, helped me do just that. He choreographed a beautiful waltz for us to dance together to a song I loved, he and the owners, Kris and Rebecca, helped me pick out a gorgeous dress, and then he worked with me for hours to prepare me for the show. Rumor has it that more than one person might have shed a tear watching our dance! I can tell you from personal experience, Yuriy is a miracle worker on the dance floor. He took someone with no natural grace and zero dance experience and not only transformed me into a dancer but in the process, he instilled within me the confidence to perform in front of people and believe in myself. Yuriy doesn’t just teach you dance steps, he will teach you how to look graceful dancing them. He will explain a dance concept to you 100 times if you need it, with the patience of a saint, so if you’ve never danced before, you will feel totally comfortable with him. If you’re already a dancer, he has the technical knowledge in ballroom dance to take you to the next level of technique as far as you want to go. He is a born teacher and somehow knows the exact line between challenging you with new skills and overwhelming you with too much information. What I like best, though, is he makes every lesson fun and he is your biggest cheerleader as you learn new steps and routines. Whether you have always wanted to be on Dancing With The Stars, or just want to learn a few dance moves to impress your friends, go to Arete and see how fun and rewarding ballroom dancing can be!

Karen Y & Walter C

We are so glad to have found a small personal ballroom dance studio and have been dancing at Arete since April 2015. All the teachers are talented artistic dancers (watch them dance and you are instantly inspired); but more importantly to us as students, is that all Arete teachers are motivating and dedicated as well. They can verbalize and dissect the moves for you ...YAY! Yuriy, our private lesson instructor, is super patient and diligent in planning each lesson and then re-caps with notes at the end with specific areas to work on in between lessons. He is always encouraging and creative with analogies (and hand-drawn pictures too :)) to help us understand concepts; above all he keeps our lessons fun and engaging. Our group lesson teacher, Rebeccas instructions cannot be more clear, precise, and succinct (I wish I can record her :D); especially helpful on executing intricate steps and understanding nuances with each different style of dance. Technique classes with Kris help us drill the steps and technique that brings out the character of each dance. She makes something that can be boring and challenging (for us amateurs) more fun and manageable. We feel all our teachers truly care about our progress and try very hard to help us advance. Each person has their own reason for taking dance lessons, from a leisure recreational hobby, to therapeutic, to serious competitive dancers. Our teachers recognize each students different ability and motivation, and we really appreciate Aretes support to help us achieve our goals. As a bonus, we have made many good friends at Arete and its a fun supportive community.

Debra Babcock

My husband and I needed to learn to do a waltz and a rumba for our son’s wedding in 2014. We had never danced before…. The soon-to-be newlyweds also needed more guidance on the Viennese waltz they were planning for their first dance. I had seen Areté Dance Center in the neighborhood and decided to try it. What a great find! Rebecca was so helpful in getting us all to dance well for this special day. The kids did a fantastic Viennese and my husband and I did really well, too! Afterward, my husband returned to his job on the East Coast, and I just kept on dancing… it was too much fun to stop. And great exercise! You don’t even realize how much energy you are expending. Rebecca and Kris have put together a first rate dance program that teaches the basic techniques of dance that are so important to good form, then build on that as they teach the dances. They and the other instructors there are truly excellent: caring, encouraging and patient, and extremely knowledgeable about all styles of dance. They work to really personalize each lesson and bring out the best in their students. I participate without an identified partner. It is not necessary to come in as a couple – there is much to learn on your own. The community spirit also helps, in that everyone rotates partners in class and at the Friday night party. And most important, the instructors make it fun! Their guidance has led to a supportive community of students that I am happy to call my friends.