The School for the Performing Arts (SPA) offers classes at many levels.
While initial placement at each level is by age, we move students between levels when they are ready physically, intellectually and emotionally, not only when they reach the stated age range. The SPA director and teachers will
make appropriate placement at the beginning of the year and will
suggest changes when necessary.

In general, the following age ranges apply to class levels:

Dance For Tots – ages 3 through 4
Ballet/Tap or Jazz/Tap Technique – ages 5 through 6
Intro to Jazz, Tap, Musical Theatre, and Hip Hop – ages 7 through 9
PreBallet – ages 7 through 9
Level I – IV – ages 9 and up

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Ballet
gives a dancer placement, technique, strength, speed, and musicality.  Our classes are taught in the Balanchine style. We offer levels from Pre-Ballet through Advanced Men’s, Pointe and Partnering/Pas de Deux. (Ages 7 and up.)

Tap
includes both Classic Tap (Broadway show style) and Rhythm Tap (deeply rooted in jazz syncopation and musicality). Classes include technique and exercises to build improvisational skills. (Ages 7 and up.)

Jazz
dance classes combine jazz technique and contemporary styles of movement from MTV and lyrical to Broadway and concert dance.  Each class consists of a warm-up,isolations, traveling across the floor, turns, and a variety of combinations. (Ages 7 and up.)

Modern
dance classes are geared to the development of strength, flexibility, mobility and kinesthetic awareness, and emphasize the integration of thinking, feeling, sensing, and doing in the performance of movement. (Ages 10 and up.)

Hip Hop
classes focus on the contemporary movement styles of today. Students are challenged with the athletic requirements of the dance commonly seen in music video. (Ages 7 and up.)

Introduction to Musical Theatre
classes blend acting, singing and basic dance to explore the skills necessary in musical theatre. Students learn music from Broadway shows and are challenged to sing, dance and act simultaneously. (Ages 7 to 9.)

Musical Theatre I
a continuation of the techniques learned in Intro to Musical Theatre with a further emphasis on acting while singing and developing skills in characterization. Students are challenged with solo and small group work and are exposed to the film collection of Broadway musicals through visits to our Merrill Brockway Library. (Ages 8-14)

Musical Theatre Workshop
is for advanced singers, dancers and actors who already have experience in each discipline. Enrollment is by permission only. Students work on solo material to improve audition skills and strengthen acting abilities and on small group material to better understand “chorus” work. (Ages 14 and up by permission only.)

Dance for Tots
is a creative movement class which uses the fundamentals of ballet as the foundation of dance technique. This class is for dancers ages 3 and 4.

Ballet/Tap Technique
focuses on ballet and tap fundamentals.  This class introduces two important forms of dance in a fun, energetic class. This class is for dancers ages 5 through 6.

Jazz/Tap Technique
focuses on the building blocks for jazz and tap in an upbeat, exciting learning environment. This class is for dancers ages 5 through 6.

Voice
classes build vocal confidence and skills through warm-ups,  sight reading, diction exercises, ear training, and understanding voice care and protection.  Students sing together and as soloists exploring interpretation and musicality while developing good vocal technique. (Ages 9 and up.)

Theatre
classes focus on developing skills in acting, teamwork, the art of stage craft, and spatial awareness. We utilize improvisation, pantomime, and scripts to work on these skills.  Each level is geared toward a specific age group and their developmental needs. (Ages 9 and up.)

Pointe, Men’s Class, and Pas de Deux
are designed for upper level dancers, by permission/placement only.  Focusing on male and female roles in  ballet, these advanced courses are the building blocks of  partner dancing.

NDI-Style Dance
is open to 4th, 5th or 6th graders who might not have the opportunity to have
NDI-NM in their school.  Dancers in this class will participate in the End-of-the-Year Event at The Dance Barns in May.