Ballet and Acrobatic dance training help your child focus.
Click Here Information on Irish
Dance Classes
(Please contact Denise not Ballet Academy for enrollment info)
Why Ballet training helps children with school performance.
How acrobatic training helps all forms of dance
Warrenton Ballet received their Chraritable Tax Exempt status from IRS - 501(c)(3)
Academy Student Brandon Wilson in
Rocket Science Movie
see his Sundance
You
Tube interview and
Times Democrat Interview
ABOUT OUR CLASSES
|
You will not see our class schedules posted online or in our written
materials.
Because all classes have strictly enforced size limits, many are full before
the school year begins, and have a waiting list. |
The Academy's schedule is specifically designed so those upper level ballet students considering a dance career may take daily classes. All students en pointe and in the upper levels (Intermediate II, Intermediate III and Advanced) are required to take at least two weekly classes, the minimum amount of class time more serious students need for proper training and advancement. We encourage all students age eight and older to take at least two classes weekly to ensure maximum benefit from their training. This is the normal standard in all professionally oriented ballet schools. It is recommended, but not mandatory.
The schedule also offers various classes at the teen/adult and lower levels for recreational dancers who want only one or two weekly classes. Quality teaching remains uncompromised in all classes; every student deserves the same high level of teaching and attention, regardless of their dance goals. At all levels, this next generation of dancers will learn the longstanding traditions and code of conduct for ballet that date back to the Court of Louis XIV. Learning to behave with the dignity and gracious manners of an artist is as important as learning the steps of a dance. For those students who choose to pursue a dance career, they will have learned the importance of passing these traditions on to the generation of dancers who come after them. For students who do not pursue a dance career, they will have a deeper appreciation of the crucial role the fine arts play in our society; and they will have an advantageous start in the social graces and civilities that help us all live together more harmoniously.
CLASSES OFFERED
ALL CLASSES LIMITED TO 14 STUDENTS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED
CREATIVE MOVEMENT - AGES 2 AND 3 (Must be 2 by September 1) ---
A 30 minute class
with maximum enrollment of 8 children. The class uses imaginative, fun musical
activities to build strength, flexibility, and body awareness; and improve gross
motor skills, coordination, and posture. Special musical activities help develop
a child's sense of rhythm and an awareness of the rich language of music.
Includes floor work; basic, introductory tumbling and other mat work; and large
movements across the floor. Children also learn to share space, time, and
attention with their classmates. Curriculum is based on the Leap 'n Learn
Syllabus.
INTRODUCTION TO DANCE - AGES 3 AND 4 (Must be 3 by September 1) ---
A 45 minute class
with maximum enrollment of 8 children (12
with a Student Teaching Assistant.) The class continues the Leap 'n Learn
Curriculum and introduces pre-ballet, pre-tap, and basic tumbling and acrobatic
skills.
INTRODUCTION TO BALLET I and INTRODUCTION TO BALLET
II - AGES 5 TO 8 ---
These one-hour
classes introduce children to ballet basics and are somewhat more structured than
Introduction to Dance.
Includes learning proper warm-up techniques, fun floor activities to help develop
strength and flexibility, basic ballet steps and body
directions, and large movements across the floor.
In Level II, basic
barre work, proper stretching, and center floor movements are introduced while
the study of ballet basics continues at a more complex level.
All students work
each week in their Dance Notebook, studying dance history, vocabulary, famous
dancers and ballets, and other aspects of dance that help provide a complete
dance education.
BALLET - AGES 8 AND UP ---
All
classes based upon the Vaganova Syllabus. Students will be placed in the proper
grade level by the Director, according to age, physical development, and prior
dance training.
Students advance
through the grade levels until mastering the entire syllabus. Time will
periodically be devoted to the written as well as spoken French ballet
terminology.
At the Beginner levels, classes are one hour; at the higher grade levels,
classes are 1 ˝ hours to two hours each, with a minimum requirement of two classes per week.
