Performance Company

Our Performance Companies are offered for our more serious dancers who choose to make dance their primary extra-curricular activity. Membership is by audition or by personal invitation. It is important for all students and parents to understand that while participation is a lot of fun, it also requires a significant commitment to dance and a great deal of extra time and effort. Taking a dance class is the same as participating in any other extra curricular activity. Being a Company member is equivalent to being on a "select" sports team.

Some of the many benefits of being a Company member include:

Intensive Supplemental Training: Being part of the Company means extra hours outside of class rehearsing routines. Those rehearsals reinforce and strengthen technique, teach dancers to quickly learn and remember complex choreography, and expose students to styles of dance beyond the traditional class syllabus.

Additional Performance Opportunities: Company members attend numerous competitions and conventions as well as perform throughout the year at various events providing them with a variety of performance venues from large professional stages to gymnasium floors.

Professional Critiques: The industry professionals who serve as judges (as well as all of the other dancers, teachers, and choreographers) that attend competitions and conventions provide informed feedback that is not necessarily available from a friendly/forgiving audience. Dancers also receive written/and or recorded critiques that provide new perspectives help to recognize strengths and weaknesses. Often these comments reinforce the concepts of technical training being taught in class.

Exposure to Other Dancers/Studios: Every competition/convention attracts a different mix of talent - so our dancers have a chance to see what is out there. This exposure can reinforce their confidence in the own training and abilities, or motivate them to improve their own skill level. They also have a chance to make new friends from other areas who share their passion for dance ;-)!

Sense of Camaraderie: Ensemble dancing is all about teamwork. It teaches dancers to adjust their solo styles to blend seamlessly with other dancers. It also teaches the joy of a unified commitment to a goal. It teaches that everyone can make a significant contribution to the whole, and that every team member is worthy of respect. Click to see photos of our Holiday Team-Building Sleepover.

Confidence and Self Esteem: As with any skill, practice makes perfect. Company dancers get so used to performing for different audiences, that stage fright all but disappears in even the shyest personalities. The ability to stand in front of any audience without nervousness translates to other venues, giving company dancers and edge in school when participating in class discussions, making speeches, or giving presentations.

Discipline, Concentration, and Time Management Skills: Company dancers learn to focus on coordinating the many elements of an ensemble dance (music, timing, technique, interpretation, choreography). And they learn that classes and rehearsal are not enough; they must discipline themselves to a personal practice routine to help them grow. Because Company demands hours of rehearsal and performance time, members learn how to successfully juggle school, dance, and social life.