Different Styles of Dance That Dance To Inspire Dance Studio Offers
We offer a mass amount of different styles of dance. Below are descriptions of each style of dance that Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers. Our classes includes lots of movement (especially for our little students) while teaching proper technique.
Note that some styles of dance are recommended for certain ages but are not always limited to those ages. This means, that if a student shows proper techniques, maturity, and ect to be able to start a dance style earlier than recommended, then they may be able to start the dance style that is in question sooner. For example, some children are ready to start dancing before the age of 3; If they are 100% potty trained and presents the proper attention span and interest, they may be able to start dance earlier than is recommended.
Also note that some students may be more advanced than the rest of their age level/class. This could be the case of many elements, such as maturity, advanced interested, natural physical ability, natural ability to learn and adapt to their environment sooner, more advanced and in dept training from other areas, and ect. If this is the case, then the student may be recommended to move up to the next age level class in attempt to keep up with their next level of training and dance/acrobatic education, prevent being bored in class, and ect. Some students may also be slightly behind their age level due to lack of dance/acrobatic background/education/training, starting later in life, having a disability, and ect. This is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of and we highly encourage this statement! We want the very best for all of our students and nothing less! So, if a student is significantly behind their age level, our studio may recommend putting the student down a grade/class level, or having their own individual private lesson time with Miss Heather to help the student progress to places that we know that they are capable of.
Please see our our class schedules for class schedule information for the current dance year that is located in Class Schedules/Other Class/Private Lesson Notes.
Acrobatics/Tumbling
Acrobatics is the performance of feats requiring balance, agility, and coordination, involving skills like tumbling, jumping, and balancing, often seen in circuses, gymnastics, dance, and martial arts. It often combines technical skills like flips, handstands, and flexibility with strength and control, originating from ancient practices and developing into specialized artistic and sporting disciplines.
Tumbling is a dynamic gymnastics discipline focused on acrobatic movements like flips, twists, and somersaults performed on a mat or spring floor, emphasizing strength, flexibility, and agility without apparatus, often in sequential "passes" judged on difficulty and execution, and is a core skill in cheerleading, dance, and martial arts. It involves transferring the body through space using rolls, handsprings, and tucks, building resilience by learning to recover from falls.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers acrobatics/tumbling to ages 3 - adult.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: Bare Feet
Adult Low Impact Fitness Classes
Adult low impact fitness classes are sessions for adults that would like to get more physically fit and exercise more often by using the "following the leader" method, following Miss Heather in dance sequences that everyone may be able to do. Adult low impact fitness classes includes dance styles such as jazz and Zumba.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers adult low impact fitness classes to all adults.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: Inside Sneakers (NO SHOES THAT ARE USED FOR OUTSIDE USE IS ALLOWED!)
Ballet
Ballet is a highly a highly technical, disciplined performance dance that originated in Italian Renaissance courts and evolved in France and Russia. Ballet is known for its graceful, precise movements, codified vocabulary, and storytelling ability, performed on stage with music, costumes, and scenery, encompassing styles from classical to contemporary, requiring immense physical control, musicality, and dedication. Key elements of ballet includes turnout, precise body alignment (shoulders and hips aligned), and fundamental steps like plié, relevé, and arabesque, forming a rigorous training system for dancers. Ballet is very fundamental to dance as ballet is the main connection with all style of dance, especially for basic skills.
We use our barres for all classes to help with technique that is appropriate for their age level/dance level. We also work on strengthening each dancer's ankles, especially if the dancer's goal is to one day perform on pointe.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers ballet for ages 3 - adult.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: Pink/Flesh Colored Non-Tie Canvas Ballet Shoes
Character
Character is a versatile, story-driven style that blends techniques and dance styles such as jazz, ballet, tap, musical theater, and hip-hop to to portray specific characters, often featuring stomping, clapping, and expressive upper-body movements in elaborate costumes and character shoes. It bridges classical technique with theatrical storytelling, focusing on musicality, rhythm, mime, and cultural expression.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers character to ages 7 - adult.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: TBA during classes!
