Dance Class Descriptions

Kinderdance: Ballet or Combo (Ballet and Tap)
Ages 2-4 is an introduction to dance for preschool kids. The primary goal is to foster a love of movement. The creative component is quite large. Several fun or special activities happen in each class. For example, a scarf or flag dance at the end can facilitate the dancer’s own physical expression.

It is a means of communicating feelings and actions. The vocabulary covered in Kindergarten Dance 1 is all steps which a 3-year-old can master and builds self-confidence. The vocabulary is also set up to prepare students for Ballet or Combo 4-5.

Ages 4 ½ - 5 covers a basis of movement found in all dance forms for kids. The goals of Kindergarten Dance 2 are to foster creativity, freedom and expression in movement, and a love for dance. The class includes concepts that are found in an older child’s dance class. The concepts will prepare the students for the following year when they graduate to Ballet 6-8, Jazz or Tap. 1 or 2 creative or free components are also included within each class. By the end of the year the students can dance set work independent of the teacher, memorize simple exercises and sequences, and make a start of musical interpretation.

Song and Dance
For pre-schoolers. The class consists of a ½ hour pre-school music class taught by music faculty and a ½ dance class taught by dance faculty.

Jazz versus Hip Hop
Jazz style of dance is what is seen in many Broadway type shows such as “Cats”. It is a more structured, stage style of dance. Hip Hop is a fast, high energy type of dance seen in music videos and commercials. Dance moves seen in shows such as Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and N’Sync would be typical examples of Hip Hop. We do not currently teach break dancing in Hip Hop classes.

Pre-Jazz Hip Hop 6-8
This has become a very popular class for this age-group. Class length is 1 hour, 1 time per week. This beginner program allows students to take the 2 most popular forms of dance in one class. The jazz/hip hop class teaches fundamental jazz steps and combines the elements of hip hop moves and contemporary music. We have found that the combination of jazz and hip hop is ideal for this age. Students learn the necessary elements of jazz, which are crucial to success in hip hop, but also get to learn hip hop moves which require the coordination and balance learned from jazz.

Ballet
Our children’s ballet classes allow students to progress through a syllabus used by our teachers. Our office staff can assist in selecting the proper class for a beginning ballet student.

We also offer teen recreational ballet for students who have not taken ballet as younger children and who wish to take ballet without following a syllabus.

Contemporary Dance
A flowing that’s become popular through shows such as “So You think You Can Dance”. It utilizes jazz and ballet technique, gives a visual interpretation of the lyrics in the composition. It is also includes elements of Modern and Lyrical styles of dance.

Jazz/Contemporary Technique
Technical foundation for Jazz and Contemporary Dancing focusing on leaps and turns. Highly recommended that the student be concurrently enrolled in both Jazz and Jazz Technique.

Tap
Our school does not offer full-length tap classes for children until the age of 6. Tap requires a great deal of coordination and can be a challenging style of dance. Students younger than 6 can compromise their backs if they participate in tap too intensely. Our 3-5 year olds may take a combo ballet/tap class, during which the tap component is rather short. Between the ages of 6-8 our tap classes are traditional tap. Classes for ages 9 and older can participate according to the interests of the class receiving instruction in various styles of tap.

Adult Classes
Our adult classes are usually for ladies only. The primary exception is Hip Hop. They are geared for beginning recreational students. Classes for more advanced adult students are listed on our schedules as intermediate. Adult classes are offered in ballet, jazz, tap and hip hop.

Musical Theatre
Our musical theatre program teaches stage dance and includes a voice component. Our music school provides a top quality voice instructor to cover the vocal component. The musical theatre classes are open to students aged 6 through to adult.

Numbers and Letter Behind Class Names
The numbers behind a class name indicate the age range. For example, tap 6-8A is for beginners ages 6-8. The letter indicates level. For example tap 6-8A the A is for beginners. Tap 7-9B is for children who have completed tap 6-8A.