Dance Programs
Whether you consider dancing as a leisurely hobby or a competitive activity, you’ll feel home at Jazziak’s Dance School. Enroll in classes today and be part of one of the best dancing programs in Central Massachusetts!
Schedule
Classes Offered
We offer an array of classes for a variety of ages and ability levels. From children to adults, we have something for everyone! The following is a brief description of the dance forms and classes we offer. Ages and ability levels are only suggestions– students are placed in their class at the teacher's discretion. It is customary for students to remain at the same level for at least 2 years before moving on.
Preschool Classes
Offered to children aged 2 to 5, these fast-paced, fun-filled classes hold the interest of our youngest dancers while teaching them the basics of dance.
Little Ones 1 (ballet & tap)
Suggested Age: 2 to 2.5
Ability Level: No experience required
Little Ones 2 (ballet & tap)
Suggested Age: 2.5 to 3
Ability Level: No experience required
Kindies 1 (ballet & tap)
Suggested Age: 4
Ability Level: no experience to 1 year of experience in basic dance
Kindies 2 (ballet & tap)
Suggested Age: 5
Ability Level: 1 to 2 years of experience in basic dance
Tumble Tots (tumbling & pre-acro)
Suggested Age: 4 to 5
Ability Level: No experience required
Ballet
These classes provide skills in classical ballet including the application of technique and terminology.
Ballet 1
Suggested Age: 6 to 7
Ability Level: Basic pre-K dance experience or 1 to 2 years of ballet.
Ballet 2
Suggested Age: 7 to 9
Ability Level: 1 to 2 years of ballet experience.
Ballet 3
Suggested Age: 9 to 11
Ability Level: 2 to 4 years of ballet experience.
Ballet 4
Suggested Age: 12 & up
Ability Level: 3 to 5 years of ballet experience.
Tap
Using special shoes that create a percussive sound, tap dance allows students to audibly tap out rhythms with their feet.
Tap 1
Suggested Age: 6 to 7
Ability Level: Basic pre-K dance experience or 1 to 2 years tap experience.
Tap 2
Suggested Age: 7 to 9
Ability Level: 1 to 3 years of tap experience.
Tap 3
Suggested Age: 10 to 13
Ability Level: 3 to 4 years of tap experience.
Tap 4
Suggested Age: 12 & up
Ability Level: 5+ years of tap experience.
Jazz
This form of dance incorporates a wide variety of dance styles and is influenced by multiple dance forms including ballet, hip-hop, and acrobats to name a few. This class features fast moving jazz dance form that emphasizes dance technique, strength, and flexibility.
Jazz/Acro
Suggested Age: 6 to 7
Ability Level: Basic pre-K dance experience or 1-2 years of jazz/acro experience.
Jazz 2
Suggested Age: 7 to 10
Ability Level: 2 to 4 years of jazz/acro experience.
Jazz 3
Suggested Age: 11 & up
Ability Level: 4+ years of jazz experience.
Jazz 4
Suggested Age: 12 & up
Ability Level: 3 to 5 years of jazz experience.
Acro
This class provides skills in basic floor gymnastics and tumbling.
Jazz/Acro
Suggested Age: 6 to 8
Ability Level: Basic pre-K dance experience or 1-2 years of jazz/acro experience.
Acro 2
Suggested Age: 7 to 9
Ability Level: 1 to 3 years of jazz/acro experience. Students in this class must be able to execute a forward roll, bridge and both cartwheels unassisted.
Acro 3
Suggested Age: Level placement based on skill only
Ability Level: Intermediate acrobatic skills. Students in this class must be able to execute a front and back walkover with no assistance, a back handspring with one spot, and an aerial
Acro 4 & 5
Suggested Age: Level placement based on skill only
Ability Level: Advanced acrobatic skills. Students in this class must be able to execute a front and back handspring as well as a front and side aerial with little to no support.
Irish Step Dance
Irish step dance offers traditional dance forms originating from Ireland, often performed to traditional Irish music.
Irish 1
Suggested Age: 5 to 7
Ability Level: Basic Pre-K dance experience or 1 to 2 years Irish step experience.
Irish 2
Suggested Age: 7 to 9
Ability Level: 1 to 3 years of Irish step dance experience.
Irish 3
Suggested Age: 9 to 12
Ability Level: 2 to 4 years of Irish step dance experience.
Irish 4
Suggested Age: 12 & up
Ability Level: 3 to 5 years of Irish step dance experience.
Irish Hard Shoe
This lively Irish folk dance is performed in special Irish hard shoes to emphasize the stomps, trebles, and clicks commonly performed.
Hard Shoe 1
Suggested Age: 8 to 11
Ability Level: This class is offered to students at Irish 3 level or above, or by invitation.
Hard Shoe 2
Suggested Age: 10 to 14
Ability Level: 2+ years of Hard Shoe experience.
