The Spirit of Dance The Spirit of Dance PO Box 1943 South Park Rec Center 1190 Bullet Road Fairplay, CO 80440 (970) 389-1915 Email

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Class Placement Requirements


Beginner/Intermediate Classes: Must have mastered a single pirouette, proper form and body placement; spotting techniques and working on mastering double pirouettes. Emphasis on flexibility & more challenging jumps & leaps. Concentrating on pointing feet during all moves. Performing routines with much style & personality.

Intermediate/Advanced Classes: Can execute complex steps. Dances with a beautifully pointed foot at all times. Can execute grand jetes, double-triple pirouettes, fouettes, axel turns and other advanced tricks. Performances of all routines must be exceptional.

Class placement is at the discretion of the director.
Evaluation may be required for proper class placement.

Class Structure
Each of the dance classes offered at The Spirit of Dance is 45 minutes to 2 hours in length and offered once a week at a set time within our schedule.

Class Descriptions

Mommy & Me (or Daddy)
With the help of Mom or Dad, this class introduces children ages 1-3 years old to movement, music and rhythm. This class is designed to develop skills appropriate for this particular developmental age group. Emphasis is placed on fun and the development of positive self-esteem as the child enters one of his or her earliest classroom situations.

Ballet
Emphasis in these classes is on ballet terminology, musicality, flexibility and coordination, correct body alignment, and strengthening of feet, legs and back. Ballet develops self-discipline, beautiful posture, a controlled body, strength, stamina and poise while never forgetting that ballet is an art.

Combo Class
The combo class is especially formulated for students interested in taking a little bit of everything. This 45-minute class offers a combination of Ballet and Jazz - giving the dancer a taste of both styles so he or she can decide to continue to learn both styles or focus on just one.

Hip Hop / Jazz
Using music of today, this form of dance involves muscle toning, stretching, and rhythm exercises. Students learn various forms of movement and terminology utilized in these forms of dance. Two basic styles are used in these classes - (1) contemporary Jazz and (2) the new rock, video and stage dance. Blending funk and dance moves, this is a high energy, full-body workout.

Lyrical/Contemporary
Lyrical dance focuses on creative expression by teaching students to tell a story through movement and music. Contemporary dance describes a range of techniques and styles used in choreography and is characterized by its versatility as it can be used with most any style of music. Contemporary works with the natural alignment of the body and ease of movement allowing dancers to push new boundaries of technique.

Modern
This dance genre appeals to the creative, artistic soul in everyone because of its expressiveness and freedom of individuality. We introduce students to elements of the Horton techniques and focus on movement from the inside out - encouraging use of breath, energy, and connection. A warm up of breath and energy work followed by exercises to emphasize extension, release, weight, momentum, and force, culminate in long movement phrases and improvisation exercises that playfully explore movement possibilities. The goal is to develop strong, versatile dancers that can intelligently handle any dance style.

Mommy & Me and Daddy too!
With the help of Mom, Dad, Grandma or sibling this class introduces children to movement, music and rhythm, as well as body awareness and physical discipline. This class is designed to develop skills appropriate for this particular developmental age group. Emphasis is placed on fun and the development of positive self-esteem as the child enters one of his or her earliest classroom situations.

Pointe
The Study of Pointe work is begun only after a student has acquired proper placement and a considerable amount of technical strength on the demi-pointe. We recommend that the student has been studying ballet technique at least 3 years. These students are required to take ballet technique and variation classes in addition to their Pointe class. A student with continued absences will not be permitted to continue their Pointe work.

Preschool/Kindergarten Creative Movement(Ages 4&5)
Children will be introduced to movement, music, and rhythm, as well as body awareness and physical discipline. This class is designed to develop skills appropriate for the particular developmental age groups. Emphasis is placed on fun and the development of positive self-esteem as the child enters one of his or her earliest classroom situations.

Stretch/Strength/Choreography
Stretch and strength classes develop a dancer's flexibility and strength. These classes are designed to enhance a student's technique in turns, jumps, leaps and core strength. The class will focus on elongating and strengthening muscles to give dancers more power and strength when dancing. The choreography portion of this class will include improvisation, learning to utilize the space you are in to create movement, appropriate music selection, music sharing and collaboration.

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