Ballet

Ballet is the foundation of all dance styles and has been constantly evolving for over 400 years. It is very technical and helps to improve your core stability, strength and flexibility all which are needed to be a successful dancer.  It is now an extremely popular dance style with its own vocabulary based on French terminology.

Primary ballet class is suitable from from the age of 5 upward where they will learn the most basic and fundamental movements whilst incorporating story telling and themes. Again props such as pom poms, flags and ribbons are used to help develop co-ordination and natural movement. These younger classes are to help children become spatially aware, to enhance their listening skills, to boost confidence and to allow them to become more social.

Tap

Evolving from African folk dance, tap dance requires the dancer to wear shoes with small metal plates on the ball of the foot and the heel to give distinct sounds. The foot then strikes the floor to making different sounds, whether it be quiet, loud, high or low pitched.

There are several types of tap, from traditional tap that we see in a lot of Musical shows, to the popular growing American Hoofer style tapping, which is more focused on rhythms. Throughout tap classes students will learn many different styles, it will help develop their listening skills, their rhythmical ability, co-ordination and weight placement.

My First Tap

In these classes, children will learn the basic concept of rhythms through games, and be taught the basic fundamental tap steps. This class is great for any little ones who like to make lots of noise!

From the age of 5 students can study the ISTD Tap syllabus. These grades encorporate strong rhythmical timings and creative routines for the students to practice in a fun, energetic class.

Modern

Modern dance is a rhythmic dance form and takes elements from lots of different styles. This is a high energy dance style which has big movements such as the kicks, turns and leaps.  These all develop a students’ strength, flexibility and power. Modern Jazz combines lots of styles and techniques and is one the most popular type of modern we often see on TV or in musicals. The movements are big, sharp and strong.

From the age of 5 students can study the ISTD Modern syllabus which in Primary follows the concept of play with basic motor skill movements such as running, jumping, hopping and galloping. This modern syllabus will allow students to develop posture, strength, musicality, spatial awareness and co-ordination.

Commercial

Commercial Dance is an ever-growing trend due to television programmes and music videos. This is the type of dance we often see when watching the X-Factor or when watching a pop or R&B artist in concert. Commercial takes elements of genres such as Jazz, Street, Hip-Hop and breakdancing and combines them into one. We see lots of this style now on Social Media as it has become a trend to upload commercial dance videos onto media platforms.

Musical Theatre

Musical theatre is a performing art that combines dance, singing and acting to tell a story. Musical Theatre classes teach a performer to become a ‘triple threat’ which if going into the performing industry makes a person successful.

During these classes students will study different musicals, learning the history of the show and delving into the characters and how to portray each one. At the end of each term, students will be able to show their parent/carer hopefully a number of pieces from each show in a small performance in the studio.

Contemporary

Contemporary dance is another dance genre that has become popular due to television programmes and social media. It combines elements of classical ballet, lyrical and modern and the dancers move around the space combining movements with fluidity.

Contemporary dance stems from movement of the torso and core, with elements of floor-work, contact and release, improvisation and fall and recovery. Key features are parallel leg lines along with curving, twisting and tilting of the spine. During contemporary class, students will cover and study techniques such as Graham, Cunningham and Limon.