El'Shebang — dance, body, soul Book a trial

Let your body say
what your soul means.

A dance and Pilates studio in Erasmusrand, Pretoria. First steps at two and a half, exam work in your teens, Pilates on a Tuesday morning — all in the same room.

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5.0 from 29 Google reviews Ages 2½ to adult Women-owned, family-run
A dancer in a long red dress arching backwards on a dark stage
  • A young ballet dancer mid-leap

    Ballet

    Classical technique taught slowly and properly. It is the grammar the other styles borrow from.

    Children & teens
  • A dancer seated on stage in a deep red dress

    Contemporary

    Floor work, weight and breath. This is where dancers stop copying and start saying something.

    Age 9 upward
  • A dancer in green holding a high extension

    Modern

    Line, strength and stagecraft, with exam and festival work for dancers who want to compete.

    Children & teens
  • A group of dancers in black, huddled on stage

    Jazz

    Sharp, musical and loud. The class most dancers arrive for and end up staying years for.

    Children & teens
  • Two tap dancers on stage in printed leggings

    Tap

    Rhythm you can hear from the parking lot. Good for musicality, and very good for confidence.

    Age 6 upward
  • Small children in yellow dresses copying their teacher

    Baby Boogie & pre-school

    Thirty minutes of music, scarves, animals and first steps. Parents are welcome to stay and watch.

    Ages 2½ – 5
  • A woman performing a Pilates exercise on a mat

    Pilates

    Small mat classes with hands-on correction. Several members are referred to us by their biokineticist.

    Adults
  • A woman in a low lunge stretch

    Fitness & stretch

    Mobility, breath and strength for stiff bodies and full weeks. No dance experience needed.

    Adults

For grown-ups

Pilates, in a class small enough to be corrected by name.

Lizelle keeps the adult mat classes deliberately small, so every exercise can be adapted around your back, your knee or the injury you are working your way out of. Most people come once a week; a few have been coming for over five years.

My biokineticist sent me after a neck injury. I am still amazed at how much these classes have helped. She gives every person one-on-one attention. Nicolene Booysen, Pilates member
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A Pilates exercise performed on a mat
A low lunge stretch in the fitness class
A dancer mid-jump in the sunlit studio Lizelle with one of her students in the first studio
The studio today, and the room it started in.

The studio

Run by Lizelle Claassen, on Ramona Avenue.

El'Shebang started in a much smaller room with a handful of children, and grew mostly by word of mouth. Dancers who joined at six are now teaching here. That is the whole idea: a studio you can belong to for years rather than a term.

Lizelle teaches most of the classes herself and choreographs the annual show. She and her husband Bernard also put together wedding dances for couples who arrive convinced they cannot dance.

Consecrated to God. Belonging to Him. Set apart for His work and glory.

The name is where the approach comes from. Dance is taught here as something worth doing carefully, in a room where nobody is measured against the dancer next to them.

  • Ages taught2½ to adult
  • LevelsBeginner to advanced
  • Google rating5.0 out of 5
  • WhereErasmusrand, Pretoria

On stage

One show a year, and everyone is in it.

From the two-year-olds to the adult class, every dancer gets a costume, a rehearsal call and a spot on a proper theatre stage. It is the highlight of the studio year, and the reason half the photos below exist.

5.0 29 reviews on Google, and not one below five stars.
Read them on Google

This is more than a dance studio. It's a dance family where each dancer gets to express their own individuality without fear of being judged.

Lizette RouxDance parent

Lizelle helped us choreograph our wedding dance, with the help of her husband Bernard. They really make you feel comfortable — such professionals.

Ulrich HoltzhausenWedding dance

It took me a while to find a great Pilates instructor. The group classes are very personalised, to accommodate everyone's strengths and weaknesses.

Donette StolsPilates member

I have danced there for 10 years now and I have enjoyed every moment. I look forward to being part of the studio for a few more years.

Keana BrewerDancer, ten years

I can recommend it to anyone who struggles with lower back pain, or who just needs to fit exercise into a busy schedule.

Madele LabuschagnePilates member

The perfect place for you or your children to express themselves through dance. Lizelle and her coaches are friendly, hands-on and talented.

MinkeDance parent

Find us

254 Ramona Avenue,
Erasmusrand.

Ten minutes from Waterkloof Glen and Menlyn, with parking in front of the studio.

Book a trial class

Tell us who is dancing and we will come back with a class, a time and what to wear. The first class is free.

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