The origin of jazz dance can be traced all the way back to the seventeenth century to African rituals and celebratory dances. Overtime jazz has become a blend of many dance styles and cultures, and is taught in almost every dance studio.  Dancers begin with a warm up consisting of stretching, conditioning and barre work. Following warm up, they perform across the floor exercises  to challenge their technique and their ability to pick up choreography. Dancers can expect to improve coordination, flexibility, musicality and their strength.

To excel in jazz it is recommended to take ballet, as it consists of slower movements that strengthen and lengthen the dancers muscles while improving their balance.

The origins of Acro dance started in the early 1900’s as a type of act in Vaudeville style shows right here in Canada and in the United States. Acro is the combination of classical dance techniques with fluid acrobatic movements and requires coordination, control, flexibility and strength. Dancers will work on improving their strength and flexibility to help assist them in learning how to tumble and balance.

In acro, there should be a delicate balance of tricks, style, and movement. Dancers will be taught to tie these aspects together, challenging their ability to pair physical strength with grace.

The origins of Hip Hop began in the underground of New York in the late 60’s and early 70’s; A dance form meant to be popular in the original sense of the word, meaning that it was for the people and not for the academy, hip hop moves were inspired by complex rhythms and the down-to-earth movement style of African dancing. Music and movement came together to form a new art. While vestiges of modern, tap, swing, and African dancing can all be found in hip hop, this dance style is really in a class of its own when it comes to improvisation and an edge of competition. Hip Hop incorporates aspects of many dance styles, music and movement to form artistry.

The origins of Contemporary dance started at the beginning of the 20th century when dancers such as Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham and more, broke away from the classical ballet stream to create a style of dance that revolved around unconventional movements that were gathered from all styles of dance. Contemporary dance does not use fixed moves, instead uses dynamics, expressions, raw emotions, shifting alignments and systematic breathing to create movement sequences.

Dancers will work on finding the limits of their bodies as they move to create new shapes and sequences normally not taught in styles such as Jazz and Ballet.

The origin of tap dance can be traced back to the United States of America in the early 19th century, when traditional African percussion instruments were taken away from African Americans resulting in them turning to percussive dancing to express themselves and retain their cultural identities. Tap is a discipline that focuses on coordination, musicality, rhythm and syncopation. Dancers will learn to use the sounds of the metal taps that are affixed to the toe and heel of the shoe to strike the floor as a form of percussion.

The origins of Pointe dates all the way back to the 18th century when the first ballet with pointe shoes took place in England and France.

Dancers will develop their ankle strength, balance and dexterity with barre and centre pointe work.

The origin of Musical Theatre can be traced all the way back to the Greeks in the 5th century BCE, where the first known dramas were performed with music and dance. Musical Theatre is the combination of acting, dancing, singing and spoken dialogue creating a full theatrical performance. Dancers will be working on improvisation, monologues, character development, and dancing to go along with multiple styles of music and genres.

Dancers will build their confidence and their stage presence as they learn to step out of their comfort zones, perform as different characters and be introduced to new styles of dancing.

This class is for children ages 4 to 5 years old. This class is split up into four sessions, the first three sessions lasting eight weeks long with each session focusing on a different style of dance. The first session dancers will start working on the primary ballet syllabus of the Society of Russain Ballet Syllabi. The second session dancers will spend eight weeks learning the basics of Jazz and Hip Hop techniques. The third session dancers will have an introduction to tap, which will help develop their coordination, musicality, and rhythm. The last session will consist of seven weeks of recital preparation, these seven weeks we will be working on a short choreographed routine that will be showcased in the year end recital.

Dancers will learn which types of pointe shoes suit their feet, which fitting aides are appropriate for them, attend a pointe shoe fitting with their teacher and learn how to sew and break in their shoes.