Turning Pointe Dance Studio Introduce
For families in Maryland, especially those residing in Catonsville and the surrounding Baltimore County area, who are searching for a nurturing and professional environment where their child's love for dance can truly blossom, Turning Pointe Dance Studio stands as a highly recommended local gem. With decades of experience and a deep commitment to its students, this studio has cultivated a reputation as a place where aspiring dancers, from their very first steps, receive patient, positive, and dedicated instruction.
Turning Pointe Dance Studio is more than just a place to learn choreography; it's a community where artistry and personal growth are intertwined. Owned and operated by Miss Lisa Clark, a teacher with decades of experience, the studio is built on a foundation of care, thoughtfulness, and organization. Her dedication to her students shines through in every class, ensuring that even the youngest dancers feel supported and encouraged. As one parent enthusiastically shared, choosing this studio was the right decision "because of the small community and because of Ms. Lisa as a teacher."
The emphasis at Turning Pointe Dance Studio is on truly teaching children "how to really dance," moving beyond mere steps to foster a genuine understanding and passion for the art form. This approach culminates in memorable experiences, such as the annual recital, where students proudly showcase their skills in costumes, creating "a really special" moment for both performers and their families. This blend of expert instruction, a supportive community, and cherished traditions is why so many Maryland families, like the one who stated they "will be going again next year!", choose Turning Pointe Dance Studio for their dance journey.
Turning Pointe Dance Studio is conveniently located in Catonsville, Maryland, making it an easily accessible destination for dance enthusiasts across Baltimore County and the wider Maryland region. You'll find this welcoming studio at 1010 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA. This address places it on a prominent thoroughfare, ensuring straightforward navigation for families and students traveling from various surrounding communities.
Frederick Road is a well-known route, providing practical access whether you're driving or utilizing local transportation options. While specific parking details for this exact address are often subject to local availability, dance studios in commercial areas typically offer convenient parking solutions, whether on-site or readily available street parking nearby. This commitment to accessibility helps integrate the studio smoothly into the daily routines of busy Maryland families, reducing logistical challenges.
For anyone in Maryland searching for "dance classes in Catonsville" or "ballet lessons near me," Turning Pointe Dance Studio's central location makes it a highly desirable choice. Its presence ensures that quality dance education in a nurturing environment is within reach for a broad segment of the local population, fostering artistic development and community engagement.
- Comprehensive Dance Programs: Offers programs for recreational, pre-professional, and post-professional dancers, teachers, and adults.
- Classes for Young Children: Starting at age two with programs like "Creative Movement" and "Dance With Me" for toddlers and caregivers.
- Ballet Classes: Core instruction in classical ballet, including fundamentals of the Cecchetti Ballet Method, focusing on alignment, posture, grace, and precision.
- Pointe Classes: Advanced ballet technique for eligible students, performed on the tips of the toes.
- Jazz Dance Classes: Dynamic classes covering various jazz styles, emphasizing energy, unique moves, leaps, and turns. Includes Character Jazz, focusing on performance quality and stage presence.
- Tap Dance Classes: Focus on rhythm, musicality, and precise footwork, developing coordination and balance.
- Hip Hop Classes: High-intensity dance form with upbeat music, introducing various hip hop movements and expressive personality.
- Modern Dance Classes (Ages 7+): Utilizing techniques of modern pioneers like Lester Horton and Jose Limon, covering spinal articulation, isolation, and fluid movements.
- Lyrical Dance Classes: Merging ballet and jazz styles, focusing on emotional connection to music lyrics and expressive movement. (Requires concurrent ballet class for participation).
- Acrobatics (Acro) Classes: Skill-based class enhancing strength, flexibility, and balance, integrating acrobatic elements with dance movements.
