Reviews of Russian Classical Ballet Academy (Dance School)

Anna Demchenko

The teachers in RCBA are highly qualified professionals in love with ballet. We are very happy to have found this school which our daughter has been attending for almost two years now.

Bita Sarabi-Khosravi

The staff at RCBA really know how to push their students to attain their best. - Their patience with their students and ability to reach each student is amazing. - Thank you for all what you, Natalia and your team are doing!

Martha Zotov

The school has the great standards in ballet technique. No cheap visual techniques and no shortcuts. My son started here when he was only 7 and this is where his passion for ballet was born. In this school you would learn the real Russian style ballet and prepare to work hard!

Vytal Don

I noticed during the study hours in RCBA that message running through every ballet lesson in this studio is that each one of us has been blessed with an individual essence. Thank you to their professional instructors, which try to harmonically raise not only our bodies, but also the souls.

Bilyana Tucakov

My daughter is attending Russian Ballet Academy under the guidance of her teacher Natalia. She loves every minute of it and she can hardly wait for her next class. Natalia is an excellent and dedicated teacher who loves ballet. I would highly recommend this ballet school.

Aleks Kozyrev

My daughter has been attending the school for last three years. She loves it even though it’s often challenging. It definitely helped her physical development, posture, coordination. Her ballet teacher, Adriana, has a clear gift for teaching, she is calm, patient, very professional and attentive to every student in her class. The Artistic Director (also a teacher), Natalia, created a great learning environment, the school is very well organized which removes a lot of stress from the parents. Natalia is very dedicated to the development and well-being of the school and her students. She would often go the extra mile to accommodate an individual parents/child situation. The school location is very convenient, easily accessible by transit, car or just walking if you are lucky enough to live in the neighborhood. I highly recommended this school!

Constantine Kurbatov

Russian ballet tradition (Vaganov training system) mixed with contemporary approach to training gives awesome opportunity to kids to learn dancing ballet. Kids learn all these complex technical moves still feeling fun and joy.

Julie Cleroux

Fantastic Ballet! Miss Natalia is devoted to the school. She brings every student to new heights and challenges them. The progress is remarkable.

Moe Al-anizi

I recently enrolled my 7 year old into the pre-ballet classes. She was like an Energizer bunny jumping up the walls and acting like a boy! She really took to the teacher, Adrianna, and gained some balance. She's become a lot more disciplined now. She is so excited to show us her routines and excersies. Her recital costume looked absolutely adorable on her and the classes were affordable and organized. I had a few times where my work meetings ran late and Adrianna personally stayed back to wait until I could come pick up my daughter. I highly recommend attending one of the classes and seeing all the beautiful, caring and professional instructors available. You won't regret it, I know I haven't!

Rem Masloff

I’m glad that we have such a unique possibilities in our local Canadian community here as Russian Ballet Academy in North York - RCBA, where our kids can get a first experience to be involved in to elite cultural level of society. Thank you for your job.

peter Lacasse

We've had our daughter in the RCBA for over 8 years now. It's taught her the value of art, fitness and discipline amongst other things. The teachers are caring and truly want the best for every student. Highly recommended.

Don Vitalio

Ballet Academy resides in one of the biggest dance studio of the area in the center of North York. The teacher, Natalie Ebner is a high-professional choreographer who teaches children and adults for classical ballet techniques developed by A.Vaganova.

Eugene Kolpakov

Teachers take the ballet classes very seriously and make sure that the result is what they expect and what parents expect. Although often Natalia holds the children for additional 10-20 min after classes for more practice, she does it because she wants them to achieve great results, not just “take the class and go home”. If you just want your child to be busy with something, this school is not the best choice. If you want her or him to really learn ballet and achieve good results, while learning how to keep their discipline, persistence towards their goals, be in good shape, then this school is the right choice for you.

