Explore the Art of Movement
Whether your child is drawn to the elegance of Ballet or the boldness of Hip-Hop, Bethany’s Center for Dance offers a wide range of styles allowing dancers to explore different forms and discover their unique artistic expression.
Ballet
Ages 5-12
Ballet is one of the most demanding and refined forms of dance, with a rich history that spans centuries. Its precise movements, artistic expression, and focus on anatomical principles, such as posture and alignment, serve as the foundation for all other dance styles. Ballet classes typically begin with barre exercises to warm up and develop technique, followed by floor work that focuses on basic steps and short combinations. Traveling sequences across the floor help students perfect their turns, leaps, and combinations. Through ballet, students build muscular strength, improve flexibility, enhance coordination, and develop self-discipline. Additionally, the emphasis on proper form not only helps prevent injury but also instills the confidence needed to progress in other dance styles.
Jazz Dance
Ages 6-18
Jazz dance is considered an American art form and it is often described as an eclectic and exciting style. Jazz is influenced by vernacular dance forms, Vaudeville, Broadway/Musical Theatre, Hip-Hop, and Tap. The genre also has strong roots in Ballet technique and often, the two styles go hand-in-hand with Jazz focusing more on quick, stylized, powerful, syncopated movement allowing dancers to showcase their personality and creativity. Classes typically focus on developing strong technical skills, including leaps, turns, and isolations, while emphasizing fluidity, rhythm, and style.
Hip Hop Dance
Ages 6-18
Hip-Hop dance is an energetic and expressive style that originated in urban streets and has since evolved into a global phenomenon. Known for its rhythmic movements, fluidity, and boldness, hip-hop combines elements of breaking, locking, popping, and freestyle improvisation. It encourages dancers to push boundaries, express their unique style, and connect with fresh and upbeat music in a way that feels authentic and powerful. Skills that are practiced in a Hip-Hop dance class include grooves, musicality, spatial awareness, endurance, and performance/expression.
Lyrical
Ages 6-18
Lyrical dance is a beautiful and expressive style that combines elements of Ballet and Jazz, focusing on fluidity, emotion, and storytelling through movement. Set to popular music, dancers use graceful, flowing movements to interpret the music, often conveying deep emotions such as love, sorrow, or joy. Lyrical dance emphasizes strong technique, including extensions, jumps, and turns, while allowing for personal expression and connection to the music. It's a powerful way for dancers to showcase their artistry and convey emotion with elegance and fluidity. *Must enroll in Ballet to take this class.
CONTEMPORARY
Ages 8-18
Contemporary dance is a synergistic style blending Modern, Jazz, Ballet, and Hip-Hop elements and is set to popular music. Focusing on creative expression and emotional depth, it encourages dancers to explore their personal style and push the boundaries of movement, often incorporating floor work, improvisation, and unusual movement patterns. Contemporary dance emphasizes the connection between mind and body, allowing dancers to express a wide range of emotions and tell a story through their movements. With its focus on freedom and innovation, contemporary dance offers endless opportunities for creativity and self-expression.
TAP DANCE
Ages 6-18
Tap is a form of dance characterized by using one’s shoes, as well as the floor, in a percussive way. The feet essentially are musical instruments, and the body and mind work together to create rhythms and sounds primarily using the lower body. Training in Tap also hones skills related to timing, musicality, and stylized movement. A Tap dance class begins with a warm-up and continues with combinations in the center and across the floor.
MODERN DANCE
Ages 6-18
Modern dance is an innovative and expressive style that emerged as a response to the structured movements of classical Ballet. It emphasizes freedom of movement, creativity, and personal expression, encouraging dancers to explore their body’s natural range of motion. Modern dance often incorporates elements such as improvisation, contact with the floor, and unconventional movements, allowing for a deeper connection to both music and emotion. By focusing on expression over form, modern dance invites dancers to break away from traditional techniques and develop a more fluid and individualistic approach to movement.
ACRO
Ages 6-18
Acrobatics is floor tumbling. Students develop flexibility, agility, balance, strength, and contortionist skills. Tumbling skills start with basic rolls, cartwheels, and handstands. As students progress, more advanced movements (such as handsprings, aerials, back tucks, etc.) will be taught.
Leaps, Turns, Jumps, Stretch/Strength
Class for Competition Teams only
A specialty class open to all dancers who are part of Bethany’s Competition Teams. The class will focus on developing the skills necessary to perform a variety of turns and leaps, such as pirouettes, a la seconde turns, fouette turns, coupe turns, pencil turns, attitude turns, leg hold turns, second jumps, switch leaps, switch second leaps, backward jetes, surprise jumps, etc. To stretch and strengthen, the class will also use dance-specific training equipment to target specific muscle groups for increased strength and flexibility with an emphasis on practical application.
PRE-POINTE
Ages 12-18
A pre-pointe class is by invitation only and students must be enrolled in ballet class. Pre-pointe focuses on strengthening the muscles and developing the necessary technique for a dancer to eventually transition to dancing "en pointe" (on the tips of their toes) by performing exercises that specifically target the feet, ankles, and core, including barre work, floor exercises, and targeted stretches. The class emphasizes proper alignment and foot placement as well as practicing and maintaining turn out and core control. Typically done before a dancer is considered ready for a full pointe class, it often includes educational components about foot anatomy and pointe shoe fitting as well.
POINTE
Ages 12-18
Pointe classes are by invitation only and students must be enrolled in ballet class. Pointe is run similarly to other ballet classes in terms of focus and discipline. The difference, however, is that students wear pointe shoes, so that the ballerina may go fully onto pointe. This advanced level of ballet requires dancers to have developed a strong foundation in technique, flexibility, and foot strength, typically after years of training in ballet and pre-pointe work. In pointe class, students refine their alignment, posture, and control while executing challenging steps, such as piqués, bourrées, and pirouettes, all while balancing en pointe. The class focuses on building the necessary strength in the feet, ankles, and legs to ensure safety and proper execution of movements.