Pointe work is offered for females who are a minimum of twelve years old and
have at least two years of ballet training and the strength required for pointe
work. Placement on pointe is at the discretion of the Director and
requires a physician's exam and approval.
These are ballet technique classes,
emphasizing correct body placement and ballet posture, musicality, and mastering
the steps and arm movements that form the basic skills for all ballet steps. The
Vaganova Method provides correct and proper early training to establish correct
muscle memory. It is essential that students correctly master these basic
skills; otherwise they will not be successful later when ballet dancing becomes
more complex and difficult.
ACROBATICS - AGES 6 AND UP ---
This one-hour
class teaches tumbling and acrobatics by developing skill levels incrementally.
Students begin each class with a floor warm-up that includes strengthening and
flexibility movements specifically geared to acrobatics. Each student progresses
at his or her own speed, using a syllabus that emphasizes safety in execution
and mastery of a movement before progressing to the next level of difficulty.
Double/partner stunt work will be introduced at the intermediate level. At the
advanced level, the use of props such as top hats, cups, and hoops; and
equipment such as pedestals, spools, and stairs, will be introduced. The
acrobatic skills taught using Ms. Voelpel's syllabus are compatible with ballet.
You will NOT see the hyper-extended lower back common to gymnastics; nor will a
child be pushed beyond his or her body's physiological development and
psychological readiness.
TAP - AGES 5 AND UP ---
One hour
classes using a progressive, graded syllabus to achieve mastery of traditional
tap steps and rhythms. Placement is by age, physical development, and level of
previous tap training. Classes begin at the barre, making introduction and
mastery of new steps easier for the students. Barre work is followed by center
work and across the floor movements, both incorporating various combinations of
tap steps and rhythmic patterns. These combinations and patterns become longer
and more complex as the students' tap skills grow. Various musical styles are
introduced to broaden musical vocabulary and teach different time signatures and
rhythms.
JAZZ - AGES 9 AND UP ---
Requires concurrent enrollment in ballet at the Beginner II level or
higher, no exceptions. This
one-hour class emphasizes lyrical, Broadway-style jazz, using the world-renowned
Luigi Syllabus as its foundation. The Giordano and Fosse styles will also be
introduced at higher levels. Class structure is similar to a ballet class,
beginning with a warm-up to increase flexibility, strength, and coordination;
and emphasize proper body alignment. Center work combinations and large movement
locomotor combinations across the floor complete the class. Jazz movements
will always be tasteful and age appropriate to the class.
MODERN - AGES 10 AND UP
---
Requires completion of Beginner II ballet and concurrent enrollment in at least
one ballet class per week, no exceptions. One and a half hour class
based in Horton Modern Dance technique. Students’ dance vocabulary will be
expanded using off-balance, bound and released movement and transitions. Stage
presence will also be enhanced with the use of musicality and improvisation.
TEEN / ADULT CLASSES - BALLET, TAP, AND JAZZ FOR ALL AGES
---
Adult beginner classes are
one hour and follow the same basic structure as the children's classes.
Presentation of material is in an adult format and allows for variations in
learning patterns in adult beginner levels.
CLASS OBSERVATION
Class observation weeks is in November,
February, and the final week of classes in June. Please plan ahead so you can be
present at these important events. Observation week gives parents an opportunity
to see the classroom environment in action and to understand the importance of
class work and the student-teacher mentoring process so vital to the fine arts.
Parents are also provided the perfect occasion to praise their child's progress
and hard work. Observation week classes are a classroom dance education setting
where parents learn how a dance class is conducted. Therefore, please do not
bring siblings unable to SIT QUIETLY through the lesson.
Space and seating is minimal; observation
is limited to parents only.
Occasional
exceptions can be made for out-of-state visiting grandparents or non-custodial
parents who cannot be here during observation weeks or concerts. Please contact
the Academy Director ahead of time for these situations.
