Rising Starz Music & Performance Academy

Rising Starz Music & Performance Academy sits on South University Drive in Davie, close enough to Nova Southeastern University that its clientele stretches well beyond just dance and music kids into the college-adjacent performing arts world. Founded by Vanessa Valentin roughly eighteen years ago according to the academy’s own site, the school has grown from what most people picture as a typical music lesson studio into a full performance training center covering voice, acting, dance and instrumental instruction under one roof.

The instrument list alone sets Rising Starz apart from a standard voice studio: guitar, piano, ukulele and violin are all taught on site, alongside private and group voice lessons. Layer in acting classes, musical theatre training, and dedicated artist development coursework, and the academy starts to look less like an after-school activity and more like a serious pre-professional pipeline. That reputation is backed by figures the school publishes itself, stating that ninety-five percent of its students land leading roles in school plays or outside theater productions, and that one hundred percent of its students who apply have passed college musical theatre pre-screens, the audition-by-video step many university programs require before granting a full audition.

Rising Starz also leans into masterclasses and specialized programming that goes beyond weekly lessons, including music therapy sessions, internship opportunities for older students interested in the business side of performance, and TV, film and voiceover training for students chasing on-camera work rather than the stage. The academy hosts community programs and performance events throughout the year, runs summer camps, and even offers room rental for outside groups needing rehearsal or performance space, a sign of how the studio has positioned itself as a hub for performing arts activity in Davie rather than a single-purpose lesson studio.

Class hours run Monday through Friday from 1:00pm to 7:30pm and Saturday from 9:00am to 3:00pm, a schedule built around school dismissal times and weekend availability for families across Davie, Weston, Plantation, Cooper City and Pembroke Pines. The academy also offers online training for students outside driving distance, extending its reach nationally, though the physical studio and its in-person culture remain centered in Davie.

For families in Davie weighing music and performance training options, Rising Starz stands out for combining traditional instrument and voice instruction with theatrical and on-camera training in a single program, an approach that suits kids who are not yet sure whether they want to be a singer, an actor or a working performer generally. The birthday party bookings and community programming also make it a familiar name to Davie families even outside the weekly lesson schedule.