About
Westside Dance offers ballet classes, Mommy and Me beginning dance, pointe classes, and advanced ballet classes. The program also includes Saturday Community Classes, as well as recitals and participation in parades.
• Ages: 0–17 years old
• Schedule: Saturday Community Classes
• Price: Saturday Community Classes for only $15
Westside Dance describes its mission as creating a space for dancers to bloom, with young students finding a love of dance and attentive teachers who help them grow as athletes and artists, and it states that it focuses on the lifelong positive impact of ballet education done right. The program describes itself as offering quality dance education with age-appropriate expectations, with lessons for the youngest dancers starting out as fun and creative and increasing in technique and discipline as students grow. It states that students learn to love a challenge, that entry level classes are available for drop-in students, and that more advanced dance classes offer small group instruction with only professionals. Westside Dance also notes that it offers recitals, parades, and other activities, and that it provides what it calls magical experiences without busting budgets and a boutique variety of dance education that focuses on the different path of each individual student.
The leadership team includes Jennifer Phillips as Owner and Primary Teacher, Ms. Kat as Head Teacher, and Ms. Anna as Office Manager. Ms. Jen received her ballet training from Russian-born John Landovsky of Hawaii State Ballet, was chosen at 17 as one of ten juniors to represent the U.S. in the 2002 International Ballet Competition, was offered a company position with State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara where she performed leading roles including Clara in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Snow White, performed and traveled across the country for a decade, and retired as a principal level ballerina. Ms. Kat received her dance training from Juline School of Dance in Modesto, California, joined Central West Ballet in 2008 where she remained for six years and danced in full-length ballets such as Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, received her BA in English Literature from UCSB, and started a secondary dance career as a choreographer of musical theater, including shows like Grease, Mamma Mia!, and Beauty and the Beast. Anna trained primarily with Santa Clarita Ballet, completing the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, graduated from UC Irvine with a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Education, studied with LINES Ballet of San Francisco, and danced professionally with Oakland Ballet and Menlowe Ballet. In 2012, Anna moved to Santa Barbara to join State Street Ballet, where she was a soloist and principal dancer for eight years and toured across the U.S., China, and Chile, and she later worked as an instructor and choreographer for State Street Ballet’s Professional Track program, assisted in rehearsal direction, educational outreach, and fundraising, and earned a Certificate in Arts Management from UC Irvine.
Parent and student comments about Westside Dance include statements that a daughter’s confidence has grown since she began dancing at Westside, that “there’s no one like Ms. Jen” and that “she’s the absolute best,” and that a parent appreciates not being asked to sign a year-long contract and feeling guilt-free if they cannot attend every Saturday. A student comment states that at Westside Dance they are challenged to strengthen their ballet skills and that, thanks to Ms. Jen and the teachers, they learn skills such as kindness, leadership, determination, and how to find strength in friends and themselves.
Last updated July 10, 2026.
• Ages: 0–17 years old
• Schedule: Saturday Community Classes
• Price: Saturday Community Classes for only $15
Westside Dance describes its mission as creating a space for dancers to bloom, with young students finding a love of dance and attentive teachers who help them grow as athletes and artists, and it states that it focuses on the lifelong positive impact of ballet education done right. The program describes itself as offering quality dance education with age-appropriate expectations, with lessons for the youngest dancers starting out as fun and creative and increasing in technique and discipline as students grow. It states that students learn to love a challenge, that entry level classes are available for drop-in students, and that more advanced dance classes offer small group instruction with only professionals. Westside Dance also notes that it offers recitals, parades, and other activities, and that it provides what it calls magical experiences without busting budgets and a boutique variety of dance education that focuses on the different path of each individual student.
The leadership team includes Jennifer Phillips as Owner and Primary Teacher, Ms. Kat as Head Teacher, and Ms. Anna as Office Manager. Ms. Jen received her ballet training from Russian-born John Landovsky of Hawaii State Ballet, was chosen at 17 as one of ten juniors to represent the U.S. in the 2002 International Ballet Competition, was offered a company position with State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara where she performed leading roles including Clara in The Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Snow White, performed and traveled across the country for a decade, and retired as a principal level ballerina. Ms. Kat received her dance training from Juline School of Dance in Modesto, California, joined Central West Ballet in 2008 where she remained for six years and danced in full-length ballets such as Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty, received her BA in English Literature from UCSB, and started a secondary dance career as a choreographer of musical theater, including shows like Grease, Mamma Mia!, and Beauty and the Beast. Anna trained primarily with Santa Clarita Ballet, completing the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus, graduated from UC Irvine with a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Education, studied with LINES Ballet of San Francisco, and danced professionally with Oakland Ballet and Menlowe Ballet. In 2012, Anna moved to Santa Barbara to join State Street Ballet, where she was a soloist and principal dancer for eight years and toured across the U.S., China, and Chile, and she later worked as an instructor and choreographer for State Street Ballet’s Professional Track program, assisted in rehearsal direction, educational outreach, and fundraising, and earned a Certificate in Arts Management from UC Irvine.
Parent and student comments about Westside Dance include statements that a daughter’s confidence has grown since she began dancing at Westside, that “there’s no one like Ms. Jen” and that “she’s the absolute best,” and that a parent appreciates not being asked to sign a year-long contract and feeling guilt-free if they cannot attend every Saturday. A student comment states that at Westside Dance they are challenged to strengthen their ballet skills and that, thanks to Ms. Jen and the teachers, they learn skills such as kindness, leadership, determination, and how to find strength in friends and themselves.
Last updated July 10, 2026.
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