Hip-Hop
This high-energy form of urban dance includes a wide variety of street style dancing including popping, locking, and breaking.
Hip-Hop 1
Suggested Age: 6-9
Ability Level: Beginner to limited hip-hop experience. 1-2 years of jazz and/or acro experience required. Students in this class must have jazz, acro or ballet included in their curriculum.
Hip-Hop 2
Suggested Age: 9-12
Ability Level: 2-3 years of acro experience required. Students must have 2-3 years of jazz and/or acro experience. Students in this class must have jazz, acro or ballet included in their curriculum.
Hip-Hop 3
Suggested Age: 12+
Ability Level: Experienced hip-hop students only. Students in this class must have jazz, acro or ballet included in their curriculum.
Lyrical
This captivating form of dance combines elements of jazz, ballet, and modern moves to express emotion through the art of dance.
Lyrical 1
Suggested Age: 7 to 10
Ability Level: Ballet experience necessary. Students in this class must have ballet included in their curriculum.
Lyrical 2
Suggested Age: 11 & up
Ability Level: Experienced Lyrical dancers only. Students in this class must have ballet included in their curriculum.
Pointe
A form of classical ballet, this technical dance class is performed en pointe with the dancer supporting all of their weight on the tips of their feet using special supportive shoes.
Pre-Pointe
Suggested Age: 11 & up
Ability Level: Pointe classes are invitational only. Students with an extensive background in ballet dance will be evaluated in class or through an audition process. It is the teacher’s decision as to when a student is strong enough to go on pointe. Students in this class must have ballet included in their curriculum.
Pointe
Suggested Age: 12 to 17
Ability Level: Advanced pointe dancers only. Students in this class must have ballet included in their curriculum.
Dance Team
Over the years, our competitive dance teams have taken local and national competitions by storm! Our team dancers have racked up numerous judges awards, overall placements, and several high-standing medals.
The exhilaration of success is not the only advantage to being on one of our dance teams. The unity, support, and respect among team members are the values that truly make our teams unique!
Auditions
Competitive Dance Team auditions are held as a combined Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Hip-hop & Acro audition. Auditions for our 2023-2024 competition season are scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 19. Students must be in the proper attire of a black leotard, tights and a bun in their hair in order to audition. Boys auditioning should wear black pants and a well-fitting white T-shirt. There is a $20.00 audition fee per student. Students will also have to fill out and bring an audition form, which will be available online prior to auditions, as well as completion certificates from our summer intensives.
All students auditioning for the competitive dance team are required to participate in two of our camps over the summer. One camp MUST be either the Leaps & Turns Intensive or Ballet Bootcamp. The second camp is of the students choosing; however, Irish Step Camps do not count towards competitive team requirements. As noted, students must bring a certificate of completion from these summer camps to their audition in August. Additionally, students auditioning for the dance team must have a vast ballet background, including having taken ballet the previous year. Students new to our school will need to provide proof of ballet participation from last year.
Team Requirements
Our dance team classes will consist of Competitive Jazz (required for all competing students), Competitive Tap (required for all competing students), Competitive Lyrical, Competitive Contemporary, Competitive Acro and Competitive Hip-hop.
After auditions students will be informed if they have been chosen to be part of our dance team, and will find out which competition classes they will be allowed to participate in.
Our requirements for the 2023-2024 Competition team are as follows
Ages 7 & Under
Students in this age bracket must participate in at least 4 hours of dance per week. Their 4-hour schedule must consist of:
- Competitive Jazz & Competitive Tap
- One ballet class
- One class in either tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, acro or hip-hop
For any additional hours required students may take any class of their choosing.
Ages 8-9
Students in this age bracket must participate in at least 5 hours of dance per week. Their 5-hour schedule must consist of:
- Competitive Jazz & Competitive Tap
- One ballet class (a non-performance ballet class consisting of only competition team members)
- One class in either tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, acro or hip-hop
For any additional hours required students may take any class of their choosing.
Ages 10-12
For this age bracket, students must participate in at least 6 hours of dance per week. This 6 hour/week schedule must include (but are not limited to):
- Competitive Jazz & Competitive Tap
- One “competitive” ballet class (a non-performance ballet class consisting of only competition team members)
- Technique or Acro & Conditioning
- Any class in the form of tap, jazz, lyrical, acro or hip-hop (recreational or competitive)
For any additional hours needed students may take any class of their choosing, recreational or competitive. If a student opts to choose to take recreational ballet in order to perform a ballet dance in the recital, they must also take either the Competitive Ballet class or Technique in addition to the recreational ballet class.
Ages 13 & Up
For this age bracket, students must participate in at least 7 hours of dance per week. This 7 hour/week schedule must include (but are not limited to):
- Competitive Jazz & Competitive Tap
- One Production
- One “competitive” ballet class (a non-performance ballet class consisting of only competition team members)
- Technique or Acro & Conditioning
- Any class in the form of tap, jazz, lyrical, acro or hip-hop (recreational or competitive)
For any additional hours required students may take any class of their choosing, recreational or competitive. If a student opts to choose to take recreational ballet in order to perform a ballet dance in the recital, they must also take either the Competitive Ballet class or Technique in addition to the recreational ballet class.
