H+ | The Hip-Hop Dance Conservatory

I just finished my class and felt compelled to write a review. Naturally I got the 5 courses deal on groupon.
My mindset for this class was that I knew I was going to mess up but it’s okay because it’s my first class. I got there early and started talking to one girl who said she was a photography major and then got into dance somehow and fell in love and now she’s an instructor or a helper. Whatever you call them. She said it was a very welcoming environment and I was excited. I told her I’ve never taken a dance class before.
Then class starts and they put me up front. Totally didn’t like that. Initial unnecessary pressure in my opinion. Then we had to do the arm exercise. I just started working out. I just started this class. Being lectured afterwards that it’s all in my mind was a little unsettling. I understand what they are trying to say. But that was the opposite of feeling welcome. I gave my opinion that it has to do with your physical strength as well not just mental endurance. Already I felt I was giving off negative energy. I didn’t want that. I just wanted to experience my first hip hop class in a corner in the back getting into it.
Then we started stretching. That’s when I started to get very aggravated. One girl came up to me because I couldn’t do a bridge. I told her my wrists hurt and I can’t. She wouldn’t listen to me. Then I had to explain further and say no they really do hurt. I have carpel tunnel. Finally she backed off.
Then they told us to do a downward dog. I am not flexible and I go to yoga. They recommend to bend your knees and let your legs stretch but make sure your back is flat. You must take pressure off your back. Another girl came up to me, the one who was photographer and told me my feet needed to be flat. You’re silly because a lot of people can’t get their feet to be flat. I told you this was my first dance class and I’m not very fit at the moment. Then she said the legs need to be straight. … I was so angry because she clearly didn’t know the first thing about modified versions for the position that are safe for the body and are just as effective.
Both were so pushy. I get that you’re supposed to be helpful but you know nothing about me. It’s my first class. Don’t push me.
Then this freestyle dance session starts to get you in the mood. People were going all out with dance moves to slow 90s /​early 2000s hip hop music. Sorry but it was boring to dance to. I guess it was my mistake to misinterpret the meaning of hip hop class. I thought it would be hip hop style dancing with more groovy /​funky breakdancing music of sorts.
Then the main event started. Going through all the dance moves. It was hard as f*** and I hated being corrected and practically lectured while I was trying to keep up. I don’t think they have a good system down at all. I don’t understand why they don’t focus most of the 3 hour class explaining the dance moves step by step. Instead I get interrupted by a helper who doesn’t know me and thinks I understand her instructions and literally slow pace of explaining this to me. I got so frustrated. I’m paying money to get a work out and to learn at my own pace. I got 5 classes. Do you really want to blow it with me and hover over me and push me on the first class especially when I’ve never done this before? Ridiculous.
During the breaks one girl kept coming up to me and asking how I was. It was suffocating.
I felt so uncomfortable explaining to them all of this in person and it sucks I have to on Unilocal.
They kept repeating that this was a conservatory. Then don’t market the class as a community class. If you want to keep the class the way it is, make it a point that it follows a strict code.
But first maybe everyone should take some training in physical fitness and training since they insist that «your muscles are lazy and you need to be pushed over your limit especially when you say you can’t do something.»
On a positive note the main instructors were very nice and obviously knew the dance moves and are super committed to the craft. And other people who are helpers are totally into it and are very positive about where they are. Keep doing what you’re doing but if you want to succeed I recommend to change the flow of the community class.
Obviously some people like this format and I don’t want to be a completely non-​open minded person or bias because I’m inexperienced. I’m all about having structure and I absolutely think they have good intentions but I don’t think they are hitting the nail on the head with this unfortunately.

