This yearlong jazz course is designed for pre-teens ready to build a solid technical foundation while developing musicality, style, and self-expression. Students will explore core jazz techniques—including isolations, kicks, turns, leaps, and traveling steps—through structured warm-ups, across-the-floor progressions, and center combinations that reinforce alignment, strength, and control.

As students progress, they will deepen their understanding of movement quality, interpret choreography with intention, and begin to explore a range of jazz styles including classical, lyrical, and Broadway. This class encourages dancers to make expressive choices, collaborate with peers, and take ownership of their growth as performers and artists.

The course is structured in three progressive units:
Unit 1: Technical Foundations and Movement Mechanics
Unit 2: Artistic Expression and Choreographic Understanding
Unit 3: Ensemble Performance and Personal Style Development

Students will have two special opportunities to share their progress with family during our informal “Family Night: Inside the Studio” events, held at the end of each semester (December and May). These evenings are designed to let families step into the studio and see firsthand what their student has been learning and experiencing each week, and to provide a celebratory atmosphere for students to showcase their growth and skills.

Class Objectives:

1. Build strength, flexibility, and control through consistent jazz warm-ups and technique drills
2. Demonstrate foundational jazz skills such as isolations, battements, pivot turns, and chassés with proper alignment
3. Develop musicality and dynamic range by interpreting music through movement
4. Apply dance vocabulary in both class discussion and performance
5. Explore various jazz styles (e.g., classical, lyrical, Broadway) and apply their distinct characteristics
6. Collaborate with others in partner and group work while maintaining spatial awareness and timing
7. Make expressive choices in improvisation and choreography that reflect character or emotion
8. Perform a short jazz combination with confidence and style during informal family observation events

Instructional Tone: Encouraging, challenging, and growth-oriented—designed to inspire confidence and creativity
Activities: Technical warm-ups, across-the-floor drills, center combinations, improvisation prompts, group choreography
Skills Focus: Jazz vocabulary, body control, musicality, stylistic variation, ensemble collaboration
Performance Readiness: Prepared to perform a choreographed group piece with clear technique and expressive interpretation at informal "Inside The Studio" events

Aligned National Core Arts Standards (Dance):
Creating:
DA:Cr1.1 — Generate and conceptualize artistic ideas and work (expressive improvisation, choreography choices)
DA:Cr2.1 — Organize and develop artistic ideas and work (technical drills, phrase learning)
Performing:
DA:Pr5.1 — Develop and refine artistic techniques and work for presentation (alignment, jazz skills, dynamic range)
DA:Pr6.1 — Convey meaning through the presentation of artistic work (musical interpretation, character, emotion)
Responding:
DA:Re7.1 — Perceive and analyze artistic work (partner/group collaboration, timing, spatial awareness)
DA:Re8.1 — Interpret intent and meaning in artistic work (expressive choices)
Connecting:
DA:Cn10.1 — Synthesize and relate knowledge and personal experiences to make art (style exploration, emotional expression)
DA:Cn11.1 — Relate artistic ideas and works with societal, cultural, and historical context to deepen understanding (different jazz styles)