Yulia Sargsyan

Fantastic Teachers and Wonderful Environment! My daughter has been attending the Academy for the last 4 years and she also participates in the Summer Caps every year. She now spends an average of 8 hours a week but every time she is so excited to go there like it is her first time ever. I very appreciate how dedicated Natalia, Adrianna and Julia are to giving kids a solid dance foundation, building confidence, and providing them with a lifelong love of dance. They always made an effort to get to know their students on a personal level and aimed to better their students inside and outside of dance. Their encouragement and support are amazing. The children are learning more than just dance here. It is about a mindset and ability to lead a healthy and successful lifestyle. I see that my daughter is also developing wonderful friendships because the environment in the studio is so inspirational and fun. It’s been my extreme pleasure to see the growth of the students from year to year. I’m glad my daughter found professionalism, discipline and encouragement with this place. It is a wonderful place to help your child not only to grow as a dancer but as a person. Yulia

Marina Yakubovsky

My daughter attends Russian Classical Ballet Academy for 12 years. She started at grade one and continue with dance through all her school years. Now she feels pretty confident and able to dance variations from classical ballet performances. Russian Classical Ballet Academy is the studio where her childhood dream to dance came true. Natalia, Adriana and Julia are very professional and dedicated teachers who are ready to donate all their time to students. This studio is highly recommended to everybody who wants to explore a wold of dance, develop their skills and continue growing.

Joe Pittari

My daughter has been going to RCBA for many years. The teachers are outstanding. The commitment to the precision and grace by RCBA and it's instructors is remarkable. They has stirred a passion in my child as well as given her focus, structure and inner strength. The instructors her her evolve as a dancer every year.

Majella Pillai

My 8 yr old daughter did Ballet and Acro here from Sept to June. This school is not organized. They don’t know how to manage time. They don’t keep their word. We had an incident with a teacher. My daughter has another class after her Acro class. Three wks before the concert I wait for 15 min after the class is supposed to be finished, there is no sign of her. So I go into the building and can see they are still dancing. I signal to her that we have to leave. She signals back: you come tell the teacher. Seems she already asked the teacher permission to leave and was told to stay. So I go in and tell the teacher we have to leave. Her response: “no she has to stay; we are learning the finale.” I tell her that we are running late for another class. Her response: “If she doesn’t stay, she won’t be in the finale.” I said to the teacher her other classes are just as important and took my daughter out of there. This exchange happened in front of the whole class. I was upset at her attitude, tone and disrespect. Did she really think she could bully me into staying? That evening I called the owner / director. Told her how upset I was…mostly about being told that she would not be in the finale if she did not stay longer. My daughter had not missed any classes. She wasn’t enrolled in some discounted program. I expected her to be in the finale! She made some excuse about how stressed the teachers were about the concert and she would talk to the teacher and smooth things over. I thought if the teacher spoke to me like that I wonder how she is speaking to my child? So the next class I sit in the waiting room. And what do I see? They practice Acro for 15 min and then my daughter is sitting on the floor as the others are practicing a Contemporary dance – a class that my child does not take. So again I approach the owner / director and point out that last wk I was told that my daughter would not be in the finale if she did not stay longer and here she is… wasting time. Why not practice the finale now and practice the Contemporary dance during Contemporary class time? I was again assured that my daughter will be in the finale; she didn’t want to tell the teacher how to run her class; I was getting upset over nothing and I should “change my energy.” Fast forward to the concert: was my daughter in the finale? NO. Not even for the final bow. My daughter was standing alone in the wings when they did the final bow. Somehow my 8 year old realized that she belonged on that stage too. So she walked onto the stage. An older student, who does not even know her, sees her coming and pulls her into the line. She tells the teacher lets bow again and so they do. After the concert I go looking for my daughter to take her home. She says: wait I am looking for someone. On seeing the older student, she runs to her and says “thanks for asking them to bow again.” The older student in turn says: “no worries, you should have been there. “ To this student: Are you sure you are only a teenager? I wish I knew you. You are a role model. You showed more leadership, more class and inclusivity that any adult there! I told my daughter that of everything she did that evening, I was most proud of her for this: for recognizing that she belonged on that stage too; for not letting others keep her in the wings; for being brave to walk out alone; for recognizing kindness in the older student and for expressing gratitude. Did I mention she was only 8? To the owner / director: You are not a woman of your word. Before you feign surprise, go watch your own DVD. Needless to say we will not be going back. I will take my “ energy” and my business elsewhere. Good news is there are many other dance schools in the neighborhood.

Hasmik Sargsyan

If anyone is looking for a great ballet school, I highly recommend RCBA. My daughter loves going to RCBA and she has been to several others, including NBS. The space itself is beautiful and the instructors are kind and very helpful.

Anzhelika Liubchenko

My daughter has spent many years at this school and she loves it. We have seen immense progress, thanks to the diligent and hard-working teachers, who care greatly about each student.

