What level should my child be in?

Young Dancers Program Levels

Our young dancer program levels place children according to developmental milestones according to age and academic placement.  For the 2023-24 season, our age cutoff date is September 1, 2023.

• Dancers entering Kindergarten in Fall 2023 are placed in Pre-Ballet for Kindergarten.
• Dancers entering Kindergarten in Fall 2024 are placed in Pre-Ballet for Pre-K.
• Dancers not entering Kindergarten until Fall 2025 are placed in Dance for 3’s Independent, and must be 3 by September 1, 2023.
• Dancers who are 2 by September 1, 2023 and older three year olds not ready to dance independently are placed in Dance for 2s and 3s with Companion.
• Babies who are one year old by September 1, 2023 are eligible for our Tiny Dancer class.

Levels I – V

For First Graders and up, the following general rules apply:

• Dancers should be prepared to spend 2-3 years in any given level, and sometimes even longer.
• Dancers should expect to be placed according to their own individual abilities and training experience, never based on age.

• New students should be assessed by faculty in a trial placement class when possible.
• Dancers entering First Grade through Third grade, regardless of prior dance experience, are placed in our Level I which expands upon our pre-ballet curriculum.
• Dancers can expect a progress report emailed to them at the end of the Fall semester to enhance and reinforce the verbal feedback they have received in class all semester.
• Dancers should understand that while Ballet is not required to study other disciplines, those taking ballet almost always advance more quickly in their other disciplines.  Similarly, those taking multiple classes per week generally advance more quickly as well.
• Consistent attendance and prompt arrival to the start of class is vital to the success of the dancer’s progression in training.
• Dancers should bear in mind that we adjusted our curriculum and syllabi to include five levels, as opposed to six prior to the 2021/2022 season.  This means that each level covers more material.  Dancers can expect to spend more time in each level than in previous years.  We have five levels to accommodate twelve grades of school, and dancers spend time at the introductory level, time working AT their level, and time fine tuning at the advanced stage of each level.  Many students wish to skip the last step, and “be challenged” amongst the higher level before they are ready to benefit.  Skipping the stage of advanced learning in each level is detrimental to a dancer’s growth and causes for gaps in training.  Please trust the professional expertise of your child’s instructors, Executive Director, and Educational Director to ensure a thorough, healthy, complete dance education.  There are no short cuts in dance training.  We encourage the self-disciplined strategies of self-challenge and deep investigation of technique at the level they are working in.  A little encouragement at home goes a long way to support what we are teaching in class and what is reflected in progress reports and verbal feedback.