Woodland Fine Arts Academy seeks to provide dancers a nurturing environment while offering instruction in various styles of dance techniques. Each staff member is highly qualified to work with all ages of students. As always, selected music and costumes are age appropriate and modest. We seek to honor God in all that we say and do.
benefits of dance education
Dancing utilizes the entire body and is an excellent form of exercise for total body fitness, improving range of motion, coordination, strength, flexibility, endurance, and kinesthetic memory.
Dance promotes psychological health by providing students with the opportunity to express their emotions and develop self-awareness.
Dance fosters social encounters, interaction, and cooperation. Students learn to communicate ideas to others, work within a group dynamic, and understand themselves in relation to others.
Dance provides the cognitive benefits, helping children to learn to solve problems and create meaning through movement. This teaches the student to function in and understand the world.
Resource from National Dance Education Organization
Combination classes are a great way for students to experience different types of dance.
Ballet & Creative Movement - K-2nd Grades Dancers will be introduced to beginning ballet terminology, barre and center work as well as creative movement through exploration of shape, space, time and energy. This is a great class to help introduce and develop your future dancer!
Ballet & Jazz - K-2nd Grades This class will introduce basic technique of both ballet and jazz. Dancers will get to explore the poise, control and postures of ballet and enjoy fun grooves and steps of jazz. This is a great class to help introduce and develop your future dancer.
Ballet & Tap - K-2nd Grades They will be instructed in the basics of ballet and tap. They will also be introduced to the ballet barre and become familiar with dance terminology. This is a great class to help introduce and develop your future dancer.
Jazz & Hip Hop - K-2nd Grades This class will have a focus on coordination, isolations, balance, flexibility, stretch and core strength, as well as on rhythm, timing, directional changes, levels and execution. This is a great class to help introduce and develop your future dancer!
leveled & beginner classes
Ballet - Levels 1-5 & Beginner Level 1 (K-3rd), Levels 2-5 (assessment based), Beginner (3rd-12th) Classes emphasize the development of classical ballet skills with a focus on proper placement and alignment, gathering an anatomical awareness. Students will learn ballet vocabulary through barre work, center work, and across the floor, while building strength, stamina and flexibility.
Contemporary Modern - Levels 1-5 & Beginner Creative Movement/Modern 1 (K-3rd), Levels 2-5 (assessment based), Beginner (3rd-12th) Modern Dance (also known as contemporary) appeals to the creative, artistic soul in everyone because of its expressiveness and freedom of individuality. Derived from Ballet Technique, this style has evolved as a self-expressive art form drawing influence from all dance forms past and present, as well as music, theater, and the fine arts. Students will learn body alignment as well as moving in way that allows the body to be more free yet still connected and grounded. This class usually incorporates floor work, center work, across the floor and a movement phrase, along with students' own creative artistic exploration through guided instruction. Students have opportunities to develop their own movement/choreography through mid-year choreography projects and also contribute to their class piece for the end of season Dance Showcase. Hip Hop- Levels 1 & 2 Level 1 (K-2nd), Level 2 (3rd-12th) Classes include a warm-up which concentrates on building stamina, improving strength and flexibility, body conditioning and rhythm isolations. This class will help build a foundation of basic hip-hop movements, across the floor exercises and short combinations to appropriate music. Hip Hop focuses on rhythm, syncopation and stage presence. Derived from a combination of jazz funk and street jazz, this style of dance requires high energy, attention to detail and an understanding of complex rhythms. Jazz - Levels 1-5 & Beginner Level 1 K-3rd, Levels 2-5 (assessment based), Beginner (4th-12th) This class contains a fusion of modern, jazz and ballet, this unique style explores a wide range of organic, often angular movements and syncopated rhythms with a base in classical technique. This type of dancing is fun and energetic, includes leaps, turns and floor work. The class progresses through a warm up, center work, across the floor and an ending combination. It’s a fun way to move and express oneself!
Tap - Beginner & Intermediate Beginner (3rd-12th), Intermediate (6th-12th) Tap is a fun and rewarding style of dance for all ages and is a form of dance characterized by using the sound of one’s tap shoes hitting the floor as a percussive instrument. Two major variations of tap dance exist: rhythm tap and broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses more on the dance and is widely performed as a part of musical theater. The rhythm tap focuses more on musicality. Both forms will be explored. Intermediate students must have previous tap experience.
upper level speciality classes
Leaps & Turns - Beginner & Intermediate Dancers must be in Level 4 or 5 Jazz to take this class. Leaps and Turns works on improving conditioning, coordination and flexibility with a heavy focus on alignment, in order to help improve a dancer's leaps and turns. This class breaks down the building blocks of technique in order to work on more advanced movements. Dancers will gain better knowledge of the mechanics of how to achieve higher quality leaps and turns.
Pointe - Beginner & Intermediate Dancers must have already received pointe shoes and taken pre-pointe, or are in Ballet 4 or 5 to take this class. Dancers must be at least 13 years old as their growth plates have not fully closed before this age. Utilization of pointe shoes is an exciting accomplishment for dancers! Pointe class teaches dancers how to utilized pointe shoes in their technique. Pointe work requires the dancer to stand with the tips of the toes fully extended while executing movement. Dancers will learn what is necessary both technically and artistically for pointe work, focusing on strength building and articulation of the feet. Any dancer desiring to participate in pointe class will be considered based on age, strength, experience, and alignment.
Pre-Pointe Dancers must be in Ballet 3 or 4 to take this class. This Pre-pointe class is designed as preparation for dancers who are desiring to progress to pointe work. Dancers will work on technique and exercises designed for strengthening the legs, ankles, feet and core. In preparation of pointe work, special attention will also be paid to alignment, joint stability, and core strength. We will cover the parts of a pointe shoe, how to properly sew ribbons and elastic, and healthy toenail/foot care. This class is a prerequisite for any pointe classes. Dancers who are over 13 years of age will be assessed for pointe shoe readiness. If the teacher assesses that they are properly prepared for pointe shoes the dancer will continue in the pre-pointe class while using their pointe shoes.
All school age students begin in Level 1 (or a beginner class) and move through levels with teacher recommendation and assessment, unless the child has previous dance experience, elsewhere. The first 2 weeks of classes are for reassessment of all students, for placement, if needed. If your child has not yet been placed in a class level, and your child has previous experience in the specific class style within our program, please email fineartsacademy@gowoodland.com with detailed explanation of students skills/experience.
Please include the following when emailing about placement: 1. Child's age 2. Grade entering into 3. Previous dance experience, including past studios, styles taken, years of dancing in each style (if applicable) This does not apply to any combo, beginner or aged based classes.
Includes 4 weeks of lessons, per billing cycle, for 8 billing cycles Private Lessons: 30 min, $125 School Age Classes: 45 min, $60 55 min, $65 70 min+, $70 Ballet Classes that Meet 2x a week: $130 Specialty Dance Classes: Leaps and Turns: 30 min, $35 Pre-Pointe & Pointe: 45 min, $50
We offer a multi-class discountof 10% off each additional class, excluding specialty dance classes, art and individual lessons. This discount does not apply to the first class. We highly encourage our students to take multiple forms of technique.
