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Youth Ballet and Dance Forum

About the Program

The University of Iowa Dance Forum & Youth Ballet is a Community Outreach Dance Program dedicated to enriching the lives of all students by nurturing and encouraging artistic expression in children and adults—regardless of their ultimate careers, as well as preparing those students who are specially gifted in ballet for careers asprofessional artists.

Dance Forum & UI Youth Ballet is housed in the Department of Dance,Halsey Hall. Dance Forum offers beginning through advanced classes in ballet and pointe, as well as classes in modern, jazz, and tap for children and adults of all ages. Students do not receive University credit for these classes. Classes are taught by professional instructors from the community, as well as qualified undergraduate and graduate students. Our focus is teaching technique. Rehearsals for performances are scheduled separately from technique classes in order to maintain the highest quality of dance instruction for all students.

Enrollment [top]

Whether you dream of a career in dance, seek an outlet for personal growth, or just want to have fun, UI Dance Forum has the right program for you. We offer classes for students age 2 and older.

Class Schedules

UI Youth Ballet School offers a full schedule of classes throughout the school year, and a summer session. New students are encouraged to participate in a placement audition to determine the appropriate level of class.

Schedules and more information can be found in our registration forms:

Children's Program (Ages 2-6)

Creative movement and ballet fundamentals for young students are tailored to meet the developmental needs of children according to their age. The progressive curriculum for this program was developed by Kathryn Smith, and the syllabus introduces students to basic movement exploration and develops into the more structured study of classical ballet. Creativity is emphasized to encourage the artistic exploration of movement and allow the child's natural talent and skills to be discovered.

Class level is determined by the child's age on September 1 of each year.

Ballet Program

Complete classical ballet curriculum is offered for students ages 7 and up. The curriculum focuses on proper skeletal alignment, posture, strength and stretch of the legs and feet, fluid arm carriage, flexibility, and musicality.

Teen & Adult Classes

UI Youth Ballet School offers the unique opportunity for teens and adults to begin or continue their dance training in an environment that encourages them to be challenged and explore their movement potential. Classes include Adult Beginner and Adult Intermediate levels in ballet, modern, jazz, and body conditioning. Full year or semester enrollment options; pre-registration is required.

Modern

This 60-minute dance class allows the student to take technique and movement skills and explore spatial awareness, rhythm, and dynamics in an atmosphere that encourages the dancers own creativity to be awakened.

Jazz

Geared for teens and adults, Jazz dance incorporates popular hip-hop dance with more traditional musical theater style jazz to guide the students in a variety of dance combinations that develop rhythm, musicality and flair.

Body Conditioning

This is a full-body conditioning strength and flexibility workout class. Most of the workout focuses on the abdominals and lower body (thighs, calves, buttocks), with exercises that ballet dancers use to strengthen and lengthen their muscles and condition their core.

Calendar [top]

Dress Code [top]

Dance Forum students must adhere to a special dress code, which is detailed in the student registration materials. Leotards, tights, ballet slippers and additional attire can be purchased at www.discountdance.com.

Wee Dance, Creative Movement

Dance clothes – such as leotards and tights, any color, or any loose fitting clothes – such as shorts and t-shirts. Students may wear socks, ballet slippers, or be bare-footed.

Ballet

  1. Females must wear hair in a bun, pink tights, leotard, and pink ballet slippers.
  2. Leotard colors for each level of ballet:
    Pre-ballet: Pink
    Ballet I: Black
    Ballet II: Navy
    Ballet III: Burgundy
    Ballet IV: Black w/light blue belt
    Ballet V: Black w/royal blue belt
  3. Males must wear dark black or blue shorts, solid-white t-shirt, white socks, & black ballet slippers.
  4. Modern, Jazz, Tap, Body Conditioning
  5. Dancers must have long hair pulled back from the face. Comfortable dance clothing.

Faculty [top]

(view all faculty profiles)

Kathryn Smith – Administrative Director

Kathryn Smith received her B.A. in Dance Performance from the University of Missouri – Kansas City , where she also danced with the Kansas City Ballet Company. She holds a M.A. in Dance from the University of Iowa and has been teaching dance for over 25 years.

Jennifer Kelzenberg - Ballet & Body Conditioning

Jennifer Kelzenberg trained at the professional level with Joffrey Ballet New York and Ballet Chicago. She is also a Pilates instructor using her training from both disciplines to give young dancers the advantage of added strength, endurance, and flexibility.

Rachel Barger – Ballet

Rachel is currently pursuing her B.F.A in Dance and B.B.A in Management and Organizations at the U of I. She has studied dance at Victoria Ballet Theatre, Ballet Austin, Joffrey San Antonio, The University of Oklahoma, Craft of Choreography Conferences, and American Dance Festivals. She taught dance at Busby Dancenter in Victoria , Texas for four years.

