Compass Dance Academy

RESEARCH-BASED REVIEW, NOT A FIRST-HAND VISIT. Everything below comes from the public sources listed at the end, accessed on 2026-10-11. No one from this site has taken or watched a class here for this review. Teaching-quality scores rely on published credentials and public reviews and are provisional.

Scorecard

Score change (2026-10-11): new review → 6.8. Why: first scored review of this studio (no previous score).

Quick facts

• Address: 876 Senoia Road, Tyrone, GA 30290 [1][7]. BBB and Nextdoor still show an older 118 Palmetto Rd #A address [8][9].
• Phone: 770-632-5600 [1]
• History: classes since 2005; growth “since 2007” under founder/Artistic Director Linda Wells [3]
• Why it’s here: Tyrone borders Peachtree City to the north; secondary listing.

The short version

• Full tuition table published (from $48/month for 30 minutes up to family caps), $35 registration per family, $20 recital recording fee [1][2].
• Google-derived 5.0/25, but the newest visible review is from 2022 [7].
• Multiple named studios and a parent observation room for two of them [2].
• Faith-based: the stated purpose includes discipleship and worship (“Praise the King” spring event) [3][2].
• Good for: families wanting a Christian, encouraging environment and affordable, transparent pricing. Maybe not for: competition-focused dancers.

What the studio offers

Creative movement (from age 3), ballet/tap levels, advanced ballet with pointe placement by evaluation, contemporary, modern, musical theater, Progressing Ballet Technique, an ensemble (ages 11+), adult classes, private lessons and dance-reformer sessions [5][6][1].

What parents and students say

All visible Google-derived reviews (2017–2022) are 5★, praising patient, kind, professional teachers, technique, affordability and a “safe place for your children to dance” [7]. No reviews inside the last 24 months were visible.

Credentials, youth safety & red-flag check

• Background checks / SafeSport: not published. Policies do say children under 12 may not be left unsupervised unless in class, and students may not wait outside “for security reasons” [2].
• Costumes: bought in January, non-refundable; amount not published (“reasonable and affordable”) [2].
• BBB file exists with no rating shown, under the older address [8].
• Faculty bios sit behind “Get to Know” links that were not read; only names and roles were captured [4].

Pricing

Published [1]: 30 min $48/month, 45 min $58, 1 hr $68, 1.5 hr $91, 2 hr $115, 3 hr $160, 4 hr $204, 6 hr $284 (each extra 15 minutes $10); single-student max $284 (up to 9 hrs) / $305 (above 9); family max $525. Adults: 45 min $40, 1 hr $50, 1.5 hr $70. Registration $35 per family per year; recital recording $20 per family [2]. Private lessons usually $45–$60/hour; dance reformer $35/session [5].

Other review platforms (checked 2026-10-11)

Blocked or unavailable (not worked around): Yelp blocks automated access, so no Yelp figures are used. Facebook pages need a login; only the page links listed by the studio or Google-derived data were noted, and no Facebook ratings are used. No Birdeye profile was found in search. BBB profile pages block automated access; BBB data comes from BBB’s own search results. No studio-level competition results were found on an independent results site; competition claims are the studio’s own and labeled self-reported.

What recent reviewers say (keyword analysis)

• Window: 2024-10-11 to 2026-10-11 (last 24 months). Sample: 0 reviews (no dated reviews inside the window were visible on the pages read).
• Top compliments: none.
• Top complaints: none.
• Recent-experience score (RCE): 5.0/10 (0 positive vs 0 negative theme mentions; samples under 10 reviews are pulled toward a neutral 5; n=0 gives exactly 5). Only reviews visible on the pages read are counted; this is not a random sample. Search snippets were not counted.

Score breakdown (dance-studio rubric §5.14)

The rubric weights below make up 90% of the score; recent customer experience (keyword analysis) is the other 10%. Overall is capped at 9.0. Unknown criteria score 5. See /how-we-score/. | Criterion | Weight | Score | Evidence | |—|—|—|—| | Instructor credentials & training | 20% | 6 | 12 named faculty with roles; bios not read; PBT offered [4][5]. No certification or DMA membership found. | | Program breadth & age range | 15% | 7 | Age 3 to adult; ballet/tap/contemporary/modern/musical theater; ensemble; no hip hop or competition program listed [5][6] | | Facilities | 10% | 7 | Several named studios; observation room for two [2] | | Transparency (tuition, recital/costume fees, contracts) | 15% | 8 | Full tuition, registration and recording fees, withdrawal rules; costume amount not stated [1][2] | | Reputation (parent & student reviews across platforms) | 20% | 7 | 5.0/25 Google-derived, but newest visible review 2022; BBB unrated [7][8] | | Youth safety & policies | 10% | 6 | Supervision and wait-inside security rules; no screening policy [2] | | Longevity | 10% | 8 | Classes since 2005 [3] | | Recent customer experience (keyword analysis, last 24 months) | 10% | 5.0 | n=0; 0 positive vs 0 negative theme mentions | | Overall | | 6.8 | 0.9 × 6.95 (weighted average of the rubric rows) + 0.1 × 5.0 = 6.755 → 6.8 |

Bottom line

Affordable, transparent and warmly reviewed, with a clear faith-based identity. It ranks below the PTC leaders because its reviews are dated, faculty credentials weren’t visible on the pages read, and the program is less broad.

Sources (accessed 2026-10-11)

1. Compass Dance Academy, Tuition Rates. https://www.compassdance.org/tuition-rates
2. Compass Dance Academy, Policies. https://www.compassdance.org/policies
3. Compass Dance Academy, History. https://www.compassdance.org/history
4. Compass Dance Academy, Faculty. https://www.compassdance.org/faculty
5. Compass Dance Academy, About Classes. https://www.compassdance.org/about-classes
6. Compass Dance Academy, Ensemble. https://www.compassdance.org/about-ensemble
7. Exa Places listing (Google-derived). https://exa.ai/library/place/ktv8637pnz3
8. BBB search results, “Compass Dance Academy”. https://www.bbb.org/search?find_country=USA&find_text=Compass%20Dance%20Academy&find_loc=Tyrone,%20GA
9. Nextdoor business page. https://nextdoor.com/pages/compass-dance-academy-tyrone-ga/

Research-based, not a first-hand visit. Data labeled “unconfirmed” (search snippets, machine summaries) is shown for context only and never moves a score.

Disclosure: no compensation, free classes, discounts, or affiliate relationship. Nothing here was published or sent to the studio. No minors are named and no information about photos of minors is included. Found an error? See /corrections. How we score: /how-we-score/.