Columbus DanceArts Academy offers a variety of opportunities for dancers of all ages regardless of their long term ambitions.   This section will be helpful in gaining a better understanding of the philosophies of Columbus DanceArts Academy and how your developing dancer will fit into one of the programs.  Below is a description of our goals around our curriculum and an outline of some of the philosophies that guide our thinking.

Positive and Artistic Dance Instruction

• The basic philosophy behind all dance instruction at CDA is to encourage each and every dancer to achieve their goals, their way and at their pace.
• All instruction is done in a positive, rewarding and age appropriate fashion.
• Keeping every student’s mind, body, and passion for the dance arts in mind, we continuously promote and encourage positive self-esteem inside and outside of class.
• CDA is a performance based academy that makes teaching quality technique and individual artistic development a priority.
• Dance is an expressive art form and CDA strives to bring out the best of each individual dancer’s personal artistry of movement interpretation.

Individual Attention

• Class sizes are limited at CDA to ensure that every dancer receives the proper individual attention required ro keep up with their personal progress.
• At the end of CDA’s nine month curriculum calendar in May, every student receives a student evaluation for for each are form they were enrolled in which is filled out personally by their dance instructor.  This evaluation also informs them of the proper level of advancement of the following year.
• If there are  ever any issues or concerns, parents and students are encouraged to talk with the customer service staff, teachers and/or the Artistic Director, Robin Smith.

Art Forms Offered and Curriculum

• CDA offers instruction, choreography and performances in a wide range of dance art forms in order to produce a well rounded performer.
• CDA offers Ballet, Tap and Jazz for our dancers ages 2-5 in our mini/kinder program.  We offer ballet and creative dance only for our 2-4 yr olds.  our 4-6 year olds are offered combo classes of ballet/tap or jazz/tap.  The tap portion really helps the dancer to learn how to listen, count and find the rhythm in the music.
• Our academy level dancers through adults can take Ballet, Jazz, Tap and Hip Hop.
• For our placement dancers and pre-professional company track dancers we offer Ballet 2-3 times per week, Jazz, Pointe, Tap, Hip-Hop, Modern, Lyrical and Variations.  Modern, Lyrical, Variations and Pointe are only offered in our higher placement levels because we believe you must have a strong Ballet foundation before learning the techniques of these art forms.
•  Although a student can choose to dedicate themselves to one art form more than another, CDA does not narrow its curriculum to force that type of decision on our students.
• Every art form and level has it’s own set of curriculum guidelines to help prepare each dancer for further advancement.
• Ballet is the foundation of good technique in all art forms and at CDA Ballet in a fundamental and important part of curriculum and the basis of most college and dance company pre-requisites.
• A dancer with a broad spectrum of dance art forms will find professional performing opportunities faster than those with limited styles.

                  Programs and Performances for Everyone!

A dancer may train more casually or participate in our preparatory and pre-professional  programs which are a primary part of CDA’s curriculum.

High quality dance instruction is available to all regardless of age, ambition or level of advancement.

As a performance and artistic based academy, Columbus DanceArts believes that the end goal of all dance instruction should be the opportunity to express all that the student has achieved.

All performances include impressive costuming, lighting, scenery, and coordinates drama and dance into an entertaining story.

Performances are held either at a local high school auditorium or a professional theater in the Columbus area and some performances are held at different community events.

 

Mini/Kinder Program: This program is for our dancers ages 2-6.  Classes meet once a week and are between 30-45 minutes in length.  If a dancer is registered and they attend class regularly they have the opportunity to perform in our annual Mini/Kinder themed dance performance in May, held at a local high school auditorium.

Academy Program:  This program is for any dancer from 1st grade up to adults!  We offer three levels (Beginning Intermediate and Advanced) in most art forms and age groups.  Classes meet once a week and are between 45-60 minutes in length.  This program is for the more casual dancer, however many academy dancers feed into or transer into our preparatory and.or our pre-professional program if they desire to push at a More vigorous pace.  All dancers enrolled in an Academy class and attend class regularly are eligible to participate in our themed annual year end performance on Memorial Day weekend in May, held at a professional theater in the Columbus area.  1st-12th grade dancers in the academy program have the opportunity to participate in our annual Holiday show in December  if they meet the eligibility requirements.

 

 

Preparatory Program: This program is for our young dancers interested in feeding into our Placement and Company Program one day.  Classes are all academy classes that meet once a week and are 45-60 min in length.  To be apart of this program the dancer must have some previous dance experience and understand there is a commitment of more that 1 class a week with an emphasis on ballet.  There is a separate packet of information regarding this program.  If you are interested please see the Customer Service Staff for more details.  Preparatory dancers get all of the same perks and performing opportunities as the Academy dancers, plus they are eligible to audition for a solo dance in our Mini/Kinder show.

 

 

Placement and Company Pre-Professional Program: CDA offers a pre-professional program developed and run by a staff that has had years of success in training young dancers and developing overall programs.  Columbus DanceArts Academy takes the pre-professional program very seriously and will always strive to support our dancers in any dance related endeavor that they undertake.  For those wishing to move on in dance after graduation, CDA will offer pre-professional counseling and will work with the dancer to develop the strengths necessary to meet their dance career goals.  There are many performing opportunities and shows offered at this level such as A Haunted Hip Hop, A Holiday Show, DanceScope and our year end academy performance.  These dancers have the privilege of auditioning for feature roles for various shows, traveling around the nation to take master classes and workshops to further their dance education, and they have the opportunity to sign up for Dance Team classes in which they participate in a few local competitions.