Dance Classes in Wilkinsburg

Students at the Absolute Ballroom & Dance Center can obtain head-turning dance skills that will make them the center of attention at social events while impressing more than their coat-rack dance partners. Offering top-notch dance instruction and an encouraging environment, Absolute Ballroom staffs a group of talented DVIDA-trained instructors who are knowledgeable in a bevy of dance styles and rain-luring routines. Group classes last 50 minutes and include an additional 10 minutes of practice time while honing eye-catching fluidity in newcomer classes (Wednesday nights in June) or beginning salsa classes (Thursday nights in June). Newcomer classes have been created specifically for newbies and are split into ballroom and Latin dance styles, allowing participants to flash hybrid moves like genetically engineered break-dancing replicants.

Students of all skill levels learn to shimmy with grace during Pittsburgh Bellydance Academy's comprehensive bellydance classes. Beneath the pressed-tin ceilings of a renovated theater-turned-studio, experienced instructors lead dancers in beautiful movements that can also help tighten and tone the body. Besides combinations, choreography, and head-to-toe technique, many sessions include flexibility and strength training. Others enhance the aesthetic experience with props such as the single and double veil, zills, canes, and fan veils. Students also receive training in musicality, interpretation, improvisation, and performance skills, helping prepare them for biannual showcase performances where they can show off their new moves.

Since 1969, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre has presented world-class performances. With a subscription package, you'll earn a tutu triumvirate, which may include the newly debuted The Three Musketeers, Tchaikovsky's timeless holiday tale The Nutcracker, or Dracula, Bram Stoker's macabre saga of love experienced by sentient lawn ornaments. A Gershwin Fantasy presents a graceful reimagining of the tunes of George and Ira Gershwin with accompaniment from Tony Award nominee Ann Hampton Callaway and her band. Balanchine celebrates the work of legendary American choreographer George Balanchine.

Toni Dobransky, aided by her mother and aunt, opened Technique by Toni in 2005 with the goal of cultivating an enriching environment for dancers of all ability levels and style preferences. She and her instructors lead dance classes for students of all ages, from 3-year-olds to seniors, infusing young dancers with confidence and poise and challenging adults with a new hobby or to achieve dance mastery. The two studios resound with the light patter of beginning ballerinas' toes, the thumping beats of free-form hip-hop classes, and the clicking and clacking of tap classes, in which students learn to tap out secret Morse-code threats to opponent dance troupes. In addition to perfecting their technique in dance classes, adults can whip themselves into shape while having fun in the high-intensity dance-fitness classes.

Although Anya Lasko began her career as a classically trained dancer and choreographer in Belarus, she was driven to found a studio based on "the three principles of holistic well-being, healthy exercising, and performing arts education." To accomplish this, she and her staff of instructors lead a combination of instructive and recreational classes for all skill and experience levels, helping students develop the physicality required for artistic expression through music and dance.

Dance classes explore a number of different styles—including ballet, belly dance, and hip-hop—and instructors address the needs and learning styles of different age groups by teaching separate lessons for children and adults. For a muscle-toning approach, the fitness sessions can emphasize low-impact workouts with Pilates techniques and ballet barre exercises, whereas yoga classes' mindful movements and guided meditation generate more focus than the Hubble Space Telescope's contact lenses.

In 1949, Charles “Chick” and Elda Mae Bruckman founded Bruckman School of Dance as a center of education for dancers of all ages and skill levels. A lifelong devotee of dance, Chick began his career at 6 years old and remains the school’s artistic director to this day. Along with a team of instructors, the Bruckmans introduce students to dance styles including tap, ballet, jazz, pointe, and hip-hop. As they lead students in mastering choreographed routines, they also teach dance history, imparting the origins of ballet and how NASA scientists made the moonwalk a dance craze in the early '70s. In addition to conventional dance classes, they host dance-inspired fitness classes, such as the Hip Hop Hustle and Turbo Kick, to get cardiovascular systems pumping.