A Dancer's Reflection Class Descriptions
For Our Littlest Dancers…
Creative Movement: This is a 30 min class designed for children who are 3 years old. Teachers focus on dance positions, counting, rhythm, coordination, stretching, and center floor activities. Children will learn very basic dance moves and play dancing games.
Combo Kids: This is a 45 min class designed for children who are 4 years old and entering K4. Teachers will continue to develop the skills introduced during Creative Movement as well as expose students to the fundamentals of tap.
Dance Fusion…where grace and funk collide
Dance Fusion: Students will be exposed to a balance of structured, controlled ballet movements and upbeat, fast paced dancing. Teachers will focus on developing and progressing students in their ballet technique for a portion of each class session. Students will also be exposed to upbeat dance styles and learn combinations to popular music.
Dance Fusion 1: 30 min class designed for students entering Kindergarten
Dance Fusion 2: 45 min class designed for students entering 1st Grade
Dance Fusion 3: 45 min class designed for students entering 2nd Grade
Ballet…for a strong dance foundation
Ballet is the foundation of all forms of dance. Ballet involves barre work, center exercises, and moving combinations. Students will focus on technique, flexibility, strength, and body placement. Ballet is very disciplined and precise. It focuses on the dancer’s turnout and center body placement, while developing strength, stamina, coordination, and grace.
-Offered as part of “Dance Fusion” for students in Kindergarten through 2nd Grade
-Offered as a stand-alone class for students entering 3rd grade and above
Tap…make your own music
Tap allows a dancer to use the body as a rhythm instrument. Rhythm tap is a smooth, intricate style that begins at the feet and moves through the body. The name comes from the tapping sound made when the small metal plates, or “taps”, on the dancer's shoes touch a hard floor. This lively, rhythmic dance makes the performer not just a dancer, but also a percussive musician.
-Offered for all levels starting in Kindergarten (Also introduced as part of “Combo Kids”)
Adult Tap is a class designed for adults interested in learning the techniques and movements of tap without the commitment of performing. Tap is great exercise for the body and the mind!
Performance Adult Tap is a class for adults who would like to perform in the recital.
Jazz…showcase your individual style
Jazz is offered in combination with hip hop for students starting at 3rd Grade. Advanced students are offered a stand-alone jazz class. Jazz classes incorporate isolations, bending, and stretching with dance combinations of turns, fancy footwork, kicks, leaps, and jumps. A very active dance form, jazz dance involves a full range of body movement. This form of dance is strongly based on ballet; therefore, all intermediate level as well as advanced level 1 students are required to participate in a ballet class.
Hip Hop…for letting loose
Hip Hop is offered in combination with jazz for students starting at age 8. Advanced students may take a strictly Hip Hop class. The newest fad in social dancing, hip hop is a structured form of street dance. Hip hop is very energetic and involves the whole body. This class develops strength, coordination, and agility.
Lyrical…a variation of ballet
Lyrical is very similar to ballet, combining the many technical elements of classical ballet with the freedom, fluidity, expressiveness and airier aspects of jazz, contemporary and modern dance. Though lyrical uses a combination of ballet and jazz technique, it has a stronger emphasis on emotions and storytelling. Lyrical dance is expressive, focused on conveying musicality and emotions such as love, joy, and anger through movement. Powerful, expressive songs are often used in lyrical dance to give dancers a chance to express a range of strong emotions through their dancing. The contemporary style places a heavy emphasis on the connection between mind and body, with dancers being encouraged to explore their emotions through dances that push against traditional boundaries. This style of dance often involves a great deal of playing with balance, floor work, fall and recovery, and improvisation. This form of dance is strongly based on ballet; therefore, students are required to also take a ballet class.
-Offered for students in the advanced levels
Modern & Theatrical…for a versatile dancer
Modern: Modern dancing is a unique and original approach to dancing. It is a style of theatrical dance that rejects the limitations of classical ballet and favors movement deriving from the expression of inner feeling. Modern dance is often about experiment and discovering new ways of using music and sound in relation to movement.
-Offered for students in the advanced levels
Theatrical: This form of dance is a combination of acting and dancing. Theatrical dance is similar to the type of dancing seen in Broadway musicals. The dance moves are choreographed to the lyrics of the song. Theatrical Dance incorporates elements of jazz, ballet, modern, hip hop, and tap; therefore, students are required to be enrolled in at least one (1) other dance class.
- Offered for students in Intermediate Level 2 through Adult
Pointe & Pre-Pointe…for a dedicated ballerina
Pointe: Pointe is an extension of ballet. It trains the dancer to build her strength when dancing on Pointe shoes and to develop her coordination and control. Pointe is only offered to students by the teacher’s discretion. Anyone that takes Pointe has a strong background in ballet and has completed the pre-pointe class. All Pointe students are required to participate in two (2) additional ballet classes.
Pre-Pointe: This class is only offered by teacher recommendation to students with significant ballet experience and who are currently enrolled in a ballet class (typically Intermediate 3 and above). Class time will be spent increasing students’ strength through specific exercises in preparation to be on pointe. All students will begin the class wearing their ballet slippers and will gradually progress to pointe shoes at the teacher’s discretion.