Scheduling and cancellation of classes are at the discretion of SSPA.
We offer classes with a wide variety of dance styles from beginner to professional level, children through adults.

We offer a free trial class
during the year before committing to sign up. The exception is the beginning of the school year since there are no classes established at this time.
To get your free trial class before registering for the new school year, please come at the end of the previous school year during the month of May.

Students in all dance classes are required to pull their hair out of their faces. Ballet classes require buns if possible. No jewelry and no gum in class.

ATTIRE FOR DANCE
Primary Division: Light pink tank leotard, pink tights, pink skirt, pink ballet slippers

Elementary Level 1: Light pink tank leotard, pink tights, light pink skirt, pink ballet slippers

Elementary Level 2 and Intermediate Level 3: Burgundy tank leotard, pink tights,light pink skirt, pink ballet slippers

Intermediate Level 4: Lavender camisole leotard, pink tights, light pink skirt, pink ballet slippers, black character shoes

Advanced Level 5 & 6: Black camisole leotard, pink tights, black skirt, black hip alignment belt, pink ballet slippers, and black character shoes, pink pointe shoes

Boys attire for ballet: White T-shirt, black leggings, white socks, black ballet slippers, character shoes in appropriate level.

Jazz/Lyrical: leotard, leggings, black jazz shoes

Tap: leotard, leggings, black tap shoes

Modern/Contemporary: leotard, leggings or convertible tights, paws or bare foot

Hip Hop: leotard, leggings or sweat pants, sneakers

Musical Theater: leotard, tights, jazz and character shoes

All attire is available at our school. Pointe shoes have to be fitted and purchased at Spells, Brentwood.

BALLET

PRIMARY DIVISION

Creative Movement is a joyful way for children to build confidence and to increase body awareness. Students develop motor skills and build self-control. Furthermore, Creative Movement introduces musicality and rhythm and stimulates imagination.
Enrollment is open for all children between ages three and five with or without prior experience.

Ballet classes are offered through age-appropriate training in classical ballet Vaganova style. (Russian School) From Level 1 on all students learn the correct French terminology to understand and execute verbal instructions.

Pre-Pointe and Pointe classes are offered only for the advanced ballet dancer in combination with regular ballet classes to complete the classical achievement.

ELEMENTARY LEVEL

Ballet Level 1 (age 5 & 6) builds on skills taught in Creative Movement but experience in any form of dance is not required at this level.

Ballet Level 2 (age 7 & 8 ) continues with the basics of ballet at the barre and in the center.

INTERMEDIATE LEVEL

Ballet Level 3 (age 9 & up) introduces the student to the traditional ballet technique class, including barre, center, stretching and European folk dances.

Ballet Level 4 (age 10 & up) continues to build up a strong technical foundation, overall body strength, and focuses on placement, alignment, and turnout. In addition, the student is introduced to character dance, anatomy, and history of dance.

ADVANCED LEVEL

Ballet Level 5 (age10 & up) Besides continuing to work on the fluidity of the movements, balance and combinations with petit adagio and petit allegro, pointe work is now introduced. The student is required to take two classes per week. Character dance, anatomy, and history of dance　continues to be a part of the curriculum.

New students will be placed in the appropriate level after attending a trial class. Level 6 is for the serious dancer with professional aspirations.

Pre-professional Ballet Level 6 (age 12 & up) (advanced students only, by invitation or audition) Students attend ballet classes up to five times per week. (Classes include Level 5 and adult ballet).　This level challenges the student with more complex combination at the barre and in the center. Petit and grand adagio, petit and grand allegro, pirouettes, leaps, jumps and pointe work are essential parts of this level.　An occasional turns & leaps class as well as pas de deux (if available) will be added. Preparation for ballet competition for the individual student who shows talent and dedication.

JAZZ / LYRICAL

Students will be allowed in Level 6 only when they have the appropriate level.

Katherine Dunham is considered the grandmother of jazz dance technique. She was the inspiration for modern jazz dance legends Jack Cole, Matt Mattox, Gus Giordano, and Bob Fosse.
Today you can find jazz dance in many different forms and venues. It is an essential element of musical theater choreography, you can see it in music videos, and on TV shows such as So You Think You Can Dance. Technique is the foundation for all dance movements. Leaps and turns and the strong and sharp movements with the correct posture are the focus of jazz dance. A good background in ballet technique is helpful but not essential for the recreational dancer. One of the differences between ballet and jazz dance is the emphasis to the beat. Ballet gives the emphasis to the upbeat of music, whereas jazz emphasizes the downbeat. Jazz dance, like any other dance form, requires moderate stretching in order to warm up the muscles and help prevent injuries.

TAP

Students will be allowed in Level 6 only when they have the appropriate level.
Tap dance was developed in the United States during the nineteenth century. After it was almost forgotten for a few decades, it experienced a strong come back approximately three decades ago.
Tap dance has its name from the tapping sound it makes when the small metal plates on the dancer’s shoes touch　hard surface. An experienced rhythm tapper is not　only considered a dancer but also a percussive musician. This in mind, the American composer Morton Gould composed his “Concerto for tap dancer and orchestra”.

MODERN / CONTEMPORARY

Level I for beginner students, Level II for intermediate/advanced students
In the early 1900s two women in America, Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis, as well as Mary Wigman in Germany started a rebellion against the rigid constrains of Classical Ballet. They shed the costumes　and shoes, and focused on　creative self-expression rather than on technical virtuosity. Later, Doris Humphrey and Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Merce Cunningham, and Lester Horton developed their own styles and laid the foundation of　the American Modern Dance.
Today, Contemporary Dance is the form which draws on modern dance as a source of inspiration. Choreographer Mia Michaels of So You Think You Can Dance fame showed us exciting examples for contemporary dance. Both styles, modern and contemporary include the dance principles of centering, alignment, gravity, contraction and release, balance and off-balance, tension and relaxation, as well as opposition and emotion. The dancer strengthen the body and increase　flexibility.

HIP HOP

Level I & II for age 10 & up, Level III for age 14 & up

Hip Hop has a short history compared to other dance forms. Originated on the streets of New York and Los Angeles, hip hop found its way into the　dance studios. The rhythmic dancing to hip hop and rap music is enjoying an ever growing popularity. The dancer doesn’t need to have experience in dance technique. Nevertheless, to ensure the dancer stays injury free and to enjoy a progress in dancing, the class starts with a warm up and continues with new steps and combination in progressions before working on a routine.

THEATER DANCE

One level, age 10 & up
In Theater Dance the students learn the choreography of well-known Broadway and film musicals. Additionally, they learn about the history and background of musicals and how to present themselves in auditions.

CHOREOGRAPHY

One level, age 10 & up
The students have to be enrolled in at least one dance class. They learn step by step how to choreograph, how to teach choreography and how to present the finish product. The students choose the music. The dance movements are from different style like ballet, modern, jazz or hip hop.