Royal Academy of Ballet 560 North Nimitz Highway, Honolulu, HI 96817

"Disappointing to see some of the bad reviews. I can not speak for the upper level classes but I very much liked what I saw my 3/4year old daughter learning in her class. I saw her learning a lot of the core fundamentals and very quickly at that. I really enjoyed the style and methods Ms. Vivienne applies to her teachings. We visited other ballet studios & did lots of research. RAB seemed like the best fit for us even if it was a bit more expensive. As a parent one thing I love about the facility is how safe it feels with a big open parking lot and security always on site. I was unaware of Ms. Vivienne’s vaccine status, as her medical history is none of my concern. What I did see is Ms. Vivienne always wearing a mask and upholding strict mask standards for students, parents, and staff. On top of, making sure everyone stayed safe and canceling classes whenever necessary. Also, I always observed the staff cleaning the studio before and after each and every class or private lesson. Everyone was also required to fill out covid symptom sheets at the beginning of every class, have their temps read, and hands sanitized."

"It really dissapoints me to have to write this review, but I feel a "buyer beware" notice should be posted about this business. We enrolled our daughter in RAB when she was 5. It was great...she was excelling...and having fun. However, we soon realized that there was more to being a part of this ballet studio than just the lessons. While we understood there would be costs associated with enrolling our daughter in ballet, this particular studio is all about up charging for everything while slacking in teaching the actual curriculum that a budding ballerina should know, i.e. terminology, movements, etc. Everything is taught to a "curriculum" - which at first, we were all on board with, however, when we moved our daughter to another studio because the proprietor of this establishment neglected to get vaccinated to protect our daughter from exposure, we found that she was sorely behind in knowing these fundamental things, especially if your dancer has a true desire to move on to the next level. While I understand business is business...what really was the last straw was that we felt that this proprietor failed, failed, failed, to let parents know of her vaccine status when she was teaching, in close, enclosed, quarters, students who could not be vaccinated. She is LUCKY that she didn't pass on covid to her students...lucky...it was really irresponsible and disappointing. Our new studio has FAR superior COVID protocols and a staff who is truly responsible and mindful of the health and well-being of the students they teach. So, if you're looking for a ballet studio for your little, do your homework. Audition with other studios. Learn their curriculum (if they have any) and if you still choose RAB, be aware that you will have to buy everything from the studio at inflated prices, you'll be paying about 30% more in tuition, and you'll be asked to donate, donate, donate... We are much happier now with the new studio our daughter has signed up with...and this was made after auditioning with several reputable companies. We've seen a huge improvement in her ability, form, and style...and she knows the ballet terminology that is needed if she wants to move on to more professional endeavors."

"Sadly, I have to amend my review of RAB to 1-star. I inadvertently learned that the owner, Ms. Vivienne is not vaccinated against covid. A very irresponsible decision on her part considering that she is teaching a large number of girls under the age of 12. When I directly asked her about it, she tried to tell me that she had "taken a battery of tests and that her Dr. told her that she had such a strong immune system that the vaccine would not do anything more to protect her". I was dumbfounded by her claim and we decided to keep our daughter out of class until we came up with some kind of solution. A week after that, she cancelled all of her classes claiming that she had "sinusitis". (This was when the Delta variant was surging again at the beginning of August) I contacted her again another week later after the mayor's new order came out. Restrictions are set to begin on the 13th and say that she needs to either be vaccinated or have a negative test. She said that she would have all necessary requirements available at that time. 15 minutes later, she sent me another email that said that she was removing our daughter from 2 of her 3 classes per week. (Vivienne invited our daughter to join the upper class because of her potential so she was doing 1 class on Saturday and 2, back-to-back classes on Sunday) She reduced her to 1 class per week for no reason. It was obvious to me that she did it to be vindictive since I pressed her about her burden of safety for our daughter and the other kids. Since then, our daughter has joined another school, and we found out in the process that all other reputable ballet schools in Honolulu have instructors and staff that are fully vaccinated in addition to using safety measures. There have been other business issues that we have overlooked in the past since she is a good dance instructor but, this was a deal breaker. Not to mention that she is 2-3 times more expensive than all other schools and does not even hire other teachers. She does all instruction for all levels by herself. I was paying almost $700/month! If you are considering a ballet school for your daughter, I strongly urge you to look at other schools first. *After moving our child to a new school, we learned how behind RAB is compared to other curriculum. vivienne focuses only on performances but, not core fundamentals and is now trying to catch up after these complaints. She also sells supplies that are far more expensive than they are at Step n Up Hawaii. Sad, that she's focused more on money than anything else.*"

"WE love Royal Academy of Ballet, especially because it is a dedicated, loving, and successful environment for any young ballerina. My daughter started with Ms. Vivienne at 2.5years old and just loves to go to class. I love how wonderful she is with the children, you can feel the genuine care she has for her students. There is discipline with their ballet costumes to the expectations of every detail of class. There is classic French ballet vocabulary is introduced to even the youngest class. We decided to send our daughter here because if there was a slight chance she would continue years of ballet, we wanted to start her off with the best foundation, and we believe Royal Academy of Ballet was the right choice for us."

"Studio is organized, modern and bright. Our family continues to enjoy our time here. Learning is structured and kids are constantly smiling or laughing. Music is cheerful and age appropriate. Classical ballet instruction. We really like that their is discipline but never yelling or scolding. Children share and listen attentively to Ms. Vivienne. We are so glad we found this studio years ago."