A full-sized gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, meeting room, fitness room, and playground are available for patrons of Affton Community Center.

The center regularly schedules exercise/fitness and recreational programs, including volleyball, basketball, dance, babysitter skills, karate, and tumbling.

Basketball, soccer, dance/poms, karate, volleyball, drama, and drawing summer camps are held here for schoolage children. All require pre-registration; call center for more information.

A full-sized gymnasium for basketball and volleyball, meeting room, fitness room, and playground are available for patrons of Affton Community Center.

The center regularly schedules exercise/fitness and recreational programs, including volleyball, basketball, dance, babysitter skills, karate, and tumbling.

Basketball, soccer, dance/poms, karate, volleyball, drama, and drawing summer camps are held here for schoolage children. All require pre-registration; call center for more information.

Specializing in dance classes, Arts in Motion keeps true to its philosophy that dance should be artistic, thoughtful, uniting, and fun. Students form an integral part of the program: As they progress, they are called on to mentor younger participants and choreograph performances, among other duties.

Ballet, jazz, and modern dance are offered for children as young as two and a-half; most classes are aimed at the six-to-ten age range, although many classes and workshops are available for pre-teens, teens, and adults. A variety of dance camps are held each summer, too.

Specializing in dance classes, Arts in Motion keeps true to its philosophy that dance should be artistic, thoughtful, uniting, and fun. Students form an integral part of the program: As they progress, they are called on to mentor younger participants and choreograph performances, among other duties.

Ballet, jazz, and modern dance are offered for children as young as two and a-half; most classes are aimed at the six-to-ten age range, although many classes and workshops are available for pre-teens, teens, and adults. A variety of dance camps are held each summer, too.

Offering an impressive array of workshops, classes, special events, as well as a gallery, theater performances in the Broadway Main Stage Theatre, and educational outreach programs, Broadway Center of Arts serves as a full visual and performing arts center.

The center holds classes in art, dance, and theater, and hosts a youth summer camp and birthday parties.

Offering an impressive array of workshops, classes, special events, as well as a gallery, theater performances in the Broadway Main Stage Theatre, and educational outreach programs, Broadway Center of Arts serves as a full visual and performing arts center.

The center holds classes in art, dance, and theater, and hosts a youth summer camp and birthday parties.

Caston Ballet Academie is home to the Caston Chamber Ballet Company. The academie is happy to host ballet parties for little ones.

The academie is a member of the Cecchetti Council of America, which means that the Cecchetti (Italian) method of instruction is used here: a series of graded classes designed to train the young ballet dancer for professional ballet work. Jazz and tap are included in the regular program of classes until the elementary level, at which time students may elect to take separate classes.

Caston Ballet Academie is home to the Caston Chamber Ballet Company. The academie is happy to host ballet parties for little ones.

The academie is a member of the Cecchetti Council of America, which means that the Cecchetti (Italian) method of instruction is used here: a series of graded classes designed to train the young ballet dancer for professional ballet work. Jazz and tap are included in the regular program of classes until the elementary level, at which time students may elect to take separate classes.

COCA swept all three categories of our 2008 Parents' Picks quest to find the best artsy class for little kids, big kids, and teens in St. Louis!

An extensive multidisciplinary arts institution located in the historic U-City Loop district, COCA (Center of Creative Arts) offers classes, camps, workshops, and performances in the visual and performing arts for children, teens, and adults.

The COCA Family Theatre Series, held in the center's 400-seat theater, is a favorite of locals, especially because theater workshops are frequently offered before and after shows for the whole family. COCA also hosts summer camps for kids, as well as art, circus, dance, or theater birthday parties.

In addition, COCA is also home to the Millstone Gallery, which features contemporary art exhibitions by regional and nationally recognized artists.

Dance Pizazz offers instruction in ballroom dancing, as well as "ballroom bootcamp fitness" programs, private lessons, group classes, and dance parties.

Instruction in ballet, tap, jazz, musical theater, drama, art, and music is the focus of DaySpring School of the Arts, a school that infuses Christian values and character training into its classes. Homeschooling families often take part in many of the school's offerings.

The school is home to "The Company," a dance troupe of the school's strongest and most committed dancers, as well as to a musical theater troupe and The Drama Company, all of which perform throughout the year at community events and schools.

The school's summer programming includes two-week musical theater workshops, week-long art camps, preschool art and dance camp, and Shakespeare at the Lake for older children. Private music lessons can be arranged year 'round.

Kids World Gymnastics has 19,000 square feet of activity-oriented space. In addition to state-of-the-art in-ground trampoline and foam-pit facilities, it offers separate, age-appropriate areas for younger children, as well as professional amenities for artistic gymanstics and students of dance and martial arts.

Classes include preschool gymnastics, general gymnastics, trampoline & tumbling, cheerleading, dance, and martial arts. Martial arts classes are open to kids ages five and up; general gymnastics and trampoline & tumbling start at age six.

