DESCRIPTION

Ballet – Ballet is the foundation for all dance and is highly recommended for every dancer, beginner to advanced. Ballet encourages grace, balance, and poise in each dancer and requires strength in all areas of the body.

Jazz – Jazz dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the mid 20th century. Jazz is a fast paced class that incorporates turns, jumps, and power movement to create an energetic dance form. It teaches center control, spotting, and leaps. It is recommend that students enrolling in Jazz are also enrolled in Ballet in order to excel. At Ballet Elle we use our scheduled jazz classes to also cover Lyrical. Lyrical is generally a little more fluid than ballet and also somewhat faster, although not as rapidly executed as jazz dance. An expressive type of dance that incorporates ballet and jazz technique. This dance style’s main goal is to interpret the lyrics of the song through movement. 

Contemporary – Contemporary is a style of expressive dance that combines modern, jazz, lyrical, and ballet. It is a dance genre that has become a dominant style used in dance and drill teams and connects the mind and body through fluid dance movements. Modern dance is for advance dancers who have a strong ballet foundation. Modern dance is a style of theatrical dance that rejects the limitations of classical ballet. Students learn various choreography techniques and manipulations of movement and music. Students also learn to initiate movements from their core and to move through space dynamically with movements deriving from the expression of inner feeling.

Tap – Tap is a style of dance that is characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Tap teaches timing, rhythm, and tempo that can be used to benefit dancers in all areas of dance.

Pre-Pointe – Pre-Pointe teaches students the basics of Pointe Ballet. Beginning first with learning the parts of their pointe shoes, fit and proper ballet technique en pointe. Students must be a 2nd year level 3 or higher ballet dancer to be enrolled in this class.

Pointe – Pointe technique is the part of classical ballet technique that concerns pointe work, in which a ballet dancer supports all body weight on the tips of fully extended feet within pointe shoes. Any student wanting to enroll in Pointe MUST also be enrolled in Ballet and has a prerequisite of Pre-Pointe.

Leaps & Turns – Leaps and Turns takes the technique learned in Ballet and Jazz classes and narrows the teachings to only perfecting the leaps and turns used throughout dance. Basic Ballet and Jazz technique is not taught in the class and all students are recommended to also be enrolled in Ballet and Jazz.

Strength & Flexibility – Students enrolled will focus on building strength and endurance in the entire body, as well as flexibility in their legs, hips, and back.

UNDERSTANDING CLASS DEFINITION

Level 1 Age Range 7-8. Classes: Ballet A & B, Tap and Jazz.

Level 2 Age Range 9-11. Classes: Ballet A & B, Tap and Jazz.

Level 3 Based on skill, Ages 12 & Up, Classes Ballet, Tap and Jazz.

Level 4 Based on skill, Ages 12 & Up, Classes Ballet, Tap and Jazz. Requires 2 classes a week. (Monday/Wednesday)

Level 5 Based on skill, Ages 12 & Up, Classes Ballet and Jazz. Requires 3 classes a week. (Monday/Wednesday/Friday)

PrePointe Age 9 years old and a Level Ballet 2A.

Beginner Pointe Must be Level 3 Ballet and 12 years old. Teacher evaluation required.

Intermediate Pointe Must be Level 4 Ballet. Teacher evaluation required.

Advanced Pointe Must be Level 5 Ballet. Teacher evaluation required.