In our Pre-School dance classes, boys and girls enjoy themselves whilst learning to dance through a highly creative approach such as using wonderful stories which capture the child’s imagination. Our fully qualified / experienced teachers will introduce your child to a wide range of musical styles during their time in our Lower School and this will inspire your child to want to dance.
Our Melody Movement classes are for children to attend with their parent / carer and then when they are ready, children are more independent dancers in our Nursery dance classes becoming more aware of the surrounding space and others within it. In our Preparatory classes, children are introduced to use of direction / positioning in dance and making formations with a partner or as a group.
In our Pre-School classes, children learn basic dance steps, balance, coordination and musicality. These skills, alongside learning to listen and follow instructions, provide a secure foundation for the very early stages of ISTD (Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance) syllabus work when they move into school Reception.
Most importantly, during their time in our Pre-School, boys and girls gain the confidence to dance around the space by themselves, led by the music and thoroughly enjoying the feeling of movement. This is a fantastic introduction to the exciting and wide range of dance classes we offer for when your child starts school.
Melody Movement (from 18 months)
Our Melody Movement classes introduce children from 18 months to music and natural movement. Toddlers attend classes with their parent / carer and go on adventures with Melody Bear and the teacher. Each lesson, Melody Bear follows a fun day-to-day theme, enabling the children to discover different aspects of natural movement.
Parents / carers participate fully in Melody Movement classes, helping their child to develop new physical skills, respond to the music / teacher and start to become aware of others and the surrounding space.
Nursery Dance (for 2 ½ to 3-year-olds)
Our Nursery children’s dance classes give children from 2 ½ to 3 years of age a fun introduction to dance. As this may be the child’s first experience of a structured learning environment, we make sure that our classes combine physical effort and mental concentration with fun movement / musical games and free expressive movement. Our teachers use stories, rhymes and songs that capture the child’s attention and imagination, and which also helps language acquisition.
Through our Nursery dance classes, children develop:
- Self-awareness and awareness of others:
- The ability to listen and respond;
- Sense of achievement and increased confidence;
- Creativity;
- Musicality;
- Balance, coordination, strength and flexibility.
Preparatory Dance and Tap (for 3–4-year-olds i.e., the year before starting Reception at school)
Children age 3 to 4 years can build on the skills they learned in Nursery dance by moving into our Preparatory classes and at this level, children are gradually introduced to the importance of precision in dance, especially regarding dancing in time with the music and counting the correct number of each step.
Even though children are dancing with a little more accuracy than in our Nursery classes, our Preparatory ballet classes are still approached from a mainly creative angle, 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.
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. Sense of rhythm is also developed in our tap classes through rhythm games and dance exercises.
