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Mission
SCPA’s Dance Department features an incredible faculty teaching in gorgeous facilities overlooking OTR’s Washington Park. The Dance Department focuses on developing classical ballet technique as a strong base for dancers to excel in the dance field. The dance program at the School for Creative and Performing Arts is a pre-professional training program dedicated to preparing students for careers in dance or in dance-related fields or to pursue higher education.
Major Objectives of the Dance Department:
- To offer premier training from a faculty of former professional dancers dedicated to instilling a strong foundation of classical dance skills in students.
- To challenge dancers to meet rigorous training standards.
- To offer ballet technique, pointe, Pas de Deux, variations, Pilates, related seminars and repertoire that broaden experience and understandings of dance.
- To expand curriculum to include contemporary dance styles as dancers progress.
- To inspire our dancers to achieve individual bests in a caring and nurturing environment.
Curriculum
The Dance curriculum starts at the beginner level, in which dance steps and traditional exercises are introduced in their most basic forms. As a student progresses, these steps and exercises evolve into more complicated patterns and techniques requiring greater strength and flexibility. Each level of the curriculum perfects the movements to develop better placement and line, more flexibility and greater extensions, more intricate jumps and higher elevation, greater degrees of turnout, better articulation of feet, a heightened kinesthetic fluidity, more accurate musicality, better focus, and the ability to perform the steps accurately.
We supplement each level with stretching and age-appropriate Bowflex, Pilates, Yoga, and theraband work to increase strength/flexibility and to help prevent injury.
The Dance Department offers the following courses:
Beginning
Dance Fundamentals 1
Dance Fundamentals 2
Dance Fundamentals 3
Technique 1
Technique 2
StyleDance Department courses progress by ability level, not by grade level. Students may spend multiple years in the same class or skip over a class if their technique is more advanced. Class level is assessed by the faculty of the Dance Department.
Auditions
Students interested in attending SCPA as part of the Dance Department must pass a dance audition. For more information on the audition process or how to sign up, please visit the Audition Process & Procedures page.
Dance Audition Requirements
- Dance students must be appropriately dressed for the dance audition.
- Girls: Leotard and tights or shorts and a tee shirt.
- Boys: Tee shirt and tights or tee shirt and shorts.
- These should be of stretch fabric to allow a full range of movement.
- Students should bring ballet shoes if they have them.
- Students who have been on pointe should bring their pointe shoes to the audition.
In-person Audition process:
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For beginning and entry-level students, the audition will consist of an assessment of flexibility, strength, coordination, musicality, focus, and discipline. Basic ballet and modern positions will be demonstrated, and the students will be asked to imitate them to show evidence of kinesthetic sensibility, awareness of space, and ability to turn, jump and move with ease.
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For students with dance experience, please bring a photo in first arabesque and be dressed in a leotard, tights, and ballet shoes. Students will be asked to demonstrate combinations to show their level of dance technique. Students will be rated on physical ability, focus, and aesthetic sensibility.
BoardsProficiency assessments known as Boards are given each year in a student's artistic discipline. These assessments take various forms depending on the department, but are designed to test skill and knowledge progression in a student’s chosen arts field. Students who fail to pass their boards with a satisfactory rating will be placed on arts probation. Students who fail to pass 2 out of a series of 3 boards may be asked to leave SCPA, change the artistic discipline they are studying, or complete an arts intervention plan. For full policies and procedures, please see the Artistic Handbook on the Handbooks & Forms page.
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Student Expectations
Respect is the guiding principle we expect our students to live by.
- Be on time for class.
- Be dressed properly for class.
- Only water is permitted in the studio.
- No gum chewing
- Listen to instruction and do your best work.
- Interaction amongst students in class is prohibited.
- Those not in Ensemble are to attend Dance Ensemble performances.
- Follow performance procedures and theater etiquette.
- DANCE and enjoy your gift, WORK hard with your talent.
Questions students should ask themselves daily:
- Did I stay consistent with attendance for class?
