Barefoot Dance Center

Please contact us to discuss your individualized needs and/or project.

This welcoming class focuses on contemporary modern techniques and structured improvisation. We seek to find the balance between ease and effort in movement, and experience the sheer joy of dancing largely. The style is greatly influenced by Cunningham, Limon and various somatic modalities. Adult Modern is good for your center, energizing for the body and guaranteed to lift your spirits!

Focusing on low impact total body conditioning, this class is designed to safely and efficiently develop strength while improving balance and range of motion. Participants move, groove, and stretch luxuriously. Students leave feeling elongated, toned, and invigorated. Phase 3: Develop, ages 13 years to adult

Named for Jessie's step-father and first yoga teacher who was lovingly called, "Baba," Barefoot Baba Yoga is a dance-inspired Vinyasa class. This moving meditation practice aims to connect us to our breath, ground our full selves, and strengthen our bodies through the practice of thoughtfully choreographed sequences of yoga postures. Using developmental movement patterns as a guide, we learn to move with greater ease and efficiency. Lessons on the mat offer us tools to live life more fully and honestly off the mat. Phase 4: Emerge, ages 13 years to adult

This class is for experienced dancers who are ready to dive more deeply into somatic work and become more expressive, self-aware movers. Emphasizing organic aligning through the use of various somatic forms, students are challenged to listen to their breath and natural impulses, and articulate movement intention. Improvisation and composition invite thoughtful play and critical thinking, and equips dancers with essential choreography tools. Phase 4: Emerge, ages 13 years and up.

Encouraging total body connectivity, Intermediate Ballet challenges students to execute complex ballet movements and sequences with greater accuracy and musicality. Dancers focus on self-expression by varying their movement qualities while staying connected to their breath. Phase 4, Emerge, ages: 12 years and up.

This class aims to challenge students with healthy, unforced alignment, classical technique, and precise footwork. Full body dancing in the center helps students integrate all skills learned at the barre while they dance largely with grace. Phase 3, Develop, ages: 10 years and up.

Creative Ballet students learn basic ballet steps, gain a sense of musicality, develop their proprioception, and experience the joy of dancing. They focus on the story-telling aspects of ballet with the goal of expressing themselves through movement. Phase 2, Explore, ages: 6-9 years.

In this class, Maia seamlessly blends rhythmic and dynamic dances from all corners of the African Diaspora. This entertaining Zoom get-together involves healthy stretching and aerobic movement, with an emphasis on learning creative and uplifting African-rooted dance combinations. Phase 3: Develop, ages teen & adults

The African Diaspora spreads across North America, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe. In this class, students explore the dance traditions Africans brought with them and passed down to their descendants. The movement forms have roots planted firmly in Africa and are as diverse as its peoples, yet there are commonalities that cross ethnic and cultural lines. While staying true to the 'African-derived movement forms,' Maia makes them anew. An uplifting rhythmic workout, movements are full of varying dynamics. Phase 3: Develop, ages 12 years and up.

In this energetic and joyful class, students are guided through a series of isolations, progressions, and concepts that demonstrate neo-traditional African dance styles combined with Solo's own movement approach. Cultural, philosophical and aesthetic concepts are shared to assist in understanding and embodying the technique. With emphasis placed on grounded movement, articulation (head, torso, legs, arms) and polyrhythms, students experience fast moving, high impact, cardiovascular dance. In addition to learning fundamental movement vocabulary, each student will develop a practice that facilitates whole body awareness, attention to breathing, and an acknowledgment of self as a citizen of the world. Phase 3: Develop, ages 12 years and up.

This technique class incorporates various modern and post-modern styles and is designed for advanced dancers taking multiple Barefoot classes. Working with total body connectivity and focus, these students learn to attack sequences with grace, power and clarity. Phase 4, Emerge, ages: 13 and up.

Contemporary Modern IV is geared toward teens who have an understanding of their body mechanics and are ready to move at a faster pace and attack technique with great focus, diligence and energy. This quick-paced, exciting technique class is offered to those taking multiple dance classes at Barefoot. Phase 4: Emerge, ages 13 years and up.

Contemporary Modern III is for the more experienced dancer hungry to learn more. We continue to emphasize developmental movement patterns to increase proprioception and kinesthetic awareness. Dancers work to become more articulate movers, paying close attention to alignment, transitions and nuance. They are challenged to increase their stamina and strength through practicing longer, more complex phrases and across-the-floor combinations. For those interested in improvisation and choreography, Choreolab, Teen Dance Lab and/or Barefoot Dance Company should be taken in addition to this class. Phase 3: Develop, ages 12 years and up.

Contemporary Modern II continues to help students organize their bodies and move efficiently through the use of developmental movement patterns. We focus on advancing dance skills and concepts. Floor and center work and across-the-floor sequences encourage articulate and joyful dancing. Dance concepts are developed further in Choreolab, and we highly recommend students to enroll in both classes for a well-rounded dance education. Phase 3: Develop, Ages: 10 years and up.

Contemporary Modern I focuses on modern dance technique and choreography. We warm-up carefully with Anne Green Gilbert's BrainDance to wake up muscles, connect to breath and become more alert and focused. Exercises guide dancers to gain body awareness and explore dance concepts while building strength and flexibility. We learn dance phrases with specific counts and across - the- floor combinations to experience the joy of full body dancing. Creative work through improvisation and composition continues to be explored. Phase 2: Explore, ages 7-10 years.

This joyful class is for children who have experienced Creative Dance I and are ready for more of a challenge. Using Anne Green Gilbert's BrainDance, we focus on the basics of modern dance technique, improvisation and composition. Students are challenged to expand their movement vocabularies through playful and creative activities. Each week, kids learn technical skills, play dance games, improvise, and compose dances. A wide array of music is used to encourage uninhibited movement as well as to introduce basic rhythm patterns. Phase 1: Discover, ages 5-7 years.

The focus of this joyful class is for children to take delight in their moving bodies. Focusing on developmental movement patterns, we use Anne Green Gilbert's BrainDance to warm-up and introduce dance concepts. We seek to capture and develop children's creative expression through the use of music, stories and games. Phase 1: Discover, ages 3-5 years.

This joyful class is grounded in developmental movement patterns and uses Anne Green Gilbert's BrainDance as a warm-up and bonding experience for young children and their caregivers. Through the use of stories, music , props, and games, children learn about their bodies, gain self-control, and stretch their gross motor skill abilities. Our goals are to encourage and follow inherent curiosities regarding the ways in which the body can move, introduce dance concepts, and get everybody dancing! (with caregiver) Phase 1: Discover, approximate ages 18 months-3 1/2 years.