Top Performing arts groups in Brooklyn, United States

My daughter is a regular at their summer camps- she always has a blast! She adores the counselors, and always comes home tired and happy after a day of theater games and rehearsals in the park. It has definitely helped instill a love and appreciation for performing, and nurtured her sense of self confidence. She is always so proud of their final performance for the parents and caregivers, which never disappoints! Highly recommended!

PSPA is an incredibly special place with the most caring, creative and responsible owners/teachers. Both of my daughters had several wonderful experiences there with camp this summer including Matilda, Six and Shrek. If you want your children to develop a love for singing, acting, dancing or just simply feel comfortable expressing themselves and build confidence, this is the place!

My daughter has done the Harry Potter camp the last 2 summers and has had a blast! The counselors are great and there's great activities for kids. She wants to come back next summer. Highly recommend!

Amazing program ! Both my 10 year old and my 6 yr. old absolutely LOVE BAL. As another parent said: “ it’s their happy place”. So fun and creative. Got my son out of his shell. So much so that he chose to do a stand up comedy act for his 5th grade graduation 🤩

Very talented theater group!

Over the years, I have had the pleasure of seeing several of PSPA's theatre productions and have witnessed the talent of the students first-hand! They are not only talented, but well prepared and well trained! You will not be disappointed if you have the chance to see a production and more importantly, enroll your child in one of their classes! My niece and nephew love the Itty Bitty Ballet and Mini Musicians classes that they take at the studio and look forward to attending each week!

My daughter attends summer camp at PSPA! She absolutely adores everyone and every session she has attended. She especially loved the Harry Potter program. Rebecca and Erin are extremely engaging and genuine. They are a wonderful asset to the community and for all children looking to dive into their creative side. My daughter is so much more outgoing and I am so thankful we found them!

My 17 month old son and I attend the Mini Musicians drop-in class together when we can. We love the convenience of being able to pop in when it best suits our schedule.
During the class, my son is highly engaged. He loves all of the songs, instruments, and teachers. He also loves that he can explore independently at times. The studio is clean, and it is a warm and welcoming environment. Thank you for helping him to learn, grow, and experience music!

Park Slope Performing Arts has been a truly wonderful experience for my son and daughter (now 11 and 9). Besides learning performance and production skills, they have gained self confidence and learned the importance of personal responsibility in a group, all in a welcoming, friendly, non-judgemental environment. The classes for every age have been creative and fun, and both were so excited when they were old enough to audition for the Park Slope Youth Theater Company! Their participation in the productions have instilled pride and a sense of accomplishment in them, and have been the highlight of their year!

I used Fun Corporate Magic for entertainment at my company's holiday party and everything was GREAT! working with Cecilia was amazing, she was extremely accommodating and responsive. She provided many options within my budget that were all perfect for the theme. All of the onsite entertainers were very professional and engaging. Everyone loved the costumes and energy of the dancers and the Matias was AMAZING! My execs really loved the magic show interactions. Thanks again!

Great place for kids! Amazing instructors with great talent.

Another amazing experience this summer with PSPA camp for my kids. This time I had my 7 year old at Matilda Camp and my 3+ year old at Disney Camp. We have 4 kids all learning and growing with them and have been with PSPA for 10 years. Our oldest (twins) started at 3 years old and are still performing with PSPA going into 8th grade. (My 13 year old daughter did CIT for Disney Camp-it's a true community/family organization). I can't imagine anything greater than our Brooklyn kids having camp in Prospect Park and I am sunburn paranoid but was always confident they were learning and practicing under a big beautiful shady tree every day, and drinking plenty of water. The end-of-camp-week performances were amazing. I was shocked how much my 7 year old learned in a week and couldn't believe how she exploded like a musical theater pro in front of us. It was awesome. My 4 year old only went to 3 days of Disney Camp and fully performed at the end of his week as well. It was pretty incredible. Looking forward to Fall and Spring with PSPA and of course returning to Summer Camps in 2024!

Matias was AMAZING! We had him do a 30-minute show for our virtual company Holiday Party! He brought lots of energy and made it extremely interactive, exactly what we wanted! All of our employees had a blast! This was a great decision and we would bring Matias back for a future event! 10/10 performance!

Sent my daughter here two summers ago, and was the most fun she’d ever had. Planning on sending her here again!

