Dance Styles
Contemporary
A style of dance that combines elements of several genres including modern, release, martial arts and urban styles, depending on the instructor and choreography. Often in terms of the focus of its technique, contemporary dance tends to combine floorwork and modern dance’s stress on the torso, but is not confined to these techniques. Contemporary at DanceFusion also employs contact-release, lots of floor work, fall and recovery, and improvisation. We look to be adventurous, curious, relevant and inspiring.
DanceFusion
Slava weaves her experience with Contemporary, Ballet, Folkloric, groove styles, and more into a rich class that explores a variety of movement styles. The classes vary from fluid lyrical movements to athletic leaps and jumps, classical technique, fancy footwork, and intricate hands and arm movements. She aims to create an adventurous dance experience that incorporates a down to earth aesthetic with a contemporary flavour.
FusionContemporary
This class combines the framework of contemporary dance with some more funky and street styles. Expect fluid lyrical movements, athletic leaps and jumps, some classical technique, fancy footwork, and lots of groove and funky elements. She aims to create an adventurous dance experience that incorporates a down to earth aesthetic with an a funky flavour.
Ballet
Helps to build a strong base, clean technique, and proper alignment, all of which are essential and helpful for many kinds of dance. This style can inform a mover in their other styles such as Contemporary, Acro, Lyrical and many other styles. Barre exercises, combinations across the floor and Adagio are taught to develop musicality, strength, grace, precision, and focus.
Hip Hop
This dynamic and world wide popular style of dance incorporates bounces and rocks in time to Hip Hop music, the style is uplifting and emotive. It is also more than a dance, it is part of a culture. It has deep historical and social roots in African American culture, having emerged in Black communities living in 1970s New York.
It includes a wide range of styles like breaking, locking, popping, and more. Often the instructor will integrate footwork as well isolations, strength and flexibility and more. At DanceFusion we aim to share the Culture and History of HipHop and connect wth Master dancers to provide context of this dynamic style.
Intro to HipHop
An all levels class to learn musicality and rhythm, with a focus on grooving, which is the basis of HipHop. Using games and dance exercises, students will listen to upbeat fun music and learn combinations, floor work, stretch and strengthen and also work on freestyling.
Acro Dance
Acrobatic training teaches flexibility, balance, strength, discipline, and concentration. A dancer will gain more flexibility and strength no matter their level. Dancers will learn through games and technical exercises to develop their skills. Acrobatic movements can include lifts with partners, handstands, somersaults, walk-overs, headstands, handsprings, aerials, elbow stands, and cartwheel variations! The goal is to place Acro skills into a dance routine, therefore blending artistry with athleticism. DanceFusion is an Acrobatic Arts Certified Studio.
Jazz
Jazz
Develop flexibility and strength alongside solid dance technique with across the floor skills and fun combos. Master your favorite jumps, turns, skills, and your own flavour. The instructor will share her extensive training to hone the dancers’ alignment, extensions, and musicality.
Lyrical Jazz
Lyrical is a fusion of ballet and jazz dance techniques. Lyrical dance challenges choreographers and dancers to use motion to interpret music and express emotion. A lyrical dancer’s movements attempt to show the meaning/mood of the music.
Turns and Jumps
* Pre-requisite for Contemporary Jazz, but may be taken independently as well.
Sharpen your skills with jazz technique! The class includes a dance warm-up that conditions and stretches you. Then students drill across-the-floor exercises, for example: Pirouettes, Chaines, Piques, Battements, Jettes, Switch Splits, Stag jumps, Attitude Turns and more.
Dad’s Dance
Come join the Annual Dad’s Dance for the DanceFusion Showcase. This class is a chance to bond, laugh, and have fun. Open to dads ( step dads, or dad like figures) and their kids (ages 8-17yrs) onstage dancing to a super funky ridiculous mashup of “dad” music. The crowd loves it (still have folks talking about it), the kids are so proud of their dads (step dads or dad like figures), and new friendships are formed through this rite of passage. Excellent chance to bond in a new way! PS. You DO not need dance experience! Cost is per family, not dancer.
From last year’s participants:
“I coach a lot of her sports but dad dance was the best connection I had with Lilly last year. My daughter was stoked to be able to show me her dance world and it was cool to be able to switch roles with me as the student and her as the coach. Thanks for giving us that.” -Simon Liddell ( LVR High school teacher)
“Dad’s Dance was one of the coolest, scariest, endearing things I’ve ever done. It was an experience both me and my two stepdaughters will never forget. It brought us closer, made us laugh, and created a story we’ll recall and share for many years to come.” – Mitchell Scott (editor-in-chief of Kootenay Mountain Culture Magazine)
Musical Theatre
A fun and energetic class that uses the fundamentals of Jazz dance along with acting and singing. This class will develop skills through games as well as through dance and acting technique, dancers will learn to express a story through movements. Build confidence in performance composure. Open to a wide variety of ages/abilities as there will be different roles.
Wee Ones
Creative Dance
A form of dance that provides the potential for personal expression. One of the goals of creative dance is to communicate through movement and the dancer draws on their own inner resources to create and express through their own unique movement. This class also uses traditional exercises to familiarize students with dance vocabulary, musicality, and choreography. Students will explore several styles of dance as well including Ballet, Jazz and Hip Hop.
Acro Dance
Acrobatic training teaches flexibility, balance, strength, muscle control, discipline, concentration and CREATIVITY and expression to music. At this tender age, we gain experience with pike position, skipping, marching, pre cartwheel, plié, tendu, acrobatic movements can include handstands, hand balances, flips, handsprings, and cartwheels as students get older. DanceFusion is an Acrobatic Arts Certified Studio.