Your child’s experience with dance lessons should be a pleasant one. Because we care, we want our influence to be a good one so that their love for dance will last a lifetime and they will look back on this part of their lives with fond memories. The objective of a dedicated dance teacher is to develop dancers by inspiring and motivating them. The human body is the only instrument a dancer has as compared to a musical instrument that can be bought or rented. Therefore, a good solid beginning to develop a dancer can, at best, be done when the student is young. We have briefly outlined in the following paragraphs some of our methods and attitudes concerning the teaching of dance, particularly to our pre-schoolers and pre-teenagers.

For first year students and those under the age of 10 or 11, we teach a combination class of Tap and Jazz/Ballet. Classical Ballet in its purest form is not recommended for students before that age for many reasons, which are too complex to explain in this outline. However, we will be happy to discuss the subject with anyone who may be interested. The material taught to the pre-schooler and to those of kindergarten age is geared to their learning level. In addition to dance routines, they are taught various songs; they are given stretching exercises to keep their bodies limber; and they are encouraged to perform ALONE before their classmates. Emphasis is placed on their motor skills - such as skipping, hopping, leaping and jumping -, which are very important to their development, and schools of primary learning will attest to this known fact. Psychologists will confirm what we, through experience, know to be true - the concentration span of the age levels mentioned is very limited and trying to have them concentrate for any length of time on any one subject often leads to frustration and complete breakdown of interest. For this reason, we strive to keep our classes moving at a pace that will be beneficial and interesting.

Within the realm of teaching dance, we also realize that a good self-image is very important to any child and whatever image is established at an early age will remain with them for years to come. This is why we make it a point to avoid negative remarks of any kind and any corrections are done quietly and without any embarrassment to the students. Our students are encouraged to do their very best and to work to their full potential - but we also take into consideration that children, like adults, have their good and bad days. Although they are in a class, each student is treated as an individual - and keeping that in mind - we avoid comparisons that would place the child at a disadvantage. For the younger students, incentive cards are used as a means of bolstering their egos!

Once you have gotten to know how our school operates, you will find that together with teaching the art of DANCE to our students, we aim to make our students’ learning experience an enjoyable one because it is always more fun to do something when you really like it. We also believe that establishing a degree of rapport and trust between students and teacher is very important to the learning process - never forgetting that respect and discipline are also needed.