About theDance Program
PROGRAM OF STUDY
The four year curriculum exposes students broadly to the fundamentals of dance, dance history, composition, and choreography, as well as provides rigorous training in ballet, modern, jazz, and tap technique.
TECHNIQUE CLASSES
The first week of school is used to evaluate students so that they can be placed in the appropriate level. Students take daily technique classes in ballet, modern, jazz, an tap throughout their four years.
Ballet - Fundamentals of ballet technique including barre and center floor work. The course serves to introduce and develop ballet technique and vocabulary. Body placement and alignment is stressed through an understanding and application of these basics. Continuous advancement and development is provided from beginning to advanced levels throughout this four year sequence. PCTI is proud to include the AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE® National Training Curriculum, a breakthrough 9 level program that combines high quality artistic training with the basics of dancer health and child development. The ABT® National Training Curriculum consists of a comprehensive set of age-appropriate, outcome-based guidelines to provide the highest quality ballet training to dance students of all ages and skill levels.
Modern - Each year dancers will take a semester of Horton technique and a semester of Contemporary Modern technique for the development of skills, intellectual understanding, kinetic perception, and maximum versatility. Includes center floor, isolation, falls and recovery, and contractions and release.
Jazz - A presentation of styles designed to broaden knowledge and technique of concert and theater jazz dance. Classes employ floor stretches and center warm-up procedures. Movement patterns emphasize simultaneous coordination of multiple rhythm patterns in different parts of the body. Combinations advance from simple to complex throughout this four year sequence.
Tap - Basic vocabulary of tap and development of rhythmically accurate footwork and accompanying body movements.
ACADEMIC CLASSES
Fundamentals of Dance - During the first year of the program, students will obtain an understanding of dance related areas including nutrition, anatomy, care of dance injuries, dance related careers, and dance vocabulary with an emphasis on ballet terminology
Dance History - This is a course in the history of dance from its origins to the present, as exemplified by the dancers, choreographers, and teachers who brought about notable changes in the art. The relationship of dance to the larger cultural environment will be discussed. This course is designed to help the student relate his or her own work to the development of the art and to encourage creative critical perception.
Dance Composition - Students will explore various movement and design elements within the choreographic process. They will identify, plan and provide solutions to design problems of space, structures, objects, sound and events or events in a public or private environment. Students will gain an aesthetic appreciation for choreographic space, identify significant historical contributions of individuals and events that have shaped and continue to space contemporary arts, and increase skills in movement analysis, space, harmony, and critique.
Choreography -This course investigates areas of creative process, compositional tools, and individual methods in dance making. Individual choreographic projects will be designed and directed by seniors and with special interest and experience in dance composition. Students and faculty will meet regularly to view works-in-progress and to discuss relevant artistic and practical problems. Work will be presented in the Senior Choreography Showcase in April.
Dance Lab - During senior year, the students have an additional 40 minutes of dance. This period is designed to support the creative and technical practices, as well as the practical concerns, of students in their senior year. Audition pieces, resumes, and artistic statements will be developed and discussed in seminar and in conference. Students will have the opportunity to present their portfolios during the Portfolio Gallery in June.
PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES
Winter Dance Concert - Students in the dance department are required to audition and become members of the Dance Ensemble. Students rehearse throughout the fall for the annual dance concert. The dance concert is held in December in the Zaccaria Auditorium.
School Assembly Programs - Each year students in the dance program are invited to perform in the Holiday Assembly as well as other assembly programs throughout the year.
Senior Choreography Showcase - This concert showcases the senior choreography projects. All students in the dance program are required to audition in January. Selected dancers will perform in the showcase in April in the Zaccaria Auditorium.
Spring Dance Concert - This concert features the ballet class presentations, works by guest artists, and selected student works. This concert is held in May in the Zacaria Auditorium.
School Musicals - An extra-curricular activity through the Performing Arts Club gives students an opportunity to experience first hand the world of musical theater. Students in the dance program are encouraged to audition for the spring school musical.
Techette Documentary.movFACILITIES
The B Wing Dance Studios -The B Wing houses two state of the art dance studios, as well as an additional rehearsal room, with full-length mirrors, sprung marley floors, and professional sound systems. It also houses male and female locker rooms.
Zaccaria Auditorium -The auditorium seats around 900 people. The large stage, dressing rooms, and professional sound and lighting systems make the space ideal for our annual dance concerts.
AFTER GRADUATION
Alumni of the dance program have been accepted into the following professional and university dance programs: The Ailey School, AMDA, Montclair State University, Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Mason Gross School of Performing Arts at Rutgers University, and The University of the Arts. Our students are pursuing careers in dance, dance education, physical therapy, and dance therapy.