Welcome to our WSDA website! We are one of the most prestigious and sought after dance schools where we treat each student as an individual and love the fact that all children and parents are a part of our WSDA dance family! A place where your child can develop and nurture their dancing talents in a fun environment with highly trained and passionate teachers. We encourage each child to reach their full potential whilst making it an enjoyable experience along the way of becoming the best dancer that they can be. We provide tuition to children of all levels and ages with beginner tiny tots classes commencing from the age of 2 right up to pre-professional level.
TINY TOTS
Our Tiny Tots classes are for children pre Kindergarten, aged 2-4. Let your little one begin their dance journey with us as we nurture their love for dance at this young age. Focusing on the fundamentals such as co-ordination, rhythm, flexibility and creativity, we teach the basics & technical elements of both ballet and jazz techniques in a fun environment with use of props and mime in order to allow our young up and coming dancers the ability to express their freedom of movement in our relaxed, fun & welcoming environment.
At WSDA, the one-hour Tiny Tots class will incorporate 30 minutes of classical ballet and 30 minutes of jazz. This is a great combination class where children can experience two different dance styles.
CLASSICAL BALLET
At WSDA we strive for the 3 p’s in our classical ballet classes; poise, posture and performance whilst promoting grace, elegance and flexibility. WSDA is registered and accredited with the Cecchetti syllabus which is known for its beautiful lines, artistry, harmony, co-ordination and musicality. Classical Ballet is essential for all other dance styles as it improves the dancer and forms the basis for all training, therefore making it highly recommended by WSDA.
Once children start kindergarten, they are eligible for our Pre-Primary Ballet classes where they will require one 45min class per week. The next grade from there is Primary which is a 45min class once a week as well for children in Year 1. From there, students go into the grade system commencing with Grade 1 (yr 2) level upwards to Grade 6, students are required to attend two ballet classes per week once in the graded system. Students will generally go onto pointe around Grade 5/6 (depending on when they are ready, strong enough and passed by WSDA) and will then attend one pointe class per week on top of their two Grade classes in the week. After the Graded exams, students move into the major examination category, starting with Intermediate then Advanced 1 & Advanced 2. These classes involve more advanced & lengthy training sessions.
From Pre-Primary level, we prepare, coach and enter students who are ready into a Cecchetti ballet exam. This is a great way for students to have something to strive towards, evaluating their progress and moving up to the next grade each year. At WSDA, we have had at least 1 student receive 100% for their ballet exam for the past 6 consecutive years with an aggregate of 91% across all exam students.
CONTEMPORARY & LYRICAL
With a strong emphasis on classical training and technique, without the poise and strictness of a ballet class, this style of dance has quickly become very popular worldwide. It encourages energy, flexibility and the ability to let the body move freely whilst allowing dancers to feel the music & express the stories they are telling through dance. Contemporary & Lyrical dance involves controlled movements, torso work, catch & release, floor work, rise & fall, improvisation & story telling. One of the most expressive types of dance styles, this allows students to dance from their hearts.
You will attend one contemporary/lyrical class per week where we will do a warm-up, floor work, corner work & learn routines.
JAZZ
Funky, strong & powerful whilst dancing to age appropriate songs & the latest pop hits, this is an energetic upbeat style of dance. Focusing on strength, flexibility, isolation & rhythm, this class is sure to have students working up a sweat. Jazz is a great free movement class for dancers to build confidence, awareness & performance skills. With attention to kicks, leaps & turns, dancers will learn a variety of skills and techniques appropriate to their age group.
Our jazz classes are one open class per week where students will engage in a warm-up, cardio sequences, turns, corner & floor work, leaps & jumps and mini routines to pop hits.
hip hop
Hip hop is a street style of dance which focuses on popping & locking. Our classes are primarily danced to hip-hop music, encompassing many different techniques such as crumping, isolations and popping. Hip Hop evolved from break dancing and the funk styles into the popular kid friendly street style taught at WSDA today.
