CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

Creative Q’s 

A 45 minute combination class for 4 and 5 year old consisting of Ballet, Tap & Acro-Jazz. Wonderful for the young petite dancer who is just starting out! This is a great way to get 3 different techniques all within 45 minutes. These students learn the basics of Ballet, Tap, and fun jazzy Acrobatics. This class will learn 2 dances to perform in our Annual Spring Recital. Students will only need to purchase one costume.  

  

 Junior Petite Ballet 

Designed as an introduction to ballet, basic vocabulary and principles will be introduced to petite students ages 6-8. There will be an emphasis on technique, poise, rhythm, and self-discipline. Principles related to body alignment, muscle control, timing and spatial awareness will be investigated as well. Class will begin with barre work, introducing external rotation of the legs and alignment of the spine, while executing basic ballet steps. Followed by center work, where students will incorporate knowledge gleaned from the barre to movement in the dance floor. 

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Junior Petite Jazz 

A Pre-Jazz introduction. Our young students learn how to correctly and safely move their coordinated bodies to the beat of the music. Standing slow stretches, fast isolations, floor flexibility, and muscle conditioning are all included with the Jazz style of dancing. A progressive choreographed dance routine is learned weekly. 

 

Hip Hop (Petite Q Hop & SQAD Hop)

A fun energetic hip hop class for dance students. Where they learn to gain rhythm and funk. This is a strong, hard-hitting, and urban class. They begin learning the origins of hip hop technique while developing their own flare for the genre! We focus on musicality while dancing to age appropriate music for the age group. 

 

Intro Ballet  

This class is designed as an introduction to ballet for the pre-teen and/or teen. Basic vocabulary and principles will be introduced. As in Level 1 there will be an emphasis on technique, poise, rhythm and self-discipline. Principles related to body alignment, muscle control, timing, and spatial awareness will be investigated as well. Class will begin with barre work, introducing external rotation of the legs. Students will incorporate knowledge gleaned from the barre to movement in the middle of the dance floor. Due to maturity and focus of the dancers  in this level we will move through material at a quicker pace than Level 1.

 

Ballet Level 1 

Students in this class should have successfully completed Junior Ballet and Intro Ballet or comparable course work. Students will be placed in this level at the teachers discretion. This class will continue to work on external rotation and proper placement- with a focus on the upper body position of the arms. We will move beyond the basics with more complicated barre and center work with an emphasis on weight transfer.  

 

Ballet Level 2

Students in this class should already possess a strong understanding of proper body placement and port de bras, as well as be in full control of their turnout. We will learn more advanced vocabulary with an emphasis on strength and stamina. 

 

Ballet Level 3

A student in this class will have had several years of ballet experience. This class will work on advanced course work with the compound combinations at the barre and in the center. Students will move beyond the technical and investigate artistic and musical expression. 

 

Pre- Pointe

Pre- Pointe classes are offered to ballet dancers who are not yet on pointe to further develop and strengthen the muscles necessary to go En Pointe. Pre-Pointe classes stress correct alignment and correct classical ballet technique. Pre-Pointe will include exercises in demi pointe to strengthen calf muscles, ankles, and arches of the feet. Exercises will begin at the barre for safety and stability. Dancers will progress to exercises in the center to practice their balance and increase their strength. Dancers must take two Ballet classes to participate in Pre-Pointe.  Pre-Pointe is a skills class with no recital and is offered to Ballet dancers 4th grade and older.

 

Pointe

Our Pointe classes are recommended for experienced students that have completed 2 or more years of pointe work. The technique at this level is very fast and very demanding, and students must have acquired proper strength and ability to safely participate in this class. For experienced dancers, pointe technique is an essential skill in classical training. SQAD’s Pointe class is designed to systematically increase security and control sur la pointe in order to develop important for a classical dancer quality of lightness and artistry. Advanced pointe students will also learn and analyze classical pointe variations from famous ballet repertoire.

 

Teen Boy/Men Technique

 Our male teens to adults can utilize this class to focus on simple lines, strength, and complex movements of the male classical dancer. It is designed to give male dancers the strength and agility to perform various jumps and turns with a strong sense of line and body position. Men's Technique also focuses on the powerful yet elegant carriage of the upper body. It is a class that is essential in developing a strong male classical ballet artist.

 

 

Contemporary Ballet 

Expansion of ballet technique and movements will be learned in this class. This class requires a strong foundation of contemporary and advanced ballet. Growing over popularity in the last decade the contemporary ballet style aims to push dancers and their movement in new directions. Experimentation and improvisation often play a large part in creating contemporary movement. Understanding how your body moves through space, shifting of weight and momentum, floor work and overall body strength, technique, and control all play a critical role in this style of dance. This class encourages dancers to feel their movement from within and share that feeling through performance. Great class for advanced dancers preparing for a professional contemporary ballet company!   

 

Modern 1 and Modern 2

Modern is a form of contemporary theatrical and concert dance employing a special technique for developing the use of the entire body in movement expressive of abstract ideas. A fusion of Horton Technique and African Dance Techniques. Students will develop Horton's vocabulary and execution of movements in center work and across the floor. Across the floor combinations will also have African styles infused. 

*Modern 2 will be more challenging for advanced dancers.

 

Tap Level 1

Timing and Rhythm exploration is essential to these students. This is where the foundation for musicality is laid. Oftentimes learning will be done in an acapella environment to ensure students are hearing and understanding sounds correctly. Shuffles, double shuffles, shuffle combination, walking flaps, running flaps, heel drops, toes drops, buffalo, ball changes, cramp rolls, riffs, and basic pull backs are steps that these students will come to master. 

 

Tap Level 2

Coordination, speed, and agility become vital in this level. As fast paced combinations are introduced, a focus on Rhythm tap and musicality becomes even more critical. Draw backs, time steps, Cincinnati’s, maxi fords, wings, double & triple paradiddles, rhythm turns, syncopated pullbacks and singles pull backs are steps these students will achieve.   

 

Jazz Technique Level 1 & 2

Jazz is a very fun, high energy and stylized form of dance. In this class dancers will learn the basic movement, kicks, leaps, and turns that have been derived through the many years of the development of jazz. Dancers will also tap into their sassy side and be encouraged to use their funky attitudes from within. While finding themselves engulfed in the fast paced movement of jazz, students are encouraged and taught to hold the jazz class. Isolation of each body part, traveling and stage presence are also taught. Dancers are rewarded for taking risks in their movement and we love to see them smile and come out of their shell. *Jazz 2 will be more challenging for the advanced dancers.

 

Junior Petite Acro/ Acro 1/ Acro 2

Acrobatics teaches flexibility, balance, strength, muscle control, discipline & concentration. This class will focus on fundamental acrobatic technique. Students will learn such things as handstands, chin stands, elbow stands, cartwheels, back bends, walkovers, balance, & contortion tricks. Acro is not the typical tumbling or gymnastics class. This class is great for students looking to enhance their agility, flexibility, & strength.

 

African Dance

A high-energy dance class with a cultural experience that blends different African techniques with some contemporary and jazz dance techniques. This introductory class incorporates fun, fancy footwork with full body movements to rigorous drums and beats. Must wear a Lapa (African skirt or fabric wrapped around the waist and moveable).