Give your child the gift of DANCE!
"It's exciting, demanding, inspiring and great fun;
an all-round education in physical and social skills, self-esteem and self-confidence."
I’d like to thank you for considering Dance Impressions by Ryan as your source of dance training. I value your time, effort, and interest in your child’s overall development. I am committed to investing my time in your child to bring her/him the highest quality of dancing education. At Dance Impressions, exposing your child to life lessons, showing them integrity, teaching them valuable ethics, and fostering good morale is just as important as the technical steps they will also learn.
I want your child placed in the most appropriate level to maximize his/her potential and benefit from every class; therefore, I may ask your child to try out several classes and levels within the first couple of weeks to allow me to see first hand her/his abilities, experience, attitude, and potential in a variety of settings. There are numerous factors taken into consideration when assessing a student’s placement. All children, pre-teens, teens and even adults hit developmental milestones at their own rate and in their own time. Physical, emotional, and mental factors also have to be taken into consideration along with the technical ability or potential. Please, please, please refrain from discussing other children and/or their placement. If you do have any questions or concerns about your own child’s placement, I will be happy to arrange a meeting to discuss them with you and your child personally.
It is not necessary for students to enroll in every discipline, but all students must have a minimum of 1 technical ballet and one stretch class per week within their desired dance program. Students wishing to perform ballet on stage can enroll in the Lyrical/Ballet Variations class as well as their structured syllabus ballet class. As for jazz vs. tap or taking additional classes, all I can offer you is the following advice:
(Please note: Preschool & Pre-Beginner students take combination classes of jazz, tap, and ballet, therefore this does not pertain to them yet)
1. Enrolling in jazz, ballet & tap is recommended. Tap & Jazz do more than just compliment each other; they are taught from a syllabus structured for dancers who are taking both. Dancers who only do jazz or only do tap are getting only half of the full program’s intended hours of instruction and supervised practice time per week. Therefore, it is very common for these students to spend 2, 3 or even more years working towards the required skills at each level. However, if you must choose enrolling in only 1 discipline (plus ballet) - jazz is a better choice.
2. The more disciplines a student enrolls in, the more instructional time he/she receives in a week/month/year. Students receiving more instructional time per week generally advance through the levels faster and perform at a higher level than those who receive less.
3. Our school is qualified to offer exams because we have certified instructors. Students are expected to work towards an acceptable examination quality of movement at every level. When a student reaches the required standard, her/his participation in exams is highly recommended. Yes, exams do make a difference. A HUGE DIFFERENCE.
At Dance Impressions we try to create an atmosphere of both fun and discipline and aim to make dancing one of your child’s best experiences and learning programs.
Classes start Tuesday, September 7th, and the FIRST week back is “Bring A Friend Week.” I hope to see you there!!
Sincerely, Miss Ryan 