- Stretch, Turns & Leaps Workshop (Ages 7+): A workshop-style class dedicated to improving flexibility, turning technique, and leaping mechanics.
- Summer Evening Classes & Intensives: Seven-week summer sessions for all ages and skill levels, including specialized intensives like Commercial Dance and Ballet & Contemporary.
- Annual Recitals: Students participate in an end-of-year recital with costumes, providing a special performance opportunity.
- Performing Company: Audition-based teams for grades 3-12 with previous dance experience, offering more performance opportunities and participation in regional and national competitions (though not primarily a "competition school").
- Highly Experienced Owner & Teacher: Ms. Lisa Clark (the owner and primary teacher) has decades of experience, known for being "caring, thoughtful, and organized," and deeply committed to her students.
- Positive and Patient Approach: Particularly with young children, Ms. Lisa is praised for her positive attitude, patience, and ability to make learning dance enjoyable and effective.
- Strong Focus on Core Dance Education: Emphasizes teaching students "how to really dance" by building proper technique and instilling discipline, not just memorizing routines.
- Small, Supportive Community: Cultivates a welcoming environment where students and families feel part of a close-knit and encouraging group.
- Comprehensive Curriculum: Offers a wide range of dance styles including Ballet (Cecchetti Method), Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, Modern, Lyrical, and Acro, catering to diverse interests and skill levels.
- Inclusive Age Range: Classes available for students as young as two years old up through high school and adults, ensuring dance is accessible to all.
- Valuable Performance Opportunities: Students participate in an annual recital, providing a special experience to showcase their hard work and talent in costume.
- Adaptable to Student Needs: Levels are designed to appropriately challenge dancers, ensuring progression with confidence and avoiding injury.
- Commitment to Student Potential: Dedicated to guiding each student towards their full potential while fostering a genuine love of dance.
- Emphasis on Discipline: Instills the discipline required for success in dance and life.
Turning Pointe Dance Studio
Address: 1010 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA
Phone: (410) 925-2805
Mobile Phone: +1 410-925-2805
For families in Maryland, particularly those in Catonsville and the wider Baltimore County area, Turning Pointe Dance Studio stands out as an exceptionally suitable and enriching local institution for dance education. Its profound suitability for locals stems from its deep-rooted commitment to fostering a genuine love for dance within a supportive and positive community environment. The consistent praise for Ms. Lisa, the owner and teacher, highlights her invaluable role in making the studio a truly special place – her decades of experience, patience, kindness, and dedication to "teaching them how to really dance" resonate deeply with parents seeking quality instruction for their children.
The studio's comprehensive curriculum, offering a wide array of styles from foundational Ballet (including the rigorous Cecchetti Method) to high-energy Hip Hop, Jazz, Tap, Modern, Lyrical, and Acro, ensures that every child and adult can find a style that sparks their interest and allows them to grow. This diversity, combined with classes tailored for various age groups starting as young as two, means that Turning Pointe Dance Studio can truly accommodate the entire family's dance aspirations. The emphasis on individual progression and placing dancers where they will be "appropriately challenged" ensures effective learning and minimizes frustration, a crucial aspect for long-term engagement.
Furthermore, the annual recital offers a cherished opportunity for students to showcase their hard work, providing a memorable and rewarding experience that strengthens their confidence and connection to the dance community. The convenient location on Frederick Road in Catonsville makes consistent attendance practical for busy Maryland families. By offering expert, compassionate instruction in a nurturing "small community" atmosphere, Turning Pointe Dance Studio is an invaluable local asset, fostering artistic talent and personal development for dancers of all ages in Maryland.
Turning Pointe Dance Studio Photos

