Dance Classes Offered

We provide ballet and other dance classes for kids ages 3-18. All classes can be taken at a recreational level and as part of our professional ballet program. 

Professional Ballet Program

Our ballet training is made up of 8-10 classes – a combination of ballet and other dance styles. Master teacher Nadia Veselova Tencer will custom design a program to coordinate with your kids’ skill level and provide training of the highest calibre.

The goal is to prepare students for a career in dance and ensure that they perform at a competitive level that satisfies the world’s leading ballet companies. All students will receive ongoing support in honing their skills and later finding work opportunities.

Recreational Level

Take a handful of classes in any style of dance. The goal is to have students dance in a non-competitive and enjoyable learning environment. It is a chance for kids to experience the art of dance and to learn important lessons that go well beyond dance moves. Dancing helps the development of strength, flexibility, as well as physical and mental discipline. Dance classes also help kids become comfortable with their bodies and builds confidence while making friends over a common interest.

Our ballet classes are based on the famed Vaganova method. Other dance style classes enhance the ballet technique by providing additional strength and flexibility training, and showing how to express a broader range of emotions through body movement.  

Schedule for 2012-2013

BALLET CLASSES

CREATIVE MOVEMENT
Ages: 3 - 5yrs
This is a specially designed children's program. It serves as an introduction to classical movement through images, imagination and rhythm. The ABCs of classical ballet.
 
JR. BALLET
Ages: 5 - 6yrs
This is a continuation of a ballet approach to creative movement.
 
PRELIMINARY BALLET I, I I, I I I, IV
This class serves to introduce the elementary exercises for mastering the placement of the body, legs, arms and head. It also focuses on developing basic skills in the coordination of steps.
 
BALLET I
This class stresses development of strength in the legs and feet and coordination of arm movements with exercises.
 
BALLET I I, I I I, IV
Here we focus on developing the smooth connection of arms and body. We begin the study of pirouettes, along with the introduction of a number of jumps. Learning dance phrases of greater difficulty will also be covered.
 
INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED BALLET  
Mastering the technique, various turns in various ways, developing the ‘balloon quality’ in big jumps and the execution of all core movements is covered throughout this course. Also the finishing touches to reach the perfection of classical dance.
 
POINTE/VARIATION I, II, III
(From Ballet I level, 10 years +) For those students who have developed enough strength in their legs and feet. It covers the highest stage of technical movements of classical ballet. By permission of the ballet teacher only.
 
PAS DE DEUX
A pas de deux (meaning “steps of two” in French) is a dance in which two ballet dancers partner up to perform together. By dancing with a partner, the lady can jump higher, take positions she would not be able to on her own, and seemingly ‘float’ about the stage as she is carried by her male partner. A partner allows a man to extend his line and show off his strength.

OTHER DANCE STYLES

CHARACTER DANCE
Here we teach the technique of classical ballet and folk traditions of national cultures. This could be Polish, Hungarian, Russian, Romanian, Ukrainian, Spanish and others. Students will develop their expression through movement and gain an understanding of the colourful traditions and heritage.
 
JAZZ
Age: 6+ All levels
With its origins in American music developed from ragtime and blues, Jazz is one of the most popular and energetic forms of dance. Jazz, which is characterised by its syncopated rhythms and improvisation, offers dance students a challenging and demanding training.
 
TAP
With its roots in early American Jazz, Tap dancing is a fun, yet demanding, dance form for all ages. Known as music for your feet, tap is a lively way to exercise, develop a fine sense of rhythm and improve coordination.
 
HIP HOP
This is a high energy movement style with roots in Rap, Jazz and Street/Break Dancing.
 
MODERN
This is a highly emotional style of dance. Here, we explore its principles of fall and recovery, breath rhythms, expressiveness, and emotion. Also, we look at strong technical exercises of the Limon/Cunningham styles.

LYRICAL
Lyrical dance fuses modern dance, jazz, and ballet. This style of dance focuses on conveying the emotion of a song's lyrics through dance. Intense emotional expression of the face and body are what tell the story that evolves along the lines of the song to which lyrical dance is performed.

MUSICAL THEATRE

Musical theatre, more commonly known as a “musical”, is a performance which combines singing, spoken dialogue, acting, and dancing. Although the genre overlaps with other theatrical forms such as opera, it differs by giving equal importance to the music as compared with the dialogue, movement and other elements.

ACRO DANCE

Acro dance is a style that combines classical dance technique and acrobatics. This intriguing form of dance dates back to the early 1900s vaudeville acts performed in United States and Canada. Acro is an especially challenging dance style that requires not only dance training, but also acrobatic skills.

CONTEMPORARY BALLET
Contemporary ballet combines elements of classical ballet together with modern dance. While using the ballet technique as its basic framework, it allows a greater range of movement.