Donna's School of Dance

The class focuses on developing a dancer's fundamental skills and physical abilities, such as strength, flexibility, balance, and precision, to improve their overall performance and form. These classes include structured exercises like barre work, stretching, and specific drills for leaps, jumps, and turns. The goal is to build a strong technical foundation for more complex choreography and to foster good movement habits.

Dancers will master basic techniques like spins, rolls, and catches, progressing to complex manipulations of the baton both near the body and high in the air. Twirlers will learn to coordinate their body movements precisely with the baton's trajectory to execute tricks and catches successfully.

Hip-Hop is a high-energy class that supports in building student confidence. With the draw of popular music and trends, our teachers create an energetic atmosphere while developing mature and self-aware dancers. Students will learn the variety of hip-hop styles, technique, and terminology through focusing on timing, textures, musicality, and execution.

Students will develop strength and flexibility through floor exercises and tumbling. As students progress in their strength and flexibility the complexity of tricks and skills will be advanced.

Musical theater is a collection of styles that is rooted in the history of Broadway performance. Our musical theater teachers work with students on their dance technique with a larger focus on their stage presence, acting, and audition skills. Dancers would benefit from having previous or concurrent ballet and/or jazz classes to support in their ability to pick up the technique and choreography. Dancers will not only learn different Broadway choreographers’ styles of dance but also different ways to emote the music on stage.

Jazz dancing improves coordination, musicality, body discipline, and awareness. Our teachers challenge the dancers to use their strength and technique in a controlled manner through more popular styles of music. Teachers apply skills across the floor and in the center to promote the appearance and ease of smooth transitions. The mark of a great jazz dancer is one who owns their style. Our teachers provide students with the ability to explore their own styles through learning proper jazz technique.

Tap dance aids in understanding music, time signature, and rhythms while making percussive music with your feet. Our students learn the differences among tap styles while improving their tonality, clarity, and speed. Students progress from single count steps to incorporating more intricate combinations to enhance the rhythm of the music for the audience.

Contemporary classes are reserved for students 8+ and/or by teacher recommendation. Contemporary dance is a style of expressive dance that combines elements of several dance genres including modern, jazz, lyrical, and ballet. Contemporary dancers use their bodies to communicate with the audience through their movements. Students will become exposed to different ways to use their center and emote the music through both fluid and staccato movements.

Lyrical classes are reserved for students 8+ and/or by teacher recommendation. Lyrical dance utilizes the lyrics of the music to tell a story with movements including balance and control. Students will explore their emotional connection to the music and learn ways of expressing this emotion through their movement. As a fusion of both ballet and jazz styles students are required to have a strong background in technique prior to joining this class.

This class will teach exercises and techniques to strengthen feet, ankles, and core, improve balance and stability, and develop flexibility and articulation in your dancers feet, all essential for preparing for pointe work. This includes exercises for arch support, independent toe movement, and proper turnout, along with some educational components about ballet anatomy.

Ballet provides the technical foundation for all dance styles. Proper technique and terminology is taught both at the barre and in the center in order to support the student in developing grace and strength in their movements. Students are placed in ballet classes according to age level and the structure of class will meet the students where they are, but also push them to enhance their technique.

Ballet provides the technical foundation for all dance styles. Proper technique and terminology is taught both at the barre and in the center in order to support the student in developing grace and strength in their movements. Students are placed in ballet classes according to age level and the structure of class will meet the students where they are, but also push them to enhance their technique.

Our combo class for ages 4-5 increases in time to a 1-hour class. This class builds upon the technique learned in the 45 minute class, but if your child did not participate in this class, not to worry! Our teachers review all foundations of ballet, gymnastics, and tap from the 45-minute class with the introduction of jazz movement and style. The class is broken into 15-minute segments in order to review the four foundation styles of the combo class. The students will learn combinations throughout the year in each of the styles to review the process of combining technique to music. Students will continue to improve upon social skills in a dance-classroom setting with other children while building the confidence to perform their end of year routine in either tap, ballet, or jazz!

Our combo class for ages 3-4 is a 45-minute introduction to movement and dance. We provide the student’s first experience in fundamentals of ballet, gymnastics, and tap. Students will spend 15 minutes in each style learning terminology and introductory movements to build the foundation of their dance technique. Most importantly, these classes are structured around providing the child a place to interact with other children their age in a structured but fun environment! They will improve motor skills through creative movement all while building social skills, including: taking turns, following directions, and being a good team member. Throughout the year they will perform holiday themed routines for their parents in preparation for the end of year recital.