Def have been to better and less weird dance lessons.
You begin with a «party”– it’s just so awkward because the dancers think this is how people can learn their intermediate-​advanced dance moves during this first hour, but really this felt like a lazy warm up plan.
Echoing prior posts: these are not beginner lessons. They don’t break down the move and review it so you can internalize the technique, nor do they take it at half speed, etc. ALSO Beginners have to stay in the front and friends are separated. Is this a beginners class or boot camp? It was very VERY crowded/​cramped and hot, but… Don’t try to be both.
It all felt very uncomfortable and poorly planned. My suggestion would be to FULLY commit to the type of product/​service you are providing… true beginners? limit the class size, go slower, structure the dance party & eliminate the lectures. advanced classes? deter beginners from joining & improve quality of the class experience (more advanced work).
Overall, cheap, but a frustrating experience and will pay more for a different, less all the place experience.

I came here with a Groupon deal ($ 30 for 5 classes) on the recent past Friday to get some learning on (19:00−22:00 walk-​in session). You fill out some forms first with basic health and general information.
You first begin with a «party”– basically everyone dances for the first hour (or hour and a half since there was a birthday celebration that day). Please note that I am a complete beginner, I don’t even go to clubs– I have no moves whatsoever. As a result, this part of the session was uncomfortable for me… but eventually I found someone to copy moves from. This was interesting. The instructor of the class later explained that this was part of the process of forming the hip-​hop dance– everyone basically dances together and learns off one another.
The lesson itself was very intensive. Beginners have to stay in the front, and they separate friends. We began with stretches that really pushed your body– and if you weren’t doing it correctly (in terms of form), there will be helpers to assist you.
For the dancing part, the instructor in the front would show the move and then give a brief explanation regarding the origins and the name of the move. But some of these moves, although possible to do, may not be the easiest to copy (could just be me, but I had trouble following). We would repeat the same move for a few times and add on to the choreography. Then we would proceed to learn different moves and go with another small choreography.
I get the good intentions of the instructors, I really do. I see that they are passionate about this, but:
1. Airflow was terrible. It was way too warm in the room, and sure– when you exercise, naturally it will be warm, but even before we started dancing, the room already felt a bit stuffy. I tried to stand near the windows/​exit and it was not much help.
2. There was not enough space. I am guessing this is because Fridays are walk-​in… But there were (I’m exaggerating a little here) like 80 people in a small room that would more properly fit 30 people at most (I mean, this was a dance session– so… there needs to be room to move around).
3. There was a guy that somehow placed himself infront of me and he was significantly taller. I could not see the main instructor as the guy was directly in front of me, and I couldn’t exactly maneuver myself to a better position since there was no room… So this hindered my learning a bit…
I may come back one more time to try again, but … I personally felt a bit too uncomfortable.
I was really excited to try it out too.

I came all the way from Maui to attend the summer intensive. I saved up for months. I subleased my room. I was finally in NYC! I been recommend H+ from a friend, but should have taken a class before I forked over $ 1600 that was non-​refundable.
I could write an essay on how hilarious this whole situation was… but lemme tell you — if you value creative expression and being treated like an adult — this program is NOT for you! after a shocking 48 hours in this ‘program’, I spoke with the director and explained my feelings… it wasn’t a right fit — they kept my money. lets not talk about the physical and uniforms and other costs involved.
if you want the REAL DEAL hip hop in new york, check out teachers at EXPG, perridance, or broadway.
aloha!

Creepiest and most unprofessional dance class. I was excited for hip-​hop and got creeped out by them never introducing the instructors and quickly realizing that there were maybe 6 floaters that would whisper differing notes in your ear as they stand behind you. As someone who’s taken classes for 20 plus years –one even gave me a note that I know is injuring to your knees. There also wasn’t even enough space for floor work but they pushed for everyone to stretch seated. Then throw someone filming all of this into the mix, which they never verbally mentioned, and it then became the creepiest and oddest class I’ve ever taken. Groupon really needs to check credentials and more than that who are these 20 something’s trying to Teach when they don’t really know enough to? I left after 20 min in a 3 hour class. Please beware of what your corrected on in this class, they could injure you. And be ready to bump into people while be whispered at from all directions by strangers.