Contemporary
Contemporary is a versatile, expressive stye of dance that blends modern, ballet, jazz, and lyrical styles, emphasizing freedom, emotion, and innovation over strict rules. Contemporary often features floor work, improvisation, and a strong mind-body connection to convey personal stories or abstract ideas through fluid, grounded, and dynamic movements. Contemporary dance is also know from telling a story through dance especially with both emotion and expressions through the performer's faces and body movements.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers contemporary to 6th grade - adults.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: Flesh Colored Canvas Half-Sole Lyrical Shoes or Bare Feet
Core Strengthening/Conditioning & Technique Exercises
Knowing how to use your core is not only very important skill to have in dance and acrobatics, but also in life as we all use our core in everyday life in many more ways than we would normally think about. Not only is having the knowledge on how to use our core important, but having that knowledge is not any good if you have a weak core. This is why one of the studio's main focuses while training is students is not only having the knowledge about their core and what it may be used for, but also how to use their core to help them advance in their training and to advance in their personal goals, and how to strengthen and condition their core while learning how to control the new strength that their core will be gaining from the studio.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers core strengthening and conditioning to ages Pre-K - adult.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: TBA during classes!
Facial/Emotion Proper Usage
While performing, having perfect movement and technique is not the only thing to make that performance the very best that it can be. While performing, especially if the performer is trying to portray a certain emotion or character, you want to make sure that everyone in the audience knows what character you are tying to portray and how they are feeling in the particular moment of time You never want the audience questioning the character, the character's emotion, or even the storyline that you are trying to portray; You always want to be precise and clear like a period makes it clear that the sentence that was being said is over without any questioning about it. Proper facial and emotional expression makes the performance clear about what you are trying to portray without any questions being left unsaid.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers facial/emotional proper usage to Kindergarten - adult.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: TBA during classes!
Flash mobs
A flash mob is a synchronized performance where a group of people suddenly assemble in a public space, executes a choreographed dance routine, and quickly disperses. Organized primarily via social media and telecommunications, they serve as a fun, spontaneous spectacle for onlookers. The core goal is to catch the audience off guard, making it feel organic and impromptu; However, despite looking spontaneous, the dancers practice together beforehand and know the routine perfectly. Many are organized just to spread happiness, celebrate a holiday or special events, creative demonstrations, flash-protests, or elaborate marriage proposals, or entertain crowds in busy areas.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers flash mob to Kindergarten - adult.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: TBA during class (NO SHOES THAT ARE USED FOR OUTSIDE USE IS ALLOWED!)
Flexibility/Stretching Technique
Stretching primarily is a form of physical exercise where specific muscles or tendons are deliberately elongated and flexed to enhance elasticity, muscle control, and joint range of motion. Stretching also means expanding limits, exerting maximum effort, or making a resource last longer.
Flexibility is the ability of a joint, or series of joints, to move through an unrestricted, pain-free range of motion. It is heavily dictated by the elasticity of surrounding soft tissues like muscles, tendons, and ligaments, which can be improved with regular stretching.
Stretching is not only used to become more flexible to be able to perform physical activities such as splits for example, it is also used to take your skill and technique to the next level, and is often used to help others get out of pain or recover from an injury.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers flexibility/stretching technique to Kindergarten - adult.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: TBA during classes!
Hip Hop
Hip Hop is a dynamic street dance style born from 1970s New York hip-hop culture, characterized by rhythmic bouncing, body isolations, and freestyle improvisation, blending elements from breaking, popping, locking, and funk styles to express individuality and emotion to hip-hop music. It's a versatile art form emphasizing personal interpretation, collaboration, and connection to the music, often featuring sharp, percussive movements and complex footwork alongside fluid transitions.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers hip hop to Kindergarten - adult.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: Black Dance Sneakers
Hard Irish
Hard Irish is a powerful, percussive style known for its lightning-fast, intricate footwork and explosive sounds created with fiberglass-tipped shoes, contrasted with a famously stiff, upright upper body and still arms, focusing on rhythmic precision in dances like jigs, reels, and hornpipes. It demands immense control, leg extension, and power, with dancers performing complex steps to create crisp, sharp sounds on the floor, building on core techniques learned in Soft Irish.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offer hard Irish to 6th grade - adults with requirements.
