C H I L D R E N ' S  P R O G R A M

We offer a range of children's classes in Ballet, Character, Jazz, and Tap. Our children's program begins at four years old with Creative Balletic Movement class and continues through for teens in our advanced classes. For children younger than four we have a special Toddler program. If you are fifteen or older, you can join our Adult classes, which are less intensive and are available in a series or drop in.

LOWER DIVISION (4-7 years old)

Creative Balletic Movement (4-5 yrs. old) These young students have a splendid imagination and an abundance of energy, so this class encourages imagination, creativity, musicality and graceful movement. Through storytelling, the children are introduced to pantomime and basic balletic stretches and alignment.Children also learn focus, how to follow instruction, and class etiquette.

Preballet (5-6 yrs. old) At five or six years old, the Preballet class introduces more structure, correct placement, and fundamental balletic movements. Students are presented with a careful balance of structure and improvisation and eventually learn to develop their own simple dances using their balletic movements.

Ballet Junior (6-7 yrs. old) The Junior classes conclude the Lower Division. In this class our young students refine their form and simple technique to achieve beauty and precision. They continue to develop strength, flexibility and focus before moving on to Ballet 1 in the Middle Division.

MIDDLE DIVISION (7.5-12 years old)

The Middle Division begins a stronger emphasis on technical vocabulary. With a syllabus based on the Royal Ballet and Russian integration of the Italian, Danish and French traditions, the program stresses an accurate understanding of correct placement and execution. This training develops both flexibility and strength. The upper body develops a supple back and a beautiful carriage, with arms that work in consonance with the rest of the dancer's body. The legs and feet display speed and a lyrical quality, and become just as expressive as the arms and hands.

Beginning Ballet (8+ yrs. old) is the entry level class for children with little or no ballet training.

Ballet 1-2 (8-11yrs. old) develops strength, coordination and flexibility through simple barre and center work. Emphasis is on articulate footwork, expressive carriage of the arms and small to medium jumps.

Jazz (6-11yrs. old) dance emphasizes heavily accented rhythm and syncopation.

Tap (6-11yrs. old) dance emphasizes the sound created by the feet in a combination of rhythm and movement.

UPPER DIVISION (9-18 years old)

Ballet 3-8 (9-18 yrs. old) adds pointe work (ages 11 and up) to barre and center work.

Character 2 (12-18 yrs. old) dance, an exciting blend of theatrical acting, rhythmic footwork, athletic strength and balletic grace, is based on Old World folk dance from countries such as Russia, England, and Khazakstan. Many major ballets such as Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake utilize character dance.

Jazz 2-4 (12-18 yrs. old) dance uses upbeat, heavy rhythms and emphasizes a faster, more contemporary feeling. Students are highly encourage to take Ballet and Jazz concurrently as Jazz has greatly influenced modern ballet choreography.

Tap 2-3 (12-18 yrs. old) dance emphasizes quickness and ease. Students are encouraged to take Tap as this dance will help them develop a good ear for rhythm and musicality of movement.

C H I L D R E N ' S   I N S T R U C T O R S

Shan-Yee Poon, Director, spent six years of intensive training at the prestigious Royal Ballet School in London. After graduating a year early, she was offered a position as a Principal dancer at the State Theater in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, where she performed for four years in roles ranging from Classical to Post-Modern. Since arriving in the Bay Area, Ms. Poon has appeared as Soloist with the San Francisco Opera Ballet, The Peninsula Ballet, the Ruth Langridge Dance Company, and Theater Ballet of San Francisco. In addition, she has choreographed and staged many childrens' ballets. Ms. Poon began teaching in 1986 and established her own school in 1989.

During her travels, Ms. Poon studied in several countries and was exposed to many styles and teachers. Through her experience she concluded that the great Russian teacher Agrippina Vaganova had developed the most precise and effective syllabus for teaching classical ballet, and the œVaganova method” has greatly influenced her own Royal Ballet training and energetic style of teaching.

Monique Brown started dancing at a young age of three. By age eight she was accepted into the professional training program at San Francisco Ballet School where she trained extensively and danced in their company productions. She went on to dance with many companies such as Theater Ballet, Berkeley Ballet, Malcolm McFarland and the Dancers Synectics Group. She has also danced numerous principal roles in ballets such as Swan Lake and Coppelia.

Brooke Byrne, Artistic Director of the well-known folk dance company, Khadra International Dance Theatre, and dancer with the company since 1987, majored in dance and theater at Bard College in New York. She choreographs and has performed modern dance and several ethnic styles for numerous companies and independent choreographers throughout the Bay Area, the East Coast, and England.

Carolyn Carvajal joined the San Francisco Ballet at age 18, where she met resident choreographer Carlos Carvajal, whom she later married. Together they founded the Dance Spectrum Company, which entertained audiences throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. As Principal Ballerina, many roles were created for her. In the mid-1980s, Carvajal joined Dance Through Time and expanded her knowledge to include social dance forms from the last 500 years. Ms. Carvajal has performed with the San Francisco Opera for nearly 30 years. Recently, she has choreographed "Oklahoma" and "An American in Paris" for musical theater companies, show numbers for San Francisco Girls’ Chorus and Ragazzi Boys’ Chorus, and dances for concert stage and church.

Maryna Drazdova - soloist with the Byelorussian State Opera and Ballet for twenty-one years, has danced in principal roles in ballets including "Swan Lake," "Sleeping Beauty," "Don Quixote," and "Raymonda." Ms. Drazdova has extensive experience touring and teaching internationally including throughout the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Sonoo Petty, our dynamic Jazz and Tap instructor, began her dance training with Ann Barrett from Dancers Synectics Group in San Francisco and has continued training in Jazz and Tap with Ann Barrett, Ann-Marie Garvin, and Sally Vanloon. In Osaka and Nagoya, Japan, she taught, choreographed, and performed ballet and jazz. In the U.S., Ms. Petty first taught Jazz and Tap dance for Dancers Synectics, and continues to instruct and choreograph her two specialties in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Laura Sheridan teaches in our Toddler program and has studied with the San Francisco Ballet School in their professional program, and is also trained in musical theater, voice and ballroom dance.