Welcome to the 2019/20 Season
We have so much planned for this season beginning with the 4th of July parade, August camps and intensives, the start of regular weekly classes September 9th, a Providence Bruins on-ice performance, a Christmas Show in December and culminating with our 18th Annual Spring Showcase in June. Peppered in between will be annual events such as Halloween dress-up week, Parent Observation week, Share the Love Event and of course Dad/Daughter Dance!
Sign Up now to be a part of all of it!
Benefits of Attending Dance Two Days Per Week
With fall registration opening this week on April 30th, one of the most common questions we receive is, “How many dance classes should I enroll my dancer in?” Kid’s schedules are more full than they have ever been and it’s a natural first question. Should you do one day of dance, one day of soccer, music lessons, and drama? Is it better to be well-rounded or to become more skilled in fewer activities? How do you decide what activities to introduce your kid to and how frequently to do them? Dance is an activity and art form that takes time, dedication, and patience to master. The more time your child spends in class, the faster they will progress.
The more you learn about how people learn, the more you realize that skill is not born but is a product of the environment. Daniel Coyle, an expert researcher in learning and skill development said in his book The Talent Code, “Although talent feels and looks predestined, in fact, we have a good deal of control over what skills we develop, and we have more potential than we might ever presume to guess.” To sum up an incredibly insightful book (which you should definitely read), skill is gained by consistently pushing the limits of your ability, failing, and trying again. And again. The more you do this, the more skill you build.
If you are only taking one dance class, once a week, there is a limit on how fast your dancer will gain skill. Taking two dance classes per week will increase skill-building opportunities immensely! The repetition has a compounding effect and you’ll see improvement grow at a faster rate than you thought possible.
Beyond becoming a much more skilled dancer, there are other benefits to choosing dance as your main extracurricular activity and taking multiple dance classes each week. Dance teaches you lifelong lessons in teamwork, hard work, responsibility, and accountability. Unlike many other sports or activities, there are no substitutes in dance. You can’t call in the bench and you don’t get a sub. Your performing team counts on you being engaged, present, and ready to perform.
The long, seemingly endless hours of rehearsal, teach social skills better than nearly any other sport or art form. Ask any of the dance teachers here and they will confirm that dance friends are friends for life. The process of learning new choreography and technique, and doing so as a shared experience, makes you into a person who is equally confident in being a member of a team and a leader.
Cost Benefits
The cost of taking two dance classes per week (or more) is your most effective way to save money at En L’air! The rate per class drops nearly 30% for adding a second class and continues to decrease for each additional class. If you are looking to maximize your dance ROI, sign-up this week for more than one class!
Preview the fall class schedule and pick out your favorite dance classes by clicking the button to the right. FREE Registration April 30th only!
Class Levels & Descriptions
Twinkle Stars Ages 2-6
Our exclusive Twinkle Babies™ dance class is a thirty-minute introductory dance class that is unique and important in the dance industry. The secret to the class is that it is structured and fun! It contains ballet, tap, and creative movement. Young dancers learn the basic steps while learning how to follow direction and imitate movement in a positive environment. Engaging music is used to get these little ones inspired to dance. The use of props such as Twinkle bears and hula-hoops enables the young dancers to use their imagination, creativity, and most of all, have fun!
Program: 30-minute introductory class
Grade levels: Preschool Ages 2 years, 6 months - 3 years, 6 months
Cost: $39 per month
Twinkle Stars Dance is an age specific 45-minute class containing ballet, tap and jazz/creative movement. The purpose of the class is to introduce young dancers to the three styles of dance and inspire movement and creativity within a positive environment. Dancers will also learn basic steps and terminology in all three styles. For example, all dancers will learn what a “plié” is and how to demonstrate one. The use of fun, age appropriate music engages the young dancers’ minds and bodies. The use of props such as hula-hoops for the “freeze dance” makes the end of class the most fun!
Program: 45-minute class
Grade levels: Ages 3-4, 4-5, 5-6
Cost: $46 per month
Also available for children ages 5-6 is our hip-hop class, Hop-Star™ - This high-energy class introduces our littlest dancers to fun music, basic hip-hop moves, and simple combinations.
