Ballet and Acrobatic dance training help your child focus.
Click Here Information on Irish Dance Classes
Click here for information on Ballroom Dancing
on Sundays this Summer
Why Ballet training helps children with school performance.
How acrobatic training helps all forms of dance
Warrenton Ballet Company
has a Chraritable Tax Exempt status from IRS - 501(c)(3)
OUR PHILOSOPHY
The Ballet Academy of Warrenton is dedicated to quality teaching of classical ballet, using the Russian method, based upon the Vaganova syllabus. This unique teaching method has been producing world-class dancers for nearly one hundred years, among them such luminaries as Rudolf Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Maya Plisetskaya, Galina Ulanova, Natalie Makarova, Vladimer Malakov and Nina Anashiliva. The legendary choreographer George Balanchine received his ballet training and first danced in Russia before coming to America.
Classical ballet provides the foundation for all other dance forms. It is the most demanding, most disciplined of all dance forms; but also the most rewarding. With a solid ballet foundation, classically trained dancers can transfer their skills into jazz, modern dance, or any other dance form they might decide to pursue. Accomplishing that solid ballet foundation is crucial to becoming an outstanding dancer in any dance form. The Ballet Academy of Warrenton provides our students with that solid ballet foundation.
To those of you who are saying to yourself, "But I (or my child) hate ballet," click here.
"To dance, put your hand on your heart and listen to the sound of your soul." We must always remember those words spoken by the great jazz innovator and master teacher Luigi. Luigi’s initial dance training included a strong foundation in classical ballet, which he used as the basis for his world-renowned jazz technique and teaching method.
The Academy emphasizes the artistry of ballet - the beautiful lyrical qualities and musicality that are sometimes lost in the contemporary push for greater and greater technical feats. Artistry keeps its prominent place in the Russian teaching method at the Academy, while maintaining a correct and safe approach to technique, insuring that young bodies are physically ready to perform ballet moves of increasing difficulty. The guiding principles of the Russian Vaganova Method enable a dancer to develop the flexibility, strength, endurance, muscle memory, discipline, and attention to detail that are essential to his or her growth as a ballet artist.
Every child benefits from quality dance training, even though he or she may ultimately choose another career path. In dance, children learn the cooperative teamwork necessary to produce a high quality work of art. They develop creative thinking skills and the ability to push themselves to higher achievements. They learn an immense amount about music and rhythm, and are introduced to the French language. They encounter spatial relationships and must think with both sides of their brain while learning to dance. All these skills will enhance your child’s academic performance, as well as their physical well-being. Self-confidence and self-esteem continue to develop as a young person conquers new movements and grows more certain of his or her ability to apply themselves, work hard, and master any task put before him or her. Growing through this artistic process helps a child find the pathway to personal integrity and self-assured adulthood. He or she enters society with the ability to do well at whatever life places before them; and with the ability to maintain the uncompromising high standards absorbed during their dance training.
Quality teaching pays close attention to your child’s artistic development. But of equal importance, quality teaching pays close attention to your child’s health and safety, as well as physical and emotional well-being. The Academy endeavors to help each student enjoy and treasure the hours devoted to dance training, encouraging them to love dance for the sheer pleasure and sense of artistic fulfillment, rather than only for a sense of technical accomplishment.
"Correction does much, but encouragement does more."
Goethe
The Ballet Academy of Warrenton provides a positive environment where every student is expected to strive for excellence to the very best of his or her abilities. We, in turn, will always strive to make a positive contribution to the lives of our students and our community. We will achieve this by giving students the individualized guidance and attention to which they are entitled; while instilling the value of commitment, respect, hard work, discipline, and artistry.
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"You see, what’s so special about us is that we make art. In a future when intelligent machines and invented life forms will reason and do our donkey work, human artists will become the most valued and irreplaceable of professionals." Bran Ferren, The New York Times Magazine, September 19, 1999
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ENROLLMENT POLICIES
The Ballet Academy of Warrenton is a traditional, classical ballet training
school. As such, we do not have "sessions" of classes; we have a school year
that generally follows the Fauquier County Public Schools calendar - late
August through mid-June; and a summer school, which is usually 6 -9 weeks
long.
It is important for students to be enrolled and ready to begin training when
the school year begins the end of August. Especially for beginner students,
waiting to start lessons until several months after the school year has
begun is not conducive to proper training. Therefore, our enrollment closes
on September 30 for ages 7 and older.
Transfer students are accepted into the appropriate level classes throughout
the year.
The
Creative Movement program for ages 2 and 3 and the Introduction to Dance program
for ages 3 and 4 accepts enrollment throughout the year, providing the student
qualifies under the age guidelines.
Introduction to Ballet I and II may enroll until February 1 when our second semester begins. However, we strongly discourage late enrollment; parents are urged to give their child the full benefit of proper training by planning ahead and enrolling before the school year begins. It is frustrating and physically difficult for a child to come into a class where the other students have already mastered certain skills while they try to catch up.
Enrollment for the school year opens to the general public in late July. Enrollment will be held several times in August. Times and dates for each enrollment will be advertised on our website, in Discover, and in various area publications.
Enrollment for our summer dance programs opens to the general public as soon as
public announcements appear, usually around April 1. Times and dates will be
advertised in the same sources listed in the previous paragraph.
Training for a dance discipline has many similarities to academic and athletic
training. Skills must be built incrementally, and the more time devoted to
study, the higher the level of learning. For instance, if a child devotes only
one hour per week to learning mathematics, it will take far longer to reach
Algebra I than if that same child devotes one hour every day to studying
mathematics. If the child studies year around instead of taking all summer off
each year, they will be ready for Algebra I before most of their classmates.
Children with a natural aptitude for mathematics will also achieve a higher
skill level faster and with greater ease than some others. And no child, no
matter how great the natural aptitude and talent, can master long division
until they have mastered addition, subtraction, and multiplication.
The same holds true for dance; you must start at the beginning, attend classes
faithfully, and work to master the skills as they are introduced. Each skill
builds muscle memory and the proper bodily strength to take a student to the
next, more difficult dance movement. This is a constant process over a number
of years.
It is important for parents to understand each student progresses through dance education at his / her own pace. This means a student will not necessarily move to the next level each year, as any number of factors affect the learning of a physical skill like dance. Most students at Ballet Academy spend more than one school year in each level, especially in our ballet classes. It is of paramount importance that a student is placed in a level appropriate to his / her age and physical strength. A student who is advanced a level before be fully ready will miss valuable training, struggle in the next level, and face an increased risk of injury during that struggle.
A student
may need to repeat a level because of a growth spurt that kept them from
fully assimilating the physical tasks during the school year. Or perhaps a
student had a medical problem, a prolonged illness, or an injury that meant
they were not quite able to master all the physical requirements of the
class that year because their body and health were at less than optimum
physical levels. Dance training is an incremental building of physical
skills that cannot be successfully short-circuited. To advance a student
otherwise is akin to putting a math student into a class studying
multiplication when that student has yet to master addition and subtraction.
You will not see our class schedules posted online or in our written
materials. However, on the website, the page entitled "Classes" describes
each type of class, class structure, ages, prerequisites, concurrent
requirements, etc.
Because all classes have strictly enforced size limits, many are full before the school year begins, and have a waiting list. Our teaching staff will be happy to discuss proper class placement and available classes when you enroll.
Although many dance schools post schedules online and otherwise widely distribute
them, we do not because we put the security of our
student body before any convenience factors.
All class placement is at the discretion of the Director.
