Our Preparatory ballet classes for 3 and 4 year olds are creative, using stories and music from famous ballets such as ‘Swan Lake’ and ‘The Nutcracker’, which engage the children and inspire them to dance with an appropriate quality of movement as well as their own feeling and characterisation.
Children are also gently introduced to the idea of receiving encouraging feedback which they can try to apply to improve to their dance movements.
Preparatory classes also include an introduction to tap dancing in which children strengthen dancing on the balls of their feet and learn basic tap dancing actions and steps. Dancing in time with the music and sense of rhythm are also developed in our tap classes through rhythm games and dance exercises.
When your child starts Reception at school, they move into our Pre-Primary ballet & tap and Primary modern classes.
Our Preparatory dance & tap classes are held on a Saturday morning and early afternoon.
The South London Dance School lower school dance curriculum develops the child’s natural cognitive and physical abilities. It is not possible to sustain a child’s attention for the length of a dance class without using his natural taste for play. These periods of fun educational games and free expressive movement alternate with times of great physical effort and mental concentration. The child learns that the reward of play is gained through sustained effort. Through a carefully balanced combination of effort and play, children work towards the following fundamental aims: 1.Improved Awareness Of Oneself Initiation into the idea of sides, identifying the right from the left. Progressive development of coordination of movement through exercises tending to use arms and legs alternatively and then simultaneously. Learning to utilise the outer motor movements of the fingers, shoulders, knees and feet; especially reinforcing the arches of the foot. 2.Improved Awareness Of Others And Spatial Awareness Whilst becoming aware that he has a body that he can control, the child must place himself in relation to others and to objects. Once the child understands that his body occupies a place within space, he will be able to develop a sense of his physical relationship with others. He will then begin to be able to find a suitable personal space in which to dance. The child learns to work in a group, or in pairs. He learns to become part of the group, together with others making up the collective figure of the circle, the square, the line etc. The child learns to hold back and be tolerant; sharing and waiting his turn along with a sense of gentle order and discipline. 3.Improved Ability To Listen And Respond Within the framework of socialisation, emphasis is placed on the attention the child must give to the teacher, and the ways in which he can respond to the teacher’s requests/suggestions. The child learns to listen and respond to the music in various ways, as suggested by the teacher. Through working in pairs, the child learns to respond to the physical actions and verbal communications of his peers. The child learns the etiquette of the dance class, including thanking the teacher and pianist at the end of the class, and choosing appropriate moments in class to ask the teacher a question. 4.Improved Posture, Balance, Strength, Flexibility And Fitness Gentle stretching exercises teach the child that his body can be trained, and flexibility can be improved. Building the abdominal and back muscles, to improve posture of the spinal column. Strengthening the legs and feet, thus improving elevation. Combining strengthening and stretching exercises with use of breath and relaxation. Balancing on two feet and then on one foot using improved posture and strength, assisted by arm lines. Progressive development of stamina resulting in improved fitness level. 5.Development Of Creativity And Musicality We like to favour the creativity of the child, through the use of stories, rhymes, props, mimed songs, free dance, improvisation and stories drawn from the child’s imagination. The child can, in this way, free the body that he has learned to control. Through use of a wide range of music (including live piano playing) the child learns to respond physically to various styles of music that each suggest different ideas and evoke different emotions. Through playful exercises using percussion and rhymes, the child discovers and learns to identify various rhythms and time signatures; 2/4, 3/4 etc. Knowledge of basic musical conventions related to dance i.e. waiting for the introduction, and counting in 4’s or 3’s. 6.Increased Confidence The child develops the confidence to make verbal and physical suggestions in class and ask and answer questions. In time, the child develops the confidence to dance alone in front of his peers and eventually in front of an invited audience. Through encouragement from the teacher, the child is encouraged in his natural belief that he can attempt new physical movements and succeed. 7.Development Of Language Acquisition The teacher’s use of stories, rhymes, mimed songs and sayings is extremely helpful in the child’s language acquisition. Through the experience of attending Preparatory dance classes your child will be well prepared for his/her next stage of learning dance which is Pre-Primary ballet, Pre-Primary tap and Primary modern. In these grades, children have the opportunity to take examinations and begin to progress through the ISTD* grades.► Further Information On Preparatory Dance
Please click the link below to see our Preparatory classes on our timetable: Or you can contact us at sldslowerschool@gmail.com or submit an enquiry form and we will get back to you with class days and times.► Class Times
Preparatory Dance & Tap Classes – Times
Please refer to our Lower School uniform list using the webpage below: You can also use the link above to find out more information about our second hand uniform sales which usually happy at the studios at the start of each term.► Uniform
► Fees
Fees
Uniform