Class Descriptions

Beginning ballet technique mixed with age-appropriate creative play and exploration. Every preschool and kinder class at Open Arts is a supportive & creative place for young dancers to explore, learn, and grow. Students should wear leotard and footless tights or leggings and will dance in their bare feet.

Whole body strength, coordination, and flexibility mixed with age appropriate creative play and exploration. Every preschool and kinder class at Open Arts is a supportive & creative place for young dancers to explore, learn, and grow. Students should wear leotard and footless tights or leggings and will dance in their bare feet.

An active and upbeat class option for our youngest movers with a focus on balance, coordination, musicality. Every preschool class at Open Arts is a supportive, age-appropriate, and creative place for young dancers to explore, learn and grow. Students should wear leotard and footless tights or leggings and will dance in their bare feet.

Our most popular and traditional beginning dance class for young students. Beginning ballet technique with a focus on balance, coordination, flexibility, and graceful expression balanced with musicality, rhythm, and body control and isolations in tap. All blended with creative movement, self-expression, and playful exploration. Students should wear leotard and tights or leggings and will start class in black tap shoes. Bring pink ballet shoes to every class. 

A popular combination class that allows emerging dancers the opportunity to work on strong foundational dance technique with both the graceful expression of ballet and the sharp precision of traditional jazz dance. Students should wear leotard and tights with pink ballet shoes. Bring black jazz shoes to every class.

Strength meets flexibility and grace in this exciting class which emphasizes learning skills in a safe and orderly progression and learning how to transition gracefully between each skill. Tumbling, balancing, and flexibility skills and progressions are mastered through documented and leveled assessments before moving to new and more advanced tricks. Students should wear leotard and footless tights or leggings and will dance in bare feet.

The Musical Theater Program at Open Arts emphasizes the key skills necessary for students to successfully audition for and perform stage, musical, and performance roles. Students develop confidence and skills in vocal music technique, stage theatrics, and theater dance technique. August-December these classes prepare a musical production for a live stage performance. January-May is dedicated to technique work and skill development while also preparing Showcase production numbers. Students should wear dance attire and black jazz shoes and/or black character shoes (Middle and High School).

All of the Ballet classes at Open Arts follow a traditional ballet class format with full barre, center and traveling progressions that are age appropriate and designed to reinforce proper dance technique. Focus is on developing increasing strength, flexibility, and graceful expression in a supportive and caring environment that expects discipline and requires precision and focus. Students should wear leotard and tights, hair in a bun (or equivalent), and have split-soled pink ballet shoes.

Traditional Jazz technique blended with elements of hip-hop, commercial dance, street dance, salsa, and other forms of contemporary dance forms. Dancers love the upbeat nature of this class that's performed alongside some of the most popular music of the day. Students should wear dance attire with black slip-on jazz shoes.

A blend of contemporary dance styles rooted in American Modern Dance technique that utilizes self-expression, improvisation, and dynamic movements of the entire spine. Dancers enjoy the expressive nature of this class that also teaches choreographic elements and empowers dancers to find their individual dance "voice." Students should wear dance attire and will dance in bare feet.

At Open Arts, we teach a Traditional American Rhythmic Tap technique with a focus on rhythmic expression and musicality. Dancers learn the history of this uniquely American art form and are also exposed to Broadway and Show Tap variations. This class focuses on rhythm, clarity, precision, musicality, and style. Students should wear dance attire and black oxford-style tap shoes.

This dance technique class is specifically designed to prepare the intermediate-advanced dancer for dancing "en pointe." Exercises will develop strength in the toes, feet, ankles, calves, knees, core, and entire body to ensure dancers are ready for pointe work. In addition, special attention will be paid to dancer alignment, connection to core, and body control to prepare dancers for success on pointe. This is a non-performance class and will not perform in Showcase. Students should wear leotard and tights with split-sole ballet shoes but should also be prepare to work in bare feet each week as well.

Traditional Ballet Technique performed in special pointe shoes designed to allow dancers to perform on the tips of their toes. Extensive ballet training, teacher recommendation, and completion of our Pre-Pointe program is required before dancers begin pointe training. Students should wear leotard and tights pointe shoes.