Baxter Classes

2023-2024 Dance Season Class Descriptions

Acro is a 45-minute class for students 5 to 18 years old. This is an acrobatic style class that teaches floor gymnastics. Acro is a class that progresses from forward rolls and cartwheels to advanced tumbling, including aerial work. Teachers work with each student on their individual level. This class also focuses on flexibility, agility, and teamwork. All students taking this class must participate in recital due to tricks and partner work.

Broadway Heels is a 30-minute class and offered to students 9 to 18 years old. This class is for the dancer who is interested in taking jazz technique to the next level, concentrating on teaching students to dance smoothly in character shoes “heels” (used in musicals and Broadway shows), and is perfect for the dancer who wants to pursue musical theater.

Combo is a 45-minute class for students 2 ½ to 6 ½ years old. This class teaches the fundamentals of tap and ballet. Students will begin with tap and finish with ballet. Students should arrive in class with tap shoes on. Teachers will assist young dancers with shoe changes.  Young combo students should wear a pull-up if they are not potty trained.

Hip Hop/Funk is a 30-minute or 45-minute class offered to students 7 to 18 years old. Hip Hop is an upbeat style of dance performed to popular music. Although Hip Hop’s roots came from urban street dancing, it has become increasingly popular in the entertainment world. Funk dancing is the perfect fusion of styles, incorporating jazz roots into a melting pot of Hip Hop, break, popping & locking, along with other fashionable dance genre.

Jazz is a 45-minute class offered to students 9 to 18 years old. Jazz is a style of dance that is structured in technique while taking many shapes and forms. It can be performed to a vast variety of style music from Broadway to pop.

Jazz/Hip Hop is a 30-minute or 45-minute class for offered to students 5 to 18 years old. This class combines the upbeat dancing style of hip-hop with the technique of jazz. All music selections and dance moves are age-appropriate.

Jazz/Tumble is a 45-minute class for students 3 to 5 years old. This class will be a combination of first tumbling with various beginner acrobatic skills followed by an upbeat jazz/hip hop class. They will have no recital dance for tumbling. They will perform a jazz dance in the recital.

Leaps & Turns is a 45 minute class for ages 8 to 18 years old. This class is designed for students who want to improve the technique of their leaps and turns. Leaps may include (but not limited to) grand jete, saute chat, center leaps, switch leaps and reverse leaps.  Turns may include (but not limited to) en dehors and en dedans pirouettes, various turn progressions across the floor and fouette turns. This class will not perform in the recital.

Legs, Feet, Turnout  is a  class  that focuses on stretching, strengthening, perfecting dance fundamentals and understanding the important role of a dancer’s knees, feet and natural turnout from the hips.  This class will help dancers progress in their ballet technique, acquire more control in their movement, as well as turns and leaps.  It promotes body awareness, and is the perfect class to add to a dancer’s summer schedule.  

Lyrical/Contemporary is a 30-minute or a 45-minute class for students 7 to 18 years old. Lyrical dance is a fusion of ballet & jazz dance techniques that uses dramatic motion to interpret music and express emotion. Contemporary dance is a style of expressive dance that combines elements of several dance genres including Modern, Jazz, Lyrical & Ballet.

Modern/Contemporary  is a 45-minute class for students 11 to 18 years old.  Emerging from classical dance technique, modern dance explores a range of styles and qualities of movement, including the use of gravity and weightedness in the body, musicality, athleticism and personal expression.

Musical Theater  is a 30-minute class for students 7 to 12 years old, which incorporates a combination of Jazz and acting.  With this style of dance, you are working through Jazz technique while portraying a character.  Using songs from Broadway, we focus on bringing out our inner actor/actress!

Pre-Ballet I and Ballet  is a class for ages 6 & up. This class is divided into 6 levels (Pre Ballet to Ballet V) and students are placed by skill level. (Younger students are encouraged to take a Combo Tap/Ballet class). New students, please contact the office for an evaluation appointment for levels II-V.

Pointe/Pre-Pointe  is a class wherein the ballet dancer supports all their body weight on the tips of fully extended feet. Dancing en pointe makes the dancer appear weightless and sylph-like; this is done by wearing special box-toed pointe shoes. Students are recommended for pointe based on age and ability. A minimum of two regular ballet classes must be attended to dance en pointe, one of which must be the ballet class directly before pre-pointe or pointe. There is no recital for Pre-Pointe classes.

Tap  is a 30-minute or a 45-minute class that is offered for students 6 to 18 years old. This is a percussive style of dancing. Its name comes from the tapping sound made when the metal plates on the dancer’s shoes touch a hard surface. (Younger students are encouraged to take a combination class, see Combo.)

Tumbling  is a 30-minute class for students 3 to 6 years old. This class teaches the basics of floor tumbling including forward rolls, back bends, cartwheels, and fundamental acrobatic strengthening and coordinating skills. There is no recital for Tumbling classes.

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