About Ms. Karen

Karen Dycaico specializes in teaching dance to young children. She teaches ballet, tap, jazz, character, and musical theater. Karen co-founded Westlake School for the Performing Arts (WSPA) in Daly City in 1991. She also taught ballet for 20 years in Mountain View.  In 2016, Ms. Karen opened Dance Magic School at the Cubberley Community Center, Unit J-6, 4000 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto. 

In addition to classes at the Dance Magic dance studio, she teaches dance at children’s centers in several locations throughout the South Bay, including centers at Happy Days Cupertino & Santa Clara, Imagination Lab School, Google, and at the Palo Alto JCC.

Ms. Karen's Education Philosophy
I believe that every child must be given the opportunity to discover their world and themselves in an encouraging and positive learning environment. The teacher must be able to facilitate and guide the child to try new things, and allow them to learn at their own pace. To impart a knowledge that can be built on to give them a starting point on which ideas can grow. To lead the child to be proactive in his or her learning. Each child is different with their own skills and talents. We must enhance and give them the tools to learn what interests them. Learning is best absorbed when the child is immersed and interested in what they are learning. Giving them opportunities to feel comfortable, to express themselves through play, and recognizing their strengths and weaknesses. Guiding them to become confident in what they can do in the world around them. When a child can explore and create something they feel is their own, they take pride and confidence in their work. It is the process of learning that is essential more than the end product.  A teacher’s job requires hard work, innovation, flexibility, perseverance, and most of all, the passion to do what she believes in.