Best Contemporary Dance Schools In Sacramento Near Me

4worldlovers: Is Sacramento’s leader in commercial dance training including styles like hip hop, heels, jazz, contemporary and jazz funk dance classes from beginner to advanced levels. With a focus on industry styles and professional dance advocacy, Sac Dance Lab is a unique, boundless place to train for aspiring and professional dancers, while welcoming non-professional enthusiasts.

Each instructor is a community-focused industry professional that creates an encouraging, fun place to train. In addition, Sac Dance Lab offers performance opportunities via its companies, showcases and seasonal productions each year! Check our our companies in more detail here.

All purchases are valid for any class on the regular schedule for one year from day of purchase. All purchases are non refundable and non-transferable.

Sac Dance Lab has won Sacramento Magazine’s BEST OF SAC awards as the “Best Place to Take a Dance Lesson” for two years in a row, 2021 and 2022!

We could not be more proud of the creativity, collaboration and dedication from each of our instructors over the last six years.

Thank you to our performance teams for their genuine enthusiasm to entertain, grow and support local arts! These dancers illustrate the diversity of Sacramento, while demonstrating the potential to reach all audiences through dance.

To our students, thank you for having the faith in our dance method, our culture and the local dance community! You’ve all created the most wonderful energy in our space making it a place people look forward to coming to.

We went from holding classes in the dead of winter inside a warehouse, to sharing a campus with the Atrium 916, and now having our longterm home. In early 2017, this place was just a dream. From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!

4worldlovers: Families have lots of choices when selecting a dance studio. One of the first things many parents ask is, “How much will it cost?” But there are many equally if not more important things to consider when selecting a school. Here are a few questions to ask before enrolling your child.

One of the first things to ask when selecting a dance school is the qualifications of the dance instructors employed there. Not all dance teachers are the same, and there are no laws governing who can teach your child and who is not qualified. So, this should be the very first question you ask. A quality dance studio will be affiliated with a state or national organization that certifies instructors, such as Dance Masters of America. Instructors can also be college graduates with dance degrees or equivalent experience in the field. There are many ways in which dance educators can be qualified, so make sure your child is in the hands of a professional educator.

A quality studio will require instructors to be CPR and first aid certified. A great studio will have an on-site AED along with staples such as a fire extinguisher and first aid kit. These items should be centrally located and easy to reach in an emergency.

3. Is the goal to help students reach their potential, or to enhance the studio’s reputation?

Teachers should never force students beyond their natural flexibility or encourage ballet students to “turn out” their feet farther than their natural rotation will allow. These practices cause injury. Safety should be paramount in any extracurricular activity.


A dance class should never take place on a concrete floor or flooring laid over a concrete sub floor. This is dangerous for a dancer’s joints when they jump and land…which happens a lot in a dance class. The ideal flooring for a dance studio is a sprung floor. This specially made dance floor allows some motion in the flooring to protect and cushion a dancer’s joints as she lands from a jump. The sprung floor can be covered with wood or vinyl dance flooring. (Ideal for many types of dance such as ballet and lyrical.

While it would certainly be distracting to allow parents to sit in on each and every class, there are other ways in which parents can view their child’s weekly progress. Some studios have windows into the classroom. This can be a great way to see the students in action, but also allows the students to be aware they have an audience. The best way to view class is through a monitor into the waiting area. Low-profile cameras in the dance room can allow parents to be comfortable knowing their kids are participating and learning.

It is important for the instructor to be able to see the student’s body alignment. Therefore, baggy clothing, jeans, sweatshirts and other street wear is not appropriate for dance class. A leotard and tights will allow the instructor to give constructive feedback to the student (which will help develop strong technique) while still covering enough of the body to be modest. Some studios require all students in a class to wear identical colors or styles, and some allow the dancers more personal choice and comfort by requiring dance wear but not dictating specifics. Either way, dance wear should be required for class.

Dancers can be grouped by age, ability, or a combination of both. Students should not be held back because of their age nor advanced simply because of it. A combination of age and ability that allows dancers to be in a challenging environment yet still with peers is ideal. Some studios achieve this by having several overlapping levels so that staff can guide each student to the combination of age and ability that suits them best.

Dance studios can be competitive, non-competitive or a hybrid with groups of each type of classes. Competition focused classes will require a higher level of commitment of both time and money, and not all dancers will be included and advanced. It is important to understand where your dancer may be headed if she continues in the program so that you can make the choice that feels right for your family.

4worldlovers:
Have you ever wanted to take ballet? This is where you can. We love adults who want to take First Position (Beginning Ballet) through Advanced Ballet. All our teachers are classically trained and love to teach adults. This is a safe place where safety and technique are emphasized. We have watched many adults start from the beginning, evolve and dance. We provide a welcome and friendly space to learn and progress. Ours is not a competative dance studio.


Our ballet classes stress correct placement (body alignment) and classical ballet technique. Class level is determined by the instructor and is based on an individual assessment when a student takes a trial class. All students receive corrections during class to help them advance and individual restrictions or injuries are always taken into account. Students advance to the next level based on the recommendation of the instructor.

Our of classes are ongoing, with the exception of First Position which is taught in a 10-week session. New classes are added as needed.