Policies & Curriculum

All classes are forty-five to ninety minutes long, except for three-year-old classes, which are only thirty minutes long.

Creative Movement (Ages 3-6)
Designed for three year olds in one individual group and four, five and six year olds in the other. Creative Movement is an imaginative introduction to music and dance movement and provides an excellent foundation for pre-ballet by encouraging good listening habits and coordination skills. Some concepts taught are: stretching the foot, balancing, jumping, leg and arm coordination and moving across the floor.

Tot Combo (Ages 4-5)
Introductory tap and ballet class for ages 4 and 5. Tan tap shoes and pink ballet slippers are required. Limited enrollment.

Pre-Ballet (Ages 6-7)
Designed for six and seven year olds, providing the foundation for formal ballet training. Pre-ballet includes carefully integrated ballet steps and terminology with music, rhythm and movement. The American Academy of Ballet Syllabus is introduced at this age.

Level I through VII
Ballet classes are carefully graded as each student learns the syllabus. Students are always placed in class according to physical development, stamina and self discipline. Classes progress to Pointe work, variations and pas de deux and potential membership in Little Ballet Theatre.

Jazz
All Jazz students should take ballet. We will have beginning to advanced jazz classes for all ages from six and up. Technique is taught by a graded system to ensure progression. Styles are varied. Ballet training determines progress.

Tap
Beginners can be six years old and up. A graded system is taught to each class, progressing from beginner to advanced. Ballet training is an integral partner.

Modern
Modern dance is a form of theatrical dancing that can be traced as beginning in the 1900’s. It uses ballet technique, use of fall recovery, contraction, release, locomotor movements, movements that convey a message or tell a story, use of irregular meter, music, sounds, electronic music and contemporary music as well as the use of multimedia and poetry. The dancer uses bare feet or sandals. Most professional ballet dancers are trained in modern dance. Today choreographers combine ballet with modern technique for many of their works. Placement is upon approval of the director.

Musical Theater
Each class will focus on the kind of dancing used in theatrical staging, acting basics and “character acting” through dance. Dancers will learn pieces of several “mini-musicals” centering on show tunes from America’s best-loved musicals, including “Cats,” “West Side Story,” and “Oliver.” Dancers will also learn theater terminology as well as the history of Broadway and musical theater in America.

Hip Hop (Ages 6-adult)
Hip hop is a fast, high-energy class in which dancers will learn to move to upbeat contemporary music. Hip hop students focus on balance, coordination and learning to isolate parts of the body in a new way. Dancing seen in music videos for artists such as Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and N’sync are all examples of the hip-hop style students will learn. Hip hop is also great exercise and lots of fun!

Adult Program
Open classes for adults who enjoy dance as an exercise form are available. Adult ballet, tap, ballroom, yoga, modern and jazz will all be offered.

Marco Davis - Ballroom/Adult and Teen
Introduction to Ballroom Dance. An introductory class to the beginnings of the grace and fun of partner dancing. During the class we will learn basic patterns of the Foxtrot, American Waltz, East Coast Swing, Cha Cha and the Rhumba. This is a beginning class, no partner is necessary. Throughout the course we will learn basic partnering patterns, movement through space and the art of trusting another on the dance floor. The only requirement is to be eager to learn and arrive with shoes comfortable to dance in and ones that have not been worn outdoors.

Adult Modern Dance
This class is designed to challenge the body to the ebb and flow of the body through space and time. It is a beginning class, in which, one will discover how to articulate through the spine, the feet, upper and lower body and dance through emotive and expressive means of the dance. One will travel through space, work in and out of the floor, explore choreography and develop an expanding vocabulary of the body as a means of art.

 

 

Dress and Appearance Code

Our dance wear boutique carries the preferred styles. Students must wear uniform. This is strictly enforced. Students will be asked to sit out of class if the dress code is repeatedly abused. All leotards should be Lycra and Cotton or Nylon and Lycra blends only.

Please label all dance shoes and clothes with the dancer’s name and phone number! DO NOT wear dance shoes outside. Students must dress in the dressing rooms upstairs only, NOT IN THE RESTROOM.

A note on shoes: We recommend professionally fitted pink ballet slippers (Gimre’s Astoria as well as Dance Togs in Beaverton carry the shoes. We prefer Capezio, Bloch, etc. We can order Revolution Brand shoes at Maddox Dance Studio as well). Ballet slippers must fit well—not too wide, not too long. The shoe needs to fit the foot like a glove with “1/2 inch to pinch” at the heel when the foot is pointed. Pointe shoes (toe shoes) are strictly reserved for those dancers who are totally ready, physically, technically and mentally for this big advancement. A young student’s bones are soft and malleable before age 10 and long lasting damage to the legs and back can be made if a student is placed on pointe too soon. In some instances, even older students are not ready because of body alignment and technique problems. Going on pointe is a very serious matter and commitment.

* Tan and Black shoes are used in these classes. Start with what you have. The teachers will inform you which color they prefer when the choreography has been chosen.

 

Dress and Appearance Code (Please follow strictly)

Every student is expected to follow the following rules:

• Be ready on time for class. Students are to sign in and out at the table in the lobby.
   
• Be dressed and groomed properly. NO shirts, NO shorts. Proper tights, shoes, leotards.
   
• Do not talk in class. NO gum. Water bottles OK on sides.
   
• Do not eat between back-to-back classes.
   
• Bring change of shoes to classroom if necessary or needed.
   
• Do not lean on barres or put feet on wall.
   
• Carry a dance bag with your name on it to and from the studio. Bags my be carried into the classroom.
  Dress in the dressing room, NOT bathrooms.
   
• DO NOT WEAR DANCE SHOES OUTSIDE. This can be very dangerous to the dancer – the soles become slippery in bad weather. It is also very harmful to the shoe and studio floors.
   
• Do not wear jewelry!
   
• A good attitude and respect for students and staff will make you a happier person!
   
• Snacks will be allowed in the student lounge if you tidy up.
   
• Dressing room on second floor. Do not change in any other part of the building.
   
• No running in the building at any time. Walk carefully up and down stairs. If you are waiting upstairs for class to begin, between classes, or to be picked up, please no noise or rough playing. It is a distraction to the classes to hear noise from above.

Recital Costumes, ranging in price from $35 to $60, are ordered in January – with deposit due November 1 and the balance due in December. There are recital pictures done in May in costume, ranging from $10 to $30.