Cost: $39 per month
Enroll your child in a Twinkle Stars Class and a Hip-Hop Class
Cost: $66 per month
Learn More about the Twinkle Star Dance Program here.
ShowStars Ages 6-13
Our ShowStars dance classes are a perfect balance of structure and fun based on child development principles and taught by qualified adult teachers. These combination classes for students in grades 1-12 include lessons in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical and musical theatre. During these formative years, students will focus on correct technique, showmanship, artistry, and performance skills. Students build upon existing skills and grow year to year.
We have found that these classes keep kids excited, interested, and focused for the entire class. Students must be of the required grade by September 9, 2017. These classes enable children to attend dance once or twice a week and still participate in other activities, or they can start to focus more on dance and attend classes two or more times a week on their way to joining Ensemble.
Tap is an exciting rhythmic exercise and dance form, which is enjoyable to both kids and adults. Rooted in African-American History, tap offers a variety of styles and techniques. Students will realize results in dance movement after a minimum number of classes. The classes stress the basics of tap and allows dancers to build into combinations which are great to watch and delightful to hear.
Jazz combines many styles and techniques from ethnic and contemporary dance to ballet. Rhythm, upon which all dance forms depend, is particularly integral to jazz dance. The first half of class consists of exercises which stretch and tone muscles and develops support for proper stress-free alignment of the skeletal structure. Using jazz, soul, R&B, ethnic and pop music, jazz classes are a great way to release tension while attaining a body awareness that can be applied to everyday activities. The Jazz program at En L’air covers Jack Cole, Fosse, Luigi, Gus Giordano, Afro-jazz, Broadway and more!
Hip Hop class provides a structured method of learning various Hip Hop dance movements in a fun-filled and vibrant class environment. The term “Hip Hop” greatly limits the scope of a typical Hip Hop class. From R&B and House to Club and Pop, Hip Hop classes utilize upbeat music from various genres, in addition to the latest Hip Hop hits. The resulting outcome is an energetic class that not only teaches you Hip Hop movements and technique, but also instills rhythm and precision in your muscle memory.
Lyrical dance is a fusion of ballet and jazz dance techniques. Lyrical challenges choreographers and dancers to use motion to interpret music and express emotion. A lyrical dancer's movements attempt to show the meaning of the music. Lyrical is a very passionate and emotional dance style. It portrays certain emotions such as love, fear, loss and tells a story through every movement made. A solid, ballet-based technique is an essential component of this advanced style of dance, as is a facility with various other forms of jazz, some contemporary/modern dance, and proper placement and bodily alignment. Lyrical choreography is often peppered with intentionally pedestrian moves, amid the more challenging movements, to create a simultaneously organic and dramatic feel. Lyrical is based around choreography and the interpretation of the music. Routines are based around feeling and emotion and, though technique is crucial, spirit generally tells where the dance will go.
Musical Theater is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an integrated whole.
Ensemble Ages 13-18
Ensemble students attend classes 3-4 times per week in ballet (pointe work,) tap, jazz, contemporary, musical theatre and modern. Students enrolled in Ensemble programs graduate to go on and perform in college or university dance teams and performance companies or, are hired by private dance companies. It is our goal to send these students out with a strong foundation and the skills needed to audition successfully and be employable dancers!
They also add Modern to their repertoire.
Modern dance is often considered to have emerged as a rejection of, or rebellion against, classical ballet. In the late 19th century, dance artists such as Isadora Duncan, Maud Allan, and Loie Fuller were pioneering new forms and practices in what is now called aesthetic or free dance for performance. These dancers disregarded ballet's strict movement vocabulary, the particular, limited set of movements that were considered proper to ballet in the search for greater freedom of movement.
Senior Ensemble Members attend a summer dance intensive with Guest Teachers and En L'air Staff covering over 30 hours of training.
2019 Summer Intensive
August 5-9
9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
$449
$399 if registered and paid by 2.28.19