Creative Ballet for 3-5 year olds including Kindergarten 

Saturdays 9:15-10:00, Saturdays 11:15-12:00,  Mondays 4:00-4:45, 

Our Creative Ballet offers a unique curriculum which allows for a both a joyous experience as well as basic dance skill development. These uplifting classes, for 3-5-year-olds and Kindergarteners, include movement stories, creative games, structured free dance, dance with a prop, show and tell, musical interludes, dancing the roles in story ballets, and ballet basics. Each day will have a surprise "treasure box" interlude with a special activity! In keeping with our fine- arts approach, our youngest dancers will experience dancing to a wide range of music including classical, great ballet scores, contemporary classical, folk and of course beloved children’s songs. The semester culminates with an Open Class to share our class with each dancers parents or guardians. 

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Ballet 1A

For older 5s with experience and 1st & 2nd grades.

Saturdays 10:15-11:15

(Vaccinations required for children attending 1st and 2nd grades) 

​A class that continues to encourage young dancers imaginative movement ideas while working on ballet terminology, the positions of the arms and legs, musicality and rhythm. Technical concepts such as alignment and posture are addressed as they are developmentally called for. The class includes a very brief and careful introduction to the barre. The young dancers travel in across-the-floor exercises as well, and begin combining steps to make a ballet "combination". The Level 1A class includes beginning choreography as we create a class dance. The class culminates in an Open Class. 

 

Ballet (with a Contemporary Twist)

Level 1B 1st & 2nd grades Mondays 5:00-4:55

 Level 2 Mondays 6:00-6:55

( Vaccinations required) 

Our Ballet with a Contemporary Twist includes the study of developmentally appropriate ballet basics such as ballet terminology, the positions of the arms and legs, musicality and rhythm. Correct alignment and posture are addressed increasingly at these stages. The class allows our young dancers the chance to explore today's increasingly contemporary ballet vocabulary. Ballet has changed and is no longer focused exclusively on story ballets. This class offers a wonderful chance to dance to a wide range of music including classical, contemporary classical, jazz as well as selected pop songs and folk. All of our classes include a choreography section during which our students can use their own ideas to create dance phrases of their own. Our Fall semester culminates in an Open Class for parent observation .

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Ballet for Everyone! 

6th grades through High School 

Adult Beginners or returning dancers welcome

Wednesdays 6:00 -7:00

(Vaccinations required)

The perfect Ballet class for everyone! This class will be of great benefit to a range of students in addition to our 6th grade and up dancers! Athletes, actors and musicians for example find Ballet to be important for strength, flexibility and alignment. Ballet instills self confidence as its structured base becomes a reliable framework to work on individual challenges! Develop a sense of ease in settings such as acting, athletics and public speaking through a basic study of Ballet. The class begins with a barre and progresses into beautiful flowing movements that really move and allow all levels of dancers to be expressive while using their technique. More advanced students will work on clarity, alignment an adding more complex versions of ballet sequences. 

 

Questions: Email Lydia to see if this class is a good match.  lydia@lydiajohnsondance.org  

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Contemporary/ Modern Level 1 (with a strong ballet base)

Level 1 1st & 2nd grade 4:00-4:55

Level 2 3rd-5th grades 5:00-5:55

Level 3 6th grade and up 6:00-6:55

(Vaccinations required)

 

Our Contemporary/Modern classes embrace a wide range of modern and contemporary modern techniques including the drop and release techniques of Doris Humphrey and Jose Limon. Current modern dance is a fusion of many movement qualities and includes a strong ballet base as well. This class uses a wonderful range of music including classical, percussion/ drumming, jazz and selected pop. Levels 1 and 2 include a choreography section during which our students can use their own ideas to create dance phrases of their own. Spring semester  for levels 1 & level 2 ends with a wonderful evening Showing of Student Choreography at The Woodland.

 

Level 3 is a more advanced technique class.

 

Students at this age interested in choreography should inquire about the Student Company.

Beginners should inquire directly to Lydia to see if this class is a good fit.

Please email lydia@lydiajohnsondance.org to discuss

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Student Company

Thursdays  7:00pm-8:00pm.

6th grade though early high school. 

Teen Internships available for older teens

(Vaccinations Required)

Prospective Student Company Dancers must be pre-approved by Lydia Johnson. Please email Ms. Johnson at LJdanceschool@gmail.com to see if the Company is a good match for your young dancer. 

Student Company members are required to enroll in Contemporary/Modern 3 from 6pm -6:55pm. The Student Company may perform each semester at one or more of these venues Open Classes,  at The Woodland, The Ailey Studios in NYC

Performance plans depend largely on the state of the Covid19 pandemic and studio availability. 

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ADULT & TEEN Contemporary/Modern

Mondays 7:00-8:10 

In this dynamic, contemporary modern class we will explore a wide range of modern dance movements while including a strong ballet base in the warm up.

The class is focused on the joy of dance and the sequences will be gratifying for both beginners and those with years of dance experience as well. The class is taught by Kristen Arnold Bell who has danced professionally in both New York and California after studying ballet at SAB (School of American Ballet linked to The New York City Ballet.) Kristen is a master teacher who fuses the joy of dance with the excitement of a challenge all while remaining warm, positive and filling her class with fun!