Welcome to the 2024-2025 Ballet Dance Season! With so much in store this year, we wanted to take a moment to share some exciting updates and insights before the season gets into full swing.

Philosophy

Why are arts integral to the academic success of students and their emotional balance?

Having passion for the arts comes from the exposure to all of its parts: music…dance…voice…instrumental…theatre…visual. When the arts speak to the essence of one’s being, those voices must be answered. Many children in this beautiful city are destined to become artists, but first they must be given an opportunity to taste it, feel it, hear it, see it, hold it in their hands and mold it into their vision.

The Academy is committed to integrating dance into the lives of students of all ages as a unique and individual way to express ideas and emotions, and to tell their personal and family stories.  Art is a pathway to greater understanding between cultures, generations, historical events, and the future. The intention of the Academy is to reach out to the surrounding communities and begin a collaborative journey towards active involvement in the future of dance.

Adaptive Dance

What does dance class have to offer students on the Autism spectrum, students hard of hearing or sight impaired? What about students with Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, ADHD, or emotionally challenged?

Students who are physically or emotionally challenged need to have a space where they can express their unique view on life and where it’s safe to explore their feelings. The freedom to speak in the language of dance is liberating and allows each student to discover alternative methods of challenging their perceived barriers.

Students in dance class learn to lead, compromise and work together as they follow their creative instincts. They learn that repetition and a strong work ethic means never giving up on yourself or your classmates.  Self-expression is not limited by someone else’s methods or ideas. Music becomes the language and movement becomes the body’s visual art.

Over the years that the Academy has included special needs students in its regular curriculum and the students have all benefited from the interaction. Everyone developed the ability to see past the things that students struggled with, whether it was physical, intellectual or emotional. Teachable moments occurred in every class and as the students observed other’s struggles, they learned to face their own challenges with persistence and humor. The student’s and teacher’s positive and nurturing attitudes towards the integration of the students have begun to alter the parents’ views of competition and the speedy acquisition of skills. 

My commitment is to the beauty of the arts, how it shapes who we are from the inside out and my belief that everyone needs to experience the arts in their daily lives. Every light that comes into the face of a student when they hear music that speaks to their souls and every smile that is reflected in their bodies when they speak the language of dance in their own words becomes my incentive to create a program that exists beyond my school.

Adaptive Ballet Classes will begin on Monday, September 9, 2024 

To provide smooth transition from car to the classroom please arrive 15 minutes before the start time of the class:

• 3:30-4:15 PM Adaptive I: Ages 5-7
• 4:30-5:15 PM Adaptive II Ages 8-10

Adult Dance

Is an adult capable of beginning the study of Ballet after high school? Adult students have just as many reasons to begin the study of dance either for the first time or returning to a form of self-care that they loved as a child. The Academy has a fully developed curriculum for adults in an environment of encouragement, technical development and artistry. The human body never stops adapting to the demands placed on it and the strength, coordination and grace that are acquired as a serious student create a healthy sense of health. Music, moving in space and the camaraderie of other dancers relieves the stress and anxiety of a very busy life. It is never too late to dance.