Marjorie & Butch’s School Of Dance

I have danced with Butch from the time I was six years old, I was an assistant teacher in his New Lex studio, and I still continue at the age of 34 to attend his Zanesville studio to dance. Butch has always been more then just my dance teacher. He was like a dad to me. He allowed me to experience all forms of dance, put up with my moody girl moments, taught me the meaning of working hard, taught me how to be a leader, taught me how to follow when needed, helped make sure I made good choices as a young lady, took us to many competitions, respected me, and taught me the meaning of respect. In regards to the review I read about dance styles, Holy P nailed it in regards to Dance Masters. If your looking for your daughter to dress half naked and dance inappropriate, then the other Holy girl is right, this isnt the studio for you. If your looking for a caring person who respects your child, teaches them not to dance seductive to attract boys, and is a great role model, then come on in and meet Butch. Words cant describe how much we love him.

This is by far one of the best dance studios in the Zanesville area. The owner (Butch) is certified through Dance Masters of America which means he has studied the art form, practiced it, and passed an exam certifying him to teach different elements of dance. He continues to attend conferences, judge competitions, teach students at conventions on a regular basis to stay up to date on the latest in the dance world. Butch also served as President of Dance Masters of America several years ago. I took lessons from Butch for 25 years and that is a testament to how great of an instructor he is and how welcoming his studio is.
The studio is open to children (ages 3 and up) and adults. All forms of dance are offered including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, clogging, and musical theatre. Lessons are offered throughout the year on a weekly basis teaching students the different elements of dance while also preparing them for an end of year recital.
Regarding the review below by Holly S. She made mention that the studio doesn’t attend competitions however that is untrue. I attended several competitions while being instructed by Butch. In fact, one of his dance teams went to California to compete for a national title and they won!!! In the last year, he had a soloist compete in several competitions, she was able to earn scholarship money for when she goes off to college. I also want to mention that competitions are very expensive and time consuming and if you’re going to take a group of dancers to a competition, you physically need everyone or you’re going to have to choreograph the dance all over again.
Hands down, I give this studio the highest praise. You’re not going to find another certified dance instructor in the area and Butch is just the kindest person you’ll ever meet. There’s a reason I stuck around for 25 years.

I’ve had both good and bad experiences here. I no longer dance here because my competition team, which was a separate organization, branched off on its own and opened our own studio about a block away. I had many problems with the ballet/​pointe teacher because she was extremely rude to many of her dancers (including me) and was exceptionally nice to maybe 2 or 3 of her students. She seemed to pick on certain people even more though. (Unfortunately I was one of them) she was rude to me from the time I started and as I got older, progressed to be even more snippy. She never gave me the corrections that I really needed and the classes seemed to be based more on age than skill level.(some of us probably should’ve been in a higher class, some of us lower, because of our different levels.) Between that and the rudeness, I was just fed up with her. Also, the «hip hop» teacher is extremely nice and I absolutely love her but it’s more of jazz than hip hop. (My former hip hop teacher) She is a great person to be around though! Then my other teacher, which was my tap, jazz, lyrical, and musical theater teacher was amazing! I never had any negative experiences with him. Good choreography, good with giving corrections, respects his students, good teacher. Overall, I wouldn’t recommend this studio. Especially if you are looking for new, more innovative choreography, then this probably isn’t the place for you. However, if you are looking for the classic, more traditional, choreography then possibly this could be a good fit. Also, this studio doesn’t do competitions, so if that’s what you’re looking for then you should probably just go somewhere else. (this was not to be rude in any way, it was just to inform.)