Children’s Dance Program
Our Philosophy
Since it was founded twenty-eight years ago, The Jeannette Neill Dance Studio has become one of the most respected centers of dance education in the country and is renowned internationally for its preservation and presentation of jazz dance. Likewise, The Jeannette Neill Children’s Dance Program (JNCDP) has provided quality dance training for children aged three to twelve for almost twenty years..
Our noncompetitive approach to children’s dance education develops attributes that can serve the child well throughout a lifetime. These include discipline, self-respect and self-confidence; improved learning skills; creativity, self-expression, imagination; and an instilled appreciation for music, dance and other art forms.
By emphasizing strong dance technique, the JNCDP is designed to take a child from the earliest years of dance training through the pre-teen ars. At this point, the confident young dancer will be prepared to segue into Boston Youth Moves, our pre-professional teen dance program where students make dance their primary extracurricular activity, or they can study more recreationally to supplement a sport or other extracurricular activity.
Why are we the intelligent dance alternative?
Because our faculty is carefully selected to exemplify our philosophy, our teachers are dance professionals chosen for their knowledge and expertise. We limit class size so that we can provide a low teacher to student ratio.Because we regard dance as an art form, we do not enter our children in dance competitions. At the end of the year, in lieu of traditional high-pressure recitals, our students enjoy an informal demonstration performance highlighting classroom progress and achievement. Thus our students spend the entire year in a process of continuous growth and learning.
Students who wish to add the excitement of performance and the challenge of learning choreography will find these opportunities in one of our separate Performance Tracks.
Our focus remains on dance education rather than recital preparation, making the JNCDP the intelligent dance alternative.
Our Curriculum
Because young children are very different from one age to the next, we offer early classes appropriate for individual ages rather than class levels. Class leveling begins at age seven.Creative Intro to Dance (ages 3-5) is a stimulating, fun and imaginative series of classes that introduce the fundamentals of dance while nurturing a child’s agility and musicality. Students learn to follow the teacher’s instructions while working in a challenging but supportive environment and interacting with their peers. Class begins with a general warm-up and stretch and introduces ballet vocabulary. By using games, props, toys and rhythm instruments, the class offers creative ways to challenge the child both mentally and physically. Five year olds are further challenged rhythmically by the addition of a fifteen-minute tap segment.
* Creative Intro to Dance 1 (3 years old) 45 minutes* Creative Intro to Dance 2 (4 years old) 45 minutes
* Creative Intro to Dance 3 (5 years old) 60 minutes
Young Dancers (ages 6-8) is a more structured series of classes that continue to aid the development of the child’s physical coordination and musicality. The ballet barre and age-appropriate exercises are introduced and jazz becomes a componentt of this level. Certain gifted or more motivated students of this age may find more rapid improvement by adding another day of classes.
* Young Dancers (6 years old) 45 minutes ballet/15 minutes tap* Young Dancers 2 (7 and 8 years old) 45 minutes ballet/30 minutes jazz/15 minutes tap
Junior Dancers (ages 9 and up) is our most structured dance series, offering children at least one ballet, jazz and tap class per week. At this level we feel it is vital to a child’s improvement to dance more than once a week. Therefore we recommend adding another to the child’s weekly schedule class.
* Junior Dancers 2 1/4 hours 60 minutes ballet / 45 minutes jazz / 30 minutes tap* Junior Dancers Ballet/Jazz Intensive
These classes offer our most serious students options for gaining the serious technique that ballet provides and that is vital for progressing to our teen program. The Ballet/Jazz Intensive is a one-hour ballet class followed by a one-hour jazz class. To take these options, students must be enrolled in one of the regular Junior Dancers classes. Please see discount rate information under the Registration section of this brochure.
Jazz/Hip Hop offers a forty-five-minute warm-up that introduces basic concepts of ballet and jazz, including jazz isolations, and a forty-five minute hip hop class. This class is appropriate for novice older dancers, for those who want less structure than the Young Dancers program, or those who want to enter the program mid-year. Our hour-long Just Jazz and Hip Hop classes offer an age-appropriate immersion in these genres.
Dress Code
Girls: Ballet components: Black leotard, pink tights and pink ballet slippers. Short ballet skirts are optional. Jazz and tap components: All black dancewear: black jazz and tap shoesBoys: Ballet components: White t-shirt, black jazz pants and black ballet slippers.Jazz and tap components: all black dancewear. Black jazz and tap shoes.
Registration
Upon registration, a spaced is reserved for your child for the school year (September to May). Tuition is based on the total class hours per week and is divided into two equal payments. Pre-registration is required. A $30 non-refundable annual registration fee per family is required at registration. Tuition payments may be made in two installments and are due at registration and during the first week of classes of the second semester. Credit cards will automatically be charged for second semester payments. Please mark these dates on your calendar. There is a $30 late fee and a $20 re-registration fee. 5% discount will be offered to those who pay in full at registration before 9/29/07. There is a 10% discount offered on the second class for a child taking a second class per week and a 20% discount on a third weekly class.Checks should be made payable to The Jeannette Neill Dance Studio (JNDS). There is a $20 fee for returned checks.
You may pick up a program brochure and attached registration form at the studio; an online copy available here as well.
Reimbursement Policy
Registration fee is non-refundable.
Withdrawal before| first class | 100% refund |
| second class | 75% refund |
| third class | 50% refund |
No refund after third class.
* Concerts and Demonstration Day take place at The Tsai Performance Center at Boston University