- Did I dress appropriately for class each day?
- Did I keep a positive demeanor during the class?
- Did I take corrections and apply them to daily practice?
- Did I attend the required school dance performance each semester?
- Did I complete all written assignments?
- Did I prepare mentally and physically for daily class and rehearsals?
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Assessments for Grading
Daily grading: 40% :
Attendance
Taking class every day is an exercise in discipline. Attendance contributes to technical improvement, leading to mastery of a dancer’s skills. Missing 10 or more classes, excused or unexcused, will be grounds for failure for the ¼. A student not participating in class (either for injury or illness)will be given an assignment by the teacher to be done during the class. Being on time for class is a requirement. Being tardy three times will lower your grade by 1 letter grade.
Dress: Ladies are required to wear black leotards, pink tights and pink ballet or pointe shoes. Their hair must be in a clean neat bun at the back of their head. Gentlemen must wear black tights, black ballet shoes, and a white, black or grey (‘beaters’) tank top. Three no dresses in a quarter will lower your grade by one letter grade. Three improper dresses (no shoes, wrong tights or leotard, hair not up, etc.) will equal one no dress.
Attitude and effort: A dancer must strive to do their best every class. They must be open to new things and willing to give it their all. Pushing yourself every day requires a lot of physical and mental effort and, unless you have a good attitude, it is hard to make the effort necessary for success.
Assignments: Assignments will be given to the students at various times by their assigned classroom teacher.
Attendance at Performances: All dance majors must attend the 3 main Dance Ensemble performances each year: the Black Box, the Nutcracker and the full-length Spring ballet.
Performance: All dance majors must audition for Nutcracker and perform in the Dance Department Springfest.
Illness/Injury: All students who are absent more than three days in one quarter must present a doctor’s note. Assignments may be given to students for not participating in class.Technical Improvement 60%: Students are graded on individual progress and improvement on the principles of dance designated in the ten Proficiency categories. In classes that have more than one teacher the teachers' grades are averaged for a grade.
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Intended Learning Outcomes
Cognitions
- The student will know how to spell and will be able to recognize the French terms used in ballet.
- The student will have knowledge of basic choreographic principals, processes, and structure of dance.
- The student will be able to distinguish the basic ballet principals, and structure of the ballet class.
Cognitive Skills
A student has knowledge to identify:- Unison
- Contrast
- Mirroring
- Cannon
- Leading and following
- The student will be able to identify significant artists and artistic works in dance representing various periods, cultures, and social and political influences.
- Ability to learn, retain and execute class content.
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Psycho-Motor Skills
The student will be able to physically demonstrate the skills required for the ballet barre and center from beginning level through pre-professional levels. Increasing technical accuracy is required to advance through the levels.
The student will demonstrate the ability to work cooperatively in small groups during their rehearsal period for Springfest and daily during dance class.
The student will be able to execute various loco-motor forms with directional changes such as straight , curve, zigzagged, turning and twisting.
The student will be able to form and perform in various geometrical patterns.
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Sources
- Classical Ballet: Warren
- Scientific Keys Volume I: The Key Muscles of Hatha Yoga Ray Long MD FRCSC
- Scientific Keys Volume II: The Key Poses of Hatha Yoga Ray Long MD FRCSC
- Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology: Clippenger
- Dance Anatomy: J. Haas
- History of Dance: Kassing
- The Nutcracker
- Ballet videos
- Youtube videos
Affective
The students will learn to conduct themselves in a professionally disciplined manner: applying corrections, concepts and ideas with a positive attitude and working diligently towards achieving desired goals. -
Legacy of the Course's Content
Based on the historical background of dance, the student will have ability and knowledge of the ballet syllabus based on a national standard, as well as the understanding and execution of modern dance. The student can carry on their dance training at a number of colleges that have accredited dance programs. The student can audition for dance companies, musical productions, and other professional venues.
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Themes
- Identifying and demonstrating movement elements and skills in performing dance.
- Understanding choreographic principles, processes, and structures.
