BALLET JAZZ
Jazz dance combines techniques of classical ballet and modern dance with the current forms of popular dance. Jazz also has its own movement vocabulary ranging from the isolation of certain body parts to the movement of the entire body with the accents of musical rhythms. Jazz dance can take on many different characteristics and styles, including Street Jazz, Percussive, Broadway, Contemporary and Lyrical. Jazz classes can be patterned in any of these styles or a combination of them. Emphasis is on the importance of energy, rhythmical accuracy, and style. Each level of jazz is a continuation of the previous level and increases in difficulty
André Lucas’ style is characterized by sinuous, sexy shapes and clear, strong, explosive use of limbs.
DANCEHALL
This Dancehall class is open to beginners and experienced dancers and will focus on learning the foundations and movement qualities that go hand in hand with the mainstream and underground Dancehall music of today. Dancehall music is a subgenre of Reggae and originates from Jamaica when faster rhythms and digital instrumentation came into play and became a huge hit with the public.
The popularity of dancehall has spawned dance moves that help to make parties and stage performances more energetic. Many dance moves seen in Hip Hop videos are actually variations of dancehall dances.
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. It is named after Jamaican dance halls in which popular Jamaican recordings were played. These began in the late 1940s among people from the inner city of Kingston such as Trench Town, Rose Town and Denham Town—Jamaicans who were not able to participate in dances uptown.
HIP HOP
Hip Hop is a high-energy class that infuses the latest styles of street dancing, breaking, popping, and locking. Classes will encourage students to step outside of the box by bringing their own individual style and personality to the movements. Hip Hop dance requires students to have the strength and stamina to successfully perform moves. Therefore class includes upper and lower body conditioning as well as a rigorous warm-up to help prepare students for more intense movements.
Open to all levels.
Hip-hop dance refers to street dance styles primarily performed to hip-hop music or that have evolved as part of hip-hop culture. It includes a wide range of styles primarily breaking, locking, and popping which were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in the United States. The television show Soul Train and the 1980s films Breakin’, Beat Street, and Wild Style showcased these crews and dance styles in their early stages; therefore, giving hip-hop mainstream exposure. The dance industry responded with a commercial, studio-based version of hip-hop—sometimes called “new style”—and a hip-hop influenced style of jazz dance called “jazz-funk”. Classically trained dancers developed these studio styles in order to create choreography from the hip-hop dances that were performed on the street. Because of this development, hip-hop dance is practiced in both dance studios and outdoor spaces.