Principal Creative & Performing Arts

San Mateo, United States

5

1 review

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 650-393-5593
Website:
www.principalarts.com
Address:
1528 S El Camino Real Ste 208, San Mateo, CA, 94402
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.3 miHayward Park
1.1 miSan Mateo
1.4 miHillsdale Caltrain Station
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Today

Today –
Local time (San Mateo) 22:04 Sunday, 1 June 2025

Business hours

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Tuesday –
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Description

Specialties

PCPA is a creative and performing arts program that requires dancers to be both athletes and artists. Our ultimate goal is to instill dance intensity and drive inspired by much more than trophies and sequins. We believe in building strong fundamentals, technique, and discipline through dance training and performance experience. You can count on building a respect and love for dance whether you are training for personal or professional goals.

We have an amazing staff with both dance degrees, and professional dance experience. Our staff is experienced with kids, and adults, as well as, beginners, and advanced dancers. Come try a free trial class today. Styles offered include tap, ballet, jazz, hip hop, irish dance, musical theatre, and acro.

Come see why we have been voted best dance school for 5 consecutive years!

History

Established in 2007.

PCPA is a program of Small Fry Dance Club which was founded in 2007. While PCPA is a new program it is owned and operated by Jana and Carlos Chapeton. SFDC has been named best dance school on the peninsula for 4 consecutive years. Jana and Carlos will continue to bring that level of excellence to this new program. We have lined up an amazing staff of dancers that are eager to bring quality dance classes to the San Francisco Peninsula.

Meet the Business Owner

Jana A.

Business Owner

During her 18 years of training Jana has studied jazz, tap, hip hop, Afro — Haitian, Dunham technique, and choreography. Jana has been most influenced by Janel Tomblin — Brown, Ehud and Daynee Krauss, Susan Whipp, Alicia Pierce, and Kimberly Iniguez. In May of 2002 she completed her Bachelor’s degree in dance at San Francisco State University.

Jana loves working with beginning level students and preschool dancers. She is most motivated to help students discover dance and movement. Jana has been teaching through out the Bay Area since 1998. Some of her previous performance and Choreography highlights include Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre Group, Anything Goes, It’s a Wrap with Guggenheim Entertainment, Speaking of Dance and He Said She Said with Visual Rhythm Dance Company, Rocky Horror Show with City Lights Theatre Company, Wholeness with Bliss Dance Company, and Paramount Great America’s Celebration Parade.

Nearby

Near this location:
1
ft
Small Fry Dance Club
1528 South El Camino Real Ste 208
1
ft
ThinkTank Learning
1528 S. El Camino Real Ste 100
1
ft
Careway Health Institute
1528 S El Camino Real Ste 308
1
ft
Bikram Hot Yoga San Mateo
1528 S El Camino Real Ste 200
1
ft
Terra Therapeutic Massage
1528 S El Camino Real Ste 200
1
ft
Insiya Saboowala, DDS
1528 S El Camino Real Ste 408

1 review of Principal Creative & Performing Arts

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Redwood City, CA
I love dancing here.
I had a hard time finding a dance studio as an adult on the peninsula. Most places are geared towards children (as is the Small Fry part of this studio), or else «fitness» dance — like zumba and their ilk. I’m a classically trained ballet dancer (child and teenage years) at least 10 years out from my last dance class and post one whole year of severe ankle injury requiring non-​weight bearing *while* i was pregnant. So yeah, my body is pretty beat up. As an adult, most of us aren’t pristine-​bodied spring chickens.
Nonetheless, I wanted *real* dance. I’m determined to dance again!
This place is amazing.
First, they are so friendly and welcoming. All the front desk staff I’ve interacted with and all the dance instructors alike are a pleasure. I especially love Aimee, who teaches the jazz and ballet classes. She is a phenomenal dancer and teacher, but also so welcoming, fun and friendly. Her classes are rigorous — with stretching, conditioning, across the floor work (leaps, jazz walks, etc.), spin practice (pirouettes, fouettes, turns a la seconde), and an original Aimee-​choreographed dance that we work on for 3 or so weeks. There are all levels in the class, and despite often being the slowest, most confused person there, I always feel welcome and supported.
They just recently started their adult dance classes, so sometimes there are 7 or 8 people in a class, and sometimes it’s just me that shows up, but either way, I get an awesome dance experience.
They are also very reasonably priced ($ 12 for drop ins, down to $ 10 – 11 if you buy them in bulk), and if you’re so inclined, their private lessons are fantastic and reasonably priced as well.
So if you’re looking for a legitimate adult dance class, and don’t feel like a drive up to SF to ODC, I totally recommend that you give their evening adult classes a try. In addition to jazz and ballet, they have modern, capoeira (which looks super fun), Irish Cieli dancing, musical theater and hip hop.