Schedule starts the day after Labor Day (September 7, 2010).
All classes meet September – May unless otherwise noted.

3 year old Rhythm/Movement – Must be 3 by Sept. 1. This is a 45 minute class that meets 1 session per week. We explore movement with basic motor skills of walking, running, hopping, jumping, sliding; leaping; balancing; directions of up, down, in, out, around, through, above, below; high, low, front, back, side to side; identify and explore movement of different parts of our body; recognize slow/fast in music and rhythms; high/low notes in music; sharp/smooth music; dance to stories; move with rhythms in music and/or instruments; learn social skills as a part of a group and respect others; express feelings with movement; gain confidence while learning to control how the body moves through space; develop listening skills; have fun with dancers own age.

  4 year old Rhythm/Movement – Must be 4 by Sept. 1. This is a 45 minute class that meets 1 session per week. Same goals as 3 year olds but expectations geared to what dancers are capable of at this age.

 5 year old Creative Dance – Must be 5 by Sept. 1. This is a 45 minute class that meets 1 session per week. Creative dance combines the mastery of movement with the artistry of expression, combining skill development as well as self-expression. Dancers will learn and explore the elements or concepts of dance and work towards creating their own steps and phrases. Dancers will study the following concepts: space, time, force, body, movement and form. Dancers will discover the many values of individual differences through creative exploration, problem-solving; learn to cooperate with others through partner and group work, and have fun discovering the benefits that dance will bring.

6 - 8 year old Creative Dance - Must be 6 by Sept. 1. This is a one hour class that meets 1 session per week. Please refer to the above description of Creative Dance. This class will cover all of this material but presented at a higher level geared to this age group.

 5 year old Discover Tap – Must be 5 by Sept. 1. This is a 45 minute class that meets 1 session per week. Discovering Tap class will introduce dancers to the basic elements of tap dancing including toe and heel taps, toe backs, heel clicks, shuffles, ball change. Dancers will learn the difference between a hop, leap and jump as it relates to tap dancing. Balance and coordination, musicality, concentration and focus as well as confidence will be additional benefits in Discovering Tap. Dancers will be able to listen to music and find the rhythm, making tap sounds both with the beat and in between the beats. Dancers will experience improvisation and have the opportunity to create their own tap sounds with music. Putting together learned steps into phrases with the music and getting immediate positive reinforcement by making the tap sounds will add to the joy of dancing.

 Tap – Must be 6 by Sept. 1. Dancers in these classes are grouped according to age, tap training, and skill. A variety of styles are taught including rhythm tap, Broadway tap, “hoofer” tap, and classical tap. Learning the choreography of very famous tap dancers is a part of the tap tradition. Examples of choreographers whose work that may be taught are: Henry LeTang, Gregory Hines, Gregg Russell, Leon Collins, Dianne Walker, Mike Minery, Debbie Dee and Al Gilbert. Tap includes rhythm identification; learning to “hear” and tap to a variety of rhythms; learning to articulate sounds using all parts of taps; putting together sequences of tap steps into combinations for exercise and/or choreography. Improvisation is included at all levels. Besides being great exercise, TAP IS GREAT FUN!