class descriptions
BAX Bambinos Class Descriptions
Dance Class Descriptions
Tumbling Class Descriptions
Theater Class Descriptions
BAX Bambinos Class Descriptions
Playspace
Ages 1-4, 2 hours
Toddlers explore and engage in fun activities such as hoops, tunnels, coloring, music and books with the assistance of the Playspace facilitator. Children can bring toys, books, or other comfort items. Please bring your own diapers wipes, snacks, and drinks. Parents remain on site.
Move and Groove I
Ages 18-30 months, 45 minutes
Movement, rhythm, rhyme and song combine to stimulate your baby’s body, mind and spirit. This class provides a creative movement experience while developing body as well as spatial awareness. Toddlers wiggle, gallop, clap, shake and slide in a supportive group environment. Child and caregiver will move and sing together while participating in group activities that encourage creativity.
Move and Groove II
Ages 2.5-3.5, 45 minutes
Toddlers stretch their bodies and imaginations through movement activities, songs, stories, and rhythmic games. This class increases spatial and body awareness with an emphasis on physical articulation and timing. Child and caregiver will move and sing together in group activities that encourage empowerment, creativity and develop basic social skills.
Mamma’s Mojo
Pre/Post-natal Mothers (Infants 0-9 months), 1 hour
Come get your Mojo going! This offering is designed for both the pre-/post-natal mother, combining appropriate fitness and yoga principles in a supportive environment of welcoming mammas. For the pre-natal mother, exercises will focus on strengthening and stretching upper and lower back muscles and pelvic muscles, improving cardiovascular circulation, and encouraging the overall comfort of the body. For the post-natal mother, rebuilding strength in key areas of the body is highlighted, particularly in the abdomen and back muscles. Mothers with infants from 0-9 months are encouraged to bring their babes to class! Mamma’s Mojo establishes a sense of community and connection among mammas and fosters an open space to share their experience.
Dance Class Descriptions
Creative Movement I
Ages 3-4, 45 minutes
A creative and engaging introduction to the world of movement for pre-schoolers, Creative Movement I allows your child to explore the possibilities of movement through imagination and make-believe in a stimulating and structured environment.
Creative Movement II
Ages 4-5, 1 hour
This class expands on the creative and imaginative exploration of movement introduced in Creative Movement I and begins to focus on qualities of movement and pathways. Students further develop specific movement skills such as jumps, turns, and shapes.
**Placement of four year olds is made after discussion with parents and occasionally after a trial class.
Modern I
Ages 5-6, 1 hour
Continuing with BAX’s creative approach, Modern I introduces young dancers to a greater range of dance movement vocabulary. Students explore rhythm, spatial relationships, and locomotive movement as well as the beginnings of choreography through memory and repetition exercises. This is a joyful, fun class that encourages and honors individual expression!
Modern II
Ages 6-8, 1 hour and 15 minutes
Dancers expand a greater range of vocabulary through choreographic and improvisational skills as well as formal dance technique. Students build longer sequences than in Modern I and begin to incorporate partnering and weight sharing into their small group pieces. They investigate dance terminology and how we talk about dance when watching one another’s compositions. Create, share, and reflect are the key components in this exploration oriented class.
Modern III
Ages 8-11, 1½ hours
A class for more experienced dance students, Modern III serves as a survey course of different kinds of dance. Units covered include modern dance technique, ballet, rhythmic dance, dance history, acrobatic dance, swing dance and dance composition. Techniques emphasized in Modern III include dance positions, leg and foot work, centering, balance, strength, stretch, and alignment, well as an exploration of multi-dimensional space. Students also learn improvisational technique and how to analyze and describe movement. At this level, students should have experience taking dance class.
Modern IV
Ages 9-12, 1½ hours
While expanding on the formal technique introduced in Modern III, this class emphasizes time, shape, space, motion, musicality and dynamics. Students learn more advanced phrases and combinations and focus on finding their individual strengths as a dancer. This class is designed for students who have completed Modern III or the equivalent.
** Modern II, III and IV overlap in age depending on student’s experience and interest level.
Ballet FUNdamentals
Ages 9- 12, 1½ hours
A holistic approach to the basics of ballet. Students gain an understanding of body alignment, ballet vocabulary, barre exercises and across the floor and center movements, with focus placed on the development of musical and rhythmic awareness. This class embraces the creativity and individuality of each student, a departure from traditional ballet and a quality unique to our teaching philosophy. This class is for students who are new to ballet and those with a basic foundation.
Boys’ Movement
Ages 6-9, 1 hour
Capitalizing on boys’ energy, imagination, and interests, this class explores many different dance and movement forms, including modern dance, yoga, dramatics, and sports moves, with special emphasis on rhythmic and spatial awareness.
Hip-Hop Dance
Ages 8-12, 1 hour
Hip Hop Dance combines energy, rhythm and originality with contemporary urban dance techniques that explores the newest funky patterns and variations. Students learn combinations that are challenging and fun as well as create there own. Age-appropriate hip-hop and pop music used.
