What We Teach

What we teach at Evolution, explained...

At Evolution, we pride ourselves on bringing many different styles to all our students! Take a look below to see more detailed descriptions of what we offer.

The ISTD

ISTD stands for The Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing. It is world renown and one of the leading dance examination boards worldwide. Principal Laura is a qualified dance teacher in ISTD Modern Theatre and Tap, and also ISTD Cecchetti Ballet. At Evolution, exams can be taken in all three of these subjects.

ISTD Cecchetti Ballet

Cecchetti Ballet was founded by Enrico Cecchetti, a famous Ballet Master (1850 - 1928). He devised his own method of Ballet to bring into the world of dance things he thought should be common place, such as details of technique and head and arm placement, artistry, the balance of shapes and lines and the idea of movement under gravity. The Cecchetti method is still widely used today and excerpts can still be seen in many ballet productions across the world. Cecchetti is well known for improving the strength, co-ordination, artistry and dance step vocabulary of its students.

ISTD Modern Theatre

The Modern Theatre genre began in America before it gained popularity with the rest of the world. As the term suggests, its more "modern" style and movements bring dancing right up to date. Modern is a fusion of Contemporary, lyrical dancing, Jazz and some Ballet, alongside it's own unique movements and positions. With all its jumps, turns, floorwork, lyrical elements and high kicks, you may recognise this dance genre from many theatrical productions, as it is often used on stages throughout the world!

ISTD Tap

A popular genre of dance, special shoes with metal plates are worn that "tap" the floor to give this iconic dance form its name. There are a few different ideas on where Tap originated. Clog dancing, African dancing or Irish dancing are some of the suggestions. It is often seen in musicals and other shows, like famous productions "42nd Street" or "Stomp". Expect glitzy costumes and high energy dancing on stage!

Aerial Hoop

Aerial Hoop classes are a great way to keep fit and learn a new skill! You might recognise hoop from the circus or from amazing shows such as famous Montreal-based entertainment company, Cirque du Soleil! Watch the link to see how hoop looks on stage: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNTT7ijDsLw&ab_channel=CirqueduSoleil

We teach classes in age categories:

If you have never tried hoop before, don't worry - we can find a beginners class for you! Our Principal Laura is a certified hoop instructor with Spin City aerial instructor training, and we have weight tested equipment that meets safety standards. So why not try it out, have fun and gain a new skill? Book yourself in today!

Contemporary

This dance style originated from dancers who wanted to move away from known dance styles and create their own fusion of movement and shapes. There are many well-known leading dancers who helped to shape this dance form; Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham and Jose Limon to name a few. Each technique that is named after these famous dancers has a specific ideology and goal behind it. We study mainly Graham technique at Evolution Dance Studio. Contemporary dances are often more reflective and take on the bigger issues of life and humanity. Expect simpler costumes and lots of floorwork.

Jazz

Jazz dance is also often seen in lots of musical and theatre productions. You can see many of the typical movements, steps and the Jazz style in hit musicals and films "Chicago" and "West Side Story", which made Jazz even more popular. Bob Fosse was one of the most famous choreographers in the Jazz style, offering his own unique and specific twist to the genre. Jazz contains a lot of stylised kicks, jumps and turns combined with tricks and often - singing at the same time!

Street Dance

A genre that developed in any space that could be considered big enough for dancing in:- streets, back gardens, parties, anywhere you can move! Using up to date music and combining the most modern forms of movement, this dance styles is high energy and has many sub-genres to it. Street is most often seen at music concerts and in music videos, where back-up dancers isolate and use their body to put over the qualities of the music. Quite often, dancers will be seen performing this style in large groups, each dancer executing a very specific set of movements to ensure that the whole group moves as one.

Born to Dance TOTS!

Born to Dance TOTS is for a much younger crowd - 0 to 3 years of age! As an early childhood development programme, we base the 45 minute class structure around learning and movement through fun and lively music and singing. Props such as parachutes, instruments and scarves are used for these little ones during class and singing, dancing, fun and imagination are very much encouraged! Parent participation in class is key to helping these little ones develop basic dance/movement, cognitive, social, emotional, motor and speech skills! This is a great programme to start a little one on, whether it's to have fun whilst helping them with their development, increase bonding time between parent and child, or with the intention of starting them on our dance classes afterwards, make sure you book your place today!

Born to Dance KIDS!

The perfect next stepping stone after Born to Dance TOTS! For ages 3 to 4/5, this hour long class brings many of the TOTS principles with it; dance, movement and singing to make learning and development fun! Props are still used, but more dance steps and names are now taught. Students in Born to Dance KIDS learn basic Ballet and Modern, but imagination and creativity are still a very important part of class at this stage. This is the perfect class for further learning and development, ready for the next step - moving up into the "big boy's and girl's classes"!

Adult Ballet

A class for adults either wishing to remember many happy days spent dancing, or wanting to learn something new! We welcome all levels and ages of dancer to this class - and we are happy to tailor the exercises to suit your needs. The class is based on basic Ballet technique and principles, and is a great way to keep fit, have fun and develop a new skill, or revisit an old one. No specific attire except for Ballet shoes and clothes that are easy to move in are required, so come and join us!

Open Stretch Classes

These classes are open for any ability and are for children, students and adults alike! Class content focuses on increasing strength and flexibility throughout the body, with an overall body or specific area target each class. 

For classes, click here ------> Contact Us <------

Book now for your dose of "me time"!

Kids and Students Workshops

These workshops are scheduled on special 'Dance Days', or for holiday workshops. You could also book these workshops for parties or events! Split into two categories, one for children aged 6 to 12, and one for students aged 13 and up, both the workshops are an hour and a half. The first 45 minutes is spent learning a dance routine based on a famous movie or musical. Then there's a small 15 minute break, before a movement and stage acting section and a chance to create your own choreography with your friends based on the days' work! The content of the workshops changes, so it's a good chance to learn lots about the dance and performance industry and have a go at being creative!

We hope this helped you to choose which classes you would like to come to! Visit the Contact Us page to get in touch and to enquire about prices!

Don't see what you would like on offer? Ask us...we are always expanding our timetable of dance and performance genres...