Ronnie d

professional dancers and choreographer! nice studio

ernest yeung

Four years ago, my daughter started her ballet class in the Russian Classical Ballet Academy where she met her teachers (Ms. Natasha, Ms. Adrianna and Ms. Julia) and her friends. Four years later, she is still there with the teachers and classmates that she loves. By each end of school year, our family and our friends are very cheerful to see how beautiful and how elegant they are in their annually proformance. We are also very grateful to have these amazing teachers who show up for every class no matter how severe the weather is. When driving my daughter to class, I always see Ms. Adrianna’s car in the parking lot, she is always dressed up ready for class in the studio waiting for her students. These ballet teachers not only teach students the skills and knowledge, but also teach them to be self-dicipline, self-confident and to love what they do. If you are looking for a ballet school, I strongly recommand RCBA. It has a very remarkable and professional envrionment; the ballerinas here are very hardworking and dedicated. Although it may be a place where you sweat and tear, it is also a place that you will definetly enjoy.

Claire Yang

The school's location is convinient, the parents waiting area is clean and comfy, teachers are professional and friendly. Lots of time I saw teachers dance well themselves but cannot teach well. The teachers here know how to teach kids. My Daughter started to dance classical ballet in this school since she was four, and at her sever year old stage, she dances Esmeralda. I am pretty happy with the effort all these teachers devote in and am amazed by the result. The most important thing is my daughter enjoys dance here every single moment. Highly recommended.

Shirley Wong

I would have given 0 stars if I could! We had an incident involving my child where the Instructor was shaming her in front of all other student because we are unable to attend the recital due to a vacation that was booked in advance. She was also not allowed to dance with the rest of the group; she was dancing on her own in the corner of the studio. We only found out the date of the recital in less than 3 months from the scheduled date. My child came out in tears and wanted to go home in the middle of her class. She is now scarred for life as a result of how the Instructor handled the situation - very unprofessional, negligent and inconsiderate for the child’s well-being and emotions. We brought this to the Artistic Director’s attention who did not think there was any wrongdoing in what has taken place.

Jeff Walker

I continue to be amazed at the ability of the instructors to bring out the best of the students. This team of professionals display uncompromising discipline, high standards and exceptionally talent. Just watch these students excel in a dance competition or shine in the year end show. This dance school is a step above. Keep up the great work.

Daniela Borissova

My 8 year old daughter has been training at the school for 4 years now and she loves it! The Artistic Director, Natalia Ebner, takes a lot of pride in her work and always puts in the extra time and effort to ensure the girls continually improve. The other two Ballet teachers, Adrianna and Julia are wonderful as well. It does get fairly busy leading up to the year end show, as there tend to be extra/longer practice sessions, but only because Natalia and her team are committed to not only making the show a success, but for every girl to walk away with a sense of pride and accomplishment. Highly recommend!

Lena Yashutkina

Younger sister attended here and took level 2 ballet course. The studio is bright and large, in a prime location, and is one of the biggest studios in the North York region. Their teachers are professional and helpful, especially Natalia. They do their best to work on each ballerina individually and help them improve at their own pace. My sister had some difficulties in the beginning learning pointe (she is shy performing in front of an audience) and Natalia was very patient with her. Classes are mostly after school but they have some on weekends also. They have a beautiful end-of-course concert performance where you get to see what they have learned throughout the year. I was amazed at what my sister was taught in the span of a single school year. She will be enrolled in level 3 soon and I am excited to see what she learns this year!

Fatima Al-Anizi

Moms do ballet too! After seeing how much my daughter's coordination and posture improved over the year I ended up signing up to the adult program myself. I've never done ballet before. I thought it would take me forever to learn how to not fall over my own feet, but I was surprised at how quickly I picked up on it! I really enjoy how encouraging the instructors are and the positive atmosphere of the studio. I felt very welcomed from day one. If I can do it, so can you!

Susan Hu

Dear Natalia, Thank you for teaching my daughter and Thank you for paying close attention to my daughter posture problems, You're an awesome teacher!

A L

Wonderful ballet school, the kids know each other for many years, learning Russian Agrippina Vaganova Ballet Technique, dicipline, strength, and grace.

J J

My daughter has been doing ballet since she was 3 and I didnt see much improvement from her previous school and we decided to come to Russian Classical Ballet Academy and give it a try. She hasnt even been here for one year and im seeing lots of improvement im her posture, flexibility and dance skills. The teachers are wonderful and really care about the students and their well being. My daughter is also making many new and amazing friends here. I woild totally reccomend RCBA!