Guest Artist Series Int./Adv.
Ages 11 & up, 1 1/2 hours
As members of DPW II & III, students are required to take the Guest Artists Series. The intention is to build a solid technique base, in addition to their regular class. The Guest Artist Series is intended to expose our students to the diversity and range of working artists in the Dance community. Guest artists are carefully selected by the DPW Directors in collaboration with the Education Director in order to address specific needs of the students, as well as areas of special interest for development. The Guest Artist series is open to students outside of DPW, in the age range, that have some dance background and are interested in developing as dancers. Relevant experience required. A trial class is available to determine if the class is a good fit.
** Guest Artists Series Adv. is for students 13 & up, but Int. and Adv. overlap in age depending on student’s experience and interest level.
Tumbling Class Descriptions
Tumbling I
Ages 4-6, 1 hour
Exercises from yoga and gymnastics are used in this fun and lively introduction to tumbling! This class supports motor skills and challenges students in their continuing stages of development. Students learn the fundamentals for backward and forward rolls, logrolls, cartwheels, headstands, handstands, and the basics of balancing, while developing body strength and flexibility.
Tumbling II/III
Ages 6-10, 1 hour and 15 minutes
Utilizing yoga, gymnastics, acrobatic, and dance techniques, students explore balances and partner-work; support their own weight with handstands, headstands, and armstands; and learn and create movement sequences. Building strength, flexibility, and self-confidence, students explore the boundaries of their bodies in an enthusiastic and supportive environment! As the year progresses students learn walkovers, handspring preparation, and more advanced partner acrobatics eventually using these new-found skills to develop their own creative pieces. This combined level class is taught with an individualized approach challenging more experienced while accommodating the more novice.
AcroBAXers
Ages 9-12, 2 hours
This workshop format class is our most advanced tumbling class. It’s intended to build strength and teach tumbling and acrobatic dance skills to an ensemble of committed and experienced young performers ages 9-12. They use a wide array of skills; tumbling, cartwheels, handstands, headstands, extensive partnering, backbends and walkovers as well as an array of circus skills to build expressive work. The work is steeped in the traditions of circus and deeply influenced by circus yoga and modern dance.
Theater Class Descriptions
Creative Dramatics
Ages 4-5, 1 hour
This introductory theater class focuses on immersive creative and narrative play. Children will create new stories and mash and mix up old ones in order to experience these imagined places in role and out of role. With movement and theatricality at the helm, we will also incorporate visual art and music in order to further the exploration of our dramatic adventures.
Drama-rama
Ages 5-8, 1 hour
Students engage in the fun, yet challenging process of learning through experience, which builds skills in listening, responding, creativity, problem-solving, risk taking, and group awareness. Each class consists of physical and vocal warm ups, improvisation, theatre games, and scene work. We explore the use of costumes and props, and dramatize stories from favorite books.
Dance, Act, Sing I
Ages 7-10, 1 ½ hours
For the young performer who loves to sing and dance! This workshop guides students at their level of experience through the three facets of musical theater: acting, singing, and dance. In a relaxed, fun environment students will learn technique and history as well as learn to develop characters while rehearsing musical numbers from Broadway hits and favorites, such as Cinderella, Annie, Peter Pan, and the Sound of Music.
Dance, Act, Sing II
Ages 10-13, 1 ½ hours
For the more experienced young performer who loves to sing and dance! This workshop offers intermediate level training in the three facets of musical theater: acting, singing, and dance. In a fun, collaborative environment, students will further their exploration of technique, character development, and theater repertory. Theater history will also be developed along with many energetic musical numbers students will rehearsal from shows such as You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Fosse, Wicked, and A Chorus Line.
Theater I
Ages 7-10, 1½ hours
In a lively and encouraging environment, students build basic theater skills through creative games and improvisations. Through play and make-believe, students will learn how to develop characters using their bodies and voices, scenes using stage directions and blocking, original material through writing, and theater terminology usage. Students use these imaginative skills to translate their make-believe creations into performances for the stage!
Theater II
Ages 9-12, 1 ½ hours
Students deepen vocal, movement and improvisational skills through a series of exercises that develops vocal technique, movement, and creative thinking within a scene. The class explores individual character work, scene-work, and ensemble work, as well as concepts such as conflict, motivation, and the arc of dramatic structure. Students are challenged to expand their acting vocabulary by participating in selected scenes as well as creating scenes of their own!
Theater III
Ages 12 & up, 1 1/2 hours
In this most advanced theater offering, students develop and perform theater in a supportive and professional environment with emphasis on staging, physicalization, communication, and ensemble work. Students will utilize a fresh approach to theater founded in improvisation to create, build, rehearse, and perform work. Scene and monologue work will be explored through developing improvisation skills and technique, challenging improvisational games, and participating in a comedy improvisation workshop.
