this class is forty-five minutes long. This class is about the joy of dance! Little ones start their class in tap shoes to learn rhythm skills for about 15 minutes. The next half hour is ballet games and creative movement activities. Listening skills are reinforced in fun ways and students learn to mimic the movements of their teacher!
Many props (scarves, wings and instruments) are used to bring magical moments to life through dance activities.
This class is one hour long. It consists of about 15 minutes of tap which is great for rhythym skills and coordination. The ballet portion of the class consists of age appropriate creative movement exercises which incorporate following the teachers visual and verbal cues.
Students strengthen their muscles through erercises in the center circle and have a achance to express their creativity through sol dances and duets. The skills of following their classmates through fun dance games leads to the ability to follow the teacher for more precise dance steps.
Musicality is encourged through the child's listening skills, focusing on tempos of music and music dynamics and reflecting this in their own dancing. Sometimes students combine ethe use of simple musical instruments in dance activities! Simple "barrework" done in the center is introduced.
Most children in this class are in Kindergarten and 5 or 6 years of age. The class includes 15 minutes of tap and then includes warm ups in a center circle. Students work on strength and flexibility through a series of exercises presented in a fun manner.
Dancers beging to focus on the simple positions of the feet. They master first and second position and understand basic terminology such as plie, releve and tendu. Students should be able to learn from a teacher's verbal and visual cues. The child's attention span is crucial in their readiness for progressing to "intro" or ballet 1.
Known to parents as "Intro".
This class is mainly a continuation of Kinderdance skills preparing children for formal Ballet training. Students in intro should be able to focus at the barre for at least 20 minutes at the beginning of the year and working up to one half hour by the years end. The barre is done in the center of the room, either with an invisable barre or with two hands on the barre. Simple ballet terminology such as plie, releve, tendu, and degage should be understood. Also children in this level should understand first, second and third position.
Upon the completion of this class children should feel very prepared to enter Ballet One.