Age 4: Creative Ballet 1 • Age 5: Creative Ballet 2

Goals:

• Introduce the key elements of the ballet technique in an engaging manner specific to young children’s level of understanding.

• Increase the dancer’s flexibility.

• Teach the dancer to follow instructions using creative techniques specific to their age.

• Introduce the structure of a ballet class to the young dancer: warm-up, exercises, dances, across the floor, cool-down and stretch.

• Focus on musicality while dancing.

Format:

1. Stretch

2. Warm-up dances

3. Ballet: positions of feet and arms, pliés, tendus, port-de-bras, retiré, rises, sautés, runs, leaps, skipping, gallops, bourrées, marching, polka (Creative 2)

4. Improvisation

5. Cool-down, stretch, reverence

Age 6

A ballet class to bridge the gap between Creative Ballet 2 and leveled Ballet Technique classes. This class introduces the concepts of a structured ballet class, including ballet positions and a set barre, while allowing students to feel the freedom of movement. Technical terms and concentration on posture begin at this level.

Class placement determined strictly by assessment. These are syllabus-based level classes.

Following the Level 1 assessment, students will progress through the Ballet Technique levels from age 7+.

SCB’s Ballet Technique is based upon the knowledge, training, and experience of its artistic directors. The exercises in these classes are set according to the SCB training method syllabi and are practiced each week in order to improve the dancers’ movement quality, musicality, joy of dance, and development as young artists. Each year, the classes advance as more technical demands are introduced. 

Ballet Technique is the only class type concluding in assessments, giving students a sense of achievement and an invaluable opportunity to receive feedback on work they have done during the year. Assessments are typically required to advance to the next level.

All students progress at a different rate, so individual recommendations are also made by teachers. It is not uncommon for a student to need to repeat a level for a second year, especially when completing their first year in Ballet Technique 4 when placement becomes crucial and more advanced curriculum is introduced. Pushing a student forward when they are not ready has a negative effect in higher, more advanced levels. Level decisions by artistic staff are final.

Class placement determined strictly by assessment. These are syllabus-based level classes.

SCB’s Ballet Technique is based upon the knowledge, training, and experience of its artistic directors. The exercises in these classes are set according to the SCB training method syllabi and are practiced each week in order to improve the dancers’ movement quality, musicality, joy of dance, and development as young artists. Each year, the classes advance as more technical demands are introduced. 

Ballet Technique is the only class type concluding in assessments, giving students a sense of achievement and an invaluable opportunity to receive feedback on work they have done during the year. Assessments are typically required to advance to the next level.

All students progress at a different rate, so individual recommendations are also made by teachers. It is not uncommon for a student to need to repeat a level for a second year, especially when completing their first year in Ballet Technique 4 when placement becomes crucial and more advanced curriculum is introduced. Pushing a student forward when they are not ready has a negative effect in higher, more advanced levels. Level decisions by artistic staff are final.

Non-syllabus classes are classical ballet technique classes that neither follow a set syllabus nor have a final assessment, but instead are designed by the teacher based on their own repertoire and experience. Non-syllabus classes should be taken alongside leveled Ballet Technique classes, as they are an excellent way for dancers to use and practice the steps taught in their leveled classes. Our expert teachers tailor each class to participants’ age & level.

Integral to much of the classical ballet repertoire, character dance comprises traditional folk or national dance styles as well as their modern interpretations, and was created to give full length story ballets their “character,” i.e. place them culturally and chronologically. The class often follows the same format (barre, centre, and solos) as classical ballet, but girls perform in character shoes and character skirts.

A dance style with African roots and technical movements that has evolved into today’s popular jazz styles, as seen on both Broadway stages and in theater productions around the world. Isolations, with a low center of gravity and high level of energy, serve as defining characteristics of jazz dance. From Fred Astaire to Bob Fosse, George Balanchine to Michael Jackson, this dance form is unique in its wide degree of variation in style and technique.

Class placement determined strictly by assessment. These are syllabus-based level classes.

SCB’s Ballet Technique is based upon the knowledge, training, and experience of its artistic directors. The exercises in these classes are set according to the SCB training method syllabi and are practiced each week in order to improve the dancers’ movement quality, musicality, joy of dance, and development as young artists. Each year, the classes advance as more technical demands are introduced. 

Ballet Technique is the only class type concluding in assessments, giving students a sense of achievement and an invaluable opportunity to receive feedback on work they have done during the year. Assessments are typically required to advance to the next level.

