Stage Door Performing Arts Center

Hip hop dance is a dynamic, freestyle street dance form that originated in the 1970s alongside hip hop culture in New York City. It encompasses various styles like breaking , popping , and locking , and is characterized by its rhythmic, improvisational nature and strong connection to hip hop music and culture.

Musical theatre dance is a dynamic and theatrical form of dance that combines various styles, including jazz, ballet, tap, and sometimes even hip-hop, to enhance storytelling and character development in musical productions. It's not just about the steps, but also about using movement to convey emotions, ideas, and character traits, adding depth and richness to the overall performance.

Tap Dance is a style of dance in which a dancer wearing shoes fitted with heel and toe taps sounds out audible beats by rhythmically striking the floor or any other hard surface. Tap originated in the United States through the fusion of several ethnic percussive dances, primarily West African sacred and secular step dances and Scottish, Irish, and English clog dances and jigs.

Creative movement dance classes focus on fostering self-expression, imagination, and body awareness through exploratory and improvisational movement, rather than strict technique. These classes often involve music, props, and storytelling to engage young children and encourage creativity, confidence, and social skills. Our Fundamentals dance class focuses on teaching the foundational techniques and principles of ballet. It's designed for beginners or those seeking to strengthen their base knowledge, emphasizing core movements, posture, rhythm, and musicality. These classes lay the groundwork for more advanced choreography and artistry, while still allowing the creative movement space for our youngest dancers.

Lyrical dance is a fusion style that blends ballet and jazz techniques with a strong emphasis on emotional expression and storytelling. It's characterized by fluid, graceful movements that interpret the lyrics and music, often conveying a range of emotions from joy to sadness to passion. Lyrical dance is known for its storytelling aspect, where dancers use their bodies to convey the narrative of a song through expressive movements.

Jazz dance is a dynamic and expressive dance form with roots in African American vernacular dance and music, particularly from the early 20th century. It's characterized by syncopated rhythms, isolations of body parts, and a focus on individual style and expression within a structured technique. It has evolved to include various styles and is often performed to a wide range of music, including pop and contemporary.

Contemporary dance is a versatile and expressive dance style that blends elements from various genres like modern, jazz, lyrical, and classical ballet. It's characterized by its fluidity, adaptability, and emphasis on individual expression through movement. Unlike modern dance, which has codified techniques, contemporary dance is less defined by a specific set of rules and more by the choreographer's or teacher's unique vision.

Pom dance is an energetic and dynamic style of dance that places emphasis on precise and synchronised arm movements, formations, jumps, and skills. It is characterised by its use of poms, which dancers hold in their hands throughout the routine. The choreography in pom dance is typically fast-paced, visually appealing, and filled with high-energy movements. Pom dance incorporates elements from various dance styles, including jazz and hip hop. Dancers often integrate jazz-inspired techniques such as kicks, turns, leaps, and extensions, combined with hip hop-inspired isolations and body movements.

Classical ballet is built on a specific set of body positions and movements designed to make the dancer appear graceful and elegant. It is characterized by "turn-out." Ballet dancers rotate their legs outward from their hips to allow a greater range of movement. It is gravity-defying. Dancing on the tips of their toes ( en pointe ), female dancers appear weightless. Our Pointe dancers must have teacher approval prior to going en pointe for the saftey of their bones and joints.