Classes

Classical ballet is the foundation of dance, based on formal movements and positions designed to allow for the highest class of agility, grace, speed, and control. At LJR Dance Academy, students study the Borovansky Method of Classical ballet, and have the opportunity to sit exams. We choose to offer this syllabus as it contains a high level of technical precision and structured training, whilst also engaging and encouraging each student’s dance quality, artistry, and performance.

The Borovansky Syllabus is a combination of European and Russian methods which takes students through the official grading schemes of technical and artistic movements. Students can start their first year of the Borovansky syllabus from the age of 5, where they are taught the basics of Classical ballet and how to successfully execute movements using correct muscles and technique. Once we have decided that a student is ready to progress to the next grade, they will have the opportunity to complete an examination. This examination will certify that the student displays the technical and stylistic attributes to further their training. Students typically complete annual examinations to receive their accreditation, which is particularly important to accomplish if they are dedicated to pursuing a career in dance. Students must attend two ballet classes per week of their grade to be eligible for the examination (excluding Pre-primary).

The genre of Jazz has evolved over time, currently encompassing the elements of isolations, grounded movement, syncopation, and contractions to upbeat music.  At LJR Dance Academy, students learn the Comdance Modern Jazz Syllabus and are given the opportunity to sit examinations. We choose to offer this syllabus as it enhances coordination, flexibility, stamina as well as giving students performance-based skills.

Young students begin to learn the basics of Jazz technique such as skipping, marching, isolating and dance combinations. They then progress through the grades, improving their jazz technique and increasing their repertoire of steps. Each grade begins with alternating warm up exercises and a floor stretch to ensure safe dance practices. Students are then asked to complete a series of corner work exercises, such as kick combinations, turning combinations, and jumping combinations. Following this, students are asked to perform a short dance routine with steps they have learnt in their particular grade. When progressing through the grades, students are taught different combinations and challenging routines to develop their Jazz technique and stylistic abilities. This syllabus also includes a diverse range of styles including Lyrical and Contemporary in the advanced grades. Students are also taught theory in the advance grades, which progresses throughout the grade levels and will be assessed during the exams. Students must complete a ballet exam to complete their Jazz exam.

The genre of Contemporary is a style of expressive dance containing modern movements derived from Ballet and Jazz. Similar to Contemporary, Lyrical is a genre of dance that highlights personal expression and meaningful lyrics. Contemporary and Lyrical connect the mind to the body, as the fluid movements convey emotions and stories of the individual. These genres are versatile and unstructured, allowing for the exploration of the movement, and creating a sense of improvisation, unlike ballet. These genres also focus on floor work, using gravity as an objective for contractions and releases. Our Contemporary/Lyrical classes at LJR Dance Academy promote creativity in the dancer, as they learn to interpret lyrics and express messages through movement. This encourages self-expression and allows for our students to share their thoughts and emotions, creating a sense of empowerment. Students will learn different Contemporary and Lyrical exercises and combinations to correctly endorse proper technique and movements in these genres.

Hip-Hop dance is known as a street style, with movements derived from mambo, samba, jazz and martial arts. At LJR Dance Academy, students learn styles such as house, locking, waacking, and breaking, which all have their own techniques and vocabulary. Students also learn correct Hip-Hop techniques such as waving and popping to enhance their performance quality and add an extra flavour/individuality to their movements. Students learn a series of groove exercises, implementing moves from different eras and origins. They learn old school grooves, such as the reebok, cabbage patch, roger rabbit and much more. They also learn new school grooves such as the whip, nae nae, dougie, cat daddy etc. Additionally, they learn dance hall/social party moves like willie bounce, pon di river, wacky dip and many more. Students are taught a different dance routine/combination each lesson to improve their ability to pick up choreography and confidently perform it within the lesson. This is a major skill that fosters professionalism in a dancer. Students are also guided through skills set to assist with freestyling as this is a major part of the Hip Hop dance culture.

Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) is a body-conditioning and strengthening program that enhances students’ dance technique and progression. PBT focusses on training the muscle memory required for multiple dance exercises. This program additionally assists with injury prevention and rehabilitation, which further enhances the ability of the dancer. It is sometimes challenging for students to feel and understand which muscles they need to engage to achieve the correct alignment and technique. However, PBT uses exercise balls, TheraBand’s and much more to assist the students in understanding a good sense of posture, weight-placement and feel of each muscle group activating. At LJR Dance Academy, we teach PBT because the focus on core strength, weight placement, alignment of the body and repetition of exercises assists our students in becoming strong and technically precise dancers.

Commercial Jazz is a modern dance style, taking elements of Jazz, Hip Hop, and urban dance to create an energetic and eye- catching genre. Commercial Jazz is commonly seen at live performances, in music videos, in films and commercials. At LJR Dance Academy we believe that Commercial Jazz is an extremely important genre for pre-professionals to train in, as many jobs in the industry require a strong Commercial Jazz technique. A student who trains in Commercial Jazz can have professional careers as a backup dancer for a singer, television work and much more. In our Commercial Jazz class, students learn different exercises to endorse proper Commercial Jazz technique and posture. Students also learn how to dance on camera and how to perform as a live backup dancer, with exercises to support these skill sets.

In order to be eligible for Troupe classes, students must be enrolled in a minimum of 2 classes (excluding Private lessons). Troupe lessons are for the purpose of learning group routines to compete with at competitions and concerts. We aim to help students build technique whilst learning and practicing the choreography given to them.  There is no audition process to be a part of the troupe class. All students enrolled in troupe class will have the opportunity to perform on stage with the whole group at concert events.  Once you have enrolled in the troupe you will have access to the troupe handbook which contains more information. Troupes are important for dancers to participate in to foster a sense of teamwork in order to achieve a goal. Dancing on stage with your team is a feeling like no other and is extremely special to share with your dance friends.