We have hired Matias for a few years now and he continues to put on a great show for kids of all ages! Last year he came to our office and this year he hosted us via Zoom and it still felt like we were all in the same room. The show was just as fun, exciting and engaging. I can't wait to book him again!
Also, his administrative team are professional and responsive. They answered all of my questions and were always very helpful.

Brooklyn Acting Lab is my daughter's happy place. She's been attending since she was 5 and is now almost 10. This past year she did their semester long Jr Musical Ensemble and well it pretty changed my her life. The encouragement and support offered at BAL is truly something special. Kristen and Murat run a wonderful inclusive program and Brooklyn is lucky to have them.

Matias was incredible! The show was terrific and really helped take my friend's long distance birthday party to the next level. Everyone was entertained and bedazzled by the performance. Matias was thoughtful and patient through any technical issues and very accomodating to our needs. We especially enjoyed the personalized tricks and audience. participation. I have already, and will continue to recommend Matias to all of my friends seeking pandemic-friendly entertainment! Thanks again!

I have never danced before in my life. I suddenly started with Balmir in April and cannot stop! I highly recommend this dancing school, because they have very talented, patient, friendly, RESPONSIBLE instructors who know their job and work with us very personally. I want to say big fat thank you to Marlene and Joel: thank you for your incredible job! I could not imagine that I will dance latin dances and not bad! Honestly! I improve my dancing skills with them every week! And also I like atmosphere in this school: during class time we have a lot of fun.
Also I like payment system it is very affordable and flexible (Jessica, thank you for that). And also schedule: it is pretty good for working people: they have evening classes during work week and Saturday classes. There are different levels from beginners to advanced, so you can create your own schedule. So, join us!!!!!

So lucky to have such strong professional productions of Shakespeare free in our local park every year!

Matias is amazing!!! His talent is over-the-top. Seriously, no one had any clue how he was able to do all the tricks he performed. He worked the room continually. Everyone around him was smiling, yet baffled and speechless. What a charismatic, fun and very professional entertainer! We look forward to working with him again and also referring him to our friends and colleagues, without hesitation.

We hired Matias for our Daughter Liana’s 12th Birthday. Wow, Matias was amazing and truly incredible! His performed couldn’t have been more engaging. His show was also remarkable, and everyone was laughing all the time, tricks were incredible, the kids gravitated towards him immediately, and he was engaging and charming. He arrived on time, was extremely professional. Liana and all her friends were very happy!!
We will be calling on Matias again, and we highly recommend him!

Excellent quality Shakespeare that's free, fun, and wonderfully accessible. Smith Street Stage has been pouring their heart and art into Carroll Park for the past 10 years, and they've now begun branching out into Manhattan! I can't wait to see more of their high caliber work in more places, but I especially can't wait to see them back in Carroll Park next year. So, so good!

Been Living in the Neighborhood since 2011. Sad I didn't stumble upon them sooner! Really wonderful Free(!) productions every June/Early July in Carroll Park. Even for those who don't know too much about Shakespeare, they make the stories easy to follow. You can even bring a Picnic and share the beautiful Summer Night Shows with Friends. They do shows throughout the years indoors as well.

These shows bring vibrancy to the community!

Really wonderful production of Midsummer Night's Dream! Music, dance and great comedy throughout. And free seats! Even little kids seem to love it.

We hired Matias to perform at our non-profit's annual fundraiser. From the very start, Matias was a joy to work with. He offered valuable insight during the planning process, which made our choice to hire him that much easier. We had contacted many acts and Matias was our Board's clear favorite. He even offered to do a free demonstration for us in the city. (We weren't able to take him up on that since we are located on LI, but just the offer and his openness in beginning discussions was truly appreciated.) Matias was very easy to communicate with leading up to the event and worked with us to determine the best lay out for the evening. Matias ended up performing close-up tricks for the beginning of the night and was even able to get to each guest. Next, he performed a "stage" show on the dance floor which left our jaws dropped. He even incorporated our non-profit's mission into his act and that is just where the personalization began. He included several guests in his performance which included a variety of illusions. He is both charming and professional. We had a wide age range of adults, who all loved him – even those he pickpocketed first! Matias was not at all "cheesy" and his tricks were mind boggling for sure.

My daughter has been attending Brooklyn Acting Lab classes, workshops and plays since she was tiny. BAL is a supportive environment for artistic exploration and development of craft. It has been a third home, and one of our favorite experiences about growing up in Brooklyn. Kristen Lynch and her staff are amazing, fun, talented and smart. I love their focus on process. Both my daughter and I reccommend it without hesitation.