Our Junior & Senior Hip Hop classes are scheduled once per week where students will engage in a warm-up, various isolations and popping techniques, tricks and flips to name a few. Dancing to age appropriate hip hop hits by artists such as Drake, Beyonce & Rihanna, students will learn various routines offering different & new skills.
musical theatre
Everybody loves musicals and this class aims to rejoice in the world of musicals and Broadway! Musical Theatre has a focal point of the combination of dance, singing and acting. Each student will gain confidence through learning musical routines and styles each week, first learning the lyrics & perfecting their vocal skills, adding dance moves to the routine & then putting it all together whilst getting into character & acting it out. In addition, students learn Drama skills in order to assist them with this style of dance. These fun filled classes will allow each student to gain performance skills and qualities that will benefit them throughout their lives and especially if going onto Broadway or West Side is something they're interested in for their future.
Our Junior & Senior classes are scheduled once per week and are a fun opportunity for the students to learn acts from varying musicals.
Tricks, turns & tumbles
Tricks, turns &tumbles is a genre which incorporates elements of gymnastics, jazz, balancing, acrobatics and contortion. Some of the tricks taught in this class includes handstands, cartwheels, ariels, chest stands, elbow stands, and walkovers. The movements are performed gradually to emphasise gracefulness, body lines, and extensions. TTT adds depth to a dancer, providing them with more versatility. Strength and flexibility are key elements to ensure students develop the skills to master an acro dance trick and therefore there is a strong focus on strengthening techniques in order to assist the dancers. Our professional and experienced staff implement spotting techniques to ensure safety and confidence. At WSDA, we utilise Ezi Flex Mats to provide the children with safety and security whilst learning acrobatics dance tricks.
You will engage in one tricks, turns and tumbles class per week.
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eisteddfod troupes
For dancers looking to further their training and to gain more exposure to performing & competing, performance classes are on offer for students who wish to compete in eisteddfod groups and represent WSDA. In order to be eligible for these troupes, students must have successfully passed our audition process and been accepted into the troupe teams by WSDA at the beginning of each year.
Being a part of an eisteddfod troupe is a huge honour and means that your child has been handpicked based on their ability and commitment. Parents and students should be extremely proud of this achievement and understand that they will be representing WSDA at various competitions over the course of the year. This commitment involves a rehearsal per troupe per week on a Saturday at our Top Rye Studio as well as presence at all eisteddfods entered over the year (we generally only enter 5 competitions per year). Weekly rehearsals are compulsory and if your child is sick we ask that students come to watch (if they aren't contagious.) WSDA also holds the right to schedule extra/intensive rehearsals and students are required to attend these as being part of the team means that all troupe members have to be committed.
WSDA Troupe Members are required to take the following classes (at a minimum) each week:
> 2x Cecchetti Ballet classes
> Necessary weekly classes in the eisteddfod troupe dance style wishing to be a part of
PRIVATE LESSONS
WSDA offers private lessons to students if wishing to participate in eisteddfod solos or to further their training and are wanting to gain more one-on-one time with one of our esteemed teachers. Every student who is competing in eisteddfod solo's will require a private lesson once a week (with the length of the private lesson to be decided by Miss Whitney, depending on the number of solo's they will be doing). Please note that it is a requirement to partake in WSDA's Eisteddfod Troupes in order to compete in Eisteddfod Solos.
If you are wanting private lessons to better your technique in a one-on-one setting this can also be arranged with approval from WSDA.
open ballet class
Open ballet classes are an opportunity for ballet students to further their skills by taking part in a class once a week where they are taught new exercises on the spot. This triggers their mind & focus to be active in class in order to remember the skills and exercises taught to them. This is essential for students who are progressing and furthering their dance training to take part in different competitions and scholarships as it prepares them to think on the spot and gain skills required to take their training to the next level. As classical ballet is the foundation of all dance styles, this not only benefits their balletic abilities, but for all forms of other dance genres too. Students are also sometimes taught Repertoire work, becoming familiar with variations from different Ballets'.
Open Ballet classes are scheduled once a week on Saturday mornings post our limber, stretch & conditioning classes (once dancers bodies are warm) and are compulsory for all eisteddfod troupe members aged 10 and above.
