Classes are offered beginning with Pre-Ballet and Primary (ages three through eight), and continuing from Ballet I through Ballet V. Ballet IV and V students have the opportunity to attend Ballet Repertory when their teachers agree they are technically advanced enough. Pointe classes are offered at levels IIB through V. We also offer a lyrical jazz class for intermediate/advanced students, daytime classes for homeschooled students, and a special needs class.
Ballet, like any other art form, requires years of careful and repetitive training at the most opportune age to attain the desired result. In addition, intensive ballet training requires physical, mental and emotional maturity that is not attained until at least age eight or nine, and this cannot be rushed.
Ballet, like any other art form, requires years of careful and repetitive training at the most opportune age to attain the desired result. In addition, intensive ballet training requires physical, mental and emotional maturity that is not attained until at least age eight or nine, and this cannot be rushed.
Designed for children ages three to eight as an introduction to ballet at a preparatory level. These classes include creative movement, imaginative exercises, a certain amount of freedom of expression, large motor skill training, and an introduction to elementary ballet technique.
The students are older or more experienced and ready to be introduced to more intensive and structured exercises. Classes are still kept brief and allow many of the freedoms and creativity mentioned above.
Class time lengthens to one hour, and attendance two times per week is required. This bi-weekly regimen is necessary for proper advancement, since more structured classical ballet technique is introduced, and consistent reinforcement is needed to develop the body and the steps already learned.
Wearing pointe ("toe shoes") is offered to the student who is deemed qualified by the teacher. Criteria include an awareness of proper body placement and the ability to maintain that placement; sufficient strength in the back, legs and ankles; proper arch in the foot; knowledge of basic ballet steps; and an attitude of attentiveness in class.
Classes increase in length and the student adds more classes per week as he or she matures, advancing through the grades of our syllabus.
Our jazz class is catered toward intermediate/advanced students attending Ballet III through V. Attendance at a ballet class is required to attend the jazz class, since proper posture and the technique taught in ballet is necessary to prohibit injury and develop movement.
This class is prepared for children with special needs, designed to expose them to both the joy and freedom of dance, and the structure of ballet technique. Some of our students live with Down’s syndrome, Autism, or other unique challenges, and range in age from 5 to 10 years. To attend, students must be independently physically mobile and capable of following instructions. These students have their own small recital each spring.
In 1998, a special class entitled Ballet Repertory was opened under the joint inspiration of Miss Billie and Nancy Smith. Both women believe that advanced students benefit by applying what they have learned in technique classes to the choreography of the great classical ballets. In our annual recitals, members of the Repertory class have performed excerpts from "La Bayadere", "Swan Lake", "Sleeping Beauty", "Giselle", "La Sylphide", “Paquita”, and other famous ballets.
The Performing Arts School of Classical Ballet | (210) 349-2154 | 2147 NW Military Hwy San Antonio TX 78213
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