Angela Hayes - Modern

Angela Hayes danced professionally upon college graduation and resumed her training with graduate level study of ballet, modern, and composition at the University of Iowa. Angela is artistic director, choreographer, and performer with Travelers Dance, a company she co-founded in 1999. She has extensive dance teaching experience with all ages.

Sara Koslowski – Intermediate Jazz

Sara Koslowski is studying Dance and Entrepreneurship at the University of Iowa . She has had professional experience in jazz dance performance for three years at the Sabre Room located in Chicago and has had nine years of jazz dance training in the Chicagoland area. Sara has alsoassistedand danced withthe HHPD Company Dancers.

Lezlie Callaway – Children & Teen/Adult Tap

Lezlie began studying tap and jazz at the age of nine at the Dance Konnection in Marshalltown , Iowa . In the summer of 2007 she attended the Rockette Summer Intensive in New York City where she studied Rockette technique and repertoire under the instruction of current Rockettes, and performed at the Beacon Theatre. She was a member of the 2005-6 Iowa Dance Team, and is currently a junior at the University of Iowa majoring in Dance and Business.

Lydia Phillips - Teen and Adult Ballet

Lydia studied ballet at the Makaroff School of Ballet in Appleton , Wisconsin . She taught all levels of ballet in Appleton for five years and was a member of the Fox Valley Youth Ballet Theatre for eight years. She is currently studying dance at the University of Iowa .

FAQs [top]

How do I switch classes?

Your child may switch from one class section to another (i.e. from a Monday to a Thursday class) only if there is space still available in the new class. Please call the Registrar at 319.335.2193 to request a switch. A $20.00 Switch Fee will be charged to your account.

How do I report an absence and why is it important to notify you if my child will not be in class?

To report an absence, please leave a message at 319.335.2193. In order for your child's absence to be considered excused, we must be notified in advance of the absence. Only excused absences can be made-up. If your child is injured and will miss a prolonged series of classes, we ask that you provide us with an applicable doctor's note.

How do we know if the school is closed due to inclement weather?

When the weather turns bad, we assess canceling classes three times during the day: 7am, 12pm and 3pm.Subsequently, we update our phone message to learn which classes are being held and which classes are not. 319.335.2193

Is there a formal recital? May I stay and observe my child's class?

In place of a formal performance for our youngest students, we offer two annual Open House weeks where family and friends are invited into the classroom to observe our students' progress. Outside of these special weeks, we feel the presence of multiple adults creates a distraction by taking attention away from their teacher's instruction.

Can my child be enrolled in one class and be on the wait list for another class?

No. Since both our enrollment and our waiting lists are handled on a first-come, first-served basis, we cannot accommodate a child taking up two spots in this system. When space opens up in a closed class, we will immediately call the first child on the waiting list to offer them the class. If that student can not enroll, we will move down the list until we have an acceptance. We ask parents to make the choice so that we can offer as many students as possible the chance to attend ballet class.

History [top]

Since its establishment in 1972, the Dance Forum/UI Youth Ballet School has stood as a superior community outreach program, training aspiring dancers within Iowa City and the surrounding communities.

The school has a full range of programs for all ages. The UI Youth Ballet School experience instills in students self-discipline and an eagerness to learn.

The UI Youth Ballet School is housed in Halsey Hall, and shares with the Department of Dance five spacious studios.

The UI Youth Ballet School's faculty includes distinguished instructors and choreographers as well as current and former dancers from major companies worldwide.

The UI Youth Ballet School welcomes talented students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, religion, national or ethnic origin in its admissions procedures, employment policies or the administration of its programs and activities.

Performances [top]

Spring 2008 Concert - SWAN LAKE

Swan Lake is the most popular of all classical ballets. From its first incarnation in 1877 at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow to the many productions mounted around the globe today, this timeless story of a young man's love and evenutal betrayal of a swan queen, set to one of Tchaikovsky's most enduring scores, continues to engage audiences and inspire new generations of dancers.

May 17: 8 p.m.

May 18: 3 p.m.

Space/Place Theater, North Hall One annual dance concert is available for students ages 5 and above who wish to participate. Registration for Spring Concert will be held in January, with Spring Session classes.

Winter 2008 Concert

December 20: 2pm & 7pm

December 21: 2pm

Space/Place Theater, North Hall Annual Nutcracker performance presentation with new choreography, and guest performers. Registration for Winter Concert will be held in August, with Fall Session classes.

All rehearsal classes for the concert and student ensemble are scheduled separately from technique classes in order to maintain the highest quality of dance instruction for all students.

Facilities [top]

The Dance Forum/Youth Ballet is the only school in Iowa that offers live piano accompaniment for almost every class. Live music in class is a crucial part of a young dancer's development, as it provides an opportunity for the students to interpret music in ways that are not possible with recordings.

Contacts [top]

UI Dance Forum Office: 319.335.2193

Email: kathryn-smith@uiowa.edu

Address:

UI Youth Ballet School

Department of Dance

Halsey Hall W106

Iowa City , IA 52242

Tuition [top]

Please consult Summer Session information to view the tuition rates for our program.