First of all, I love to dance and although I do not have any professional experience, I was very excited to take this «beginner» class. I imagined it would be a fun dance class with choreography explained in detail to a count and break down. Instead I got a class that was at BEST disorganized and weird chaos.
The class started with a ten minute meditation, where I had to keep my arms extended out horizontally. I understand that you need discipline and be willing to push yourself but this was exhausting and unnecessary. It started the class on a confusing note. There were probably 10 – 15 «helpers» throughout the class that were overbearing and seemed lost themselves. At one point, there were three people surrounding me and corrected every little move. I couldn’t even watch the instructor (who was not breaking down moves) to try to catch up and JUST HAVE FUN. I felt stressed and annoyed that they wouldn’t leave me alone. It was as if they were desperate to correct people and didn’t care if I was enjoying myself.
Once they know it is your first time they will stick you in the front row. Which is good for some but I personally wanted to be towards the back and decide where I would be myself.
The instructor was talented but the class was extremely fast for a three hour beginner class. The room was very crowded and I couldn’t do some of the moves because of the lack of space. I was afraid someone was going to kick me in the face but I was still being pressured by the helpers to dance anyway. Also, there was a camera girl moving around the entire class and filming us. At one point she was right under me while I was trying to keep up and dance. There was definitely a cult vibe present and it seemed they were trying to recruit more people to join their team rather than teach a beginners community dance class.

So yea. Most of the «helpers» there do not know how to dance. Seriously. It seems like the place is run by a cult. The kids are militant, not relaxed, and a bit weird. Unfortunately, I think this takes away from the flow of the class. Only 3 people in their group of «helpers”/instructors knew how to dance and they were always in the front. So there’ll be no one correcting your movements in a helpful way. I would skip this if you are actually interested in learning how to dance Hip Hop. However, this could be a nice class for a good workout, but nothing more.

Awesome workout but still fun and engaging. Looking forward to going back!!!

In short, the 3 hour ‘absolute beginner’s’ dance classes here are inspirational, difficult, professional, and definitely not your idea of ‘beginner’ if you have never danced before. You will definitely suffer if this is your first hip hop class and have never danced before, but it’ll be an amazing workout regardless of your level.
The dance class starts with holding position with arms at your sides (for about ten minutes?), then an open floor dance, then warmup (very long warmup, goes through all the classic hip hop dance moves at top speed), then choreo, then a dance circle, and ends with a discussion on what you learned that day.
People are very friendly and full of smiles, but they won’t go easy on you (this is both good and bad). These dance teachers are top level, and you’re definitely getting more than your money’s worth to be there and to learn from them. You’re not expected to be perfect and know how to do all the moves, but they won’t dumb it down for you at all. They’ll go at full speed no matter what. Slowing down to explain moves would help. It would also help to break down moves and teach fewer moves in more detail. Otherwise, sometimes it can just end up being a confusing, sweaty workout session rather than a dance session.
I would show up to class and see if it’s too full to be in there. If it is, skip it and come another day. The dance rooms are tiny, sometimes it gets stupid busy and there is NO ROOM to dance.
They do like to lecture and talk a bit about the philosophy of hip hop dance/​mindset of a hip hop dancer and not everyone’s a fan of that, but I was into it. If this isn’t your thing, just be warned!

I recently covered an event by The Hip Hop Dance Conservatory called You Belong Here. The event was a gathering of various faculty & alumni to celebrate the growth of the company & their new relationship with the Adidas Originals Soho Store in Manhattan. I was quite impressed by the energy of the dancers in the room as well as the positive vibes I felt upon entry. IT was like a family affair & I realized that HDC is a great organization for anyone looking to learn proper Hip Hop dance techniques as well as the history of Hip Hop. They are also heavily in to uplifting & rebuilding the community through philanthropy by providing opportunities for all people to get involved in dance. I definitely recommend this dance conservatory for all you Hip Hop & dance lovers. Check out the video coverage of their last event @ the link below.
Link to video:

