COMPANY CLASSES
COMPANY CLASSES
Company Classes are structured classes that hold dancers to a high standard of proper technique. We expect Company dancers to maintain excellent attendance and consistent at-home practice to be fully prepared for every class.
Company Classes are designed to develop dancers’ strength, flexibility, coordination, musicality, and stage presence. A typical class begins with a cardio warm-up and continues with flexibility and strength training, devotional time, technique drills, and choreography work for the Spring Production and community performances. Pre-Company, Adore, and Declare classes focus on jazz and ballet, while the older Company classes focus on jazz and lyrical technique.
To accelerate their training, we highly recommend that Company dancers supplement with additional studio classes, particularly Ballet, which strengthens technique, and Acro-Dance, which builds flexibility, balance, and body awareness. Additional studio classes are available at a reduced rate for Company dancers.
Performance opportunities include the Spring Production at a rented venue, where all Company dancers perform in at least two pieces. Company dancers taking additional studio classes also participate in the Studio Showcase. Community performances may include Washington City Mission’s Sweet Sunday, Canonsburg’s Old Fashioned Christmas, nursing homes, and church services. Only Company dancers participate in these events.
Company classes are designed to cultivate confident, skilled, and expressive dancers who are prepared to glorify the Lord through movement both on stage and in the community.
AGES: 5*-18
SEASON: September-April with summer classes available to continue growth
REGISTRATION: New dancers should contact us for their class assignment. Returning dancers will be emailed their class assignment in June. Registration closes the first week in October.
PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITIES: Spring Production and possible community performances.
PRE-COMPANY CLASSES
Dancers ages three, four, and most *five-year-olds begin in our Pre-Company program. This program prepares young students for a more formal class setting by introducing the foundations of ballet and jazz technique, rhythm, and performance etiquette. Pre-Company follows all Company protocol, except that their season runs September through May and they perform in the Studio Showcase rather than the Company’s Spring Production. This gentler performance experience helps them gain confidence in front of an audience. Pre-Company dancers may also be invited to perform at a nursing home.
Five-year-olds who have completed two years of Pre-Company—or who are moved up at the director’s discretion—advance into the Company ADORE class beginning the September after they turn five.
To join a Pre-Company class, your child must be three years old by September 1, and able to function well in a classroom environment. Within the first few weeks, dancers are expected to enter the studio independently and participate for the full 30-minute class, which includes responding to correction, staying engaged, and avoiding behaviors such as crying or lying down during class.
If we find your child isn’t quite ready, you may transfer into our Rec program or wait and try again next year. The current month’s tuition and fees can be refunded or applied to a Recreational Dance class.
AGES: 3-5*
SEASON: September-May
REGISTRATION: All three, four, and new five-year-olds will register for Pre-Company. Returning five-year-olds may be invited into the Adore Company Class via an email in June. Registration closes the first week in October.
PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITY: Studio Showcase
Please carefully read the information under each tab before considering a Company Class for your dancer.
It is important to understand that when you enroll your daughter in Company or Pre-Company Classes, you are committing to attending regularly and being punctual. Ideally, your child will only miss 1-2 classes for the entire year. Absences and tardiness slow down the pace of the class as choreography and technique must be retaught. We do understand that extenuating circumstances may cause your child to miss more than this. Missing two classes in a row, or any absence at all in the months of January – April, will require a private lesson before returning to class. Any dancer enrolling past the first week of September classes, may also require private lessons in order to catch up with their group.
Please arrive at least ten minutes prior to the start of class. Dancers should be ready with their shoes on when the teacher comes to get them from the waiting room. Dancers entering late are a major distraction to the teacher and the entire class. Excessive tardiness may require private lessons.
Please let us know whenever your dancer will be absent.
If your child misses two classes in a row, or if she misses any class in January – April, a private lesson is required before returning to class. Late enrollees will also require private lesson(s). Contact Danielle Black via email or phone to schedule. These lessons are given by our student teaching assistants and are $5/half hour. All checks for private lessons are to be made out to the Company. You must sign on your registration form that you agree to our private lesson policy and will comply.
In order to be enrolled in the Company program, the dancer must participate in the Spring Production at the end of the season. Until the date is announced, please keep all of April and the beginning of May free from any conflicts.
Company dancers must attend all mandatory rehearsals in full, and tuition and fees must be paid in full. Hair must be a natural color, and all jewelry, body art, piercings, and excessive makeup (teens only) are not permitted. These standards ensure a professional and consistent appearance on stage.
If class is canceled due to bad weather, you will receive an email. Please check your email BEFORE heading out on a snowy day. Note that we rarely cancel classes. If the roads around our studio are clear and the parking lot is plowed, we hold classes. If snow is excessive in your area and you feel that it is unsafe to travel, please don’t. Canceled classes are not rescheduled unless there will be less than three classes that month.
Because we aim to foster an active environment of worship, we chose worship verbs from the Psalms to represent each Company Class (TESTIFY, MAGNIFY, DECLARE, etc). GCDC instructors assign dancers to different classes based on their individual strengths and needs, and also how well they fit the demands of the class’s curriculum and choreography for the Spring Production.
No audition is necessary to join Company. If you keep the commitments and your dancer meets our behavioral expectations, we’d love to have you. All new dancers must contact us to receive their class placement, and may be asked to come in for an evaluation.
All returning dancers are reevaluated during the dance season to ensure they are placed where they will have the most success, and will receive their class assignment in an email before the beginning of the next season. For more information on class assignments, click here.
LEARN MORE!
Tuition, schedule, dress code, and spring production details are under the Information tab above.