I've seen most of their productions. They started out great and just got better every year. Remarkably high level of work. Highly recommend.

My daughter has been active at BAL through several musical productions, and now also studies Improv there. She absolutely adores here time there, and has blossomed incredibly with each project in which she has participated. The productions are amazing, and the staff is incredibly devoted to and in tune with the needs of the kids.

This has been a wonderful program for my daughter who has done other acting camps and programs in the neighborhood. She is on her second musical theatre production with BAL and I can tell that they really get to know the kids and help each one of them shine in their roles. The staff members are all very professional and take their jobs very seriously, teaching kids a wide range of skills involved in the craft, while also making sure the kids are having fun. My daughter can't wait to go to class.

A really excellent children's theater program led by very smart, enthusiastic teachers. Besides being extraordinarily fun for our daughter, she's also learning how to work in a team, how to concentrate and building up her self confidence. Can't recommend this enough!

After seeing Matias perform, I immediately wanted my family and friends to also experience his magic at an event we were hosting. I contacted him and lucky for us, we made it work. Matias was absolutely phenomenal! Very engaging, captivating, and personable; many of the guests were part of the show. The audience was mixed but all were equally impressed with the magic. Everyone loved having him there. I would highly recommend Matias for anyone looking to add something special to any event.

Thank you Marlene and Balmir Latin Dance Studio! My wife Jane and I had our first dance choreograph for our wedding at this studio. Balmir Latin Dance Studio was referred to us by my wife's friend Jessica Silva. It was my first time taking dance lesson and Marlene did such a great job with me. We had so much fun with Marlene. We will definitely recommend Balmir Latin Dance Studio to our friends and families.

This is definitely the place to be! After being away from dance for some time Balmir really helped me build my confidence as a dancer and provided an encouraging atmosphere to do so in. The classes are fun, the instructors are amazing and everyone has a great time while learning to dance. ALL levels are welcome, NO partner or experience is needed just walk up the steps and hit the dance floor. ANYONE can do this! Come check it out

Hands down the best Latin dance studio in Brooklyn. Earlier this year, I was looking for a place to learn Salsa on 2, so I tried Balmir and have been attending classes here since. The instructors/dancers are extremely talented and make every class fun to attend. I've tried all levels from beginner to advanced, and people are always willing to help out when needed. I'd definitely recommend to anyone.

Excellent Instructors, Great classes, Amazing dancers... If you want to know how to dance.....learn from the best of NY. Class schedules are during weeknights and weekends (fits great with working schedules).

The monthly practice dance socials are the best; you can practice with dancers of ALL levels. Would highly recommend for people who want to add a little "SASS" to their life.

They also have a 'First Class Free' offer - Why not give it a try!?!

I've been here for over a year now, and I still run out of work to this dance studio as I did the first couple weeks attending. This dance studio not only teaches well, but it has this special way of making you forget about all your troubles throughout the day (work, family, and other stressors). The instructor Eric, is so charismatic, and filled with personality; he turns the difficulty of learning salsa into cake. There's no pressure there, and he doesn't move onto the next segment until he knows for sure his students are comfortable with the material that was taught. Amazing place!

I was a little reluctant to take salsa lessons due to my inexperience, non-rhythmic dancing and body moves, a friend recommended I try Balmir Latin Dance Studio because the instructors there he said had patience with beginners, they all had a passion for dancing and the comradery of the studio made you want to learn. So I signed up and took a shot at taking lessons. BOY, my friend was 180% correct about this place, studio is clean and friendly and the instructors are absolutely fantastic. Even the owner (Mr. Balmir) was hands on with some of the classes and gave me key moves/shines/basic steps that I use at socials all over the city. I would like to thank the instructors and Mr Balmir for helping me become a better dancer and building my confidence to dance at socials.

PS : The frequent socials held at this studio are AMAZING... a must attend event

Excellent place to learn to dance and have fun doing it...the teachers are very knowledgeable and down to earth...never a dull moment in class...the atmosphere is wonderful, and people just seem to be happy and having fun all of the time...that's just in the classes...the parties are on a whole other level!! The staff and dancers at Balmir really know how to have a great time. If you're looking for a place to dance in brooklyn, Balmir is definitely for you

Incredibly crafted outdoor Shakespeare productions are one of New York's gifts and Smith Street Stage gives us a reimagining of Shakespeare each summer in Carroll Park. It's free, fun, and family-friendly. Love their work!