Dance Team Dress Code
Dance team students will be required to wear a black leotard & tights for all of their dance classes with the exception of hip-hop. Students are required to wear their hair in a bun for all Ballet, Pointe and Technique classes. Students out of dress code may be required to sit out of class.
Team Year Requirements
During the course of the year the dance team members are expected to participate in various performances, practices and fundraisers. It is important for students to participate along with their team in these events, and we provide a schedule at the start of the school year- plenty of time for you to make arrangements to ensure you are able to participate.
Team Fee: Team members are required to pay a team fee at the start of the year. The team covers any additional practices that might be held during the competition season. The team fee also helps cover expenses that teachers incur during competition season. Competition fees are not included in the team fee; Competitive Team members will be expected to pay for their competition fees prior to competition. Additionally, all team students are required to own a dance team jacket. Team students needing a team jacket will be charged separately for the jacket. All team students are also required to purchase all of the correct performance makeup through Jazziaks. Students may not use their own makeup for competition or performances.
Mandatory Team Meeting: We hold a team meeting at the start of the school year to go over our ideas and expectations for the competition season.
Fundraisers: Through the course of the year we hold several fundraisers to help offset the costs of competition. Proceeds of a particular fundraiser will only go towards participating students. Even so, dance team students are required to participate in at least 2 of these fundraisers (but are not limited to only 2).
Competitions: We are planning to attend 3 regional (local) competitions this year. The dates of these competitions will be announced at the start of the school year. All competitive students must keep these weekends open to ensure they have full availability for competition weekend. Students are also required to attend all dance classes the week prior to each competition in order to compete.
Attendance
- For competition team members, 3 absences will be allowed in all classes taken as team requirements. If a 4th or 5th absences should occur in any class, the student will be required to schedule a private lesson for that specific class to catch up on missed material. Students will automatically be charged for these private lessons to ensure that the student follows through with scheduling. If a 6th absence should occur in any team-required class, the student will be expelled from the dance team. -Regardless of what is mentioned above, if a student misses more than 3 classes before the month of February they will be removed from the dance team for that school year.
- If a student has more than 3 absences between the months of March-June they will be removed from the recital for that particular class.
- As noted above, if a student misses any of their required hours of dance classes the week before competition they will not be able to compete in that competition.
- Students who are injured should still come to class (if they are able) to observe. Students who are feeling sick should participate in class via Zoom. Any student who must sit or participate via zoom 2 or more weeks must present us with a doctor’s note. If a student must sit or miss more than 3 classes in a row due to illness or injury they will be removed from the team so not to affect the progress of their classmates.
It is very important that students take their attendance serious. We follow this attendance policy firmly, and your cooperation is appreciated.
We are very excited for what this next season will bring! Thank you for considering being a part of the Jazziak’s Dance Team
Irish Program
Back in 2005, during our second year in business, we started an Irish step dancing program at our school that would allow our students to explore the diversity of dance. Back then, it consisted of only 2 students. Today, it has grown to become one of the most popular features at our school.
Each year, dozens of Irish students participate in numerous performances, festivals, and competitions throughout the area. Their unique talents have made our school one of the most popular Irish step programs around!
Similar to that of our competitive dance teams, members of our Irish performance team are selected through an audition process. This is because, in addition to performing during March Madness, our Irish performance teams also compete with our competitive teams during competition season.
Irish performance team auditions are scheduled for August 20th. Auditions are open to dancers who can execute all 3 styles of soft shoe dances: reels, light jigs, and slip jigs. Candidates must also execute each style upon request. There is a $20 audition fee per participating student.
Just like our competitive dance teams, students auditioning for our Irish performance team must have taken ballet the previous year. Irish Performance Auditions consist of music identification and dance execution, with students being graded on technique, performance, and knowledge of the different styles of Irish Step Dancing.
Hard shoes are not yet required but are highly recommended for students auditioning for our Irish performance teams. There will be a hard shoe portion towards the end of auditions where students will dance in a group setting and will be further evaluated for team readiness.
Irish Performance Team members will be required to adhere to many of our competitive teams' standards. There will be a team fee required at the start of the year which covers any additional practices that might be held during the competition season. The team fee also helps cover expenses that teachers incur during competition season. New team students will also be required to purchase a dance team jacket, which will be charged separately. Team students are also required to purchase performance makeup through Jazziak's. Students will not be allowed to wear their own makeup at performances or competitions.
Competition fees are not included in the team fee. Irish performance team members will be expected to pay for their competition fees prior to competition. Unlike our competitive dance teams, the only required additional core classes that Irish performance team members must take are ballet and an additional hard-shoe or soft-shoe class.