3.5 stars to be exact.
I agree with a lot of the reviews here about the strict, militant structure of the class (standing a certain way, not able to get water, raising your hand when you want to scratch your nose). I think I took it a little bit better because I’ve been dancing for over ten years at various studios (BDC, Steps, Peridance, DNA) and nobody came and corrected me during our 2 hour «warm up». But this poor woman next to me was getting so overwhelmed and someone was at her side constantly helping her. I felt bad for her and tried to encourage her that she was doing great.
I was a bit annoyed at the choreography/​videography session. We had to repeat the syncopated scatting the choreographer would do. He wouldn’t describe what he was doing but just a lot «buda bah bah bee bah, bee bah» and we would repeat it instantly and sometimes overlapping his voice while doing the steps. I don’t know how as a teacher/​choreographer that doesn’t drive someone batty! If I were a teacher that is the EXACT opposite of what I would want.
It did give me a great workout and NOONE was divalicious which was great. I’ve had enough classes where people did their hair in the bathroom BEFORE going in to class.

I took a class from the Living Social Deals. I took my time to write a review because I love the idea of a hip-​hop conservatory, I already liked it before I took the class. If they fine tune some things, the conservatory will be great, if they maintain what they are doing now, they will be a site that says it’s a conservatory but really is a company that has classes and does performances…
–The «individualized attention» is sometimes not helpful because the helpers aren’t listening to the main instructor and helping you keep up with the routine, movement, or exercise. They sometimes stop you from what the main instructor is doing instead of helping you with what the main teacher is saying, so you get behind.
–As a dancer, I know my body, and listen to my body. The helpers try to stretch you out because they think that’s what they’re are supposed to do. Wrong… Listen to your body first, if you are not used to a stretch, ease into it, go slow. Do you, despite their pressure they give you. Personal fitness trainers no you start off slow and work the body gradually.
–Hip-​hop is honest, real, fun, urban, come as you are. It seems the helpers are doing a bad version of customer service that comes off as strange and unnatural.
–I know what discipline is, I know what dance and martial arts discipline is so I like that they teach discipline. But with personal fitness instructors and dance, there is usually a personally connection with students so students know that instructors have their best interests at hand. In a boot camp and the military, instructors break down students to build them up. The class had a mix of the too. As a dancer, I’m not interested in being broke down to be built up. If the helpers build the connection first, know the students, then the classes wont seem so abrasive.
This school is getting better, try it out since they have deals, great concept and idea. The idea is out there now, if this school doesnt fit you, there are or willl be others. Hopefully the Conservatory can grow because they are the pioneers of the concept.

I went to a Friday class, having read some of the negative reviews that I thought at the time were ridiculous. But 3 hours later, I know exactly what they mean and I agree for the most part.
1. Teachers — I think they’re generally nice, but they seem fake, what I mean is, they are all smiles, but they try to correct you all day without actually teaching you anything. I’ve taken classes elsewhere, you can’t dance if you don’t know the actual moves.
2. Pace — the dancing part is a small part of this class, most of it is being lectured by Safi Thomas on how to be a good person and how to live. I might have enjoyed this if I were a rebellious teenager 10 years ago, but as a grown adult, I found this extremely childish, not to mention it coming from a bunch of 20 somethings who gave the vibe like they know it all.
3. Overall — In general, I didn’t feel a very friendly vibe with this place, space is crammed, if ur tall u can’t really move around. You try to follow the dancers but they don’t give you a lot of time to learn, overall feels very hectic and unstructured.
I’m giving this 2 stars, because I think this place has potential to be good, if they accept the criticisms and make this a class instead of a serious dance audition to weed out the weak lol.

