Our Curriculum

Class work consists of an extensive warm up including floor work and short movement combinations, creative work such as improvisation and concept-based explorations, center work, movement phrases and choreography. 

For our young dancers we begin with an introduction to the vocabulary along with an exploration of movement concepts through structured improvisational activities. Visual and moving image arts as well as music history and dance history/appreciation will be incorporated. Students have the opportunity to create their own movement and collaborate with fellow dancers in class as they also build their technique.
 

As dancers progress in our program, they develop increased understanding of the codified techniques mentioned above.  Dancers will learn more complex movement combinations, and explore further into the history and aesthetics of the techniques.  We will continue to incorporate improvisational activities, moving toward shared-weight and contact improvisation as the dancers build their strength and confidence.  Through all of our classes, the dancers are also exposed to a wide variety of musical styles and meters, which inspires and challenges them as they work through their study of modern dance.

Our Jazz curriculum is an exploration of movement inspired by musical theatre, a study of the work of Jazz pioneers like Jack Cole, Matt Mattox, Bob Fosse, Gus Giordano and others, and also lessons about how this movement vocabulary relates to other dance forms.  In Jazz dance, we find dynamic rhythms, syncopation, expression of the human condition and an emphasis on individuality within the technique. Jazz is a dance style that has evolved over time and has been influenced and fed by African Dance, ballet, modern dance, show dance, theatre dance and social dance...it is a wonderful blend of mind and body founded on a firm technical base. 

Our Ballet classes are primarily based on the Vaganova method, which is a ballet training system devised by the Russian dancer, Agrippina Vaganova. Fusing elements of traditional French technique with the athleticism of the Italian school, the method is designed to work the body as a whole. Our dancers will be carefully assessed throughout their training to place them into the class level that will give them the balance between new technical challenges and reinforcement of fundamental skills. Dancers who are en pointe may attend class wearing their pointe shoes to work on strength, balance and endurance for the lower leg muscles. Dancers’ readiness for demi-pointe and hard pointe shoes will be determined by instructor.