Course Descriptions

Kindermusik Family Time®

In weeks, you'll play instruments together, share, and take turns, and see how music can bring you closer as a family.

A one-room schoolhouse approach to music. With older children ready to show the little ones how it's done and the younger ones eager to learn, Family Time becomes a multi-layered learning environment. Each week, a Kindermusik Educator will introduce basic musical concepts and then give you the instruments, and the structured free time to put those concepts into play.

Your children will listen to instruments and to each other, learn from their peers and older children, and enjoy music and movement with hoops, scarves and tumble-around play. Story time and family jams, puppet play and happy singing -- all the Family Time activities encourage discovery and exploration and foster sharing and social skills too. In this special place for musical, social and emotional learning, your children will strengthen their ties with each other and with you -- and they'll start developing skills they'll need in school and on the neighborhood playground.

Mom & Me Creative Dance

Children attend class with Mom or another adult participating. From a structured yet creative approach this class teaches basic dance positions and technique fundamentals to the beginning dancer focusing on balance, musicality, coordination and agility. An informal class where students will experience an eye-opening and muscle awakening time in our song and dance class structured specifically to explore their sense of rhythm, movement expressions and counting. We work toward following directions, and working with a group. Tumbling is included and gives your child a chance to learn gross motor skills, flexibility, social skills and muscle development in a structured and safe environment. We will learn how to stretch and move our bodies to music before we roll and jump through the air.

Parent participation required.

Hip Hop/Break Dance / Tap / Tumbling

Hip Hop is a high energy, very upbeat, funky, street style of jazz. It is primarily on TV during rap and R & B music videos, characterized by its vigorous athletics and bouncy style. The latest, hottest dance moves set in a fun classroom environment. Hip Hop is to today's generation what the Jitterbug and Swing were to the late 40's and 50's and the Black Bottom, Jitterbug and the Charleston were to the 1920's. It is a highly stylized, fast paced athletic and expressive form of jazz dance. Our classes stress jazz technique and discipline, yet encourage individual style, energy and interpretation.

Tap training enhances rhythmic dynamics, speed, and agility. More than another dance form, tap instills in the dancer an awareness of the music; its timing, rhythm and changes in energy. Traditional and contemporary tap styles are taught, with a focus on total body movement, technical correctness, and performance quality. An understanding of musical theory is developed, as among dance forms, tap is probably the most intricately tied to the exact counts of the music. These classes cover all the basic exercises, time steps and riffs that make tap so much fun. Dancers study basic to advanced tap terminology, technique, rhythm, coordination, and style.

Acrobatic movements are combined with dance steps as students learn the fundamentals of movement and timing with tumbling. Beginning students learn basic cartwheels, handstands, forward and backward rolls. More advanced students learn walkovers, round-offs, handsprings and aerials. Increase technique, flexibility and muscle development in a structured and safe environment.

Ballet / Tap / Tumbling

This class provides ballet, tap, and tumbling technique for the young dancer who is excited to learn and explore different dance forms. Ballet fundamentals are taught along with an introduction to basic ballet technique focusing on balance, discipline and coordination. Learning concepts such as turning out, pointing toes, body placement, flexibility and alignment. Tap steps are taught to slow upbeat music so children can develop a sense of rhythm and learn to count music while dancing at the same time. Tumbling gives your child a chance to increase technique, flexibility and muscle development in a structured and safe environment.

Acrobatics

Ballet I, II, & III

This program is one of the finest and most successful of its kind.

All students in our Esprit de’ Danse performing company are required to take ballet, based on the philosophy that ballet provides a solid foundation for all other forms of dance. It also forms the basis for discipline, creativity, and appreciation of dance as an art form.

In an atmosphere of encouragement and fun, students are motivated to strive for excellence in technique, grace, and poise with additional emphasis on posture, strength, energy, proper body alignment, vocabulary, and history.

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Teen/Adult Ballet I: Non-baggy dance or excercise attire, pink all leather ballet shoes.

Middle Eastern

This is the oldest form of dance having roots in all ancient cultures from the Orient to India to the Middle East. Modern Middle Eastern Dance is an updated form of the original Belly Dance, which incorporates more calculated and precise body coordination. It often focuses upon isolating different parts of the body, moving them independently in precise patterns. The class is perfect for any interest level, using all of the body's muscle groups and enhancing the dancer's flexibility, isolation, confidence, creativity and sense of rhythm.

Esprit de’ danse Performing Companies

Our company is for the amateur, pre-professional, to professional dancers who want more than just a class or two. We teach choreography, performance skills and technique. We provide you with opportunities to build your professional stage and dance etiquette and skills. Members are chosen through our once a year auditions or by invite only. Esprit Pre consists of young performer’s ages 6-8 and Esprit Beginning ages 9-12. Both Esprit Pre and Esprit Beginning are by invite only. Esprit I, II and III consist of performers ages 13-Adult. Esprit I, II and III are by audition only. Please see “Dates To Remember” for audition date and time.

Pre-Pointe/Pointe

This class is by placement only. Each student is carefully evaluated before starting study on Pre-Pointe/Pointe. In an atmosphere of encouragement and fun, students are motivated to strive for excellence in technique, grace and poise with additional emphasis on posture, strength, energy, proper body alignment, vocabulary, and history.

Tap I, II, III

Tap training enhances rhythmic dynamics, speed, and agility. More than another dance form, tap instills in the dancer an awareness of the music; its timing, rhythm and changes in energy. Traditional and contemporary tap styles are taught with a focus on total body movement, technical correctness and performance quality. An understanding of musical theory is developed, as among dance forms, tap is probably the most intricately tied to the exact counts of the music. These classes cover all the basic exercises, time steps and riffs that make tap so much fun. Dancers study basic to advanced tap terminology, technique, rhythm, coordination, and style.

Hip Hop, Break Dance I, II & III

Beginning and intermediate level Hip-Hop and Break Dancing instruction includes technique, style and choreography. We will teach you the most popular moves, including:

Up RockTickingLockingCentipede

Six Step Wave HurricaneRope PullWorm

Kip Up PoppingHelicopterThe Wall

PuppetRubberband RobotBackspin

CollapseMoon WalkJester Kicks

and much more! No previous dance exprience required.

Yoga

Transform your body and mind with this innovative and highly effective approach to getting and staying in great shape. A fusion of the ultimate mind/body practice will give you flexibility, strength, endurance, alignment, core stabilizing and balancing qualities. This class is for beginners as well as seasoned fitness practitioners and will keep you working at the level that is appropriate for you. Our instructor takes special care to provide modifications along with detailed instruction to make this program safe, fun and challenging for everyone.

Couples/Ballroom

Includes partner dancing- ballroom, swing, waltz, jitterbug, lindy hop, tango, foxtrot, rumba, cha cha, salsa, hustle and western line dancing. Class designed to accommodate student’s interests. Class decides what they learn at time of enrollment. We teach step by step instruction and go at the pace of the class. Excellent “Date Night” class for all couples!

Keyboarding/Piano Lessons

Basic and beginning level keyboarding instruction, theory and technique will be taught. A gradual multi-key approach is used allowing students to experience complete keyboard knowledge. Students will learn rhythm, patterns, intervals, chords, scales and essential signs and terms. All skills learned are applicable to the piano. Lessons are offered once a week at $15 per lesson. Check schedule for current semester dates. Student’s schedule their own day/time.