All students progress at a different rate, so individual recommendations are also made by teachers. It is not uncommon for a student to need to repeat a level for a second year, especially when completing their first year in Ballet Technique 4 when placement becomes crucial and more advanced curriculum is introduced. Pushing a student forward when they are not ready has a negative effect in higher, more advanced levels. Level decisions by artistic staff are final.

Non-syllabus classes are classical ballet technique classes that neither follow a set syllabus nor have a final assessment, but instead are designed by the teacher based on their own repertoire and experience. Non-syllabus classes should be taken alongside leveled Ballet Technique classes, as they are an excellent way for dancers to use and practice the steps taught in their leveled classes. Our expert teachers tailor each class to participants’ age & level.

1. Pre-Pointe Stretch: Levels 5 & 6 only

2. Pointe-Work Prep: Level 6 only by recommendation

3. Intermediate Pointe to follow upon later advancement into intermediate level

Ballet dancers use pointe work technique to dance on the tips of their toes using pointe shoes. It is a highly skilled technique that is not to be started until the dancer is deemed absolutely ready. The three levels of this technique exist in order to be entirely certain that a dancer possesses adequate strength before progressing to the next level. The progression through each level of pointe-work is at the full discretion of the teacher, and both the Pre-Pointe Stretch & Pointe-Work Prep classes must be completed before advancing onto pointe. Pre-Pointe Stretch class is normally recommended in level 5.

It is vital that a dancer work on strength and suppleness outside of their regular dance class. Stretch & Strengthen is an all-over body maintenance class drawing on exercise practices ranging from aerobics to pilates to yoga stretches, which are applied to ballet technique. The classes will be structured on the advice of all the teachers to target any weaknesses in dancers, in turn speeding up improvement and reducing the risk of injury.

Integral to much of the classical ballet repertoire, character dance comprises traditional folk or national dance styles as well as their modern interpretations, and was created to give full length story ballets their “character,” i.e. place them culturally and chronologically. The class often follows the same format (barre, centre, and solos) as classical ballet, but girls perform in character shoes and character skirts.

A dance style with African roots and technical movements that has evolved into today’s popular jazz styles, as seen on both Broadway stages and in theater productions around the world. Isolations, with a low center of gravity and high level of energy, serve as defining characteristics of jazz dance. From Fred Astaire to Bob Fosse, George Balanchine to Michael Jackson, this dance form is unique in its wide degree of variation in style and technique.

The sounds made by tap shoes striking the floor, becoming a form of percussion, characterize tap dance. It has a strong focus on rhythm and syncopation, and in the recreation of unexpected and lively rhythms, dancers begin to form one of the most standout, iconic styles in dance history.

Class placement determined strictly by assessment. These are syllabus-based level classes.

SCB’s Ballet Technique is based upon the knowledge, training, and experience of its artistic directors. The exercises in these classes are set according to the SCB training method syllabi and are practiced each week in order to improve the dancers’ movement quality, musicality, joy of dance, and development as young artists. Each year, the classes advance as more technical demands are introduced. 

Ballet Technique is the only class type concluding in assessments, giving students a sense of achievement and an invaluable opportunity to receive feedback on work they have done during the year. Assessments are typically required to advance to the next level.

All students progress at a different rate, so individual recommendations are also made by teachers. It is not uncommon for a student to need to repeat a level for a second year, especially when completing their first year in Ballet Technique 4 when placement becomes crucial and more advanced curriculum is introduced. Pushing a student forward when they are not ready has a negative effect in higher, more advanced levels. Level decisions by artistic staff are final.

Non-syllabus classes are classical ballet technique classes that neither follow a set syllabus nor have a final assessment, but instead are designed by the teacher based on their own repertoire and experience. Non-syllabus classes should be taken alongside leveled Ballet Technique classes, as they are an excellent way for dancers to use and practice the steps taught in their leveled classes. Our expert teachers tailor each class to participants’ age & level.

In repertoire or “rep” classes, dancers learn and perfect choreography of various ballets with sources ranging from classical dance masterpieces to present-day choreographers. Comprised by both solos and group dances, this is a crucial class for dancers to apply techniques learned in other classes and to understand where a given technique can fit into the performance element of dance.

