Our Story Began Over Three Decades Ago

In 1990, James and Jane Carter established Dance Academy USA (DAU) as a one-room studio with the goal of building a dance community that was centered around the core values of inclusivity, community, friendship, and family. Over three decades later, DAU has grown to be the most cherished and robust dance programs in the San Jose Bay Area, and has been recognized by Dance Teacher Magazine as one of the best private studios in the nation.

reception area

Our new state-of-the-art facility at 19900 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino, CA.

 

We’ve Grown

In our 33 years of business, we have proudly served over a hundred thousand families in the communities of Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Mountain View, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell, Santa Clara, and San Jose. Providing dance training for children and adults in the styles of Acro, Ballet, Ballroom, Breakdance, Contemporary, Creative Dance, Hip Hop, Intro to Dance, Jazz, Lyrical, Musical Theater, Pilates, Technique, Tap, and Zumba, our weekly schedule of over 200 classes is known to be the most comprehensive dance program in Silicon Valley, all housed in a brand new state-of-the-art dance facility in Cupertino.

A Great Place to Be - For Kids and Families

We are in the business of providing dance lessons to kids, but for us, it’s simpler than that. Our goal has been, is, and always will be, to make Dance Academy USA a great place to be: great for our families, great for our kids, and great for our staff. This is what we think about and work on every day.

As a staff, we like to believe that we are playing a small role in helping young children become confident, resilient, and independent adults. At DAU it’s not just about dance. It’s about building strength of character along the way through a nurturing environment. Our greatest joy is watching our students grow and thrive and become an inspiration to others throughout their dancing journey.

We recognize you have a choice between many dance school options in the Silicon Valley.  We invite you to compare the options, walk around our school during studio hours, and see why our school is the #1 choice for parents in the San Jose Bay Area.  For over 30 years we have remained a parent-trusted company.

 
 

  • Ms. Jane was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina as the daughter of a three-war veteran (World War II, Korea, and Vietnam). She earned her Bachelor’s Degree from San Jose State University where she was a member of the Spartan Spectrum Dance Team. At SJSU, she studied Human Performance/Fitness with a minor in Nutrition and Food Science.

    In 1985, Ms. Jane was selected by Dole Corporation to be the company’s ambassador, promoting dance, modeling, and aerobics in Japan. That same year, Ms. Jane created the very first dance team for the NBA Golden State Warriors, consisting of ten dancers. After two seasons with the Warriors, she went on to dance for the San Francisco 49ers as a Gold Rush cheerleader. She frequently represented the Warriors and 49ers at charity events, promotional business, and television appearances. These unique experiences allowed Ms. Jane to be introduced to some of the best choreographers in the world.

    Ms. Jane has been featured in Fit & Runner’s World magazines, Evening Magazine, San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, and several local papers. She also danced in a Jeep commercial, as well as Super Bowl XIX. She was the Managing Director of American Spirit Association (ASA), which held 3-5 day dance camps at colleges all over the United States. Ms. Jane was also the Artistic Director of School House Sports (SHS); SHS was the largest dance studio outreach program in Northern California at one time and offered dance classes to pre-schools, public schools, and private schools. Additionally, she is the Former Director of the NBA Warrior Dance Team and former Creator and Director of Arena Football’s San Jose SaberKittens.

    Ms. Jane founded Dance Academy USA’s competition team in 1991, naming it the Production Company. The Production Company has grown from ten members to nearly two hundred, and has been regarded nationally as a California powerhouse. Ms. Jane’s students have won awards and scholarships, received national titles, and have attended a wide range of universities including Juilliard, American Musical and Dramatic Arts, UCLA, USC, NYU among others. Ms. Jane has seen many of her students grow and develop into professional teachers, professional dancers, Broadway performers, and world-class choreographers.

    Ms. Jane is exceptionally proud of the DAU staff, parents and dancers for collectively making Dance Academy USA a place of warmth, friendship, encouragement, and teamwork.

    Awards:

    In 2013, Ms. Jane was awarded America’s Dance Educator of the Year by Co. Dance.

    In 2014, she won the most prestigious dance teacher award in the United States.

    Dance Teacher Magazine awarded Ms. Jane the 2014 Dance Teacher Award in the Private Studio/Conservatory Category. She was presented this extraordinary honor in New York City; there is no higher honor in the Dance Education industry.

 

About the Carters

Jim and Jane Carter’s dedication and commitment to building a nurturing dance community has allowed thousands of Bay Area children to consider DAU their cherished home-away-from-home. Learn more about Jane Carter, DAU’s Founding Director, and the Carter family to discover how their vision so many years ago led to the thriving DAU community we enjoy today.

 

  • Ms. Jane has been married to Jim Carter since 1988. They met in college where Jim played football and was awarded “All-American.” Jim has been involved in the real estate industry since 1993 as a broker, syndicator, investor, and is currently President of the Real Estate Coaching Organization. As somewhat of an empty-nester hobby, he has published two books: A Guide to MAKING IT in Real Estate (non-fiction) and The Rip-Off (fiction).

    Jim and Jane are proud of all three of their daughters, Jessie, Jamie, and Jodie. Jessie graduated from USC and is a former USC Song Girl, NBA Clipper Girl, and NFL Charger Girl. She is also a sales professional for EMC-Dell and will be starting a post-graduate business program at Harvard in July. Jamie also graduated from USC and is a former USC Song Girl. She recently finished a Master’s Degree in Finance at USC and will be moving to Utah in August to work at Goldman Sachs. Jodie is graduating from UCSB in June and will be moving to Texas in August to begin a Master’s Degree in accounting at the University of Texas. She has a job waiting for her at PWC when she finishes her Master’s Degree.