Take a Smaller, More Personalized Ballet Classes at Catherine’s Dance Studio

Ballet is a classical and artistic form of dance. Since its inception, ballet has been the foundation for most dance styles. Our studio begins our dancers with ballet classes, the foundation of dance.

When should you start your child in Ballet Classes?

Our studio begins pre-ballet classes for girls as young as three years old. Students must be potty trained to begin classes. Also, for younger girls starting dance, we recommend starting with the Pre-Classical Ballet class. Once a dancer starts in our ballet program, they are exposed to the structure of a ballet class, aiding in strength, flexibility, proper placement, and terminology that will prepare a dancer for various dance classes.

Our studio currently offers four different levels of ballet classes. Before being placed in a level, each dancer is assessed for knowledge and technique, ensuring a positive dance experience for students, parents, and instructors.

This class is an introductory level for dancers just starting at Catherine’s Dance Studio. Pre-K Ballet will focus on terminology, introduce technique and ballet positions.

This class is offered to younger dancers as an opportunity to grow in their ballet technique and introduce them to a strict ballet class. This class focuses deeply on ballet positions, vocabulary, and barre work. During class, dancers will build on their skills, strength, and refine their movement with attention to technique, musicality, and artistry.

Students in the beginning classical ballet class will focus on strengthening and stretching feet, ankles, legs, and core with foundational barre exercises, as well as brief center work. Dancers will be introduced to proper body alignment and placement, structure of barre and class, basic positioning, counting music, memorization, and choreography. In addition, students will also receive an introduction to ballet vocabulary.

In Ballet II, dancers will continue to add more exercises to barre work and begin to transition to a full center practice as the year progresses. Strengthening of feet, ankles, legs, and core is still a primary focus at barre, with added more complex combinations and exercises. Introduction to more complicated port te bra (arm placement and positioning) and epaulement (head and neck placement) begins here in addition to, building and expanding on the concepts and framework learned in ballet I.

Students invited to Ballet III have a solid and established foundation in ballet. Dancers will continue to perfect classical technique and build off of concepts learned in ballet I and II. Barre and center work are more complicated with a focus on the professional ballet class progression and strengthening. Choreography also grows in complexity with an introduction to variations, performance quality, and character work.

Pre-Ballet Classes at Catherine's Dance Studio, Parkville, MO
Personalized Ballet Classes at Catherine's Dance Studio, Parkville, MO
Ballet Classes lead to recitals at Catherine's Dance Studio, Parkville, MO
Ballet Classes for girls 3-18 years at Catherine's Dance Studio, Parkville, MO
Take Smaller Ballet Classes at Catherine's Dance Studio, Parkville, MO
$ levels of Ballet Classes at Catherine's Dance Studio, Parkville, MO

“Dance is music made visible.” – George Balanchine

Ballet Class Attire

  • Black Leotard

  • Pink Tights

  • Pink Ballet Shoes

  • Hair in a low bun

“The grace and poise that a student learns in Ballet are transferred to other dances and to a girl’s life out of the studio as well. When I see a girl walking, I can tell she is a dancer. Her shoulders are back, she holds her head high, and she has that extra poise that comes from being a Ballet dancer. She carries herself differently, she is stronger and she knows it. She is a Dancer and that helps define who she is and where she thinks she belongs in the world. What parents give their girls and what she gives to herself in the dance studio makes a difference in her life.” – Catherine Stephenson