Providence, Rhode Island, is home to many dancing schools for children. Whether you are looking for instruction in ballet, jazz or tap, there are classes in the afternoon and evening, as well as on Saturdays. For a less typical education, some dance studios offer hip-hop, Polynesian and funk styles of dance. Instructors include dancers who are still working professionally. Some instructors even bring classes into neighborhood schools as part of a cooperative effort.
Providence Ballet is home to a Youth Ballet Company. The studio is in its sixteenth year and teaches children from as young as three years old. The teachers are professional dancers, and some are still performing. There are creative-movement classes for three- and four-year-old children, pre-ballet for five- and six-year-olds, ballet I and II for seven- to nine-year-olds, and ballet III and IV for nine- to eleven-year-olds. After that, the children advance to intermediate courses. All classes are in the afternoons and evenings.
Another well-known ballet company is called Festival Ballet Providence. It is open to children 2.5 years and older. There is a program for young children and one for teens, and serious dancers can join a pre-professional division when they are eight years old. Festival also offers an adaptive ballet course for children with Down syndrome. The summer intensive program includes morning classes for young children.
Body Mechanics is a studio that focuses on hip-hop, kickboxing and funk styles of dance. According to the Rhode Island Dance website, instructor Cyndy Klenk has been instructing people in funk and hip-hop for many years and now teaches cardio and kickboxing at a number of locations. Classes are available in beginner through intermediate for children.
The Motion Center offers modern dance and yoga classes to people interested in learning how their bodies move. These classes are geared toward adults, but older children can also participate. The teachings are taken from a number of modern-dance styles. Warm-up includes improvisation and technical movements, and then the longer combinations, including floorwork and core strengthening, are done. The school offers weekday and Saturday classes.
Ballroom and Latin Dancing by Nelia Lawton is open to aspiring dancers of all ages but specifically offers a teen ballroom-dancing class. Nelia has four locations around Providence, including one in Barrington. No partner is needed to attend the class, and Nelia will teach teens of all skill levels (or those with no skill at all!).
Everett Dance Theatre's Carriage House School offers children classes in Polynesian, hip-hop, ballet and musical improvisation. Classes are available in the afternoons and evenings, six days a week. The school's goal is to create a cohesive urban community through music, education and performance.
The Modern Jazz Dance Company Center of the Arts provides children from the age of four and older with tap, jazz and ballet classes. The company's goal is to help kids develop coordination, poise, charm and self confidence. Preschool ballet is for four- and five-year-olds. Tap and ballet are available for children six years old and up. Hip-hop and jazz classes are offered to those 10 and older. There are also teen classes in all four areas.
