Lydia Maguire 
Whether your talent can take you to competitions or your leans more firmly in the “just here for fun” category, Dance Haus has a place for all dancers. Located inside Lackawanna Station in Montclair, Dance Haus is one of those sweet, slightly tucked-away spaces you might miss if you don’t know where you’re going. Just walk straight past the unusual statue, the board gamers, and whatever else happens to be going on in Lackawanna that day. As long as you don’t turn left or right, you can’t miss it. Read on to learn more about Dance Haus located at 1 Lackawanna Plaza, Montclair’s newest dance studio.
Inside Dance Haus
Inside, the studio is bright, welcoming, and unimposing, with two dance rooms that can shift from kid-friendly class space to full disco vibes with the simple flip of a few lights. That is how I experienced it during one of Dance Haus’ pop-up adult dance classes, and, honestly, it was delightful.
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Now, let me clarify something right away: I am not a dancer. Not even close. Six months of ballet with Miss B in the first grade, where she told me my arms kept “swimming” instead of “floating” in the air, did not make me a dancer. Rhythm and syncopation are things I dream about my body one day understanding after some sort of magical transformation.
And yet, I love to dance. Like, really love it. Moving your body to music is joyful, freeing and fun, especially when it is happening completely alone in your apartment with no one watching. So, imagine my surprise when I wandered into a dimly lit adult pop-up dance class with a group of other grown women, learned a combination to a Justin Timberlake song, and had the time of my life.
Was this what dance could be this whole time? Not standing frozen on the sidelines, shaking like a Polaroid picture out of sheer fear that someone might drag you into the center of the room? Apparently, yes.
What Dance Haus Offers
Dance Haus was founded by Ashley Reyes and is primarily a dance studio for kids ages 3 to 7+, with classes for all levels and interests. Young dancers can sign up for ballet, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, and Acro groove (still not certain what that is because I remind you: I’m not a dancer). The studio also holds auditions for its competition classes, making it a fit for students who want to train seriously and perform at a higher level.
But Dance Haus is not only for the tiny dancers among us. The studio also hosts a monthly adult pop-up dance class, which is the class I attended. It is designed for grown-ups who want to move, learn choreography, laugh a little, sweat a little, and maybe briefly feel like they are about to be cast in a Janet Jackson music video. These classes are usually announced on the studio’s Instagram page.
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The Adult Pop-Up Class
Rhiannon Guella was our teacher that Saturday, and her choreography hit that sweet spot: fun enough to make you feel cool, challenging enough to keep your brain working, and broken down clearly enough that nobody was left completely spiraling in the corner.
Some parts were tricky, but she took the time to walk us through the steps until they clicked. Or clicked enough, anyway. The point was not perfection. The point was movement, music, and the rare adult joy of doing something simply because it feels good.
What stood out most was how supportive and nonjudgmental the room felt. Nobody told me my arms looked like they were swimming. Nobody cared who had the smoothest body roll or who was a half-count behind. People were laughing. People were trying. People were invested, but not afraid to be imperfect.
It was just fun to dance.
And that seems to be exactly the kind of environment Dance Haus is trying to build.
A Studio Built Around Community
At its core, Dance Haus aims to be a place where everyone feels welcome. Whether you are auditioning for a competition team, signing your child up for their first ballet class, or showing up as an adult who has not learned choreography since childhood, the message is the same: dance is for everyone.
I kind of love that.
After the adult pop-up class, I stepped out of the studio and immediately ran into a friend and his daughter on their way to a Daddy and Daughter class. It was one of those very Montclair moments that makes a place feel less like a business and more like a little community hub.
That is the charm of Dance Haus. It is not intimidating or precious. It is a space where kids can train, families can connect, adults can rediscover a little joy, and everyone can move their bodies without taking themselves too seriously.
And honestly, after one Justin Timberlake combination under the disco lights, I get it. Dance Haus may be for the dancers, but it is also for the rest of us, the arm-swimmers, the sideline-shakers, and the “just here for fun” crowd too.
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