Turning Pointe Dance Studio Location
Turning Pointe Dance Studio
1010 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA
Turning Pointe Dance Studio Reviews
My daughter just did one full year of ballet for 3 year olds and really loved it. We looked into different dance studios and in the end I’m glad we chose this one because of the small community and because of Ms. Lisa as a teacher. Ms. Lisa has been teaching students for decades and has a lot of experience with being positive and patient with little kids. She is very communicative, kind, and thoughtful and cares about teaching them how to really dance. They practice for a recital that they do at the end of the year with a costume and it was really special. We will be going again next year!
May 13, 2025 · C HarrisI have known Miss Lisa (the owner and teacher) my entire life. She is the most caring, thoughtful, and organized person. I highly recommend Turning Pointe Dance Studio.
Mar 06, 2020 · Alexandra WhelanI danced here from a young age till middle school age, shortly after Pre-Pointe. I gave Turning Pointe three stars for a few reasons. For simplicity, I will list the pros and the cons separately instead of doing a massive paragraph dump.PROS -1) Mrs. Lisa was cool, I guess.2) The studio had a homely feeling, and it was nice being able to perform on stage and feel a part of a team. I was bullied in school, so being on the stage felt... nice.3) Accomodating for dancers who have larger feet... to an extent. (Will be explained later in the Cons section). The pros were that there was a wide range of shoe sizes that could be ordered from a catalogue.4) The studio is right next to the library, so if your ride is late, you can try and sneak out and go to the library, or wait and watch the next class dance as you wait.5) Accomidating for dancers who are younger, with injuries, and/or disabilities, also to an extent. (Again, will explain the cons under cons). There was a girl in my year who fell and suffered a jarred back. She was allowed to sit out for a week or two since agitating an injury can make it worse. Mrs. Lisa was also helping dancers who had a harder time grasping certain parts of the routine or the warm-up by going over it with them 1 v 1. She also has older dancers learn the younger dancers' routines to perform on stage along with them, so the girls have someone to follow along with.6) Wide variety of costumes. Some of the costumes were super cool. Plus, I really liked flipping through the costumes and pretending what I would look like in them.CONS -1) Accomodating for dancers with larger feet to an extent. - One year, my class had to use tan heels, and she had a limited collection. They weren't catalogue order, especially since they were from her personal collection under the table near the door. I had to use the largest shoe (I have unnaturally large feet), and even then, it was a little tight. Thankfully, I broke them in some. If a dancer had larger feet than I did, I feel sorry for them.2) Accomodating for dancers with a disability to an extent. I was a disabled dancer. In order to retain my anonymity to some extent, I will not state my disability, but I will say it made it hard for me to follow along in class and gave me persistent balance issues. The auditory stimulation and physical activity made me groggy, and it made it harder for me to memorize routines. Mrs. Lisa shamed me in front of the entire class for not getting the routine as fast as the other girls, which made my issues with self-confidence worse. I was even forced to record a video and watch as the girls irritatedly started the dance again. The dancing was fun as hell, but man, Mrs. Lisa, you really have to be a little more patient with slow people like me.3) The student environment. It may just be my year, but I felt a sense of hostility from the other students. I was the "black sheep" of the group - I was visibly the heaviest student, the tallest, and also the only one with a disability, and probably one of the few who attended public schooling. All of the other girls attended private or Catholic schooling, and had their own cliques. As a child, I tried to make friends, but it was hard and I felt isolated from the rest of the group. It was a part of my decision to stop dancing.4) The scheduling. The schedules are hard to work with sometimes. The classes are on weekdays, and they're either a) right after school or b) right at dinnertime. During my years of dance, we got too much takeout since the schedule was hard to work with.5) Not accomodating for dancers with shorter hair or dyed hair. You HAVE to have a bun or a ponytail at recital time. Right after recitals, I would go back wild and dye my hair or get pixie cuts since I knew I couldn't get that during the dance season.Those are my pros and cons, and my overall experience at Turning Pointe. This is just my experience, and if you want to send your child here, please do more research beyond my review since I don't speak for everyone. Thank you.
Aug 15, 2019 · ArsoDanced here for 15 years and loved every second of it! Ms. Lisa is such a kind and talented person to work with!
Dec 21, 2018 · Chuck CharlesAmazing Teacher and Staff 😍
Apr 07, 2022 · Christine Chavis
More School Dance

2 Winters Ln, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA

6404 Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA

5621 Old Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA

5621 Old Frederick Rd, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA

5621 Old Frederick Road Entrance on, Harlem Ln, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA

5808 Johnnycake Rd, Woodlawn, MD 21207, USA

8001 Hillsborough Rd, Ellicott City, MD 21043, USA

6314 Windsor Mill Rd Ste 209, Gwynn Oak, MD 21207, USA

6322 Windsor Mill Rd, Baltimore, MD 21207, USA

8480 Baltimore National Pike #410, Ellicott City, MD 21043, USA

8510 High Ridge Rd, Ellicott City, MD 21043, USA

2605 Lord Baltimore Dr, Windsor Mill, MD 21244, USA
Categories
Top Visited Sites






Trending Dance Journal Posts





