Dance Theatre of Jacksonville

Dance Theatre of Jacksonville is thrilled to announce that we will be putting on our annual production of The Nutcracker. We are excited to once again participate in this holiday tradition that so many people enjoy around the world every year. We hope that your son or daughter can join us in this production and create memories that will last a lifetime.

After many wonderfully successful productions, Dance Theatre will be continuing to offer Musical Theater to enrich our students’ performance skills by adding theatrical training to their dance skills. We are looking for dedicated students ages 7 and up who are willing to commit to a week during the summer and a rehearsal once a month during the next school year.

The competitive Companies are made up of the most dedicated and serious students. Our instructors will be glad to discuss your child’s potential and answer any questions you might have. Students at DTOJ are offered the opportunity to audition for our Protege Dance Teams. As a member of DTOJ Company, students are expected to take the required classes, attend extra rehearsals, and participate in several competitions throughout the spring.

Acro and Tumbling is a discipline that combines classical dance technique with acrobatic elements to develop strength, flexibility, balance, and control. Dancers learn skills such as rolls, handstands, walkovers, and aerials while focusing on safe progressions and proper technique. This style enhances performance quality by blending athletic movement with artistry, giving students the tools to move seamlessly between dance and acrobatics.

Musical Theater Dance is a performance-based style that blends jazz, ballet, and expressive movement to bring storytelling to life on stage. Rooted in Broadway traditions, it emphasizes character work, expression, and stage presence alongside strong technical foundations. Dancers learn to connect movement with music and narrative, developing versatility and confidence as performers.. Classes will perform in our Spring Recital.

Pom-Pom is a spirited and precise dance style that combines elements of cheerleading, jazz, and drill team performance. This style is common in collegiate dance settings. Dancers use pom-poms to enhance visual impact while performing sharp motions, synchronized formations, and high-energy choreography. This style emphasizes teamwork, rhythm, and showmanship, building both confidence and performance skills on stage and in athletic settings.

Hip-hop dance refers to social or choreographed dance styles primarily danced to hip-hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture. This is a fun and energetic class that any level dancer can enjoy! Students must be in at least first grade to participate. Classes will perform in the Spring Recital.

Clogging, similar to tap, is a dynamic form of American folk dance that originated in the Appalachian region and has since grown into a widely recognized performance art. Characterized by precise footwork and rhythmic sound created with special shoes, clogging blends tradition with modern influences and can be performed to a variety of musical styles. It develops coordination, musicality, and endurance while offering dancers a unique way to both move with and contribute to the music. Clogging classes will also perform in our recital show.

Tap is a form of dancing in which the rhythm is sounded out by the clicking taps on the heels and toes of a dancer's shoes. We offer full-hour tap classes to students in 1st grade and up. A tap class will consist of a warm-up, across the floor, center work as well as learning a recital routine for the Spring Recital. Tap classes will also focus on counting music and learning rhythms.

Lyrical is a ballet-based form of dance with more contemporary movement. It tends to be more expressive and performance-based although proper technique is also taught. Students must have completed a full year of a one-hour ballet class before starting lyrical and must be at least entering the second grade. All levels of lyrical will be taught a routine and will perform in the Spring Recital

Students can begin taking a full-hour ballet class once they have entered first grade. Ballet I: An introduction to classical ballet incorporating basic terminology with positions of the feet, hands, and body. Ballet class etiquette is also a part of the curriculum along with learning the names of composers of classical ballet music and the stories of famous ballets. The class will also learn a piece of choreography to be performed in our annual spring recital. Our desire is to install a love for dance and create beautiful little ballerinas. One hour ballet classes consist of stretching, a ballet barre, across the floor, and center work. Ballet II, Intermediate Ballet, and Junior Ballet: Physical discipline, general body awareness, and control coordinating with technique and terminology. Body placement, flexibility, balance, alignment, strength, and technique are achieved through barre and center floor work. Choreography will also be taught and the class will perform at our annual spring recital. Ballet Technique: These 90-minute classes are for more experienced ballet students. At least five years of ballet is recommended (combo classes do not count) in order to enroll in these levels. In a ballet technique class, the focus is on proper placement, ballet terminology, and the proper execution of the steps. These classes do not perform in the Spring Recital.

Students can begin taking jazz classes once they have entered first grade. We have several levels to accommodate experience levels. A jazz class consists of warm-up, stretching, and combinations of jazz movements focusing on technique and progression. Routines are taught that are performed in our annual Spring recital.

All combination classes below will be a part of our annual Christmas performance as well as our Spring Recital.

An hour-long class for boys and girls that are age 5 or 6 as of Oct. 15th of the current dance session. This class incorporates tap and ballet and includes terminology and some brief history of dance. The students will enhance their skills in the art of tap and ballet. They will work on their proper technique through center and across the floor instruction.

An hour-long class for boys and girls that are age 4 as of Oct. 15th of the current fall dance session. This class incorporates both tap and ballet. Thirty minutes of each subject is taught including correct terminology for all positions and steps.

This class is offered to boys and girls that are age 3 as of the start of the current dance session. This 30 minute class is the introduction to what a true dance class is all about. The children will be introduced to the feet and arm positions of ballet as well as proper terminology for their movements. Our program is designed to create a love for dance and music in a very creative and loving atmosphere.

This class is offered to boys and girls that are age 3 as of the start of the current dance session. This 30 minute class is the introduction to what a true dance class is all about. The children will be introduced to the feet and arm positions of ballet as well as proper terminology for their movements. Our program is designed to create a love for dance and music in a very creative and loving atmosphere.