2018 Golden Teddy Awards — Camps + Classes

Winner: Creative Dance Center

Seattle’s Creative Dance Center has done it again. A perennial pick for parents, this nonprofit organization has provided brain-compatible dance education classes for infants through adults for three decades. Founder Anne Green Gilbert is internationally recognized for her work in the dance and education fields, and the center’s joyful participants make sure their parents keep signing them up for classes.

Finalists

Boom Dance Studios’ classes come in all shapes and sizes at several Seattle-area community centers. Boom Dance has a class for a range of ages (from toddlers to adults) that fit every desire, from hip-hop, ballet and family Zumba to Hula-Hoop and sports skills.  

Voters tell us Cornish Preparatory Dance nurtures its dancers’ potential, whether their aim is to dance professionally or just for pleasure. Classes start in September and end in June, and offerings include creative dance (ages 4–5) and various preparatory dance company levels.

You think the world of the Russian-influenced dance instruction at Emerald Ballet Academy (Emerald Ballet Theatre) in Bellevue. The school focuses on classical ballet, but also teaches other genres of dance, including character, modern and hip-hop, for both recreational and pre-professional dancers.

Seattle’s Illumination Learning Studio earned your accolades for its variety of arts-focused programs, including piano and guitar instruction, performing and fine arts classes, and themed summer camps. As one pleased parent notes, “They allow the kids to find their interests and passions and help support them in whichever direction they choose.”