Dance Class Descriptions

Ballet
Classes are divided by level based on teacher recommendations and include traditional barre and center work focused on ballet principles. Students will gain an understanding of ballet steps, enabling the development of classical ballet technique.  The techniques found in classical ballet are a framework for many styles of dance, including modern, jazz, contemporary and lyrical and will facilitate further success in these disciplines. Ballet technique will develop muscles and posture that allow the dancer to move with poise and grace which result in freedom of movement on stage.

Pointe
Sufficient study of ballet, proper technique, a strong body, and faculty approval are all required in order advance to pointe work. Pointe classes include barre work, center floor work and across the floor combinations.  In particular, we teach body alignment, placement of the feet, and the manner in which a dancer transitions to and from en pointe.  We take a slow and methodical approach in order to assure a safe and solid foundation that will help students to be in control when dancing on pointe.

Classical Variations
This class builds awareness of true aspects of performance. Students will work on artistry and dance history while learning challenging excerpts of corps work as well as potential solos from famous ballets including Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Esmeralda, Don Quixote and more.  An awareness of classical variations is critical for future professional ballet dancers.

Skyra Fit
This is our very own certified program developed by fitness and dance professionals with a focus on strength, conditioning and endurance for the dancer. This is a one-of-a-kind class and is very important for any type of dancer.

Skyra Skills
Skyra Skills is a customized class for dancers that focuses in on  strength training, functional flexibility, alignment and injury prevention. This class will help dancers correct “bad habits” and find “correct placement” so that they become more aware of their body and therefore perform better in any dance class. This class will also focus on the five acrobatic arts divisions: Flexibility, Strength, Balance, Limbering and Tumbling. Skyra Studios is proud to be a acrobatic arts certified studio.

Emotions
Students will be given a movement combination and will explore different emotions with the same movement. Students will learn how to tell a story and bring emotion to their movement through various exercises. This class is essential for dancers at any level to build confidence and find purpose within the choreography.

Progressions
Students will Improve their technique through across-the-floor combinations that include jumps, turns & extensions. This class includes a strong emphasis on proper technique, alignment and movement quality.

Jazz / Musical Theater
Our Jazz classes include full body conditioning, progressions, center work, style, and choreography. Students will be exposed to various styles of jazz such as Broadway, Street, and Contemporary to help develop a well-rounded dancer. In this class, students will sometimes learn original Broadway choreography from iconic shows such as A Chorus Line, or classic Bob Fosse routines, and at other times they will learn new musical theater choreography designed to tell a specific story.

Contemporary
Contemporary is a fusion of ballet, modern, hip-hop and jazz focusing on expressive and abstract movement.  Strength, technique, body awareness, control, coordination, and flexibility are utilized within the contemporary class choreography. This class includes technical aspects with fluid and or sharp movements, unique rhythms, and floor work. This style challenges dancers to find their own unique style to express a story. Students will learn how to quickly change tempo and create sharp and clean transitions. This is currently the most popular dance style for competitive dancers and a cornerstone for those aspiring to become professionals.

Lyrical
Students will learn to use song lyrics to inspire movements and express emotions based on musical interpretation. This class includes a warm-up focusing on overall strength and flexibility, progressions, and center floor combinations. A solid, ballet-based technique is an essential component of this style of dance. Dancers will learn to extend and sustain lines while connecting to the music to tell a story.

Tap
Tap is an expression of rhythm–a vocabulary of percussion woven together to create music. We will explore the intricate rhythms through improvisation, tempo and style. Through improvisation, students will enjoy the creative freedom in order to find their own rhythmic voice, develop a personal style and refine their musicality.

There are many exciting styles of tap for students to explore from Broadway to hoofing and everything between. Skyra Studios also believes in the evolution of dance. Within the tap program, dancers will have an opportunity to work with new and emerging fusion styles such as lyrical and contemporary tap. Much like art, tap has endless possibilities of expression.

Hip Hop
Hip Hop with Lars is musically driven, with undertones of smooth, pocket-riding & rhythmic movement qualities. He surprises his dancers with cultural grooves mixed with genre-specific accents. Keeping things fresh is important, and hard-hitting pretenses followed by textured change-ups always leave his class wanting more.  His class is based in fundamental movement but never strays far from the relevancies of pop culture.

Afro-Fusion
David Gabriel’s trademark Afro-Latin dance classes blend Afro-Cuban dance forms such as Rumba, Palo, Orisha, Son, Mambo and Cha Cha, with other traditional dance forms such as Lyrical, Modern and Contemporary. The fluidity and expressiveness of classical dance is fused with the grounded, percussive movements found in folkloric to create dynamic movement sequences.

Afro-Latin dance and music is among the richest, most complex, and socially pertinent art forms that exists today. As a choreographer and dance instructor, David strives to create pieces of work that proudly displays the unwavering strength and transformation of African and indigenous arts throughout the diaspora. Our story is everyone’s story, and David feels that any crowd, any fan of art and performance can connect deeply with what we do as Afro-Latin artists.

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