Personally, for me, I would give it a one star. But I respect that the people there are very serious and do want you to learn, and that some people do enjoy it, so I bumped it up to 3 stars. But basically, I agree with Sue W.
Intro: Everyone who is not new is wearing a uniform. It’s easy to miss at first, because they didn’t have a t-​shirt or logo, but everyone is wearing the same color scheme and even the same type of striped sports pants. It’s something I noticed before the class began, and it made it seem a little bit intimidating.
All the new people have to stand in the front row (so that they can see the mirror). Not what I wanted to hear on my first time in a class, but whatever. Then the opening exercise was a ‘meditative’ exercise, where you extend your arms out at shoulder height (you form the letter T with your body) for– it had to be, at least 10 minutes. We were told that every body could do it, depending upon your mental will. If you said you could do it, then you would. Well, I tried, really hard, I did, but the truth is that I am not an athlete, and it soon started to hurt like hell. My arms drooped. Then one of the helpers comes and stands behind you and they do whisper things. I can do this, you can do this. They also notify you as soon as your arm isn’t quite parallel to the ground. Then they told us about how the way you handle the exercise is the way you handle life in general. So I was thinking, what the? so because my arms were burning after however many minutes and that reflects how I handle life? Whatever, I said, to myself.
Then they lead you through some static exercises. Early into that, we got interrupted by one of the leaders who gave a long speech about integrity and commitment and what was and was not honorable. The speech was punctuated with things like «Does everyone agree?» but it was really a rhetorical question. I thought it was really bizarre. It sounded like church. But a weird church. Then we went back to static exercises.
After that, we *began* to warm up. This was the first portion that was hip-​hop,
It went really fast, and went through a variety of different styles of dance– west coast, popping, locking, etc. It wasn’t a routine, though, and the group leader never said, «First you do this, and then I’m going to do that, and notice that you need to xyz». No «5,6,7,8» business. You were told to look in the mirror to make sure you were doing what they were doing, not just whatever you felt like doing. They just started going and the you had to follow. The people that actually taught you were the helper people, dancers part of the company, who would come up and stand behind you when you were doing something incorrectly. Then they would break it down step by step, and use words to describe what they were doing. And the guy that was my helper (it seemed more like an attendant) really was very nice and did want me to get it, and I was appreciative, but it was too much. Because while you are getting coached on a particular movement, the rest of the class is going on with whatever they are doing and by the time you have ‘got’ the movement, they are on to something else. Which, of course, you don’t do properly, and so have to get coached again. All this was still considered warm-​up (by that point, it had been over an hour into the class).
I came to dance and have fun. But every other minute I got stopped because I was doing something wrong. I get it, form is good, etc. etc. etc. But when it’s every other moment that I am being stopped because of some error, a dance class stops being fun. The help no longer seems like simple troubleshooting when I spend ¾ of the time in it; I’m pretty sure I spent more time getting corrected that than actually participating with the flow of what other people were doing. And yes, I have gone to different dance classes before, and of course, you get corrected, but not every minute like that.
Halfway through, I had enough of it. I wasn’t having any fun and made to leave.
I got stopped by someone and was told to calm down and breathe. He wanted to know why I was feeling the way I was, and I attempted to explain, but he countered, and at one point I said, «I really don’t want to argue about this. I just want to go.» Then another lady started talking to me and said we could talk about it some more outside during the mid-​class break. She was nice, but I felt, was not really hearing me. I said I wasn’t having any fun, and she said, «Fun is a perception.» And I was thinking, «Hello! It’s my perception that’s important when I decide if I like a class or not.» The way she said it was sort of a holier-​than-​thou tone. I stopped and just said I needed to leave.
I got the 5 lesson deal on living social, but 4 of those lessons are going to go unused.
By contrast, for someone who wants to go pro, or is very strict about form, and likes to meditate with arms extended, this is the class for you.

