Intermediate Student Classes
Level C Technique
Students focus is on strength, flexibility, body placement, and coordination. Mat work strengthens the core, back, legs and feet and improves flexibility. Elementary barre exercises teach proper placement of the body and legs. In the center, jumps strengthen legs and feet, while simple combinations using polka, waltz, and pas de basque improve coordination. These elements prepare your child for the continued study of ballet in the classical program.
Level D Technique & Pre-Pointe/Pointe
Level D builds strength, flexibility, body placement and coordination. Conditioning floor exercises work the core, back, legs and feet while improving flexibility. Exercises transition to one hand on the barre and prepare dancers for pointe by strengthening feet and legs. Center work repeats steps from the barre and adds jumps and traveling steps across the floor. When Level D transitions to pointe shoes, simple exercises stressing proper alinement are studied at the barre
Level E & F Technique & Pointe
Levels E and F build strength, flexibility, body placement, and coordination. Classwork includes conditioning floor exercises, barre work, center practice, and traveling steps across the floor. Pointe work is practiced twice a week and transitions from the barre to the center. Intermediate students meet four to five times a week. Students complete the intermediate levels with a thorough knowledge of the ballet vocabulary to support progress to the Advanced level of study.
Level G Technique & Pointe
Level G, students meet five times per week and progress through three levels of study while building upon their foundation of ballet knowledge gained at the elementary levels. In addition to the required core curriculum, a variety of dance enrichment opportunities are offered, including variations, Nutcracker and Spring Showcase performances with the Salt Creek Ballet company, Spring showcase, and professional development
Level G Contemporary
Contemporary is a genre of dance that incorporates elements of both classical ballet and modern dance. Contemporary ballet represents a departure from the restraints of traditional classical ballet techniques and traditional rules of composition. Contemporary by definition means happening or existing at the same time and is often used to describe works that are created in the present or recent past. These works tend to reflect the moods, ideas, events, and feelings of the time of their creation and do not always have specific stories or librettos. Contemporary choreographers sometimes infuse their choreography with these themes and ask the audience to think more deeply about the meaning of the work instead of telling them what to think and how to interpret it.
Character (Levels C – G)
Character dance is an integral part of the classical ballet repertoire and techniques. One of the expressive means of ballet theater teaches students how to convey the character, style, and manner of performing folk dances, develops dance technique, expressiveness, and musicality. Character helps dancers gain a deeper understanding of story ballets while boosting strength and also develops the coordination required to become versatile dancers. Entail complex upper-lower body opposition, épaulement, heel-toe footwork, and tensegrity in movement qualities.
Jazz (Levels C – G)
Students start training in other styles of dance, starting with Jazz. Identifying elements of jazz dance include isolations, grounded movement, syncopation, and contractions.
Modern/Contemporary and Modern Contemporary Explorers (Levels C – F)
This Modern class covers movement based on Horton, Arve, and Graham techniques intertwined with methods of Laban and ballet. Focus on the spine, contraction to arch, and curl. Groundedness in the legs, use of deep plie’. The sharing of weight with other dancers and improvisation are just some of the central concepts covered. The importance of relating the techniques to the dancer’s ballet technique is stressed. Modern/Contemporary is a beautiful way to bring more power and groundedness to our dancers, an attribute helpful in today’s dance world. This class expands and educates the classical ballet dancer’s movement vocabulary to meet the expectations of classical ballet companies, prestigious college programs, and choreographers exploring the classics.