- Applying dance as a way to create and communicate meaning.
- Applying and demonstrating critical and creative thinking skills in dance.
- Demonstrating and understanding dance in various cultures and historical periods.
- Making connections between dance and healthful living.
- Making connections between dance and other disciplines.
- Making connections between the dance student and the professional dancer.
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Formal Canons of the Arts Area
- The dancer has the ability to execute the ballet barre and center increasing the technical level of accuracy as they progress through the dance levels from exposure to the advanced level.
- The dancer demonstrates appropriate skeletal alignment, body-part articulation, strength, flexibility, agility, and coordination in loco motor and non-loco motor/axial movements.
- The dancer can identify and demonstrate longer and more complex steps and patterns from multiple dance styles/traditions.
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Information Seminars
- Dance history
- Injury Prevention
- Injury Rehabilitation
- Healthy Eating Habits
- Performance Psychology
- Audition Skills
- Resume Writing/Portfolio development
- Anatomy for a dancer
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Proficiency Boards
- These Boards evaluate the principles of dance as an art form.
- Boards are a bi-annual assessment that takes place at the end of each semester.
- They measure technical ability and performance qualities. At least 2 of the dance faculty adjudicate the Boards and their scores are averaged.
- Failure to pass Proficiency Boards will put a student on probation. If a student fails Boards two out of three consecutive times, they will be asked to leave the department. (This is a school-wide policy.)
- If a dancer misses Boards they must have a doctor’s note explaining why they were absent. A student that missed Boards due to being removed for discipline reasons will not be permitted to make them up and will receive a failure.
The following principles of dance are required for the Proficiencies at the pass level or above.
- Placement
- Line
- Extension
- Elevation
- Turn-out
- Articulation of feet
- Kinesthetic sense
- Musicality
- Focus
- Execution of specific steps in the ballet syllabus
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Projects, Performances, Certificates, Competitions
Springfest
This is a yearly performance mandatory for all of the dancer majors. Each class level performs a short piece. Failure to be in this performance will lower a student’s 4th quarter grade by one letter grade. Missing Springfest will only be excused for the following reasons:- Personal injury with a Doctor’s note.
- Personal illness with a parent note.
- Death in the family with a parent note.
Graduation Performance Certificate
Those students who have met the following requirements in their Junior and Senior years will be awarded a special Performance Certificate at graduation.
- Must be in Tech 2 or Style 1 in their senior year.
- Must have maintained a minimum average of B in all dance classes junior and senior years.
- Must be accepted as members of Dance Ensemble for a minimum of their junior and senior years.
- Must have participated in at least the Dance Department preliminaries for Corbetts in their junior year.
- Must have completed their Senior Capstone Project.
- Must not miss an excessive amount of school (more than 10 days per quarter) or fall below a “C” average in any subject during junior and senior years.
Corbett –Mayerson Competition
This is a competition open to all majors at SCPA. It is a Dance Department policy that all junior dance majors prepare for the department preliminaries. It is required that two solo pieces, approved by the dance department staff, are prepared not to exceed 6 minutes total. These pieces should be from department repertoire and be in contrasting styles and emotional qualities. You may choose ballet, jazz, or contemporary pieces. The department preliminaries are held in February. For this you must prepare your own pieces. You may consult staff for appropriateness, but you must learn them and rehearse them on your own. If you are chosen to move on the school preliminaries in April, you will then be coached by the dance department staff. This second stage is adjudicated by staff members of SCPA. If you are chosen to go on to the finals in May you will be coached by the department staff. For the finals, judges are invited from the professional art community in Tri-State area.
Senior Capstone Project
- High School Portfolio: To include pictures of all ballets the dancer participated in. Reflections on all performances. History of all ballets their composers and choreographers. Reflections and dancers statements on Corbetts and Senior choreography and Senior teaching.
- Senior teaching completion.
- Senior Choreography completion.
- Senior Boards: Must present one solo choreographed by the dancer and one
solo from Dance Ensemble repertoire.