For anyone who has ever been curious about hip hop this is it. The Hip Hop Dance Conservatory (HDC) takes a unique approach to teaching, something they call the Blade technique. They look at many aspects of dance, ranging the mental to physical, drawing on knowledge from many dance techniques. The instructors (and there is a great ratio of students to instructors) are very helpful and very professional.
Now this class is high geared — meaning that you will actually be dancing real hip hop. Some people find it challenging, but it is ridiculously fun. If your ready to listen and learn to dance this is a great place to start. I highly recommend it.
P. S. The review by XX. is ludicrous and full of fabrication. There is no mind control or stress or … torture techniques? I really hate to have to call out someone in a review but if your daughter was so distraught, as a parents I would advise you to go to a class and sit in. Gather proof and take appropriate measures. There are multiple water/​bathroom breaks. No one threatens anyone. Please do realize that threatening students, let alone minors has serious legal consequences. As does slander.
I would like to note that I am not affiliated with HDC. I am a student there having attended 10 of the friday community classes and hearing something so ridiculous really annoys.
Thanks
V+

hm the reason why i went to the hip hop class was because i saw a deal on livingsocial and brought it with my friend. I wanted to go there to have fun but did NOT enjoy myself at all. It was TOO serious, I didn’t want to learn hip hop so I can become a professional i just wanted to do it for fun. I felt like i was being micro managed and it was stressful. I couldn’t even drink water when i wanted to! also there was too much lecturing… honestly its a friday night and all i want to do is NOT think and just have fun. anyways it turned out to be a complete disaster. I have 4 more classes left but I don’t think i will be using them anymore. Anyways this might work for some people but it didn’t work for me. People there were way too serious there and it was too intense. It was a waste of my $ 40. learned my lesson and am never going back.

Just Dance! pure 100% Hip Hop Dance Conservatory… And LOVING IT!
feels good and sweat a lot. Very professionals.

I have attended a couple of hip hop dance classes around the city — DNA, Peridance and Ailey extension. I can tell you right away that Hip Hop Dance Conservatory (HDC) is the best place to truly learn Hip Hop Dance.
For one thing, the format of the class is really different — it feels more like a workshop to me than a recreational class that most dance studios offer. However, that does not mean you can’t have fun. Another thing that is radically different is they have what they call principal dancers who dance alongside with the main dancer who is either teaching the choreography or dancing during the warm up. This means you can a good look at what is going on even if you are at the end of the room. Not only that, they also have other staff dancers around who would help you out if you are struggling or dancing in the wrong form. I have been dancing for fun for more than 4 years now and I was not even aware that I have been dancing some of the moves incorrectly. I am truly grateful that the friendly staff dancers were there to correct me.
Another great thing about the class is you get to be exposed to the different elements of Hip Hop Dancing — Breaking (I have been looking to improve my clumsy top rock for a long time, and this is really a huge plus for me), Boogaloo, Popping, Locking and Social Dance — and in EVERY SINGLE CLASS! And having attended a few classes, I can tell you that every class introduces you to a slightly different subset of the dance styles, which means that there are tons of moves you can learn here — all you need is to absorb them!
And just to clarify, I did not enroll to their summer intensive program, I am just attending their open class. Yes, they do have open classes that is not very well advertised and their website looks like a little bit outdated, but the address in Unilocal is the correct one as of this writing for their open class (the studio is called Dance Art New York). I have been interested in HDC since I heard about it but I had no idea how to attend their classes until I joined their promotional free class during the National Dance Week. The regular price for their 3 hour open class is $ 20 and this is the cheapest hip hop dance class in the city I know, in terms of dollar to time ratio. And on top of that, you can even get a discount if you buy 10 class cards. What a deal!
The class maybe a little bit intimidating for absolute beginners, but what I would say is, if you want to learn Hip Hop, this is the right place to learn it correctly the first time!
And lastly, you can also check out their Youtube channel which I only learned about after taking the class:

Well, there really isn’t much to add to the first review. I took the 3 hour iDance workshop at Chelsea Studios on a Friday. It was a free class due to the National Dance Week promotion they had. I have always heard about it, but was too afraid to do it. Although my thighs are still in pain 3 days later, I am sooo glad I did it. It was such a great workout and I think it strengthened my mentality on how to approach dance techniques.
Everyone was very helpful, although a little militant at times. I will definitely go back again.