Ballet dancers use pointe work technique to dance on the tips of their toes using pointe shoes. It is a highly skilled technique that is not to be started until the dancer is deemed absolutely ready. The three levels of this technique exist in order to be entirely certain that a dancer possesses adequate strength before progressing to the next level. The progression through each level of pointe-work is at the full discretion of the teacher, and both the Pre-Pointe Stretch & Pointe-Work Prep classes must be completed before advancing onto pointe.

It is vital that a dancer work on strength and suppleness outside of their regular dance class. Stretch & Strengthen is an all-over body maintenance class drawing on exercise practices ranging from aerobics to pilates to yoga stretches, which are applied to ballet technique. The classes will be structured on the advice of all the teachers to target any weaknesses in dancers, in turn speeding up improvement and reducing the risk of injury.

Integral to much of the classical ballet repertoire, character dance comprises traditional folk or national dance styles as well as their modern interpretations, and was created to give full length story ballets their “character,” i.e. place them culturally and chronologically. The class often follows the same format (barre, centre, and solos) as classical ballet, but girls perform in character shoes and character skirts.

Since being developed in the mid-20th century, modern dance has grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world. Combining the strong and controlled legwork of ballet with a modern stress on the torso, modern also employs contract-release, floor work, fall and recovery, and improvisation. Unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed, and direction are often used as well. Modern is recommended in Ballet Technique 6 and up.

A dance style with African roots and technical movements that has evolved into today’s popular jazz styles, as seen on both Broadway stages and in theater productions around the world. Isolations, with a low center of gravity and high level of energy, serve as defining characteristics of jazz dance. From Fred Astaire to Bob Fosse, George Balanchine to Michael Jackson, this dance form is unique in its wide degree of variation in style and technique.

The sounds made by tap shoes striking the floor, becoming a form of percussion, characterize tap dance. It has a strong focus on rhythm and syncopation, and in the recreation of unexpected and lively rhythms, dancers begin to form one of the most standout, iconic styles in dance history.

Class placement determined strictly by assessment.

Once in the company level, dancers will use all that they have learned in the preparatory levels (Prep-8) to take classes in the same way that a professional dancer does each day of their professional career: to train and prepare themselves for upcoming performances, roles or events. Classes are non-syllabus in nature, meaning they will change from day to day and from teacher to teacher according to what the teacher feels the dancers need that day or at that point in their training. These classes will be at a professional level in terms of the steps involved and the way those steps are put together.

In repertoire or “rep” classes, dancers learn and perfect choreography of various ballets with sources ranging from classical dance masterpieces to present-day choreographers. Comprised by both solos and group dances, this is a crucial class for dancers to apply techniques learned in other classes and to understand where a given technique can fit into the performance element of dance.

Ballet dancers use pointe work technique to dance on the tips of their toes using pointe shoes. It is a highly skilled technique that is not to be started until the dancer is deemed absolutely ready. The three levels of this technique exist in order to be entirely certain that a dancer possesses adequate strength before progressing to the next level. The progression through each level of pointe-work is at the full discretion of the teacher, and both the Pre-Pointe Stretch & Pointe-Work Prep classes must be completed before advancing onto pointe.

It is vital that a dancer work on strength and suppleness outside of their regular dance class. Stretch & Strengthen is an all-over body maintenance class drawing on exercise practices ranging from aerobics to pilates to yoga stretches, which are applied to ballet technique. The classes will be structured on the advice of all the teachers to target any weaknesses in dancers, in turn speeding up improvement and reducing the risk of injury.

Integral to much of the classical ballet repertoire, character dance comprises traditional folk or national dance styles as well as their modern interpretations, and was created to give full length story ballets their “character,” i.e. place them culturally and chronologically. The class often follows the same format (barre, centre, and solos) as classical ballet, but girls perform in character shoes and character skirts.

Since being developed in the mid-20th century, modern dance has grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world. Combining the strong and controlled legwork of ballet with a modern stress on the torso, modern also employs contract-release, floor work, fall and recovery, and improvisation. Unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed, and direction are often used as well. Modern is recommended in Ballet Technique 6 and up.

A dance style with African roots and technical movements that has evolved into today’s popular jazz styles, as seen on both Broadway stages and in theater productions around the world. Isolations, with a low center of gravity and high level of energy, serve as defining characteristics of jazz dance. From Fred Astaire to Bob Fosse, George Balanchine to Michael Jackson, this dance form is unique in its wide degree of variation in style and technique.