Open gym time, offered on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings for kids ages six and up, costs $7 for members (those who've paid the annual $35 registration fee) and $10 for non-members. Children who wish to use open gym time must have a signed waiver on file. Free wireless Internet access is available for waiting parents.

Birthday parties can be held on the weekend; GKW offers packages that start at $150/10 children.
Camp programs are offered during school vacation days and in the summer, for kids in kindergarten through 6th grade.

Ms. Bridget's Conservatoire of Dance (MBCD) offers dance classes, voice lessons, and fitness classes. The venue can also host birthday parties. Classes are taught by professional dancers, choreographers, and former Rams Cheerleaders in a nurturing, contemporary atmosphere.

Summer camps are popular here. The MBCD Summer Dance Intensive incorporates ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap, and pom/cheer instruction.

Ms. Bridget's Conservatoire of Dance (MBCD) offers dance classes, voice lessons, and fitness classes. The venue can also host birthday parties. Classes are taught by professional dancers, choreographers, and former Rams Cheerleaders in a nurturing, contemporary atmosphere.

Summer camps are popular here. The MBCD Summer Dance Intensive incorporates ballet, jazz, hip-hop, tap, and pom/cheer instruction.

Billed as a Christian dance studio, My King Studio of Dance focuses on making dance comfortable and non-intimidating for dancers at all levels of talent. Jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and tumbling classes are offered for individuals and families within a supportive environment.

Billed as a Christian dance studio, My King Studio of Dance focuses on making dance comfortable and non-intimidating for dancers at all levels of talent. Jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and tumbling classes are offered for individuals and families within a supportive environment.

St. Louis Irish Arts serves as the local branch of Dublin-based Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann ("A Gathering of Irish Musicians"). It was founded in 1972 with the purpose of preserving Irish cultural heritage.

Beginning at age five, children are accepted into the program and can learn Irish step dancing or how to play a range of Irish instruments, including the harp, fiddle, tin whistle, bodhran, and harmonica.

Workshops are offered throughout the year in a variety of instruments and dancing. A three-week program is also offered during the summer.

Stages St. Louis, a theater company, sponsors the Stages Performing Arts Academy, which offers courses year-round for students of all ages and experience levels in the musical theatre disciplines of dance, voice, and drama. Special one-week "camps" are typically offered during spring break, and summer brings several class and camp options, too. Class schedules are available online.

The academy also offers Access the Arts and the performing ensemble Troupe Broadway for area teens and young adults with physical, cognitive, or developmental delays.

STAGES Academy 90-minute birthday parties includes 45 minutes of age-appropriate music, dance, or acting activities led by a teaching artists. The academy can plan celebrations around particular themes, books, or children's interests. Scheduling is arranged on an as-available basis.

The Focal Point is a non-profit dedicated to the promotion of folk music and other musical forms that have come from folk music, as well as other associated traditional art forms like dance and storytelling.

The venue hosts all kinds of family-friendly concert series throughout the year, as well as dance workshops and classes.

The Little Gym offers age-appropriate movement, gymnastics, and sports instruction for kids at all levels of experience, ages ten months to 12 years. Little Gym also offers:

Birthday parties: A 90-minute party, led by trained staff, includes gymnastics, games, music, set-up/clean-up, paper goods, drinks, and a T-shirt for the birthday child. Parties are held on Saturday afternoons and Sundays only.

Summer camps: Weeklong theme camps, for older children (ages 3-10), cover subjects like paleontology, sports, and more, and run from June through the end of August.

Parent Survival Nights: Kids can enjoy friends, games, music, and motor skill development activities under the watchful eyes of professional instructors. These nights are open to members and non-members.

The Webster Groves Family YMCA features an indoor pool, a full-size double gymnasium, an indoor track, a fitness center, aerobics room, racquetball court, sports fields, a childcare nursery, a family changing area, and equipment checkout for basketballs, volleyballs/wallyball, racquetballs, and racquets. The YMCA hosts a range of classes, workshops, and special events throughout the year.

The Webster Groves Family YMCA features an indoor pool, a full-size double gymnasium, an indoor track, a fitness center, aerobics room, racquetball court, sports fields, a childcare nursery, a family changing area, and equipment checkout for basketballs, volleyballs/wallyball, racquetballs, and racquets. The YMCA hosts a range of classes, workshops, and special events throughout the year.

The West End Community Center was built in 1897 and houses a double gymnasium, game room, boxing room, and handball court. Activities at the center include arts and crafts, basketball, cheerleading, dance, football, tumbling, table games, softball, game room fun, skating, handball, racquetball, and volleyball.

The 7,000-square-foot Wildwood Dance and Arts Center hosts dance classes covering children's movement, ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, modern, and choreography, as well as courses in poms/cheer, tumbling and acrobatics, karate, drama, musical theater, voice, and art.