***Miss Heather reserves all rights to have the final decision on if the dancer is ready to safely be on hard Irish shoe because ankle strength is needed for Hard Irish and this style of dance includes standing on their toes! for the dancer’s best interest! With that being said, even though the dancer is taking Soft Irish, the dancer may not be ready to start on Hard Irish yet. It is a requirement that Soft Irish shoe is taken at the same time as Hard Irish shoe at Dance To Inspire Dance Studio and/or that the dancer has experience in Irish.***
What Will Be Needed for Classes: Black Hard Irish Shoes (Please see Miss Heather for more information before buying these shoes on your own!)
Soft Irish
Soft Irish is an elegant, graceful style characterized by quick, precise footwork, high leaps, and pointed toes, performed in soft, ballet-like shoes (ghillies) with arms held still, creating flowing, melodic movements in dances like the Reel, Slip Jig, and Light Jig, contrasting with the percussive sounds of Hard Irish.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers soft Irish to Kindergarten - adults.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: Black Soft Shoe Irish Gillies
Jazz
Jazz is a dynamic, energetic performance style evolving from African American traditions, blending African rhythms with European steps, characterized by isolations, sharp yet fluid movements, improvisation, and strong musicality, appearing in vernacular, Broadway, and modern forms such as Jazz Funk and Lyrical Jazz. It features a grounded feel with bent knees, intricate footwork, and expressive gestures, connecting deeply with jazz music and popular culture.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offer jazz to Kindergarten -adults.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: Tan/ Flesh Colored Non-Tie Leather Jazz Shoes
Lyrical
Lyrical is an expressive dance style that blends the technical foundation of classical ballet with the freedom and fluidity of jazz and contemporary dance. It's core purpose is storytelling, where dancers use graceful movements and intense emotion to "interpret the lyrics" or mood of a song.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers lyrical 6th grade - adults.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: Nude/Flesh Colored Canvas Half-Sole Lyrical Shoes
Musical Theatre
Musical theatre dance is a versatile, story-driven style that blends techniques like jazz, ballet, tap, and hip-hop to convey emotion, develop characters, and advance the plot in musicals, requiring performers to be "triple threats" who can sing, dance, and act. It's less about a single form and more about using various dance languages to serve the narrative, moving from the structured ensembles of early Broadway to the character-focused, diverse choreography seen today in shows
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers musical theatre 6th grade - adults.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: TBA during classes!
Pointe
Pointe dance is a specialized ballet technique where dancers perform on the tips of their toes (en pointe) using hard-toed pointe shoes, creating an illusion of weightlessness and ethereal grace, requiring immense strength, balance, and control for intricate footwork, traditionally for women but now accessible to men, focusing on core strength, ankle support, and advanced training in barre and center work.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers pointe 7th grade - adults with requirements!
***Pointe classes start the year with ballet regardless, then pointe classes will be offered/started during the 2nd half of ballet time starting in January or when Miss Heather determines that the dancer is ready to be on pointe.***
***Miss Heather reserves all rights to have the final decision on if the dancer is ready to safely be on pointe for the dancer’s best interest! With that being said, even though the dancer is taking ballet, the dancer may not be ready to start on pointe yet. It is a requirement that Ballet is taken at the same time as Pointe at Dance To Inspire Dance Studio and/or that the dancer has experience in Ballet.***
What Will Be Needed for Classes: Pink/Flesh Colored Pointe Shoes
Prop Usage/How to Properly Use a Prop
Prop usage is where the student will learn how properly use a prop while dancing/doing acrobatics/tumbling, and/or for acting such as for a musical theater piece or to use to help portray a character and/or a part of the story.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers prop usage/how to properly use a prop for ages 7 - adult.
What Will Be Needed for Classes: TBA during classes!
Tap
Tap is a percussive, rhythmic style where dancers wear metal-tapped shoes to strike the floor, creating intricate sounds that form music, evolving from African, Irish, and English traditions into American jazz and theatrical forms like Rhythm Tap (musicality focus) and Broadway Tap (performance/storytelling). Dancers use precise footwork, combining shuffles, clicks, and flaps with turns and jumps to be both dancer and percussionist.
Dance To Inspire Dance Studio offers Ballet for ages 3 - adult.
What Will Be Needed for Classes:
Ages 3 - 1st Grade: Black Mary Jane Tap Shoes
2nd Grade - Adults: Black Non-Tie Tap Shoes