About Us » Why Us?
If most dance studios seem to have qualified, friendly teachers, experienced in teaching children, and a recital at the end of the year, aren’t they all pretty much the same? Does it really matter where you decided to enroll your child? Yes, it does. There are 5 things that can have a large impact on the quality of instruction your child receives, the amount of inconvenience you as a parent must deal with, and the overall enjoyment and satisfaction of being involved with a dance program.
Dance is a very physical activity that requires jumping and rebounding. This type of movement, although healthful, can unwittingly put stress on a dancer’s joints and lower back. Since most dance footwear does not provide enough cushioning or support to absorb the shock of impact, the best way to prevent against potential injury is by choosing a studio with a professional "floating " dance floor. A floating dance floor is a floor that rests on a system of high-density foam supports. This type of surface is superior as it gives with the dancer’s every move. A high-density foam base is superior to a "sprung" floor, which usually consists of a wood structure built on a sub-floor.
The top layer of the dance floor is also an important factor. A vinyl composite "marley" floor is accepted worldwide as the best surface layer for recreational and professional dance. World renowned dance institutions such as the Boston Ballet, the Royal Academy of Dance in London, England, and the Riverdance Touring Show, all use marley floors. A marley floor allows dancer to slide with a degree of "controlled" slip, thus reducing the risk of spills and falls. Because of their expense, very few dance studios use professional marley floors, and opt for a regular floor tile for a dance surface.
For the safety and comfort of our students and staff, we at Dance Theater of New England have chosen to install a floating floor and a marley surface. Our special floor helps reduce the risk of injury and allows students to dance longer without fatigue.
Recent studies show that children learn better in classes with fewer students. A smaller class size means that each child will receive more personalized attention, learn more and have more fun! With younger students, intimate class settings are highly effective as it is easier for the Instructor to assist each child and provide answers to important questions. Our smaller class sizes ensure that no fundamental concepts are being missed so that bad training habits and improper technique will not develop.
Our studio limits all of our class sizes (ages 7 and up), to a maximum of 12 to 15 students per class. Our Young Dancer’s program and Primary Dance program (ages 3-6), is taught by a lead teacher and an intern. This gives every class an approximate 1 to 6, teacher to student ratio. DTNE’s classes are never led by students or interns.
At face value combination classes seem to make sense. For younger dancers ages 3 to 6, they offer an opportunity to sample different dance styles and still master gross and fine motor skills. But parents should be aware that combination classes are absolutely inappropriate for legitimate dance training after kindergarten. Most combination classes are 1 hour to 1½ hour long and offer two to three subjects. This means that once your dancer finally gets dancing, it is time to change shoes. There has not been adequate time to warm up properly, let alone learn anything more than a dance for a recital. Add to this fact that you have to by a costume for each dance learned, your tuition money and fees have gone into one recital experience rather than learning how to dance.
At Dance Theater of New England we pride ourselves in our mature experienced Faculty and our safe and technically sound classes. Our internationally recognized pre-school program is one hour long. It is fun and inspires children to explore movement and prepares them for training in our graded syllabus. Classes for grades 1 and up are single subject and are an hour to and hour and a half long depending on age and experience. All dance styles follow accepted training standards and feature a warm up (barre for ballet), stretch, center combinations and across the floor work. All of our faculty have had exceptional professional training at dance company schools. Most have either preformed professionally, attended colleges with outstanding dance programs, have been apprentices in nationally recognized dance companies, or have been scholarship students at said companies. You can be sure that your dancer will always be correctly taught with national and international dance standards in view.
In many studios the teacher or the studio owner conducts the classes and does the administration. By trying to do tow jobs at once, students may suffer as the teacher has to use class time for student service issues. Some studios may have no student services available at all if the teacher is in class. To have a good experience, it is important to choose a studio that can assist you with details like costumes or schedules even if the teacher is occupied in a class. Our studio has office staff on hand during regular class times so you can receive timely assistance at your convenience.
Many studios have a two tiered pricing menu that is confusing to read and understand. We have a no nonsense pricing policy with no confusing jargon. The more you dance… the more you save. Our one costume per class pricing policy includes a costume, headpiece, tights, earrings, and a prop if needed. All of our costumes come fully assembled and require little to no alterations. To ensure a comfortable and stress free day, all of our recitals are run in a timely and professional manner. Our recital venue is air conditioned and there are plenty of seats for everyone. Our shows are two hours or less. Last year's recital was an hour and 20 minutes!