Ballet A&B

This course is for the serious student who wishes to improve their technique and control, in order to become accomplished technically and to enhance previous training. Ballet is a performance-orientated class designed to enhance previous-training. The elements of dance will be studied to achieve greater technical and artistic competency. This dance form will be studied more closely to understand its stylistic, cultural, and historic significance. Field trips, guest lectures, and master classes will be made available to students to reinforce aesthetic awareness, and dance criticism skills. Students are strongly encouraged to take both semester of ballet and are required to take Ballet A before taking Ballet B. To sign up for this class, students must participate in the audition process in May.

Comprehensive Health Education ( Honors)

This semester course meets the state one-half credit Health Education graduation requirement. Students will address issues in seven topics that include: mental health; tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs; personal and consumer health; nutrition and fitness; safety and injury prevention; family life and human sexuality; and disease prevention and control.

At honors level, students will be required to pursue the same academic criteria as the regular Comprehensive Health, but at a more rigorous level. Students will be expected to complete individual projects that may require utilizing outside community resource/agencies, working with others on group assignments, as well as completing individual projects requiring the ability to do research on a given topic. Students will utilize current technology through the use of computers for accessing relevant health information on a given assignment. Although this course is required for graduation, it contains two units, family life and human sexuality and AIDS prevention that require parental permission for students under age 18.

General Physical Education

This course includes opportunities for a varied selection of individual, dual, team, dance, and personal development activities. Students are guided in identifying and improving their fitness levels through the development and use of personalized fitness plans. Recommended for students for whom basic skills and experiences are appropriate. It is recommended that ninth graders be enrolled in General Physical Education 1 as an introduction to the high school physical education curriculum.

Beginner Jazz A&B

This is an introductory course in jazz in emphasis on the development of technique. Jazz vocabulary is stressed as basic steps are mastered. Students will demonstrate through movements the knowledge and application of the basic elements of jazz, such as time, force, energy, dynamics, and space. Students will communicate dance ideas and concepts and will explore aesthetic, historical, and dance criticism skills and knowledge of a variety of cultures. Students are strongly encouraged to take both semesters of Beginner Jazz. No audition is required.

Intermediate Jazz A & B

Students will learn to integrate their bodies and fundamentals with more difficult dance skills. While studying dance technique more closely the student gains a greater understanding of the mechanics of the body and ho it can be used as a tool for expression. Basic choreographic ideas and introduced and dance appreciations as viewer is studied. This course prepares the student for more difficult dance skills of the advanced levels by exploring direction, tempo, and level changes including more advanced leaps, turns, and falls. An audition is required.

Advanced Jazz A&B

Students will continue to refine skills and understand introduced in the pre-requisite courses. The advanced students must have mastered all beginning level skills. This class will learn technically difficult combinations and steps. The student will also gain a deep understanding of the stylistic, cultural and historic significance of dance while exploring the ideas of aesthetics and art appreciation. Students are encouraged to take both semesters of Advanced Jazz A and B. An audition is required.

Modern Dance

This class is designed to teach fundamentals of modern dance. Students are expected to be mature and open-minded. This will include technical work in learning proper body and its anatomy, and learning loco motor and axial movement exercises. In modern dance, the emphasis is on the freedom of movement and dance improvisation and composition. Group projects will integrate all of the elements taught in this course and culminate in a self-directed and choreographed dance. The history and philosophy of modern dance will be explored through in-class discussion and reading and writing assignments. This course is open to all levels and no previous experience is necessary. This is not jazz or hip-hop dance. Modern dance is a cross between ballet and jazz.

Beginner Tap ( Fall and Spring)

This is an introductory course in tap with emphasis on the development of technique. Tap vocabulary is stressed as basic steps are mastered including toe heels, flaps, flap heels, shuffles, ball changes, buffalo, Maxi Ford, waltz, clog, and Irish. Students will demonstrate through movement the knowledge and application of the basic concepts and will explore aesthetic, historical, and dance criticism elements to understand the nature of tap dance. Fieldtrips, guest lectures and mater classes will be made available to students to reinforce aesthetic awareness, dance criticism skills, and knowledge of a variety of cultures. Students are strongly encouraged to take both semesters of Beginner Tap. No audition is required. No audition is required

Intermediate Tap A (Spring Only)

Students will continue to refine skills and understanding introduced in the perquisite courses. The intermediate/advanced students must have mastered all of the beginning level skills. Pick-ups wings and all time steps are perfected at this level. Turns and combinations become more intricate. The elements of dance will be studied in greater depth with application directed at solving movement problems. Basic movement skills and techniques will be refined to achieve greater technical and artistic competency. This dance form will be studied more closely to understand its stylistic, cultural and historical significance. Field trips, guest lectures and master classes will be made available to students to reinforce aesthetic awareness, dance criticism skills and knowledge of a variety of cultures. Students are strongly encouraged to take both semesters of Intermediate/Advanced Tap. To sign up for this class, students must have completed Beginner Tap A&B and Advanced Beginner Tap A&B, or have the permission of the instructor through the audition process in May. Shoes will be provided.

Updated: 09/13/11