Q & A

DANCE

I’m interested in enrolling my child in your dance program- can you tell me more about it?  

Our dance department is a pre-professional ballet based program geared to provide each student with a strong technical foundation.  Each of our classes runs on a department wide syllabus created by our faculty that ensures all students are learning the proper technique and skills at each level.

Our ballet program starts at age 3 with our Creative Movement class that introduces basic ballet concepts and skills while also incorporates fun movement based activities and games.  Students at this level take one 45 minute class a week.

For 5-8 our Pre-Ballet I and II classes are divided primarily by age, but skill level is also taken into account.  These are a 1 hour class once a week.  At this level we also have tap and jazz classes available for students looking for a variety of styles.  These classes are great additions to their weekly ballet class.  For ages 7 and up we also have a beginning hip hop option.

Our Intermediate Division moves students into a more serious training mindset; as students progress through the levels, the length and number of ballet classes each week increases in order to continue their growth as a dancer.

We also highly encourage dancers at this level to take other forms to increase their strength and skills.  For this level we also have jazz, tap, lyrical and contemporary, and hip hop classes available.

My child is 4 and has been enrolled elsewhere doing ballet, tap, and gym.  Why do you just do ballet for pre-school age?  

As ballet technique is the base for most other dance forms, we feel the focus at the beginning of a child’s training should start there and build on as they grow.  Our creative movement syllabus introduces not only basic ballet terminology and concepts, but also has a focus on rhythm, tempo, flexibility, and overall motor skills, all of which are building blocks which will help prepare them for other dance forms later.

My child has been dancing  for three years, taking ballet, tap, and jazz.  How do I know what level to put her/him in?  

With students who have previous dance experience we ask that they come take a trial class in order for one of our instructors to evaluate what level they should placed in.

After a student is evaluated, the instructor will talk with you more about what classes will best suit your child.

Do you offer a competition dance team? 

We do not.  Our program is geared to provide students with the foundation needed to pursue dance in a college program, or as a profession if the students choose to.  Therefore our focus is primarily on technique and the artistic development of our students. We feel that the amount of time and money spent on competitions is often counterproductive to those goals and better used in ways that prepare them for a professional career if that’s what they choose.

We do believe the process of learning choreography and performing is an integral part of a dancer’s graining and thus provide performance opportunities for our students’ throughout the year, with more opportunities available as they progress in their training.

However, even in the preparation for these performances our focus in class is still on technique- even up to the week before a performance we still spend the majority of a class on technique and only the last 15-20 minutes on choreography preparation.

One opportunity we provide our students is a full-scale ballet done each spring that is open for ages 8 and up with three years of ballet training to audition for.  The ballet gives students firsthand experience with a professional production from the beginning to the end.

I’m 25 and have never taken dance before – do you have anything I could take? 

Of course!  We currently offer an adult ballet class, which is a one hour class once a week.  The class has a wide range of abilities – from those who used to dance as kids, to recent college graduates looking for a way to keep dancing, to people who have never danced before.

We also have a tap fundamentals class which is open to teen students just beginning tap and to adults at a variety of levels.

We just opened an adult jazz class as well, which is a fun way for adults at all levels to get some great exercise and learn to dance at the same time.